RockingHorse Three-phase!

     Today I returned with a brilliant treasure that made me only more proud of the five year old palomino pony, Princess. Today was her first ever three-phase, and we had a rough start with the dressage, followed by an unsteady stadium course, and we were brought back by a fantastic cross country score.

     All of us went as a team, Doc with Hailey, Bailey with McKenzie, and my sister on Spy. We were all going one after the other in the rings. For the first dressage test, Brooke was first and had an amazing score with her not-so-dressage-y pony. Second, was Doc, and I wasn't able to see their entire test but I thought they did good. I was next with an involuntary pit in my stomach, and I was also carrying the horror of anticipating that incorrect left lead. So when we did get to that part of the circle we flew into the incorrect lead, but I was able to change it back pretty quick. Our dressage score was pretty pitiful, especially after my first 70% on Malachi. Bailey's test was well done with a few mishaps, and he took our lead right then and there.

     The stadium was another obstacle I've not had experience with. Only only shown jumper stadium once, and that was about four years ago before we moved and horses came and went. It took us a minute to establish a rhythm because Princess is only used to flying around a cross-country course where she had never seen such decorated jumps. The first four jumps were very shaky, she was over jumping like crazy, and I was flying all over the place, and she just wouldn't let me help with her spots. Eventually, we found a pace at around the seventh jump, and had three nice, easy clears. Princess is not the kind of pony to refuse so we did make a clear round.

Princess over the last oxer. Her face is so cute!

It is extremely blurry... This is one of the jumps where our rhythm was good.

     Princess was a very good girl nearing the end. I don't think she had a clue what she was doing in the beginning but she sorted things out well in the end.

     Everyone had a pretty good ride in the stadium except for Hailey, and she had a fall on the eighth fence where her horse just simply couldn't make the strides so he ducked and she lost balance and was pushed off by the fence itself. She got back on and finished her course, but was eliminated. Brooke and Spy were fantastic, a quick, clean round without missing a step. Bailey was super fast and soared over everything. I was by far the slowest.

     So after stadium we hurried over to the cross country field. This is where all heck decided to break loose. Spy was first, and Brooke fell off over the second jump. It sounded like her pony couldn't make the distance, and she had planned on refusing so my sister popped her on the butt and Spy jumped huge over it. I think she was already unsettled, perhaps because her pony made a very deep distance, and in the end she didn't have time to do anything else. Second up was Hailey on Doc, and she didn't fall and made only a handful of refusals, if she hadn't have fallen off in the stadium she would have made a nice comeback. Bailey was third, and he cleared the whole round except for the fourth fence where she fell off. It sounded like he was bolting at it, and started swerving so he must have just missed it. Now that everyone was back and eliminated, I was horrified for myself and Princess. We'd already been over this course before and had a fantastic run, and I was worried if we could keep it up.

     I was so nervous in the startbox that I had to think about things completely irrelevant. But once he said go, I was up in the saddle and ready to make a clear round. Princess cleared everything on the course, and was thirteen seconds away with the optimum. She had a blast, and I knew just then that this pony was a true superstar. All of the other Warmbloods and fancy horses placed behind me and we were 5th out of thirteen. We came from last place to fifth place. That made my day quite honestly.

     Everyone did very well in my opinion. I had no time faults, no refusals, and we weren't eliminated in dressage. I feel kind of terrible since I was the only one who did not get eliminated from my group. But I'm sure everyone had as much of a blast as I did.

Princess' First Show

     I honestly haven't had the time I need for adequate blogging, hence the large gap in dates. I've been so busy riding and doing schoolwork, that I hardly have time to breathe! But here is my most recent and utd update you'll probably get. So we'll start off in the beginning.

     I believe I left off with Princess and I not able to find quite the focus we need for the Stadium jumping because of rushing/spooking/excitement etc. But I found that it's just a lack of dressage that makes the little girl's brain ache. It's like going around training for a marathon, as muscular as you can be without any strategic flexibility around your head. It is very intimidating. First, we start with circulation, I've done my research via Google and found that if any horse is fit to run three to five miles with twelve to sixteen obstacles they must be able to have accurate circulation to keep their legs pumping. Now that I say it, it sounds very obvious and a tad obnoxious, but let me tell you that it is flexibility that keeps those legs eating at the ground. A horse can not have speed and endurance without collection. That's why it's always important to stretch out your horse before serious rides or events. When they are 'flexible' they are less likely to have the stinging burn in their muscles called lactic acid fermentation. If you were out of shape it would make sense not to run a mile without proper conditioning. But even experienced athletes must know how that stinging/burning sensation feels. I'm saying that once your horse builds up the ability to regain balance and focus solely on stretching themselves in freewalk, extended trot, and even slower more rounded canters they will run better in the end on that course.

     I have learned not only flexibility is an important factor but as is endurance, and it had not occurred to me that dressage and endurance met hand in hand. Princess is a little crooked. And by this I mean that she tends to lean more on that right shoulder, which makes the right lead less comfortable because it is harder to balance. If she can throw her right shoulder out it is easier for her to bulge and move away from my hands. We are correcting this by turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand. I've found that her right lead is now easier to pick up than the left which means we've over corrected! This is great! No really - it is. I've not seen such progress in a pony. She's figured out how to place her hind legs under her at the right time so the canter transition is nearly spot on. But now the problem is that left lead which has completely flip-floped into the same situation as before with the right. Now her left shoulder tends to bulge and the right lead is iffy on steering. So here we are again trying to perfect this lead when she will only carry herself on the right. Now I'm trying different things, like throwing poles into corners, running her way close to the fence and turning out like a mad-women. Right now this is a mess because I'm so worried about the show next weekend. Our dressage needs to improve fast.

     The jumping is spot on. She has been chipping a couple, but she mostly likes to take the big spot. We've still been experiencing problems with the excitement levels but it has cooled off a bit. We've been low on refusals, still some in the stadium and none in the cross country. She loves that stuff.

     At her first hunter-pace show a couple weeks back, we went perfectly clear with one point deduction in time faults. I'm thinking that was when we got slowed back a second because I had to pull her back into trot and regain a stirrup. We did have quite a few awkward jumps that she dismantled me with, but hopefully we're all good with it now. She placed fourth as the only pony at the show. There were about nine in her class, people were allowed to go again. The first place winner placed first and second as she went twice so technically Princess made third! I'm so excited for what's in store next week!