tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37508432282317085532024-03-05T07:34:30.718-08:00CBC SporthorsesAn amateur rider who adores her horses and loves to tell the world about all their exciting adventures in learning the fundamentals of dressage through lessons, clinics, showing and life experiences!!!!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-27409766341190206242013-04-20T21:39:00.000-07:002013-04-20T21:41:01.811-07:00Epic Update!!!Per usual, I suck at getting on here and updating even when I have oodles to talk about. Life just seems to keep getting in my way! Enough loly-gagging, let's get to updating!<br />
<br />
I have had lessons, clinics and my first show of the season since my last update so I'm gonna move quickly...<br />
<br />
4 lessons were had before the first show. Two were with Lynn and two with my mystery clinician...drum roll please......<a href="http://www.usdf.org/HallOfFame/inductees/profiles/LindaZang.asp" target="_blank">Ms. Linda Zang</a>!!! Again, this may not be so exciting to some but goodness it is to me! If you click the link I've attached you can see a small blip of some of her many amazing accomplishments. Between Lynn and Linda, Buddy and I are getting quite a work out/tune up for this show season. Let's review the highlights:<br />
- keep him pushing forward into my hands<br />
- keep his shoulders up for more airtime<br />
- always check for bend-ability and make sure I have him in my outside rein<br />
- I tend to lean so in order to right Buddy's sometime leaning canter, lean the opposite direction of the current lead we are on to straighten everything.<br />
- lots of transitions from canter-walk-counter in order to lift his shoulders and get him prepped for the changes<br />
- in the half-passes remember that it is a variation of travers and make sure the outside eye is looking at the letter to which we are going for better alignment.<br />
- outside rein to half-halt in half-pass<br />
- don't quit before the halt is finished, make sure all four feet around square underneath (we tend to park out in the back or leave one foot behind!)<br />
- don't be afraid to push for more! <br />
<br />
I'm sure I'm forgetting some very key points, but these are the ones that are constantly on my mind while I'm riding. Of course I'm still on my quest for perfect position and after watching videos of my lessons and the show, I still have a long way to go ;) But, it's definitely improving and I'm sure Buddy appreciates that!<br />
<br />
Well, the <a href="http://www.ncaha.com/downloads/NCAHA_ODAHA_SHOW_2013.pdf" target="_blank">NCAHA All Arabian</a> was the first show of the season for me. Although I ended up missing out on going to the <a href="http://www.sportingservices.net/MMDmenu.htm" target="_blank">Spring Break Dressage Show</a> in Williamston with the rest of the NSTC team, this ended up being a smart decision because it was 40 min. from home, no hotel fees and it was a much easier start to Third level than an open show would be. Buddy tried his bum off and gave great trot work getting consistent 7-8 scores, the canter was a little braced but balanced. The mediums/extensions were mediocre because I was fretting too much about the changes. Being the over-achiever that I am, I signed up for 4 Third level tests over the weekend without having confirmed changes...Oy Vey! Really?!?! What was I thinking (rather I think that was "wishful thinking!")? Anyways, I literally lucked out in the first test because Boo just kind of fell into both changes. The judge gave us a very generous 66+% which means.....I FINALLY EARNED THAT BLASTED USDF BRONZE MEDAL!!!! WAHOOOOO!!!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNp_J8H_QaWoNW3MQMqgEwFK1y3MR0IIGeq7jQtVYNdfqzv4kV-Vvjy5DTQR-aIyLq_nL_y28ETBkI6CA9U2OZ67MO4OcaaJHW9wCWE1W8eA43OExD4fILVajz9oSEUPX42Z9O6uMvXVQ/s1600/Buddy+NCAHA+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNp_J8H_QaWoNW3MQMqgEwFK1y3MR0IIGeq7jQtVYNdfqzv4kV-Vvjy5DTQR-aIyLq_nL_y28ETBkI6CA9U2OZ67MO4OcaaJHW9wCWE1W8eA43OExD4fILVajz9oSEUPX42Z9O6uMvXVQ/s320/Buddy+NCAHA+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Our USDF Bronze Medal Ride</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>(photo credit to Tracy Kelsey)</i></div>
<br />
The second test that day did not pan out as great, Buddy was exhausted and everything ended up being lackluster and the changes were non-existant which resulted in weird counter-canters both directions. We tried again the next morning and got two very late changes but still managed to squeak in a 63%. Not bad at all for Buddy's first time at Third! But due to the fact that our changes are still not 100%, I have decided to forgo the May show and probably the June show for now. This way we can keep working and not worry about trying to qualify for anything.<br />
<br />
Ok, fast-forward to tonight...I decided to ride both boys tonight since it was so nice outside. Buddy had a lesson with Linda on Wednesday, the Farrier came Thursday and it rained BUCKETS yesterday, so today was the first ride since our lesson. We worked on maintaining centered work. Lots of transitions and leaning in the proper directions, and wouldn't you know it?! Clean changes can occur when all the right pieces are in the correct place! What a wonderful feeling! Next was DJ. He hasn't been getting a whole lot of attention while I have been taking Buddy all over. I am convinced something is just not right with his saddle because I have much better rides when we are bareback than saddled. So, off I went bareback on a dusk trail ride with my boy. We made it around the property and back to the ring. I decided to try and ride him exactly the way I have been riding Buddy lately and again another lightbulb moment. I had collected canter, half-pass and a clean <i><u>controlled</u></i> change with no saddle. I was ecstatic! We played with trot-piaffe transitions and really that was just the icing on the cake. I think he had fun tonight. Well, I know that was quite a bit without much detail but as always I promise to change my bad blogging ways and update more often with better attention to detail. Until next time, happy trails!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-43713798299959052932013-02-17T18:42:00.003-08:002013-02-17T18:45:13.861-08:00Insert Witty Title Here...I'm not gonna lie...it has been excruciating trying to write this blogpost. I am officially suffering from writer's block!!! So far, I have tried <strike>three</strike> <strike>four</strike> FIVE times to write something here and either deleted it or just got up and left it. Nothing seemed to stir my creative juices as of late. I could blame it on the weather and life in general but I feel that this is becoming my crutch cop-out. No more! I will write about something with purpose... Ok, blocked again. Damnit. So, in attempt to free myself of "the block" I ask myself, "What does one literary genius (HA!) do when she is suffering from 'the block'?" Duh! Of course she goes online to Barnes and Noble to spend her Christmas gift cards on an insane amount of books! Yippee!<br />
<br />
Now, let me back up before I delve into my recent purchases. I am currently reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Seven-Deadly-Sins-Dressage/dp/1570764859/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361153553&sr=8-3&keywords=dressage+for+the+not-so-perfect+horse" target="_blank">The Seven Deadly Sins of Dressage by Douglas Puterbaugh & Lance Wills</a> as well as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dressage-Not-So-Perfect-Horse-Opinionated-Complicated/dp/157076509X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361153525&sr=8-1&keywords=dressage+for+the+not-so-perfect+horse" target="_blank">Janet Foy's Dressage for the Not-So-Perfect Horse</a>. Both of which are great learning tools on how to handle dressage emotionally, mentally and physically. One of my new purchases though is an easy read and really I was half-way done with it an hour after I took it from the B&N box. But it is now becoming dear to my heart! It is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dressage-Eight-Secrets-Adult-Amateur/dp/1479104167/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361153587&sr=1-6&keywords=jenna+smith" target="_blank">Jenna Smith's Dressage: Eight Secrets to FEI by an Adult Amateur Who Did It!</a> She is very direct and too the point about the steps someone like me needs to really focus on to obtain the coveted FEI rider status. Mmm, I love learning :)<br />
<br />
The rest of my book purchases were not as equine enthusiastic...2 biographies and a 4 book young adult fantasy series (No, it wasn't Twilight or that smutty fan fiction that developed out of that mess!). So out of the books and into the saddle...<br />
<br />
My riding has been so sporadic lately between rain, snow, bad footing and a few other natural disasters that I know I'm forgetting. I do try on the in-betweens to be somewhat productive. DJ and I have taken yet another direction with his semi-retirement, wait for it...Freestyles!! Now, unfortunately his 19 yr. old Arabian body is having a very difficult time maintaining Third level work so, I have dropped him back to the bottom and we are going to attempt the new <a href="http://www.usdf.org/press/news/view-news.asp?news=634" target="_blank">Training Level Freestyles</a> in order to get our feet wet. Buddy is still working diligently on his Third level work but again the bad footing isn't necessarily the best for trying to teach him flying changes. But I do have a small remedy for that. Many lessons are scheduled in the next three (yes, I said THREE!) weeks, two at NSTC and two with my mystery teacher (who shall be named within the next two blog posts). So, life is getting exciting again (I hope!).<br />
<br />
On a different note....Even though we are barely into 2013, I have decided on a major equine related plans for 2014 that I am very excited about but do not want to jinx myself so, unfortunately I will not be able to talk about it for quite sometime :( But until that fateful day when I do decide to share my exciting plans with you internet readers, you can sit and try and guess! (Author's Note: Please don't hold your breathe in hopes that I will break my silence early because I won't and I really do not want to be responsible for any untimely deaths ;). In reality though, you probably have better things to do with your time and will find out when I post it. At that time, You will probably say to yourself, "I vaguely remember her mentioning that a long time ago" or "Really, she had us waiting for that?!?" Either way, I am still excited and can't wait to share the news :)<br />
<br />
I understand this post was a bit all over the place. You probably have already written it off that I was drunk, which I'm not, although I may be suffering from severe fatigue since I did decide to try a new workout place today which resulted in me being in bed by 8:30! Oops :) Well, hopefully next time there will be a more coherent blogpost. Happy trails until next time everyone!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-17302598398077060922013-01-20T19:24:00.001-08:002013-01-20T19:24:26.227-08:00She's Alive!!!That's right internet peeps, I'm alive! Although I planned a blog post the day after the last one I posted, I came down with that dreaded flu plaque that everyone and their brother was getting. It kicked my butt!!! I didn't go to work or the barn so getting on the computer to write about my New Year's resolutions and pony escapades was entirely out of the question. But now I'm back and I've got some catching up to do ;)<br />
<br />
<b><u>RESOLUTIONS</u></b><br />
I'm going to make this quick and pretty straight forward since I've got cooler stuff to get to...<br />
<br />
1. FOR GOD'S SAKE, I am getting that blasted USDF Bronze Medal this year if it kills me!<br />
2. Qualify for Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in Sport Horse Show Hack, Third Level (Open and ATR) and MAYBE Fourth (only ATR)<br />
3. Qualify for BLM Championships at Third Level<br />
4. Qualify for GAIG Championships at Third Level<br />
5. Attend at least one clinic (ridden or audit)<br />
6. Work out at least twice a week (and no this does not include riding!)<br />
7. Travel someplace besides VA and NC<br />
8. Read 24 books (Audio books and Graphic Novels do count :P)<br />
**This next one is not really a resolution but an attempt at bettering my daily life...always be thankful in the morning when I wake up for the life I live. It's really a pretty great one ;)<br />
<br />
<b><u>LESSONS</u></b><br />
I love clinics, lessons and really any opportunity I can get that will help further my knowledge and love of dressage. So, when the occasion arises that there is a chance to take a lesson with a dressage great, one does not simply say "Sorry, I can't," or "Oh my, isn't that a bit expensive?" No, you do not think about price, distance or weather, you load up your spicy black horse who has not been ridden in a week and ask what time the lesson starts! Now, I can't tell you who the person is yet. And in all honesty, you may not really even be that impressed when I do tell you who it is, but that's okay. I have been DYING to take a lesson with this person and I finally got the chance! Luckily, the weather was great and Buddy was a star. His mother, on the other hand, is apparently a mess in the saddle!<br />
<br />
Apparently, my horse looks like two different horses in the front and back end when we begin our workouts. I have been told that Buddy can have a lazy or "weird" backend. It does not match the activity of his front end thus making him look occasionally uneven. Thus, my lesson was spent fixing a problem that no one had bothered to teach me to fix. So, with lots of moving the haunches away from my inside leg (to activate the inside hind), leg-yielding away from my outside leg (to lift the inside shoulder), and pushing forward into both of my hands, I was able to achieve actual throughness without having World War III with his face. His back was up and he was pushing underneath him and not behind him. How cool! I've only had him for 7 years and am now just feeling this?!?! Man, we are behind the curve! While I was learning this newfound concept, it was also brought to my attention that my shoulders are uneven (right is higher than the left) and my left hand is constantly trying to be the center of attention. Ugh! Like I didn't have enough to work on already! But I have my homework and another lesson scheduled for March when my mystery clinician returns to NC. Until then, it will just have to be a little secret :)<br />
<br />
I have a regular lesson scheduled with Lynn when she comes back for her annual "clinics" while she is wintering in FL. I missed the last one due to scheduling with my new job and then the flu plague was still hanging around. So, fingers crossed no sickness or health problems in general for me or the black horse and hopefully the next blog post will happen on schedule! Until then, Happy Trails!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-32199463016920382842012-12-31T16:14:00.003-08:002012-12-31T16:15:52.827-08:002012 in a nutshellSince I started this blog a couple of years ago, I usually make a blog post on the last few days of December to recap what the year has brought me and see how I did on my year end resolutions. Let's start with the 2012 recap. Well, I have to say that one of the biggest things accomplished this year was that we all survived the apocalypse! I know everyone was worried about that one but now we can all breathe a little bit easier (take that Mayans!! lol). In all seriousness, my riding got better even though it seemed harder this year. There were no super impressive scores but lots of hard work in solidifying our second level work. Our high was definitely the GAIGs with our best second level to date. We had some rough moments with Buddy jumping the fence and DJ's mysterious mouth sores (still working on my theory for this one, expect a blog post soon!). But at this very moment, I'm happy with where the boys are in their work. We are ready to take on new challenges next year and ready for our first lessons since before the BLMs in 2 weeks.<br />
<br />
Ok, it's time to see how I faired on my 2012 goals:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 20px;"><b><u>2012 Goals:</u></b></span><br />
<br />
<ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Finish that darn USDF Bronze Medal!!! </li>
<ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Well, I almost had it and I only need 1 more score! I'm not so sure DJ will be the one to finish it but at least he was the one who got me most of it :)</span></li>
</ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Qualify for GAIG's & BLM's at Second <i style="font-weight: bold;"><u>and</u> </i>Third Level</li>
<ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">I did half of this one and I am REALLY glad I did not pursue the other half. In the summer I tried to make the transition to 3rd level with the addition of flying changes...long story short, bad idea! Bud was so confused with what I wanted it started effecting everything about our rides. So, we went back to really perfecting 2nd level and it ended up being the right decision for us at the time.</span></li>
</ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Get into better physical condition - last year I set a goal for lbs. lost and I accomplished that but this year I want muscle along with it...that means, ugh, working out :(</li>
<ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Hahaha! Silly me! I knew this one would be difficult for me personally since I'm not the biggest fan of working out. I recently bought a <a href="http://livingsocial.com/" target="_blank">living social</a> deal for a new <a href="http://purebarre.com/" target="_blank">Pure Barre</a> studio that opened near my job and it expires in February. Maybe now I will actually try this time around.</span></li>
</ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Get to at least one clinic this year (audit or riding)</li>
<ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">GOAL ACHIEVED! I had the great opportunity to go audit a clinic with JJ Tate. One day I will work with her on a horse. She is FANTASTIC. I went both days and learned so much it was ridiculous :)</span></li>
</ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">Read 20 books with at least 1 being a book to help my passion for the sport</li>
<ul>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.496094); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">GOAL ACHIEVED! See the list below:</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Daytripper - Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba (Graphic Novel)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dressage-Masters-Techniques-Philosophies-Legendary/dp/1592286747/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327534882&sr=8-1">Dressage Masters: Techniques and Philosophies of Four Legendary Trainers</a> - David Collins</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brisingr: The Inheritance Cycle Book 3 - Chistopher Paolini (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Septimus Heap Book 1: Magyk - Angie Sage (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Septimus Heap Book 2: Flyte - Angie Sage (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Septimus Heap Book 3: Physic - Angie Sage (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Septimus Heap Book 4: Queste - Angie Sage (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Septimus Heap Book 5: Syren - Angie Sage (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Septimus Heap Book 6: Darke - Angie Sage (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smtih (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anya’s Ghost - Vera Brosgol (Graphic Novel)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack - Mark Hodder (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the Mountains of Madness: A Graphic Novel - H. P. Lovecraft & I.N.J Culbard (Graphic Novel) </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inheritance: The Inheritance Cycle Book 4 - Christopher Paolini (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Maze Runner - James Dashner (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Locke & Key Book 5: Clockworks - Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez (Graphic Novel)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Scorch Trials - James Dashner (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Death Cure - James Dashner (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tiger’s Destiny - Colleen Houck</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Kill Order - James Dashner (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Divergent - Veronica Roth (Audiobook)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Insurgent - Veronica Roth (Audiobook)</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok, really I only read 9 and the rest were audiobooks but that's ok because my requirement was still met including my dressage read. I provided a link to that book since it was a fantastic read and will definitely be revisiting it for inspiration. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I will post my goals/resolutions tomorrow. Until then, Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!</span></div>
Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-11413571833591505772012-11-16T06:47:00.004-08:002012-11-16T06:50:13.049-08:00Onward and UpwardThe 2012 show season is over. Two of the three championships we attended I can count as successes! The first one I wrote about in my last post <a href="http://cbcsporthorses.blogspot.com/2012/10/quiet-laughter.html" target="_blank">Quiet Laughter</a>...that was clearly not one of the successes. Next we were onto the <a href="http://cblm.org/" target="_blank">CBLM Championships</a> held in Lexington, VA. Any fall show at the <a href="http://horsecenter.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Horse Center</a> is going to be one of my favorites. I grew up showing at this facility but there's something about it in the fall that makes it perfect. The leaves are beautiful in their wide array of fall hues, there is a crispness in the air and I get the chance to eat at all my favorite local digs! But I digress, back to the show...besides the terrifying drive over the mountains, everything went seamlessly. Buddy was positively lovely to ride. He was soft, adjustable ad forward in all of our schooling both inside and out. He went into his practice class and had a BEAUTIFUL ride with only a small spook earning a 2nd place in a large class. This pumped me up for our Championship the next day. My ride was in the very middle of the class so we were lucky the pea soup fog had finally subsided by my ride time. We went in with the same mentality of keeping it quiet and forward. The test was going SO WELL that I took at moment to sit back and back in the glory of it...and then we broke out of the canter! Ugh! No biggie, I can fix it on the other side...and it happened again!!! Really?!?! So I opted for trying to make up for some lost points by driving the last medium trot home. The score wasn't awful but it knocked us out of the placings for a respectable 12th place of 27 riders. Not bad but not the best. Performance wise, I was super pleased after having quite a few difficult rides this season with Bud. We had a blast with our friends from Beech Creek Farm and overall the show was awesome!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-4rWOJpgjqyGJevsI41pLXbAOZR3t7JeaUfAtXyhWDyKWhn0miPp3oNVSSoKyfmiDtfL4aPdNyPAKCfr4FiTgci3Zy1L-Up1gs3XhOZkR3dyrM-j7v5I2UnJXutThE3s2wliW9rZh8Y/s1600/535851_10100692165057627_997431782_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-4rWOJpgjqyGJevsI41pLXbAOZR3t7JeaUfAtXyhWDyKWhn0miPp3oNVSSoKyfmiDtfL4aPdNyPAKCfr4FiTgci3Zy1L-Up1gs3XhOZkR3dyrM-j7v5I2UnJXutThE3s2wliW9rZh8Y/s320/535851_10100692165057627_997431782_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Two weeks later we made the trip down to the last show in Williamston, for the <a href="http://www.equestriansecretarialservices.com/HM.php" target="_blank">GAIG/USDF Region 1 Championships.</a> This particular show made me a little more anxious than the others because of the test. Second 3 has been giving me problems all season. I haven't felt confident with our balance in the canter let alone the counter-canter teardrops, but we were going to try our hardest anyways. The week leading up to and into the show was a tough one for us anyways. The weather was very rainy (preventing any riding), Buddy sprang the corner of ones of his shoes the day after the farrier came (Friday). I knew my farrier was unavailable so I called another who told me he was too busy, I called a 2nd farrier who was unfortunately out of town. So, Monday came and my farrier was able to put the shoe back on. I rode Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday it went to hell in a hand-basket at work so no riding and Thursday we left for the show. I get everything settled with Boo in the barn (we were stabled with all of our friends from NSTC and Beech Creek was right down the aisle) and go to check in. I had left my Coggins at home on the printer. Commence full freakout mode! I called my vet's office but they were closed for the day. I ended up calling the Emergency number and luckily the vet on call was headed back to the office and would fax me a copy. 1 hour passes and no fax. I call the vet back and she says she's been trying to fax it but there is a busy signal (i.e. the show's fax machine is busted). UGH!!! The vet says she will attempt to email it. Another hour and the email finally comes through, EUREKA! We get our numbers and fly back to the barn. By this time it is 6:30 and the rings close at 8 for riding. Our championship ride was going to be in the Coliseum (which is not one of Buddy's favorite places to ride) so the first night, the next night and the following morning either included a ride or hand walk in this fear inspiring building. I get him all tacked up for the first warm-up ride in the Coliseum and boom, left front shoe is missing. Cue the tears. I try to collect myself and find the show farrier, wouldn't you know, he has left for the evening. I call and plead for him to put this shoe on and l he begrudgingly agrees and will be there in 5 min. I run back to the barn to get my horse and go to bring him out of the stall where I proceed to break his etched wood show plaque. UGH AGAIN!!! The day was just not a good one! I get the shoe on and run to the Coliseum for a 7:15 ride. It was full of spookiness and tension but I decided to call it quits on a decent note since I was pretty sure I was the problem and not him. We started the next day anew and it all went up from there. We had a super ride for our practice test and ended up 2nd in a large <a href="http://www.usdf.org/awards/performance/adultmedalprogram.asp" target="_blank">Dover Medal Class</a> behind a friend of mine. We went to dinner with friends from the barn then came back for a hand walk around the Coliseum. The next day was the big one...and I was the first ride of the championship class. I went in and rode my tail off. I came out of the ring in tears and my mom asked what I thought of the ride. My response was, "That was the ride I was waiting for all season!". I wasn't sure if the judges would agree but at that point I didn't care. To make my very long story a little shorter...I sat in first place with a 66% for the next 12 rides. The last three bumped me down but by only tenths of a %! We got to victory lap with the other placers and I wore a stupidly big grin the entire time! It was a perfect ending to a rather frustrating season.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3P36-vYi-tcGO_LN7LXNTBNCjNTQSTHAMzqIQZhKtx69X2dljxr722Kq_KIyUu04KjwZcrOHMMuCCoIYkeKVmgjSH2oAcukoZ_ZUXuVgurQn6vF4F6YuKPdyX8UXyI4HSlBHPb1lcOo/s1600/431681_10100713457826747_1789061889_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3P36-vYi-tcGO_LN7LXNTBNCjNTQSTHAMzqIQZhKtx69X2dljxr722Kq_KIyUu04KjwZcrOHMMuCCoIYkeKVmgjSH2oAcukoZ_ZUXuVgurQn6vF4F6YuKPdyX8UXyI4HSlBHPb1lcOo/s320/431681_10100713457826747_1789061889_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Now, the boys and I are enjoying a little down time with lots of fun strength building rides including gallops through the back pastures, flying change schooling and cavaletti pole work. Buddy's changes are coming along quicker that I expected and DJ is just working on not being so strong in the mouth. I think we are going to have a real winter this year meaning actual snowfall. It may put a little dent in our ring work but who doesn't like a good gallop through the snow?!? Until next time!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-76970068350712779902012-10-01T21:23:00.002-07:002012-10-01T21:28:53.626-07:00Quiet Laughter...Wow, again I have neglected my blog in favor of riding, reading, fall TV and just plain laziness. Epic Fail! But enough about my lack of enthusiasm, let's get to blogging! I saw we start off with DJ since he usually ends up in the backseat due to all of Buddy's show adventures.<br />
<br />
The end of July was my first show with DJ since 2009. Nervous was not enough of a an adjective to describe how I felt about bringing him back to the show world. I knew he wouldn't be bad or crazy, I feared he wouldn't be accepted. We had had many years doing (what I now can see was mediocre) 2nd level resulting with less that encouraging marks from the judges at open shows. Along with the remarks came bitterness, discouragement and confusion. I felt myself constantly asking "Why didn't they like my horse?" "He did all the moves and he wasn't crazy, why I am scoring in the low 50's?" "Do they not like him because of his breed?" (yes, in fact that was a problem with one judge but that's a story for another time!). All of these thoughts would run through my mind and unfortunately at the time my education could not help me rectify the situation. Since moving down here, my riding has changed drastically and even though DJ is not my usual lesson mount he gets to partake in my riding reinvention through the homework I obtain. He has become more balanced and confident and even though he turned 18 in May, he has also become more athletic. Because of this, it was time to dip out proverbial toe back into the waters of competition. Luckily, the show I picked was only half an hour away so that meant showing out of the trailer, thank goodness! Our first day was a good learning experience. The test was tight and very quick, the changes were not really clean and VERY braced which resulted in a 56%. Understandable, it was his first time back and I put a bit too much pressure on myself thinking that this might not be the best idea I've had. After getting my test back and reading, rereading and re-rereading the comments as well as multiple views of the video, I knew what I had to do the next day for better scores. I came back Sunday was a fresh view and a new game plan. I fixed what needed fixing in the warm-up, practiced a couple of changes and went in to try again. The test was much smoother but the changes were still bleh although they were clean this time! Our homework paid off and we were given a 61%!!! DJ gave me my second to last score needed for my Bronze medal. I couldn't have been more proud. Again, I read, reread, and re-reread my tests then made a plan to take DJ out again before the season was over (I'll elaborate on that trip a little but later).<br />
<br />
August was Buddy's month. I had taken him to see Dr. Bob Grisel from <a href="http://www.atlantaequine.com/" target="_blank">Atlanta Equine</a> for a second opinion and follow up after his little "incident" when he jump the fence. Just want to let you all know that Dr. Grisel is AWESOME and so are his staff. They extremely knowledgeable, patient, and pleasant to work with. Dr. Grisel travels a lot so if he comes to a city near you, go meet him and have your horse checked to make sure everything is running properly, you won't regret it!!! Back to my story...We were given the go ahead to go back to work, so that is exactly what we did. Championship time was looming ever closer and the first one would be cutting it a little close but I figured we'd try anyways since we qualified. I signed up for the NCDCTA Championships and we rode our butts off before the show. I asked Lynn to have a lesson on the Friday before the classes started. She hadn't seen him since the June show and before his injury. Honestly, it was probably one of the best lessons we have ever had! He was so spot on I had great hope for the weekend...(now comes the reason for the blog title) Have you ever heard the saying, we make plans and God laughs? That basically summed up my weekend. Saturday and Sunday came around and my wonderful, talented, and willing horse went back to being my crabby, unwilling, UBER tense mule in the show ring. The scores were in the low sixties and nowhere near the quality of work he had been putting in the weeks before. I'm not sure if he was exhausted or just having a bad weekend but boy, was it discouraging. We went from the previous day of being so awesome to going down the centerline trying to mimic the body posture of a giraffe gazing at the heavens. As Charlie Brown so appropriately put it "UGGGGHHH!!!" We ended up fourth for the Championships but my pride took a pretty good beating. I eventually snapped out of it and now am working towards Championship #2, the <a href="http://cblm.org/">CBLMs.</a><br />
<br />
Finally, we arrive at last weekend. Remember I said I was going to sneak in one last show with DJ? Well, I decided to take him to down to Pinehurst for that last attempt of finishing my Bronze. The week before I had his teeth floated and feet done so all would be set for the show. During his floating, my vet noticed some sores on the inside of his mouth that we initially thought were caused by calcification that was lingering on his bit. I thoroughly cleaned the bit (Now, don't think badly of me. I clean my bit after every ride but what I thought was hurting his mouth is the white/yellow stuff that sticks to the bit like glue after a while), started applying GlyOxide to heal the sores and bought my new favorite product in the whole wide world <a href="http://www.smartpakequine.com/the-original-bit-butter-7742p.aspx" target="_blank">Bit Butter</a>! It worked like a charm! The sores were healing quickly and my pony was softer in the bridle and worked his tail off at home for me. I felt great going to the show. We arrived on Friday with time to sneak in a quick ride. I wanted to make sure both of our jitters were gone so they would not hinder us come show day. He rode around like a champ and gave me quiet beautiful changes. This was going to be a great weekend...wait, do you hear that?? Yea, that would be God laughing again. Saturday was an utter catastrophe. We didn't ride until 3:27 so I had the whole day to sit around and think, not such a good thing. I took DJ for hand walks and made sure he was clean and happy. Somehow, I didn't plan correctly with all that extra time and only gave myself about 28 minutes of warm-up. Warm-up was tight, tense, heavy and overall unpleasant. I couldn't figure out what the problem was until about 8 minutes before my time. I had forgotten his Bit Butter. I tried to convince myself that it couldn't make that much of a difference. Boy, was I wrong! To sum up that test, I had people stopping to watch the rodeo that had my test had morphed into. There was excessive running (head up in air style), plank straight laterals and emergency braking. It was a red hot train wreck!!! I got back to the barn and untacked trying to think of why that was such a colossal failure, then I checked his mouth. The wounds were back and twice the size they were previously! I felt AWFUL!!! I spoke with some of my friends and show neighbors about the problem and the general consensus was that my bit was old enough that the outer layer had worn away and the under layer of a different type of metal was causing a very bad reaction to the inside of his mouth. I checked the trailer for other bit options but was left with ones that were too large or illegal for licensed dressage. I even went to the tack store on site to try and purchase another but alas, they didn't have any either. My plan changed to trying warm-up the next morning with an excessive amount of Bit Butter and see what he did. If it was bad we would scratch. He was much happier with some added lubrication so we attempted the test again. The changes were still a disaster but the rest of the flowed much better bring our 5s up to 6.5s and a couple of 7s. We ended with a 56 % and really positive comments from the judges. His old bit is in the trash so it cannot cause anymore harm and the quest for a new bit has begun. DJ's show season is over but we will spend the winter working extremely hard on 3rd level to get that last score in the Spring. Buddy and I will be off on the 17th to our beautiful home away from home, Lexington, Virginia, home of the Virginia Horse Center. Hopefully, this outing will be a bit more successful that our last. But, we will not be making any definite plans for what will happen at the show and I will keep my ears open for that ever so quiet laughter from above.Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-5749556033421473892012-07-07T15:37:00.003-07:002012-07-07T15:37:38.392-07:00Summer, Why Must You Hate Us?!?!?It's no new story that most of the United States has been continuously blasted with unbearable heat waves that could easily rival that of Saudi Arabia. In order to get anything done under saddle without melting or causing heat stroke, it is necessary to be on your horse at an ungodly hour every morning. Well, that's been my routine for the past few weeks or so. Up at 4:30 and on my first horse by 6:00. UGH! Now I'm exhausted all the time but at least I'm keeping up the routine. My next show isn't for another three weeks but I'm still trying to work as hard as I can. This will be DJ's first show since moving to North Carolina. I'm excited yet extremely nervous. His Third level work is much more solid then when we left Virginia but I'm still a little leery on his "exuberant" flying changes. We went to a lesson yesterday and he was amazing (even though the two of us were sweating buckets!). I am thinking more positively about our classes and hopefully *fingers crossed* the Bronze medal is within reach!<br />
<br />
The other two boys have not had a great summer. Khakie, the "<a href="http://cbcsporthorses.blogspot.com/2011/01/gaited-dressage-wonder.html" target="_blank">gaited dressage wonder</a>", has had a relapse of his laminitis and will probably be unridable once we get him out of the woods. It has been very difficult for everyone involved and very emotional but we are still doing everything we can to make sure he is comfortable and that his quality of life has not depreciated in any way. I'll keep this updated for milestones in his journey to recovery.<br />
<br />
Then there is Buddy...Buddy, Buddy, Buddy....dear goodness, this horse is going to be the death of me! It all started with a phone call at work. He had jumped the fence on his paddock because a neighbor on his ATV scared the snot out of him. No, he did not clear the gate.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOu-wrlXfaBLPUVrkCuCX03PBG5tgI6TaxYkLSSTq5rhq0289ADdZ2T8rFi2oRM6tIR3OiNr_JTI3j5kYB8g32iDfhj348J_F1u3zalhC9hEvyPVXqqG03psXIUlz-OOi02ytOXg4aOVs/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOu-wrlXfaBLPUVrkCuCX03PBG5tgI6TaxYkLSSTq5rhq0289ADdZ2T8rFi2oRM6tIR3OiNr_JTI3j5kYB8g32iDfhj348J_F1u3zalhC9hEvyPVXqqG03psXIUlz-OOi02ytOXg4aOVs/s320/photo-2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Luckily, the vet was going to be there within minutes and would look at him when she got there. About a half hour later, I got a call from the vet to discuss his current status. He was really scraped up and swollen but on the whole everything looked to be superficial. He scraped up both stifles and had a nice flesh wound on his right front tendon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuo8fiGFk63m4CRWKxbBe6MpoBxswmKKnaDFMQcOVTcCeDEJwWJujfxEeSjCeNW3M7GMfo2KIKkRbOmgkI4_2vzctZyQeUePVSSr8c13tBdCZaXoGC5EJMaru3WLedvQB68O6xO18pCw/s1600/image-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuo8fiGFk63m4CRWKxbBe6MpoBxswmKKnaDFMQcOVTcCeDEJwWJujfxEeSjCeNW3M7GMfo2KIKkRbOmgkI4_2vzctZyQeUePVSSr8c13tBdCZaXoGC5EJMaru3WLedvQB68O6xO18pCw/s320/image-3.jpeg" width="238" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs64NuFvAx3qHI-jDIxbMmZqsZce0Yu5nvr4zvN2zzWcbijwYtQ1PubsdFTs4T-dPnTg0IVwBrflKq8xKB0e6S2-PLcmV9PhekXZNBLeK6rUiBWjT4UM68sY3iTYyR4O0izNg3OYDu8_s/s1600/image-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs64NuFvAx3qHI-jDIxbMmZqsZce0Yu5nvr4zvN2zzWcbijwYtQ1PubsdFTs4T-dPnTg0IVwBrflKq8xKB0e6S2-PLcmV9PhekXZNBLeK6rUiBWjT4UM68sY3iTYyR4O0izNg3OYDu8_s/s320/image-4.jpeg" width="238" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLQTou0i9JtABAI9RiGsknVamrvPyO8joRkgX1Fst47TQh21I-fv7QqVX81maROsHE3mvGZV6NGzrpEvj4FEVv64mPIKScXE6oZfbgoEuXKs94SxOZVVCBLX38iGAEBygPJJDsCuW50Y/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLQTou0i9JtABAI9RiGsknVamrvPyO8joRkgX1Fst47TQh21I-fv7QqVX81maROsHE3mvGZV6NGzrpEvj4FEVv64mPIKScXE6oZfbgoEuXKs94SxOZVVCBLX38iGAEBygPJJDsCuW50Y/s320/image.jpeg" width="238" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLQTou0i9JtABAI9RiGsknVamrvPyO8joRkgX1Fst47TQh21I-fv7QqVX81maROsHE3mvGZV6NGzrpEvj4FEVv64mPIKScXE6oZfbgoEuXKs94SxOZVVCBLX38iGAEBygPJJDsCuW50Y/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: left; color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuo8fiGFk63m4CRWKxbBe6MpoBxswmKKnaDFMQcOVTcCeDEJwWJujfxEeSjCeNW3M7GMfo2KIKkRbOmgkI4_2vzctZyQeUePVSSr8c13tBdCZaXoGC5EJMaru3WLedvQB68O6xO18pCw/s1600/image-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof_laF9kjQ9V7MwG9_CQ37kskOwTktwbqEMDreBzC8MmqWuwMZi0GakbunWALWcaaS_1MSwYUNsSlu5sT219WqJznrXQH2dzNhLnCM23vGOKODGg8U8gUQZavG6iVP3qoYOeV0ACwk4E/s1600/image-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof_laF9kjQ9V7MwG9_CQ37kskOwTktwbqEMDreBzC8MmqWuwMZi0GakbunWALWcaaS_1MSwYUNsSlu5sT219WqJznrXQH2dzNhLnCM23vGOKODGg8U8gUQZavG6iVP3qoYOeV0ACwk4E/s320/image-2.jpeg" width="238" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-SHPYLp-LWBlLZF_lpyQ45ChTRCdNVdF91rtbm8uQeetgpW6TZEOhNIP-3kMAS-CDLvT_a1xOeQRF0AdQNOUW6TdaFo43mqGIPYMdP2gtMSqS13JxAMBWi38tbnUKW7zEd54-hUdqW0/s1600/image-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-SHPYLp-LWBlLZF_lpyQ45ChTRCdNVdF91rtbm8uQeetgpW6TZEOhNIP-3kMAS-CDLvT_a1xOeQRF0AdQNOUW6TdaFo43mqGIPYMdP2gtMSqS13JxAMBWi38tbnUKW7zEd54-hUdqW0/s320/image-5.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Two weeks after, the wounds were all healing very nicely...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0jWiZWshztvHz22Lb7cdQfHLsTQHiwj6B0TN4X_ZpmAaMgDWOrMk2wgUHUvlMMF1hNFC1Q5tMJRhNeZLE-zAHQoHQDBflCiUmgTnIKWNKoQMjVwagqPzPDEJPMqrxdm7uq_DvmPsnuU/s1600/image-12.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0jWiZWshztvHz22Lb7cdQfHLsTQHiwj6B0TN4X_ZpmAaMgDWOrMk2wgUHUvlMMF1hNFC1Q5tMJRhNeZLE-zAHQoHQDBflCiUmgTnIKWNKoQMjVwagqPzPDEJPMqrxdm7uq_DvmPsnuU/s320/image-12.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aKfZsJnrq3HlT0qAYsLuWeSlffrLCm8AHwLKVkdzIU-eXrqIB-xs0rpsX6D2VCXrprZIsWyYMu02lHqn0qRpXg_pOez9efGeUVFh_EGcMcshdnP62aTbKXXHa9jt5OeIqL8PCvVSK9g/s1600/image-10.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aKfZsJnrq3HlT0qAYsLuWeSlffrLCm8AHwLKVkdzIU-eXrqIB-xs0rpsX6D2VCXrprZIsWyYMu02lHqn0qRpXg_pOez9efGeUVFh_EGcMcshdnP62aTbKXXHa9jt5OeIqL8PCvVSK9g/s320/image-10.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETL9hcrdicOnM4UQ5vHqP9SIVG0DjqXmV4IRoY6mi9I2pqD1mGRXHyTVQ68T1Wrs-1hHENk6CNFTqeW91QeKnTIvXhs1Xz38tnGAThPNlS-iMHRf0x8wjWJ7XNYLwCHufgORIpyXBEPg/s1600/image-13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETL9hcrdicOnM4UQ5vHqP9SIVG0DjqXmV4IRoY6mi9I2pqD1mGRXHyTVQ68T1Wrs-1hHENk6CNFTqeW91QeKnTIvXhs1Xz38tnGAThPNlS-iMHRf0x8wjWJ7XNYLwCHufgORIpyXBEPg/s320/image-13.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSy-70Plln1bDI1jPgVVd3azc0csianYwZ3otrNEeHnNU8EqQ8xTDEERL2Ua0MRJjHXThFxRprV3Ex2MsUZrhF8r9WL7ET2fLLZXb5wO0txS2-ZvVMKyaVEHEdol5yp1yOzlvyqNkFUA/s1600/image-11.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSy-70Plln1bDI1jPgVVd3azc0csianYwZ3otrNEeHnNU8EqQ8xTDEERL2Ua0MRJjHXThFxRprV3Ex2MsUZrhF8r9WL7ET2fLLZXb5wO0txS2-ZvVMKyaVEHEdol5yp1yOzlvyqNkFUA/s320/image-11.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBW_XaXFYHJMn_Pe_r_XYkqiqf81nKwiwt3TLOpChV6njBD9e6Xpg4H3_r0pWG7xPxcbqkejYNfku0tWe4-v1MCBJxPQ4uTIsGz6JKWpAnXfILzT9r2miaxT8LELlNU8YxNP9NP4kxiVI/s1600/image-14.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBW_XaXFYHJMn_Pe_r_XYkqiqf81nKwiwt3TLOpChV6njBD9e6Xpg4H3_r0pWG7xPxcbqkejYNfku0tWe4-v1MCBJxPQ4uTIsGz6JKWpAnXfILzT9r2miaxT8LELlNU8YxNP9NP4kxiVI/s320/image-14.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
but the swelling on the front leg was not going away. While he was wrapped, there was no swelling and we were about 98% sound. No wrap = tree trunk swelling and 100% lame. That worried the heck out of me! After much coaxing and prodding, I got the vet to take some X-rays (no, she really thought he was just being a sissy!) and wouldn't you know it, he has a stress fracture on his Splint bone!! Good grief! I was told that this will heal itself but all the riding she had me doing before the X-rays, to keep the swelling down, had not been such a good thing after all. So, we are restricted to walking under saddle and we are going to get a second opinion next month since I have lost faith in this particular vet. He is going to get another set of X-rays in about 30 days to see his progress and make sure nothing is hurting his suspensory ligaments. Sigh.... That is where everyone stands at the moment. Hopefully, the next entry will be a little bit more upbeat with positive reports for all three horses! Until next time!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-43022300485609737692012-06-10T14:06:00.002-07:002012-06-10T14:08:07.424-07:00Lessons, Clinics, Horse shows, oh my...Concussion?!?!I would tend to say I'm usually on top of my blogging, but I would be lying! The last month has been a whirlwind that I just could not catch up with. When I finally felt things getting back to normal, I was a bit intimidated to dive back in. It wasn't going to get any easier the longer I waited, so here I go again in attempts to keep my thoughts somewhere other than my head while providing some equine education and a little bit of entertainment :)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think that I can skip the summary of the lessons since they tend to be repeats this season. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad thing by all means. They are repeats because we need to keep addressing my weaknesses in order to improve in the show ring. Just a quick review: It's the balance of the canter which results in a less hectic/spastic/tense canter when we get it right and connection into the bridle at ALL GAITS!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://carolinadressage.com/2012/05/11/dressage-in-the-sandhills-2009/" target="_blank">Dressage in the Sandhills</a> was the next show on the roster after a couple weeks of lessons. I have to say since we first attended this show last year, I was really looking forward to it this season. The show grounds are nice but improvements were made over the last year which made the stalling and the competition rings 10x better than previously. It's right next to a golf course, so it kinda feels like a mini vacation at the same time! Overall, our rides the whole weekend consisted of moments of brilliance then tense at others. The scores ranged in our normal area (low-mid 60's), we won a class and got 5th in the others but money was won so not too shabby ;) Even though the scores were good and Buddy wasn't necessarily bad, we just seemed to be in a weird place (or a better word "funk") the whole weekend. The two of us had some difficulty in the warm-ups but I rehashed the weekend in my head and decided we would handle it differently the next time. Not a bad second show, especially since we got the last qualifying score we needed so we are off to the GAIGs in November :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next up was what I would like to dub "the incident". No, there was no knock-down, drag out battle or vicious venomous verbal brawl. I closed my head in my car door....go ahead, get all of your laughs out now so I can continue my story. The incident actually happened a few days before Dressage in the Sandhills but it wasn't addressed until after the show when the headaches became so fierce I took up a semi-permanance in my bed. The first doctor put me on Migraine meds which I could understand since I have a history of those crippling headaches but they just didn't feel the same. The next doctor (seen a few days later) disagreed, put me on muscle relaxers, heat therapy and no riding due to my slightly serious concussion!!! Oy! No rider wants to hear that! But alas, I was sentenced to no riding until the headaches subsided and then wait ANOTHER week before setting foot in my irons *grumble grumble*. This was awesome timing since I had a horse show coming up in the next week, NOT...but I'll get to that in a moment.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Since I was unable to ride, the next best thing was to go audit a clinic, which is exactly what I did! The <a href="http://www.ncdcta.org/TateWrapUp.pdf" target="_blank">NCDCTA Symposium</a> was taught by <a href="http://www.jessicajotate.com/" target="_blank">JJ Tate</a> this year. Boy, was she full of useful info!! Here are just a few of the high points that I learned along with a slew of exercises that I have been tormenting my children with of late in order to polish up or educate them in better 3rd level work.</div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 17px;">
<ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">
<li>Remember to keep the zipper of the boot away from the saddle. The knee must close without tightening the hip this will help the toes to stay in. The leg is draped and not pinching which should result in a kneeling feeling</li>
<li>Seatbones direct the hind legs...in-side seat bone strikes off like a match so each stride is its own depart</li>
<li>Power in the pelvis= swinging in the seatbones. To go forward your pelvis will make an oval shape, to collect make turn oval into a circle</li>
<li>Hold the reins at the base of the palm for better connection</li>
<li>Keep your fulcrum anchored onto your engine</li>
<li>The "seat" is from the knee to the top of your head</li>
<li>Think of cutting your torso into four quadrants...when you want to collect use your abdominals to "scoop it" (the horse) up!</li>
<li>3 Types of Evasion:</li>
</span></span></ul>
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a;">
</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<ol><ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">
<li>Speed</li>
<li>Inversion</li>
<li>Crookedness</li>
</span></span></ol>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;">
</span></ol>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;">
</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: x-small; line-height: 17px;">The mouth is for drinking and eating not stopping</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Knee and seatbones ride the shoulders up</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Bossy seatbones and think of seatbones as Flashlights = pointed in the direction in which you are driving</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">"T-Rex" arms = elbow coming out from your hips</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We should always have an awareness of when the inside hind leaves and connects with the ground</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"> </span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
I was able to ride the Tuesday before we left for the <a href="http://www.ogs-horsesport.com/2010-LOL.html" target="_blank">Capital Dressage Classic</a>. I figured since I really hadn't ridden in three weeks, I wasn't going to be able fix anything before Friday. So we had a nice leisurely ride to remind Buddy and I what is was to do mediocre dressage and called it a day. Friday, the first day of the show, would be our next ride, talk about being prepared...HAHA! The weekend wasn't bad. I under-rode everything and the scores reflected it but I thought it better to be safe than sorry when it came to my Noggin. Buddy tried really hard all weekend and probably could have given more but again, I just wasn't ready. We won a class and came in 2nd or 3rd in the others. Not bad especially since Sunday was really our worst day being one of the last rides and spooking like a barely saddle broken 4 year old in the coliseum. Oh well! As they say "Sh*t happens!" I've decided Boo's next show will not be until the Labor of Love show which also happens to be the NCDCTA Championships in early September. The two of us are sick of 2nd level so it's time to suck it up and start schooling some 3rd...EEP! DJ (hopefully) will take Buddy's spot at the Raleigh Summer Dressage Show at the end of July in attempts to finish up our Bronze (*Fingers and toes crossed*). Until, next time which will hopefully be sooner rather than later :) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-8735673121200582452012-05-01T21:15:00.001-07:002012-05-03T18:56:32.312-07:00Lessons in FearI'll admit that there are very few things that scare me...spiders, zombies, losing things I love...horseback riding is not and has never been something I'm afraid. I have broken my back and my nose, sprained all of my limbs, been kicked, bitten, stepped on, smashed, thrown, and impaled but that has never stopped me. Heck, the first thing when I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I go to bed is horses but more specifically riding dressage. Nevertheless, April 22nd's lesson enlightened me as to what fears I had yet to discover, hence why it has taken me so long to write a blog about it.<br />
<br />
Buddy and I had a lesson with Lynn in the early afternoon and of course the weather had to do something out of the ordinary. The week before and the days leading up to the lesson had all been sunny and in the low 80's/high 70's. Sunday proved to be rainy and in the low 60's...greeaat! That wasn't the only difficulty we faced. For some reason, the receiver box for Lynn's teaching system was acting up and cutting in and out regularly resulting in mixed/missed instructions and quite a bit of frustration. Buddy, luckily, was awesome with a really willing attitude and lots of highlights in his work.<br />
<br />
Lynn asked what I wanted to work on and I told her to just watch and comment on whatever she saw problems with. We did lots of trot transitions into walk and halt to help square him up. The quality of his trot was AWESOME! We worked on keeping him up in the corners and not letting him drop at all which kept him better prepared for his shoulder-in/renvers/travers down the long-side. We moved into the caner and again she commented on how much this canter has improved in the last couple of weeks, yay!!!<br />
<br />
Next, we discussed what I had signed up for at Dressage in the Sandhills and someone (can't remember if it was someone auditing the lesson or my dad...probably my dad because I think he is sick of watching 2nd level) questioned why I wasn't doing Third level. I remarked that although Buddy's canter is getting better, it is nowhere near what it needs to be to successfully do 3rd level. Lynn told me all we needed was one flying change each direction to do 3-1, but I just didn't feel comfortable. She said that we were going to need to start schooling changes eventually and why not start now. We were three weeks from the show and it couldn't hurt to see where we were starting from. I did the only change I knew how to (I know it's wrong but my body decides to use it as a defense mechanism when I feel hurried or tense due to the on-coming change). Luckily, Buddy was super and did a quiet although late change. Lynn made a big deal that it was not that bad but I needed to do the exercise the way she originally explained it (granted, I didn't hear it due to mic problems). I went to perform the canter leg yield from right to left, maintaining the left lead and helping to make the previous outside concave and the new outside convex. Then the theory is to put the left leg back and push forward with the right hip while giving with the right rein to help encourage the new lead...my body had other plans. I fell back into my horrible habit of leaning forward, putting the leg back and pulling with the inside hand, this led to Buddy's head in the air, rushing around the corner and only flipping the lead in the front...in other words total CHAOS!!! Lynn was a little frustrated that I did exactly everything she told me not to basically setting Buddy up for failure. That is when I lost it. It had hit me, teaching the flying change was scaring me. I wasn't afraid of the change necessarily but more for doing it wrong which would result in the frantic running around. Lynn re-explained the exercise and had me do the whole thing again with the exception of the actual change. We turned that into a simple since the exercise would help those too in the long run. Unfortunately, I was too shaken to be pleased with how well Buddy was doing. With tears welling in my eyes, I managed to sit back and make the conscious effort to not ride my bad habit. I had to sit up and slow Buddy down with my whole body to make sure I wasn't hustling him in the canter leg-yield to get through the change in order to move onto another movement that I was comfortable with. The rest of the lesson was this exercise in both directions. I had my homework to do this over the next two weeks in order to improve the canter.<br />
<br />
Once the lesson was over, I went back to the barn in order to untack Buddy. That's when the waterworks started...and I couldn't get them to stop! While untacking and systematically wiping the tears from my face, I managed to get my thoughts together on why this was so upsetting for me. I had had a really hard time teaching DJ the change (and still do!) which has made me dread them. They come hurried and flat and there is nothing calm about them. I haven't even been able to ride one on a horse that is already trained. My body literally doesn't know what to do and I freeze forgetting everything that I already know. I result to the old stand-by of bad hunter riding and leaning forward and pulling on the rein of the new lead. It frustrates me that I can't break this habit, that I fret that much about it which means I'm transferring this negative energy to my horse and that I let myself get this upset about it.<br />
<br />
Now I know. There is something new that scares me and it's not the flying change, it's the fear of doing it wrong or late. I can't let it get to me but I have a LONG way to go before it stops bothering me. I can set a minor goal for now of attempting to not get a knot in my stomach when the idea of doing flying changes on either of my horses is mentioned. Hopefully, there will be less tears in this Saturday's lesson.Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-5857264555367452162012-03-27T20:19:00.000-07:002012-03-27T20:19:06.098-07:00First Show of the Season: March Magic DressageWell, it's here!!! The start of show season has come!!! Most people say their favorite season is spring when the flowers come in, fall when the leaves change, summer for time at the beach or winter to play in the snow, but none of this works for me. I love show season for clean tack, fresh saddle pads, blinging browbands, fancy show clothes, vendors, greasy food, old friends, new friends, and pretty ribbons. This year we started the 2012 season with a new show for us. March Magic is held in Williamston, NC (a tiny town with literally <b><i>NOTHING</i></b> around or in it besides the Ag Center). We got there in about 2 hours and Buddy settled in right away. The stalls were lovely open and airy. They even had the option to hang their heads out of their stalls. Not many competition grounds give that option.<span id="goog_1920490874"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKR9we2mfIyGOKLnSX4JSIYsIwonFZhVCoLQ0p77ovFj8kz3y4ZFi42hLrUfWWZEklFNx8BH9ZZyG5EKDESnz8eB8tFAK6A4DfqSh0vDrQwEATeE8CO6nyMoY9T-mE2WJHF4tT3i7Ab8/s1600/AonkLbLCAAA7tU0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKR9we2mfIyGOKLnSX4JSIYsIwonFZhVCoLQ0p77ovFj8kz3y4ZFi42hLrUfWWZEklFNx8BH9ZZyG5EKDESnz8eB8tFAK6A4DfqSh0vDrQwEATeE8CO6nyMoY9T-mE2WJHF4tT3i7Ab8/s320/AonkLbLCAAA7tU0.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our first class wasn't until Friday, so Thursday night all we did was take a quick hack in the Coliseum to make sure nothing was going to freak Buddy out in Friday's class. He was a super star so we tucked him in and went back to relax in the hotel for the rest of the evening. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Friday morning I was up early to braid a couple horses that I volunteered to do last minute since the show braider was overbooked. I met some nice women (one who lives close to me!) and made some nice money in the process. The rest of the day was spent watching my teammates and Lynn ride their tests. Around 2:30, it was time to give Buddy his bath and then braid before we had to be on for our 4:35 warm-up. We were going to do our first qualifier for GAIG's, Second Level Test 3. We went down to the covered for warm-up and Buddy started off ok but as we went along he got tighter and crankier. I tried to work him through it with Lynn coaching but it was not easy. I had him in a nice place before we went in, so I was hopeful going into the test. Unfortunately, I was wrong. His trot work was very nice and then it all went to hell starting with the back-up. It was tense and dragging. The free walk was distracted and in the canter he was tight as a tick. There was no relaxation and I tried hard to help correct and loosen him but it was in vain. He broke twice in the second counter canter tear drop. I left the test very upset and deflated. But, my teammates were supportive and Lynn said we would redeem ourselves on Saturday. We were two % points behind the winner with a 62.042% and ended up 2nd with some nice comments but some realistic ones as well. Thanks Kem Barbosa, you were very generous and gave us our first qualifying score! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Saturday my ride was early and I was determined to make this ride better. This time we were riding the BLM qualifier and in my opinion a much easier test than the day before. Lynn was absent from the first half of our warm-up due to technical difficulties with the golf-cart (i.e. it wouldn't move!). But when she got there, man did we get down to business! Soft forward trot with active hind legs, slower canter with soft neck were the goal. We practiced in the back of the property closer to my show ring in a covered arena with very deep footing which slowed Buddy down and ended up giving him more cadence. It worked! We went in and nailed that test! It had a little bobbles like the fact that I added a circle at K because I had a flash back of test 3...oops! Other than that, it was a great ride. We ended up with 4th place and 65.132% in a large class. Yet again we made our qualifying score so we are going to BLMs in Lexington in October, yeehaw!!! The rest of the day was spent with my teammates rooting them on and calling tests for my friend Lauraine which resulted in hysterical laughing and tears! We were a mess but it was a great day. Everyone got together in the evening for a barbecue dinner and door prizes which 4 people in our group won! Overall, not a bad day!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunday was brutal! The night before we had HORRENDOUS thunder storms that the rest of the state had been getting all weekend. Lucky enough, we were blessed by the weather gods and only got a little drizzle, some thunder and a beautiful rainbow. My first ride was at 10 but I had to share my warm-up with Lynn with my friend Rhonda who was also riding close to 10 in her I-1 qualifier. Buddy and I ended up with the same warm-up we had Friday night, tight, tense and inattentive. I was left on my own 20 min. before show time so Lynn could help Rhonda. Again, I thought I had gotten him under control but Buddy had other plans. We were in a different ring than Friday but next to the one from Saturday. Regrettably, Buddy saw a VAST difference in the rings since there was empty, "horse-eating" chairs next to this ring. I got his attention back but then the fates laughed in my face and put people in the once empty, "horse-eating" chairs. That rocked Buddy's world. This was my second qualifying ride for GAIG's and it was going to go just about as well as the first one did. His trot work again was good but the canter was a blooming mess! He stopped in one of the simple changes to stare at the people in the chairs. Literally, he would not move. I was getting worried that we were going to get eliminated since we were not going anywhere. Finally, I got him to move but man was it tight. We ended up with 5th and a 60.478 but the judge made my day with her comment of "Lovely Pair. Didn't want to work today. Scores will improve when he is more cooperative!" It cracked me up. We didn't get the score we need but we got some more experience out of the deal. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I must have been tired, over-enthusiastic, or just delusional when I signed up for a second test on Sunday. It is my least favorite test to compete to date (Second 1) but it was a money class. So, I worked hard the previous week to really master the moves and figured I would just see how it went. Because the test was only an hour after my first one, I decided to stay on him and just walk to help him relax and only did a few minutes of warm-up by myself. We went into the test much more reserved but completed a relaxed Second 1 that ride that is probably the best Second 1 I have done on any horse to date. Sadly, after watching the video, the test was more than conservative it was under ridden and very lack luster. In the amateur stakes class we came in 2nd with a 60.571% but ended up with no money since they combine the open and amateur divisions to determine the handout. Womp, womp :( Oh well, we did it! We got through an arch nemesis of mine (Second 1) and got a couple of qualifying scores in the process. Buddy is taking a few days off but come Thursday we are back to grind and we will own Second Level Test 3 come May!</div>Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-88224740297851695082012-03-20T20:23:00.000-07:002012-03-20T20:23:23.894-07:00One last lesson before the storm....I COMPLETELY forgot to blog about my lesson weekend in February. So, now I'm running around like a total nutter updating things (mainly my severely neglected blogs), packing, and getting ready for the first show of the season! Ah! Where did the time go?!?! But I digress, let's begin...<br />
<br />
The title of this blog is ever so appropriate since all we have been having the past few days is storms. I had my lesson last Wednesday on a gorgeous, rain-free afternoon. Since the last lesson weekend (yea, the one I forgot to blog about...doh!) was about my lack of a nice collected canter, my homework was (yet again) a half-halted, up, light, slower, with active hind-leg canter...not too much to ask, right? I worked for a month on just that! Lynn watched me warm-up at the trot and something new I had not heard before left her lips, "Wow!" and there were LOTS of them. His trot was relaxed, supple and super rideable. We didn't do much since the trot was so spot on. We moved onto the canter with hopes I would hear the same amount of "wow's" as the trot, unfortunately not as many but she did notice a big change in quality! Yay, one step at a time right?!?!<br />
<br />
We worked on more half-halts to just slow him a bit more. My new problem is instead on pulling him down into the simple changes, I have left his head alone so that the transition will not be affected but in doing so, I end up dropping him by not doing anything. We did a few more simples both directions and then I really made a wrong move. I guess now I can't look at it as a bad decision because I needed to work on it anyways since the show is in...oh, 3 days!!! I asked Lynn to look at the counter-canter to evaluate where we were. I also opened my big mouth and told her of my severe dislike of the counter-canter, especially the counter-canter serpentine in <a href="http://www.usef.org/documents/disciplines/dressage/tests/2011secondLevelTest1.pdf" target="_blank">Second Level Test 1</a>. But, because I signed up to do all three tests at least once this weekend, I was made to run through all the ways counter-canter is done in the tests. Since the first one didn't go so well (rushing, on the forehand, rider not doing much to stop the first two problems, etc. You know, the normal!), the new exercise was 20m counter-canter circles each direction. This was <i><u>FAR</u></i> harder than the original exercise but Lynn did this so that way when I went back to the serpentine or the tear drops from <a href="http://www.usef.org/documents/disciplines/dressage/tests/2011secondLevelTest3.pdf" target="_blank">Second 3</a>, it wouldn't be so foreboding. After much griping and whining, I did the hard circles then ran through the serpentine again and wouldn't ya know it, much easier: more balanced and hey those half-halts really do work when you sit up and ask for them!<br />
<br />
Overall, really great lesson especially since it's the last one before the show this weekend. Since then, I've had 2 great rides and a not so great ride. We will get there on Thursday afternoon/evening and I'll ride him around the indoor since this is a new venue for the both of us. I'm nervous but really excited since I feel that we really have a good grasp on Second level this year and we're just about ready to start Third...yippee! See you in a few days!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-79134653872456256262012-01-28T20:55:00.000-08:002012-01-28T21:18:22.454-08:00Lesson Day...HURRAY!This month has been a whirlwind of craziness! Weather-wise, we go from the 70's to the 40's back to the high 60's then down to the 20's at night...seriously, is this January?!?! I mean, I know some places are getting crazy snow or perfect weather for the most part (yea, I'm talking about you FL!) but this is just a little ridiculous for January in NC. Dear Weather Gods, Make up your mind please, preferably in the warmer direction :) Besides that, the rain has edited my riding and so has my new job! Yes, I said it, new job! I finally have my paralegal job which gets me more $$ to spend more time in the saddle but because I'm new at work, time in the saddle is not necessarily what I'm getting. Also, Buddy has had a rough couple of weeks with another biopsy on the lump on his face which was so painful it resulted in crazy swelling which he tried to alleviate by rubbing off all of the skin on the side of his face. The poor boy was a mess and that resulted in no riding for a week and a half. I finally start to get him back on the mend and last Sunday he coliced a little on me so tomorrow I will attempt to do a light workout with him. Anyways, Lynn was in town from FL this weekend which meant lesson time. Since, Buddy was feeling better but hadn't been ridden in a full week, I didn't think it was fair to subject him to a lesson. DJ was the lucky substitute! The funny thing about this horse is that he LOVES and I mean <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LOVES</u> taking trailer rides. As soon as he saw the trailer pull up along side the barn, he started piaffing in the aisle as I as putting on his shipping wraps. On the way to the trailer, he picked up a trot and literally trotted onto the trailer. When he landed inside, the whole trailer shook and he started talking (his voice is much deeper than one would expect for his size or breeding) which meant, "Close the darn ramp and lets get moving! We have places to go and things to eat!"<br />
<br />
We got to NSTC and it was PACKED! People were keeping horses overnight to partake in lessons tomorrow, some had horses on the trailer since they had already had lessons and were watching their fellow riders have their turn or they just finished and were packing up to go home. Lynn managed to squeeze me in during her lunch break today so we were right in the middle of all the commotion. It was funny because all of the horses around us were big flashy warmbloods and here comes my Napoleon-complex, Alpha-male, 14.3 Arabian gelding...he has no idea he's tiny because his presence is that of a 17.2 WB stallion! We went in right at the end of my friend Liz's lesson to warm up and man was he feeling good! We got right down to work in creating bend throughout his body and Lynn had me giving half-halts every stride in order to gain more cadence in the trot at shoulder-in since he tends to be quick and choppy when we start. He got better and better every stride showing that our work over the past month has been paying off and that he is getting stronger and more confident in himself. Next, we moved onto the canter and even though this is only his third lesson with Lynn, his canter was <b>lightyears</b> better than the first lesson! She was so impressed by just watching the left lead she wanted to work on the "FC"s at the end. YAY! She finally thought we were ready to start to tackle my evil nemesis the flying change but alas, that all changed after seeing the right lead. Even though the rhythm was better and he was adjustable, we still had a lot of problems with his bend. So, we went back to the walk and trot to do some really exaggerated over-bending to the right and then back to the canter. When he started to lose it or get frustrated, we went back to the trot and sometimes walk just to reinforce the idea. He improved a lot with just that exercise. Lynn suggested instead of working on the changes themselves today (we would try again when she came back), we would just work on maintaining a nice uphill canter while just changing the bend. This way he would think this was no big deal and not associate bend change with flying change. The left was super easy and the bend came quietly on both sides. Cantering to the right proved more difficult because he was fine going straight and kind of bending to either side but not the other, meaning we could go straight and bend left but not right or we could go straight and bend right but not left. Right at the end he was getting a little tired in the canter but when I brought him back down to trot he felt like he was ready to do the whole trot tour of the Third 1 test, what a silly boy! I had to halt and relax his neck before we could go back to the nice cadence trot we had at the beginning just to stretch him down at the end. Overall, what a great lesson, we definitely improved over just a couple months and next time we come back I'm sure we going to be able to at least show Lynn what we can do as far the "FC" is concerned. But for now I can be content with today, and I have the basic plan for Buddy tomorrow even though I was inspired by watching all the great freestyles from the <a href="http://chronofhorse.com/article_landing/horse%20sports/dressage?nid=31971" target="_blank">World Dressage Masters Palm Beach </a>on the <a href="http://usefnetwork.com/featured/WDM2012/" target="_blank">usefnetwork</a>! Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-23691149667877506652012-01-02T11:51:00.000-08:002012-01-02T11:52:00.631-08:00First Post of 2012!!!YAY!!! Happy New Year :) This is is gonna rock! I can feel it deep down in my toes...new job, great rides, maybe new rides?!?! (ok, I have to be a little realistic here, probably not gonna happen but one can always dream!). I have my new goals ready for this year. I am also refraining from referring to them as resolutions, because a friend once said "Resolutions can be made and completed anytime as long as one has the strength to go through with them." Goals are different because because it's something that you would like to complete during the time-frame of a year but your life will not be better or worse if you don't. SO, let's get on with them:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u>2012 Goals:</u></b></span><br />
<br />
<ul><li>Finish that darn USDF Bronze Medal!!! </li>
<li>Qualify for GAIG's & BLM's at Second <i style="font-weight: bold;"><u>and</u> </i>Third Level</li>
<li>Get into better physical condition - last year I set a goal for lbs. lost and I accomplished that but this year I want muscle along with it...that means, ugh, working out :(</li>
<li>Get to at least one clinic this year (audit or riding)</li>
<li>Read 20 books with at least 1 being a book to help my passion for the sport</li>
</ul><div>I think these are realistic and achievable goals, not too many and not too vague!</div><div><br />
</div><div>And now, for the new announcement....I have started another Blog (*gasp* I know, right?!?!). It is still about the adventures of my boys and I, but it is only about the training that the three of us do at home. I'm using a book that is all about dressage exercises as inspiration and cannot wait to get started! Check it out at <a href="http://amateurdressagetrainingjournal.blogspot.com/">http://amateurdressagetrainingjournal.blogspot.com/</a>. Hope everyone has had a great start to the New Year! Until next time, Happy Riding :)</div>Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-11080629286309353412011-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:002011-12-31T19:48:13.255-08:00Year End Wrap Up!!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Well, It's that time of year again...time to look back and see exactly what we did through the year that was productive (and in some cases not!) and if we stuck to any of our initial goals planned for the year.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">First, let's start with what I accomplished this year...I rode all of my horses as much as I could. Buddy went to five horse shows at Second Level and came away with 7 Firsts, 4 Seconds, 1 Fourth, 3 Fifths, High Score Second Level and a Reserve High Score Petite Mount!!! DJ went to his first lessons in over a year and plans have been made for next season. Khakie has continued to improve his dressage basics and there may be an outing planned in the next couple of months. Because of this, I have been enlightened about physical fitness and healthy eating. Next year is going to be even better because of it, but more on that later.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">I also completed my Paralegal Certification at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. It was a great experience and am hopeful for this new opportunity to provide me the finances I need to keep doing what love :) This also gives me the ability to be a Notary Public and at the same time I'm re-learning French and Russian and just now beginning German. I have to say I'm having a great time and will definitely make a shout out to <a href="http://mindsnacks.com/" target="_blank">MindSnacks</a>, my App that helps me learn all these fun languages! </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Now, time to rehash this year's "resolutions" to see how I did! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Blue</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> will be for completed tasks, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Red</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> for uncompleted and </span><u style="color: #333333;">Underlined</u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> for resolutions that were edited.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><u>Resolution/Goals for 2011</u></strong></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Finish the requirements for my Bronze Medal -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Nope, hopefully next year!</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Qualify for the USDF/GAIG Region 1 Championships and Arabian/Half-Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in whatever level I choose to compete at this year - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I did! Second Level Amateur for both and received a Dover Medal in the process :)</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Continue going to lessons, clinics, and any other form of continuing my education in dressage - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Unfortunately, no clinics this year</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> but did try to stay as current on my learning as I could which included lessons every other week and coaching at horse shows.</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">To keep improving myself with every ride on every horse by maintaining patience and an open mind - </span><u>I've decided to change this one from a goal to an everyday riding motto</u></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Lose 15lbs to fit into my beautiful new show coat - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Achieved! but after the holidays I really might need to do this again :)</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Generally be healthier with food (portion control) and exercise (actually doing some besides riding!) - </span><u>this one can be added to the weight loss one because if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have lost the 15lbs</u></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Go to a play/concert - </span><em style="color: #333333;">currently scheduled for January 19th - </em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Not only did I get to go see the <a href="http://www.lionking.com/" target="_blank">Lion King</a> but I got to see <a href="http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/" target="_blank">Spamalot</a> as well...too much fun!!!</span></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #333333; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Enjoy more activities with my family</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Finish at least 10 books this year - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">This is a biggie! Not only did I complete this one but I tripled it! Here's a list of all of them:</span></span></li>
</ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; line-height: 22px;"><i></i></span></span><br />
<div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; line-height: 22px;"><i><i></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 22px;"><i><i><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>January</i></span></i></i></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; line-height: 22px;"><i><i> <div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">World Fall: Book 2 of The Seven Circles Trilogy - Douglas Niles</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Goddess Worldweaver: Book 3 of The Seven Circles Trilogy - Douglas Niles</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>February</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A Lion Among Men: Third Year of the Wicked Series - Gregory Maguire</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>March</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Mirror, Mirror - Gregory Maguire</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>April</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lost - Gregory Maguire</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ghosthunting Virginia - Michael J. Varhola</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Dark Tower: Treachery - Stephen King (Graphic Novel)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>May</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1 - Allan Moore & Kevin O’Neill (Graphic Novel)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>June</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> On Stranger Tides - Tim Powers</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> The Voyage of the <i>Dawn Treader</i> - C.S. Lewis</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>July</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Last Battle - C. S. Lewis</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>August</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom - Joe HIll & Gabriel Rodriguez (Graphic Novel)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Tiger’s Curse - Colleen Houck</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Tiger’s Quest - Colleen Houck</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>September</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>October</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark - Guillermo Del Toro</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>November</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Dreamless Issue #1 - Bobby Crosby & Sarah Ellerton (Graphic Novel) </span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Tiger’s Voyage - Colleen Houck</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Atomic Robo FCBD Edition - Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener (Graphic Novel)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Eragon: Inheritance Book 1 - Christopher Paolini (Audiobook)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i>December</i></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Eldest: Inheritance Book 2 - Christopher Paolini (Audiobook)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (Audiobook)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll (Audiobook)</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Witch and Wizard: The Fire - James Patterson </span></div></i> </i></span></span><br />
<div><ul style="line-height: 22px;"><li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Get a new job that will help better support my love of the big 4-legged beasties - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Still currently working on that one :)</span></span></li>
</ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">All in all, I'd say it wasn't too bad of a year! Although I lost some special people in my life, I know they are looking down on me and are proud of the person I'm becoming. I have some exciting things planned for next year that include the ponies, fitness, and some other adventures, but I'll talk about that in the next blog...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><em style="font-style: normal;">bis später (until later)</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">!!!</span></span></div>Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-38406733921393077572011-11-29T16:37:00.000-08:002011-11-29T16:37:03.057-08:00Reflections, Revelations and Relaxation!Thanksgiving has come and gone and I'm only a couple of pounds heavier because of it...joy! That's not too bad because Christmas is only mere weeks away and I <i><u>KNOW</u></i> I will just keep adding to the pounds I happily lost this year. But besides fabulous food and family bonding, I thought (as I do every year at this time) about the things I was thankful for. Family of course tops the list while my boys (ponies and puppy) are a close second. I said a quiet prayer for the ones not able to be at Thanksgiving this year...my grandmother (although she passed a few years ago, she was always with us at this time and loved this holiday), my friend Kay, and my Uncle Mike we lost last month to pneumonia although he was a survivor of Vietnam and Throat Cancer. I miss them all greatly even though I know they look down on me every day. But I think besides just people, I am thankful for the experiences I have been able to have this year whether they be equine or not. I love my family, my boys and my life. It seems to just get better all the time!<br />
<br />
Enough of the reflections, onto the revelations! The day before Turkey Day, I was able to squeeze in a lesson with Lynn on DJ. It's always so pleasant taking DJ out, he is the perfect traveler. I'm talking self-loader, no drama, hauls like a dream perfect traveler. And with just me and dad, it makes the whole process a lot easier. Well, we got there and started warming up and then it was immediately off to work. The first lesson was just an evaluation. Because she knew what she was dealing with now, we immediately started on bending and flexing exercises for his tight little body. Travers, renvers, shoulder-in and half-pass were repeated through the entire session of trot work which really seemed to get easier since the last time we came for a lesson. The canter work started on the forehand and sluggish. After some editing (i.e. fixing how the rider was using her reins to speak to her horse, sitting up and back in the saddle, and working on getting his hind end more active and underneath him) the canter became more up and out and active! Hurray!!! We ended with some nice relaxed trot stretching and a plan for next time...do everything we did in the lesson and the flying changes shouldn't (in theory) be so...exuberant :)<br />
<br />
The part of the lesson where Lynn addressed my hands can be considered my biggest revelation. It was fascinating! She stopped me, took my hands and showed my little things that she did that spoke volumes on the reins. I had always thought I had quiet hands, and apparently I do but that is the problem...they are too quiet. I can move my fingers but only in just a couple of ways which obviously wasn't doing the trick. Now I have a whole arsenal under my belt and boy, are they helpful! Since the lesson, while riding both my boys I have been kicking myself to remember the techniques we discussed in order to be more effective in the saddle. I'm happy to announce, I have a had some pretty fabulous rides lately!<br />
<br />
After Thanksgiving, I decided to take 2 days off for myself. No riding just checking on the boys and administering meds when needed. My mom and I decided to brave the mall on Black Friday and managed to survive with 1 Christmas gift and a few very good deals on sweaters for us :) Then I got sick and had to take another day off. I started back yesterday with some great rides which was a lovely way to start "back to reality".Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-23408191890973778952011-10-15T17:13:00.000-07:002011-11-13T20:50:19.689-08:00Out of Retirement...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDA4xEy_NSywYpt2sWJOz04hM1OVNKdP1sDmv30Gg73xrd1UYw1wjhTSxNA2pkgMPNz_KZx4GTWkQYuNTdX1mi0AvUItf_SzrfiDnHZxYxdILYSCLi9gfV5D7tc1R8phdvVOFldECVOJQ/s1600/n15611459_35766849_623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDA4xEy_NSywYpt2sWJOz04hM1OVNKdP1sDmv30Gg73xrd1UYw1wjhTSxNA2pkgMPNz_KZx4GTWkQYuNTdX1mi0AvUItf_SzrfiDnHZxYxdILYSCLi9gfV5D7tc1R8phdvVOFldECVOJQ/s320/n15611459_35766849_623.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It says on my blog that I do in fact own two horses. But if anyone out there has actually read my blog, I mostly talk about the accomplishments of my black horse, Buddy. I even spent a full entry on a fabulous horse that I ride that doesn't even belong to me. My poor little purebred hasn't gotten a nod all year! Before I get started, let me talk about DJ (aka "Little Man") a bit. DMD Don Juan+/, known in the barn as DJ, is my 14.3hh purebred Polish bred Arabian whom I've owned for about 11 years now. He is my equine soul mate! It was love at first sight when we were introduced years ago by a good friend of mine and at the time his owner. After acquiring him for my 8th grade graduation, DJ and I tackled the show world in a variety of ways...we started off with the rated Arabian circuit in the disciplines of hunter pleasure, equitation, sport horse in-hand and under saddle, show hack, working hunters and dressage. At the same time we also did local/rated hunters, jumpers, eventing and dressage. My pony was a show machine! From 2001 until 2006 many championships, year-ends and national titles were won. But at the end of 2006, Little Man looked tired and was beginning to have issues with his stifles. This ended his jumping career and because of certain politics on the Arab circuit, we decided that the main focus would be dressage. From 2007 to 2010, DJ had been in consistent training with few shows in between but was constantly taking a back seat to Buddy and a couple of other horses I was showing at the time. I even had a lessee for him for a year that did a great job with him working Training/First level until she bought a horse of her own. Even after the move to North Carolina, DJ still took a back seat to Buddy's and mine continuing education.<br />
<br />
Now to present day, DJ has been schooling really well especially with the work Lynn has been introducing to Buddy and I. I have tweaked the way I ride him and his methods of going but I knew if I wanted to slowly bring him back to the show ring in hopes of finishing my Bronze Medal (that I have been trying to finish for, um, 4 years?!?!), it was time to bring him out of "retirement" and into the lesson ring. So, yesterday I easily threw Little Man on the trailer (and yes, that is a HUGE thing with me since Buddy's trailering is such an ordeal!) and trekked over to Chapel Hill to introduce my love to my trainer. He took everything like the champ he is after not being off the farm in over a year, some pretty gusty winds, and a rather agitated Warmblood mare running around her paddock screaming. I was so neurotic about making him happy and this being a positive experience that we arrived an hour before my lesson. The good thing was I was able to graze him, walk him around, stretch him and warm him up peacefully with no one around before the lesson. Then Lynn came out and it was time to begin!<br />
<br />
She looked him up and down, said he was cute and got right down to business of what we were going to accomplish in this first meeting. I explained that I never expected him to be an FEI horse because of his age and conformation but my main goal was to see if she thought we could be show ring ready for 3rd level by next season or if I should just continue to ride him leisurely and let him enjoy the beginning of his retirement. She wanted to see him go so we did a couple of laps and then delved right into fixing the mincey steps and aiming for strides that I am used to riding on Buddy. Amazingly enough, that issue was fixed rather quickly with adjustments to me that he heard very clearly. We worked on loosening his naturally tight little body with circles, shoulder-in, traveres, and renvers. This led to work at the canter which we stopped after only a circle or two to discuss what needed to be fixed in this area. Lynn wanted him much more up in his shoulders, she liked how adjustable he already was in his speed but it needed more consistency and true push from behind. It took a bit but the canter slowly morphed into the canter I had been searching for for some time. I was thrilled! He was obedient, quiet and listening. In saying this, I should have probably mentioned that DJ although is my pony love, he is also a perfectionist with a "little man" complex (hence the nickname!) and he most definitely an Alpha-male. So, it's not always easy to introduce new training techniques or work on things that challenge his body. To be able to go through this with no objections was great! We finished up the lesson by going back to the trot, setting the rhythm we were happy with and working on the half-pass. The left side was beautiful with great flexibility and adjustability. The right side took some work but got better with every try. Afterwards, we let him finish with some nice stretchy circles which he really enjoyed. After this evaluation lesson, Lynn and I discussed it and decided that this was totally do-able with a lot of little tweakings that could be done over the winter, I could get him show ready for the spring!<br />
<br />
This makes me so happy! Even if it's only two of three shows next season that's totally ok for me. I want him to be happy showing again and not let any pressures for qualifications or championships taint our experience. He has nothing left to prove to me besides being able to successfully complete Third Level Test 1 with maybe a couple of 60% scores. If not, it won't break my heart :) My little man is back in action, look out show world here we come!!!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-6806786815929602872011-09-18T07:02:00.000-07:002011-09-18T07:02:41.272-07:00NCDCTA Labor of Love...A Real Labor of Love<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The NCDCTA Labor of Love show marked the end of this year's show season. With lack of money and schedule conflicts from my paralegal class at UNC, I don't really have time for another show. With that being said, I had to make this one count and boy did I work my tail off to do so!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This horse show was meant for experience since Buddy and I have already qualified for Sport Horse Nationals and GAIG/USDF Region 1 Championships. There was just one more goal to be obtained...the elusive USDF/Dover Saddlery AA Medal! All Season, I have come in 2nd in the Medal classes, narrowly missing this achievement each time. I wanted that Medal BAD!!! But I planned to make this a productive training weekend as well as a successful showing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived Friday around 2 and set-up pretty quickly because Lynn got a tack stall which most of her students ended up sharing. After settling in and checking-in at the show office, I decided to take Buddy for a hack/school in the covered and indoor arenas since that is where we would be competing. My light and stress-free ride did not really go as planned...Buddy was EXTREMELY tense and a little spooky in the indoor which lead to very difficult canter work including a concrete neck/mouth and dropping out of the canter regularly. With that came frustration, stopping, backing and head swinging, ugh!! I ended up getting off and checking his bridle just to make sure that nothing was majorly wrong. Nothing was, so I worked on getting him soft on the ground then remounted and tried again. He seemed to relax enough to get through some canter work without fussing and did some nice counter canter loops as well, unfortunately the simples were still lacking but better than when we started. I decided to end it on a good note seeing as how we had early ride times on Saturday. Back to the stalls we went to get dinner and a bath for Buddy. Home was the next destination since ride times were mid-morning and Bud needed braiding.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not gonna lie, the next morning I was a little nervous. I was praying that we would not go through the same warm-up we had had in the coliseum last night during the test. But I gathered my nerves trudged down to the barn and started the normal morning chores trying to be positive. I just have to add that I love showing in NC for many reasons but one of my favorites is that at most shows, you can get a nightwatch for your horse. Which means someone checks him multiple times a night, leaves little notes on the report card stapled to his stall and gives breakfast! But, I digress, the first class I was on my own for warm-up since it was 2-2. Warm-up was MUCH better, he was calm and soft and adjustable. We went into the test and completed a nice test with forward impulsion and some minor tweaks like softening his neck in the canter, 10m circles were a hair large and centerlines...ugh! But anyways, it was a successful test and the judge thought so too, a 65+% with a 1st place ribbon. I was stoked! What a great way to start the day! The 2-3 test was about an hour later and this time I had help from Lynn. Apparently, when I go into the warm-up I tend to forget how to ride my horse but I am quickly reminded what my purpose in the saddle is again (especially when Lynn is on the other end of the microphones!). We had the BEST warm-up I have EVER had on Buddy. He actually felt like a true 3rd level horse, eek! I went into the test feeling confident of our amazing work. Too bad Buddy had some other ideas. The ring that our second test was in was by the road and of course this weekend happened to be the first NC State game of the season, so the road was filled with game-goers, tail-gaters and "pre-gamers". Buddy immediately became super tight and lost all of the good juices we had gotten in the warm-up. The judge saw it and gave us a 61% with a 4th place. Not bad but not really what I was hoping for. Buddy was unbraided, bathed and put back in his stall in front of his fan...he was a happy camper. I spent the rest of the day with the other members of NSTC cheering on rides and listening to Lynn coach. Overall it was a fulfilling day. Everyone went to the barn party that evening and had a good time with some good laughs :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day was the crucial day...Dover Medal class at 1PM! I was nervous, excited and focused...maybe too focused. I (Me! Can you believe it?) was very tight because of the pressure I was putting on myself and it showed in my riding. I had trouble keep him soft and loose and swinging. But Lynn kept trying to get me to get him to relax. She had to leave me early because she had another student in the ring at the same time who needed her more than I did. We went into the indoor to do our test (where we had had the bad warm-up on Friday) and started off pretty well, all until we got to the halt. Next was the back-up...I said back-up.....oh, for the love of pearl, I said BACK-UP!!!! That was what it looked like and there was no, zip, nadda back-up. I tried walking a few steps forward and tried again but it just was not happening and it kinda went downhill from there. The simples were done through the trot, the canter was tense and boy was he strong! I came out of the test very disappointed but the judge did stop me at the end of my test to tell me that "those things happen, just keep going and make up the points in the rest of the test". What a nice guy! Dad waited around for the score since I was the second to last one (and he loves to surprise me with my score/ribbon, always has!). I was not hopeful at all and became a tad mopey since I blew my chance at the Dover Medal but I was already planning ahead for my last test (at 4PM...UGH!). My dad came back with the test, I took the test from him and noticed the paper was funny. I opened the test and inside this is what I found:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5_p9AXe8eez1w5PF6kd6SPY7jtWrblzXyGj__RZExgFm4QbBPQxxjKihQsDEQQ7TUMmDdc5vGudjN19ubqnglSqg5MwVmxZ6SbyApNXLYsZoAByqKoBey9I5toSp0o77eVni3V_9sU0/s1600/Dover+Medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5_p9AXe8eez1w5PF6kd6SPY7jtWrblzXyGj__RZExgFm4QbBPQxxjKihQsDEQQ7TUMmDdc5vGudjN19ubqnglSqg5MwVmxZ6SbyApNXLYsZoAByqKoBey9I5toSp0o77eVni3V_9sU0/s320/Dover+Medal.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HALLELUJAH! I actually managed to best my field of other amateurs to get this beauty!!! Granted the score was a 61% but Mr. Schmutz, the judge, was very positive and said overall the test wasn't bad except for the halt and to keep working! I was so excited I marched the test down to the warm-up where Lynn was schooling another student to show her. Needless to say, there was lots of smiling, hugging and squeeling :) I stayed to watch my barn-mates do their last rides but had to head back to get Buddy ready for his last ride. I went into this warm-up with confidence renewed that we could get through this. The warm-up was short and sweet to conserve the last bit of Buddy's energy and off we went into the test...to the ring beside the road. If I thought the first test was tight, boy was I going to be surprised at this one! Buddy managed to find a water drain next to the ring that he managed to miss in the first test. Let's just say that was all he could think about and he was CONVINCED it was going to suck him up... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHqq1jaXubMV_K95y6HyV7sq6CM98NjCHCfEbbiC8Bfho6FM7V0DoBjpE7jdhIv5Hafwtv4rOih-GJHJnpDsNt15qQ9yxuwu9cJi_YkgLHtSPmFlEphovlvQbHtewGAZb0Ss0AAfvK_I/s1600/IMGP3830+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHqq1jaXubMV_K95y6HyV7sq6CM98NjCHCfEbbiC8Bfho6FM7V0DoBjpE7jdhIv5Hafwtv4rOih-GJHJnpDsNt15qQ9yxuwu9cJi_YkgLHtSPmFlEphovlvQbHtewGAZb0Ss0AAfvK_I/s320/IMGP3830+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Giraffe and Camel are what come to mind for that test! It makes me laugh now but I was just exhausted after the ride and I really couldn't be mad at him since we did get the medal. It was the end of the show and he was genuinely scared. On a good note, Kay Meredith LOVED him! She gave him some really super marks and comments, not so bad all in all even though the score was a 59%. Overall, not a bad way to end the show season!</span></div>Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-85268577045126432222011-08-02T21:32:00.000-07:002011-08-02T21:32:24.952-07:00The Raleigh Summer Sizzler...I mean...Dressage Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh774pWXCMHfXYb9ife6nEi3P3ytR2OYdI-sivRLhFIZtdUoRXs6yPNCRnx9uSW1Q_z9P9y-lMdBB3Hlt8jKq-yt6YciDELkuFCUxtZx6i4u5y2PlNOUnhwNGb2f4i0Qlm_0KQLYZzocdI/s1600/RaleighDressage_0794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh774pWXCMHfXYb9ife6nEi3P3ytR2OYdI-sivRLhFIZtdUoRXs6yPNCRnx9uSW1Q_z9P9y-lMdBB3Hlt8jKq-yt6YciDELkuFCUxtZx6i4u5y2PlNOUnhwNGb2f4i0Qlm_0KQLYZzocdI/s320/RaleighDressage_0794.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Well, we officially got through another show! Granted this had to be one of the most uncomfortable shows to compete in because the heat was totally unrelenting, but we got it done! I really don't have much to complain about, I was done both days by 10AM with scores in hand by 10:30, not too shabby. Ok, onto the good stuff!<br />
<br />
Upon our arrival on Friday, we (being my normal pit crew of me, mom, dad and the puppy) almost melted trying to get Buddy cool, comfortable and situated in his temporary weekend home while trying to set up the tack room. It was a sweltering 103 out! I felt bad for the poor hunter riders who had a show going on at the same time/same venue. Those girls looked miserable! Then the mind-boggling thing was that there were people schooling their horses in this heat. I mean I understand the hunter riders, they had to school they were competing on Friday. The dressage show didn't start until Saturday. And, I also understand that some horses need to get schooled at a show (to get energy out etc.) but come on, couldn't you do it in the morning or the evening when there is a less probable chance of you or your horse suffering heat stroke?!?! I just don't get people some time! Excuse my rambling...now back to the show! After everyone/thing was settled (i.e. Buddy had a bath/dinner and the tack room was show weekend ready), we headed back to Creedmoor to take care of the other ponies before turning in for the night.<br />
<br />
Saturday morning came early since my first test was at 8:21. I was prepared to warm-up all by myself since this was for Second Level Test 2 and really just a practice run before the "important class". I was just putzing around the ring when to my surprise I heard a loud voice telling me to sit up and ride my horse rather than lolly-gagging around! Lynn had come early and was helping me out :) Nothing like having an early morning "where did you learn to ride?!?" lesson before my class! Apparently, I had completely forgotten how to warm my horse up that morning. Thank goodness for early coaching :) We really schooled the canter and got him up in his shoulders before I was called by the ring steward for my test. I went in and ROCKED that test. It was forward and uphill yet collected and I only had one tiny, itsy-bitsy problem. I completely forgot where the heck I was in the free-walk...oops! I wandered aimlessly in hopes the bell would ring or just by chance I would go the right way. Alas, I did not and the bell rang. Other than that it was a great test and Lynn was super proud of our start to the day. Unfortunately, our judge did not agree and gave us a sad 58%. We still managed 2nd place but I was rather discouraged by the score. But I chose to move on since I had another test to complete and another judge to try and impress!<br />
<br />
The next test came rather quickly and again Lynn and I schooled the same keys things we had earlier that morning, uphill canter, slowing the shoulders, and the most important "KEEP MY REINS SHORTER!!!" It was time for the test and I made sure to read my test again so as not to have another mishap during the walk tour. I managed to complete the test without any errors but left my overall ability to ride a phenomenal test outside of the letter A...ugh! I got tired and lost my half-halt that kept Buddy engaged for the simple-changes and the counter-canter was ridiculously rushed. The judge this time was very fair and gave me a well deserved 60+% which put us in 5th place. I was less than .5% away from getting my last qualifying score that I need for the <a href="http://www.usdf.org/competitions/competitions-championships/regionals/index.asp">GAIG's</a>...ugh again! Lynn and I discussed the game plan for the next morning in order to raise those scores to where they should be. The rest of the day was spent socializing with our neighbors Jim and Louis of <a href="http://houndsrunfarm.com/" style="background-color: white;">Hounds Run Farm</a>, watching Lynn schooling some of her other students and just enjoying the horse show atmosphere. We did need the occasional break in front of the fan seeing as how it was 102 on Saturday. In the evening I decided to talk to <a href="http://www.mmtackshop.com/" style="background-color: white;">M & M Tack Shop</a> about the dilemma I was having with my <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://trilogysaddles.com/saddles_debbie.html">Trilogy Debbie McDonald Series Saddle</a>, this ended with a full saddle flocking/adjustment/test ride of my updated saddle. And yes, it needed ALOT of work! It is still not perfect but definitely much better than where we started. Afterwards, Buddy got another bath, an apple and a kiss goodnight.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Sunday morning brought much cooler weather and a very determined me. I normally am not a superstitious person but I decided to bust out a necklace that was given to me by my maternal grandmother who was extremely supportive of my riding (she even helped my parents purchase DJ back in 2001). I asked her for a little extra help that morning! I was on my own for my first class since again it was only 2-2, my warm-up for 2-3. I was hoping that with the cooler weather I would have an upbeat slightly lofty Buddy to deal with, but to my regret I did not. I had cranky stiff Buddy that was not very pliable, bendable or even very ridable in warm-up. I was riding under my judge from the second test yesterday, so I wanted to prove to her we could really put in a much better test than yesterday. So in we went at 8:04, it was overall an accurate test but lacked pizzazz and decent half-halts. I was pleased but not overjoyed. The judge did notice that we had improved, Buddy and I received 1st place with a score of 63+%! She gave us the points where we deserved it and in other places dinged us for the mistakes. Overall, it was a fair assessment of a lack luster test. Lynn arrived in the middle of the test and saw exactly what we needed to jazz up the next test...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">9:20 rolled around and we immediately went to work in order to unlock his hind legs. With a longer frame we checked right and left flexion and bend then progressed to leg-yield and half-pass in order to really get his hind end rockin' and rollin'. This made a HUGE difference in the quality of work for the second test. He became free and light and forward...yeehaw! We really buckled down on the simple changes and the counter-canter trying to make them softer, but quicker with a neck that resembled jell-o rather than concrete. It was time to go in and do my test. Little mistakes were made such as careening around my 10m canter circles (oops!) and 1 break in the second counter-canter half circle (doh!) but other than that I was extremely pleased with this test. It was definitely the best 2-3 I have ridden this season! This was a new judge and we seemed to impress her because not only did I get my GAIG qualifying score but I got it with a 65% and 2nd place in a BIG class! I was so excited it was ridiculous and so was Lynn :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">So, overall it was a great weekend. I got the scores I needed, placed in every class, met some new friends, fixed my screwy saddle, had bonding time with my wonderful gelding, got some great insight from my Trainer, spent quality time with the family and managed not to die of heat stroke in the process! Not bad if I do say so myself :) Until next time!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></div>Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-69427158508088165562011-07-05T15:46:00.000-07:002011-07-05T15:46:50.587-07:00Finally...Another Post: LessonsJeez! It feels like I haven't posted anything in forever! Lots of things have happened since the horse show. Tick bites, allergic reactions, lost shoes, thunderstorms, and unbelievable heat waves have altered the boys work out schedules but with careful planning I have been able to do my best. I also lost a great friend of mine to an equestrian accident. Kay was one of my good friends from the horse show world. She will be dearly missed and I really can't say enough good things about her. But, I know that she is looking down from heaven at all of her loved ones and smiling because that's just the kind of person she was :)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">RIP Kay Foy Culbertson Robertson</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">April 28, 1966 - June 6,2011</span></i></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><img alt="photo" height="400" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/5874034343_0230da4f08_z.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline-block; image-rendering: optimizequality;" width="266" /></span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span>But this blog was not meant to be sad, instead it was meant to talk about lessons. Whether they be lessons in life, which Kay gave many of or just lessons in general, they are always helpful. Kay's greatest lessons to me were about looking on the bright side of life no matter what curve balls were thrown your way. She also enforced the open heart policy, being nice to everyone and accepting them for who they are. These are things I will always remember because of her.<br />
<br />
In the horse world, I had a lesson yesterday...a riding lesson that is. It was my first one since the horse show in Pinehurst. I thought that even with my setbacks in May and June, I had been doing ok with keeping up with my "homework". Apparently, that was just it, I had done an "ok" job but now it was time to crank up the heat. Lynn said two important things that I can take away from my lesson: 1) I am a marshmallow and 2) if I want to win at Second Level I need a dressage horse not a half-arab pretending to be a dressage horse.<br />
<br />
For the first point, I will admit I am a marshmallow. I have a squishy center that definitely needs some toning. Without the proper muscles (that which I am currently laking), I cannot keep up physically with Buddy's training especially if I want to help him progress up the levels. Granted I have spent the past couple of months dropping some weight but I have not spent the time strengthening my core. I have always been petite but after the move to NC I did pack on a little more and told myself I would start working out to fix that problem. It has been a year and 4 days since we moved here and I have not stepped foot in an exercise establishment. So, that is my goal for the next couple of weeks, to tone up a little before the Raleigh Summer Show.<br />
<br />
The next point sounds a little prejudice against Arabs & Half-Arabs but trust me it was not meant to. It was meant in the sense that she wanted more than what would be acceptable at just the breed shows. Lynn wanted Buddy to sit and lift more than was originally required of him for him to be able to compete and win against the other horses at the open shows. Even though we have already done an open show and faired pretty well at this level, she wanted us to push for more so that instead of just doing fair we could top the class instead. That will be a goal until the next lesson in two weeks.<br />
<br />
So with all of these lessons in mind, I will keep plugging along and try to implement all the lessons I have learned of late to keep improving! Until the next lesson :)Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-54762991847071824002011-05-09T18:48:00.000-07:002011-05-09T18:48:11.142-07:00Dressage in the SandhillsWell, my first open show of the season has come and gone....and it was a FABULOUS experience!!! To start the story a little earlier, let's begin the Saturday before the show when I threw Buddy in the trailer and trekked over to Chapel Hill for one last lesson with Lynn. It was really quiet at the farm since I was the only person having a lesson that day. We started with the usual warm up of flexing both sides and making sure I could talk to all the parts of his body. Something was just not right from the beginning, we were stopping every couple of strides and when I went to put my leg on, his sides were rock hard. He had pooped in the trailer and was eating hay when I opened the door so I doubted he was colicing, but I expressed my concern to Lynn and we took it a little easy in order to watch him. Unfortunately, easy was not really all that easy! We worked on regulating his trot, showing more in his travers, more fluidity in the turn on the haunch and then came the canter...what a disaster! He was so far behind my leg I ended getting a whip to keep him moving. We worked on collection with straightness, circles and then the simple changes. Usually, the lessons are 45 min., but on our easy work out we did an hour...jeez! Buddy and I were exhausted and I was completely disheartened. I felt unprepared for this show and honestly considered scrapping the whole thing, but it was paid for and we were going.<br />
<br />
Over the week, my rides slowly improved. I body clipped him on Monday, had a less than pleasant ride on Tuesday (probably due to the new haircut), thunderstorms were held on Wednesday so no riding, and Thursday definitely had better moments. Friday was the big day, I packed the trailer loaded up the Boo and off we went to Southern Pines! We arrived right at the end of a pretty intense thunderstorm that had delayed the show for an hour and a half. Buddy was unloaded and settled in immediately into his new (well rather old stall, they were established in the 50's!) stall. We met Lynn and some of our new neighbors then went to the hotel to tuck in for the evening and get ready for the next day's classes. We did get to use a really cool service that I had not been exposed to at any of my other overnight shows...Overnight check-in was done by a lovely woman named Linda who during the course of the night would check in on your horses, refill water if needed, give more hay, put on/take off blankets, feed breakfast and call if your horse was acting peculiar, and all of this was $10 a night...what a wicked deal!!!<br />
<br />
Saturday morning was rather uneventful, we said good morning to everyone, walked Buddy around the track since the show grounds at Pinehurst is actually a sulky track with a polo field in the middle. The show rings are set up along the outside of the track and the warm-up on the other side of the track and the polo field. Buddy was also introduced to the golf course behind the barn, where there was a tee for one of the holes right behind his stall! Next was stall cleaning and then braiding for the first class at 11:11 (the wish time...I admit I did make a wish that the weekend would go well!). Buddy warmed-up like a champ and off we went to our first class Second Level Test 2. It started off a little sticky since the rings were a mucky from the rain the day before and because of the invisible ring monster in the corner near M, but other than that was a rather pleasant test. I was stoked when I saw that I had tied for first place but it was even better that I had tied with a woman who I used to board with and had taught me when I was a beginning student at <a href="http://www.woodlawnstables.com/home.html">Woodlawn Stables</a> in Alexandria, VA. I lost the tie but still ended up second with a score 63%! My next test was around 2:45 and I had asked Lynn to coach since it was a GAIG qualifying class. We got out to the polo field about a half hour before my class, and she whipped my butt into shape...more collection, shorter reins, more shoulder-fore and plenty of half-halts. Buddy felt Fantastic!!! I went into the class and had a total brain fart :( The test went well but I somehow forgot most of the stuff Lynn had just worked so hard to hammer into my head, UGH! I finished and Lynn said that it went OK but to bring the camera my father had videoed my ride with to her trailer once I finished taking care of Buddy. I went back to the barn, untacked, washed Buddy down, and fed him dinner. Then Mom and I took the camera over to Lynn's trailer and plugged it up to her flat screen. We watched the test twice, the first time was for Lynn to commentate on every movement, the second was to see if I could do it to prove to her I knew what to fix. That was a great learning tool. I knew exactly what I needed to fix and had my homework to think about before doing the test again the next morning. Afterwards, we went to the office to pick up my score. I ended up in the bottom of my class but with a 64+%!!! First place had a 68% so we weren't too far off and I got my first score for the GAIGs :) We went back to the barn, tucked Buddy in for the night, set breakfast up for Linda to give and then went out into Southern Pines for a celebratory dinner!<br />
<br />
Sunday morning came quickly since we had to pack up at the hotel and my ride time was earlier than yesterday. I had studied in the hotel room my three major bullet points and was ready at 8:30 for my warm-up ride with Lynn. Buddy felt AWESOME, unlike anything that I had ridden the week before, at the show or probably ever from him. I really felt like we belonged there! We walked into that ring and owned test 3. We showed our mediums with clear collection afterwards, shoulder-in to renvers were clear, the reinback was less tense, turn-on-the-haunches were marching, walking with done with purpose, simples were light and the counter canters were less rushed. We (me, mom, dad, and Lynn) were extremely pleased!! I couldn't wait to get my score but we went to get some breakfast and then headed to the show office. I went to the score board and my heart fell. Not only was I again at the bottom of my class but apparently this judge did not appreciate my ride at all and scored me a 59%. I felt like I had been beaten up, I read the comments and there were some good moments but overall she felt that we lacked the idea of true collection. Lynn did not think it was all that bad but could tell I was upset. Unfortunately, she had to leave right after in order to get home to teach her Sunday lessons. So I was on my own for the last class. It looked like it was going to rain so we packed everything early in order to be ready to leave after my rather late ride time of 3:42. Luckily, many competitors opted to scratch in order to get on the road early so I was able to move my ride time up. I went through the same motions from my warm-up that morning and was ready to ride test 2. Poor Buddy was exhausted and tried his best but was very slow and broke for a step in his counter canter. I praised him at the end and thanked him for being such a good boy this weekend. I ran back to the barn, cooled him off, put the tack and my show clothes in the trailer and then got Buddy on with his well earned Banana :) We parked the trailer with him in it to wait for my scores by the show office. It was only a couple minutes and I had my last score and ribbon in my hand. I came in second again just like the day before but unlike that morning, the score was much higher with a less than thrilling test (62.6%)....whatever! The comments were similar but the marks were higher. We left after that and Buddy was more than excited to see the barn when I opened the trailer door. He was such a good boy, I don't plan on getting on him until maybe Wednesday. It was a great show, with really good learning experiences, new and old friends were enjoyed, and great scores at Second level including a GAIG score. Not a bad start to the open show season...until next time!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-32268583646252195312011-04-20T21:39:00.000-07:002011-04-20T21:39:24.913-07:00First Show of the Season :)It only took me two weeks to write this but at least I'm getting to it! So the first show of the season has officially been accomplished...let's do a quick run down: <br />
<br />
Friday evening, we arrive at the Raleigh Hunt Complex (aka "the State Fairgrounds") and find our stalls with my friends Kay & Foy Robertson and the crew from <a href="http://ginnfarm.com/index.html">Ginn Farm Dressage & Sporthorses</a>. I was super excited to see my friends since I did not show at all last year and these guys, well girls, are an absolute blast at a show! The set-up proved to be a little difficult. The stalls are kind of a mess since they are like off-roading in a 10x10 area. Setting up a tack stall ended up being very creative ;) Buddy settled in right away and became quite attached to his neighbor Little Buddy (Kay's Pintabian gelding). Then it was back home for an early night since Saturday was supposed to start early with braiding and a bath.<br />
<br />
Saturday morning did start early, but not as early as originally planned...something that anyone reading this should know is that every Arabian show I plan on going to (it happens every single time) rain is always in the forecast. Wouldn't you know it, it torrential rained the evening before making the rings not a total disaster but something that would not keep your show-ready pony very clean. So, I made the command decision to forgo the bath (something that I have NEVER done for a horse show, schooling or rated!) and just decided to take him for a long walk and braid him up for his 8 something AM ride time. Buddy was extremely relaxed for everything that morning so warm-up time came and all was going smoothly. First up was Second level test 3, the tougher of the two tests I signed up for. I met a couple more friends in the warm-up, did some chatting while stretching and proceeded with a leisurely warm-up. It came time for my test, I heard the whistle, went down the centerline and started my test. Unfortunately, I only got through the halt, salute, medium trot, shoulder in right, renver left, medium trot and the beginning of left shoulder-in transitioning over to renver before the horse in the ring next to us stepped on the chain ring and knocked over one of the wooden letters right next to me and Buddy. Needless to say, that was the end of poor Buddy's brain. I managed to get him back and continued on with the test as best as we could. The rest of the test was semi-accurate with only breaking in both counter canters which were extremely tight to begin with but we managed to finish. At the end of the test, the judge called me up to her stand to tell me that she got lost during my test and thought that overall Buddy did a great job for it being an already very difficult test without adding the incident that the younger horse. All of that ended with a 64+%! <br />
<br />
The next test was only two hours later, I had hoped that this would give Buddy some time to forget what happened earlier that morning. Alas, it did not. The next test we were doing was much easier but he never let go of the tension he had acquired from the morning. It was again semi-accurate but lacked pizazz that he had originally shown before he lost his poor little brain. We also lost the function of a half-halt as well as our simples. For this class, we had the same judge as we did in the morning and she must have seen something promising because even with tension and plenty of "boo boos" we still earned a 61+%. I grabbed a blanket from the trailer since another terrible thunderstorm was in the works for the evening, tucked Buddy in and set off for home.<br />
<br />
Sunday morning started very unpleasant. My allergies were in full swing and I could not see or breath without discomfort. Mom gave me 2 allergy pills which did not appear to be Benadryl but Oops! it was the CVS generic equivalent instead (this will become a problem later on in my story). So after meds and coffee were had, it was back to the Hunt Complex. It was another wet morning but I had some renewed hopes that it was a new day, new thought process, no more show nerves and overall it was going to be a great day with great tests. Nope, I was wrong. My very-drowsy allergy meds had started to kick in and getting ready to warm-up was remarkably difficult. After I finally got Buddy and myself ready to ride I was exhausted, how was I supposed to accomplish a Second level test like this?!?! Maybe Buddy would be sympathetic to my issues...again wrong. The tension was back and worse than ever. I had no strength to try and deal with his issues and all of my corrections were too late making me disrupt the next movement. I literally warmed-up until the car horn was honked in order to keep myself from exiting stage right off of Bud. We got the test done but man it was not pretty! Lots of hiccups including breaking again in the counter-canter, shallow travers and lazy simples. The new judge was very gracious with some encouraging compliments and a score of 60+%. After that ride I had to crash in the car for a nap because the "Benadryl wanna-be" was kicking my butt! Two hours later, I awoke very refreshed and ready to try again. I was thwarted one more time by the fates. For our last ride, I just had no horse left. Buddy had spent all of his energy being tense that I had nothing left at all for Second 3 which requires so much of the horse. It was depressing. We did a super short warm-up and went in for the test. It was just not something Buddy usually puts out in the show ring. We had the same judge from the morning who still had nice things to say about me and my black horse but she crucified us on more than one movement.<br />
<br />
In conclusion, we got through the first one. We came home with four blues and High Point Second level so maybe it wasn't all bad :) Buddy and I had high and not so high points but we have run through the new tests in a relaxed environment and qualified for 1 class at Nationals so far. We have our homework and I have a lesson scheduled next weekend with Lynn before we leave for our next outting. This one will still be small but it has more pressure because it is a USDF show and I may be making an attempt to qualify for Regionals for the first time at 2nd level as an AA, eep! I'll be sure to keep this blog updated after my next lesson and of course after the horse show. Until next time!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-53074936401463033772011-03-08T04:53:00.000-08:002011-03-08T04:53:26.364-08:00Boot Camp Day 2 & 3: Plenty of "Ah-ha!" MomentsGranted I am writing this a couple days after the last day of boot camp, I have my reasons....I was exhausted!! I have been taking lessons for many years but I have not had the opportunity to do a cluster of lessons in one shot like I did this weekend. It was so worth it! Now onto the nitty gritty...<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Day 2</u> </strong><br />
When I came back on Saturday morning, Buddy looked very well rested in his new stall. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, he called when I got out of the car (Yay! my horse still loves me even after I put him through the ringer). I was one of the first rides since the rider before me had to cancel her first lesson due to a severely pulled hamstring. It was cool but Buddy was fresh and ready to work. We used the same warm-up of making sure he was loose and swinging before testing out his bend-ability. He went right to work making my life slightly easier. Lynn had me start to put him together more and more with "core half-halts" in order to lift his shoulders. She also gave me two new weapons to use when he started to get stiff of tense due to the level of difficulty in the work:<br />
<br />
The first tool was giving in to his bracing. During the transitions, I have formed an unfortunate habit of helping him brace in his head and neck in order to achieve roundness. I had to let this go during the exercise and not touch his face at all during transitions. It initially resulted in a high neck nose out transition but the back legs stayed active without disrupting the flow. When added with a slight massage of the rein (versus the steady and firm hold) our transitions did a 180 in look and effectiveness! Yippee!!<br />
<br />
The second tool is called the "bending sliding" rein. This is merely keeping the current of your hand to his mouth alive with tiny half-halts coming from each rein in order to keep him soft and supple. It is mostly done with the upper body and you know your doing too much with your hands if the horse's nose starts wagging. This concept was not the easiest to me but when applied correctly I got great feedback from Buddy. I felt it was much easier in the canter although it was more difficult for him. Buddy was fantastic! He felt light and supple by the end and put in no arguments about the difficulty of things asked. I was so proud! He had worked so hard I was forced to give him a small bath but at least it had warmed-up enough by this time. Buddy spent the remainder of the day in the paddock outside his stall so he could watch Lynn's lessons for the rest of the day (another excellent learning experience for him ;) ).<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Day 3</u></strong><br />
Today was the moment of judgement, could I put everything that I had learned this weekend together to make Buddy travel like the third level horse I wanted him to be. Again, Buddy showed no signs of distress in his new surroundings and had even taken a strong liking to his handsome neighbor across the aisle, Costello. On a quick side note, you have to love Mother Nature. She gives us warm and sunny the first two days and pouring rain yet still warm on Sunday. So now it was muggy and my glasses begin to fog...awesome! But we keep on trekking. We mount up in the rain but thank goodness for her covered arena! As soon as the warm-up started, I knew Buddy was starting to feel the work. He was not as supple or easily bendable. I eventually had to permanently implant my spur into his side to keep him moving forward. Along with this I had to remember my new position in the saddle with long loose legs, elbows closer to my ribs, core activated and pelvis more forward. Now I had to incorporate this without forcing Buddy into roundness during transitions, keep him bent and activated with my seat/core/legs and keep bending sliding at trot, canter, circles, leg-yield, half-pass and mediums...UGH!!! This was HARD!!! Buddy was tired, sore and grouchy! It felt absolutely awful and times and I would get frustrated when he dropped out or just stopped refusing to go forward (after watching the video though, it rode much worse than it looked). Lynn kept me cool and talked me through it reminding me to be sympathetic to him since this was still technically new and very hard on top of that. Boo also showed his frustration through multiple sneezing fits which ended up ripping the reins from my hands. At one point, she asked if I wanted to quit since he looked mentally fried but I said lets give him a minute and try one last time. It was just what we needed. I was able to regroup and picture the canter exactly how I wanted it while Buddy was able to take a mental breather. I collected myself and him asked for the canter and got the beautiful result of a lovely up transition, elevated shoulders, active hind legs and true collection. HUZZAH!!! With that we called it quits and lots of praise and a banana was had afterwards :) <br />
<br />
Lynn was extremely pleased with the progress we made over the weekend and admitted that she threw quite a bit at us but we rose to the challenge. We have our homework and are going to work on it for the next month since the first show is just a couple of weeks away! The only thing I regret is that no pictures were taken during this experience...this just means I will have to take twice as many the next opportunity I have :) Until next time!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-8479165564450772512011-03-04T20:19:00.000-08:002011-03-04T20:19:05.980-08:00Boot Camp Day 1: Where did those muscles come from?!?I really cannot express my excitement for this training excursion that I am doing this weekend! Today was the first day of what I have dubbed "boot camp" for me and Buddy. We traveled to my trainer's farm, <a href="http://www.northstartrainingcenter.com/">North Star Training Center</a>, to spend three days of training at her farm while she is home from Florida. I spent the entire morning cleaning tack and packing the trailer with all of the essentials that Buddy would need to stay in Chapel Hill (tack, feed, hay, blankets, etc). We left around 12:30 to get there about 45 min. before my first lesson. Unfortunately, the traffic gods were not in our favor today and dealt out very poor drivers the entire way there. With only 15 min. to get Boo tacked and warmed up I pulled him out of the trailer and threw the tack on. Our five minute warm-up was surprisingly relaxed, elastic, and pliable. This was definitely a plus for what was about to come!<br />
<br />
The major focus of the weekend is going to be stretching both Buddy and I out. Stretching up and down became the newest addition to my mantra. In stretching down, I was to work on rotating my knee inward towards my saddle to help reinforce my half-halts and quit my lazy chair routine that I tend to get with my legs. This stretched all of the muscles in my thighs as well as some very hidden/dormant muscles all the way up into my groin...ouch! Stretching up entailed strengthening my core in order to sit up and get my bum more underneath me versus behind me. Describing it in words is hard but riding it is even more difficult! <br />
<br />
Buddy's bend-ability was his focus which required tons of lateral bending with exercises of over- bending/outside half-halts to get him to really fill up the outside aids as well as half-pass/leg-yield/half-pass to make sure that it was working. This was done and both trot and canter. We started to wrap things up with some medium/extended trots to enforce the soft forward and back with true lengthening. My trainer had us finish with some much needed/deserved "bending" stretch downs...boy what a work-out! Buddy was an absolute star! He tried every step and didn't fuss or argue about the level of work at all. I was surprised and extremely pleased for such a rushed arrival and warm-up! <br />
<br />
When the lesson was done, my dad (who is also my trailer chauffeur and camera man) helped me unpack the trailer and get Buddy settled in his new house for the weekend. Buddy has a large stall in the main barn with a (much larger than the one at home) automatic waterer, private patio (small attached paddock) that looks out into the covered arena and tomorrow will have access to his own grass paddock! What a lucky boy! His neighbor across the aisle is very handsome chestnut warmblood who seemed very interested in Buddy's arrival.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow morning starts day 2 of the boot camp and I have taken my Advil since my "undeveloped core muscles" and quads were screaming by the time we started to drive home from NSTC. My lesson is at 10:15, meaning I have to be at the farm by 9:30 so it's up bright and early on a Saturday morning to do some serious learning and I'm completely stoked to do it :) Until tomorrow! Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-19733047465423414312011-03-01T05:33:00.000-08:002011-03-01T05:37:25.847-08:00February in a nutshellFebruary was an interesting month...between snow, rain, lessons, ambulance rides, and doctor's appointments and crazy wildlife, it's been a little chaotic! Snow and rain are a total bummer when it comes to riding. Especially because the construction of the covered arena does not start until summer/fall, my riding is primarily done in a grass arena or a hilly paddock for conditioning. But them's the breaks! Mother nature is a fickle one and I don't want to make her any more lethal than she already is, so I accept her forecasts and work hard to work around her. <br />
<br />
My lesson from Lynn happened at the beginning of the month when she made her first trip up from FL. The glory of the half-halt and the uphill canter were our focus and though it was not easy, great moments were definitely had! More to come later about our next set of lessons and future show plans.<br />
<br />
The ambulance ride was not for me but for my father. To make a long story (12 hours in the Duke University ER) short, there were 3 trips to Durham, lunch in their fantastic cafeteria, 3 EKGs, 1 CAT scan, 1 MRI and 1 spinal tap that resulted in the procedure being repeated 3x because they had trouble getting to my dad's spinal fluid ending with 0 idea on what caused him to be there in the first place...Oi! What a day! But I do have to say, the doctors and all of the staff were fantastic! They were kind and gentle with dad but quick with results and showed real concern when listening to our questions and opinions.<br />
<br />
Doctor's appointments came for me when I started experiencing back of the head headaches that were affecting me during the day and made riding very uncomfortable. It was eventually concluded that I had either a migraine/muscle pull that ticked off one of the lymph nodes in the back of my head which was causing my rather irritating headaches. After a shot of "super anti-inflammatory" and some lovely muscle relaxers that did much more that relax my muscles, I am back with fewer headaches, less neck pain and most importantly back in the saddle!<br />
<br />
As far as the wildlife goes...it's as I stated previously, they are crazy! First, (something which I wish I had pictures of) our neighbor's 4 miniature donkeys and mountain goat got loose from their contained area and were making a field trip up to my barn. Rounding them up was a sight to be seen! In the end, everyone was returned to their appropriate living quarters and I can now add "donkey wrangler" to my equine resume! Next, our Russian ducks have decided to live between two ponds during the day which made everyone nervous thinking that they left permanently or worse had been killed due to our next wildlife problem. A fox has setup shop in one of the corners of the farm. He is quiet and shy but has a bum leg. Every once in awhile, I will see him laying down in the corner of the dirt paddock while the horses are out. It doesn't give me the warm fuzzies but I have come to the conclusion that he is just doing this for company, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. We are also overpopulated with vultures due to a deer that died on near the pond. Although they don't necessarily cause any problems they choose to leap into flight every time Khakie and I are on a trail ride...the poor guy is starting to get a complex! Last but not least is our newest inhabitant. Yesterday, I saw him/her moving through the back 5 acres (aka the hill arena) and boy was this sucker HUGE! Now, I love me some turtles but there was no way I was getting too close to this one! He/She is now residing in our pond and I think we may be in store for more of her kind and less of the ducklings this Spring :(<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bCCt7TlK2_hrNx8llJ_XhRalHXjM5Gft6C08Q1ckgb1u8Vjco00Fc0SORyZJbL4ZpU5XImS-f2-X49iTbxopvDvCZXhfV2c3j6n-trpHucA1kzIr07MTQlpG4NjK6lZE2TJKGbdnFRM/s1600/DSCF8042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bCCt7TlK2_hrNx8llJ_XhRalHXjM5Gft6C08Q1ckgb1u8Vjco00Fc0SORyZJbL4ZpU5XImS-f2-X49iTbxopvDvCZXhfV2c3j6n-trpHucA1kzIr07MTQlpG4NjK6lZE2TJKGbdnFRM/s320/DSCF8042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the closest picture I could get of super turtle!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Now for current news...This weekend, Buddy and I are taking a training adventure down to Lynn's farm for 3 days of training. I think I will be completely exhausted by the end but I'm hoping to have a couple of break-throughs during this time. I am going to try and write everyday with it like a training journal and hopefully include some more pictures too! We have to start getting into show shape since the first one is the second week in April (eep!). Well, until next time!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3750843228231708553.post-44460433471059445782011-01-16T08:59:00.000-08:002011-01-17T10:50:55.923-08:00The Gaited Dressage WonderI think today, I'm going to take a minute to talk about a horse that does not belong to me but I have been riding for the last couple of years. Although, I have been schooled and competed in saddleseat, it is not my first choice of discipline. But Khakie (aka KO, blonde pony, Khakie-man, turd etc.) is a different case. Due to his up and down health over the last four-five years from multiple illnesses, it is crucial that Khakie gets exercise six days a week. His mother, a close friend of the family, is a super busy business woman and needs help keeping him exercised. So, here's where I come in! Khakie had solid gaited training when I first started riding him and I got better at understanding his gaits/cues with time and the help of a gaited trainer. When the sicknesses came, there was lots of rehabbing done which meant starting from the beginning and helping him learn some of my cues as well. This is how its been for years. His mother has also branched out a bit with some driving lessons for her and KO and she asked me to do a little dressage with him just to keep his mind busy. That was all I needed to hear! First came the figures which was not all that easy dealing with a horse who has only ever gone straight in his entire riding career. Next came the laterals: leg-yields, shoulder-fore & shoulder-in. He was not all that enthusiastic with travers, but we're getting there. Walk pirouettes are really coming along and boy is he a champ at backing! My favorite thing thus far though is definitely the canter. Poor Khakie! Many times this horse has attempted cantering under saddle with different riders...me, a Saddlebred trainer, a TWH trainer, an eventer, a dressage professional, etc.and each time the outcome was very similar to that of a crab, legs moving rapidly sideways/diagonally/semi-straight. It was not comfortable or pretty to look at, so for awhile we ditched the idea. But since moving to NC and currently lacking a ring, I have had to get rather creative in my riding. We have a 5 acre open lot at the back of the property which is currently not in use so I have claimed it as my "hill arena" and only dry place to ride after rain/snow. With this I have been able to help in Khakie's cantering dilemma. After 6 months, Khakie can officially and confidently canter straight on the correct lead and perform 20m circles with ump and enthusiasm, HUZZAH! Now we still have our days where he acts like the red-head w/ blonde hair that he is with his little fiery temper but those are far and few. He goes to work trying to attempt whatever tasks I put in front of him being gaited or dressage and because of his quick thinking picks them up with ease. It makes me proud that a horse I have learned on can still learn from me and be good at it too even though it is not very conventional to his breed. Move over Warmbloods and Arabs, Khakie's hot on your tails!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mWjQSje1evO3-mYc1dayTsZSc3Tk2Uqbbgej1T-2T_BJNNkvrravfezDHWbYkawdBzx2XmfRkIakkjTgQaA89gCw7K6u2-0nzBja1WTJNcl2aKq3voXfigOfMj_MaVaP2b1h_vDxLIY/s1600/IMAG0039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mWjQSje1evO3-mYc1dayTsZSc3Tk2Uqbbgej1T-2T_BJNNkvrravfezDHWbYkawdBzx2XmfRkIakkjTgQaA89gCw7K6u2-0nzBja1WTJNcl2aKq3voXfigOfMj_MaVaP2b1h_vDxLIY/s400/IMAG0039.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Although this is not a lovely picture of him under saddle being the gaited dressage phenom that he is...it shows that Khakie is still very good at something, taking naps in the mud!Catelin Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06711565793175551972noreply@blogger.com0