We had another very successful outing at a schooling HT last weekend. This was another 3 phase that was a good 2.5 hours north of us. The climatic history of the event put on by the Chehalis Valley Pony Club is always very hot and humid for the first weekend in August. I was a little concerned for Warren and I. However the weekend blessed with cool over cast temperatures when we headed out Saturday morning and eventually gave way to partly cloudy warm but breezy afternoon. We'll take it!!
The Senior Beginner Novice Dressage rides did not even start till 2. Warren and I had a ride time of 2:30. I got to the site around 10:30 giving us plenty of time to get settled and walk around. I am glad I got there when I did! The cross country course was a LOOOOONG walk and had lots of questions I wanted to look over. There were a total of 15 fences running along a creek and up through a recently cut hay field. Most of the fences were pretty honest and straight forward but there were a few that were put in odd places and many of the horses thought so too. There was scary water (a narrow approach and lots of plants growing in it) and a fun ditch and even a steep up and down hill. Again, I was worried about Warren's stamina, which I should know by now isn't a problem...
So after walking the course I met up with some friends, watched some jumping rounds, watched a little dressage and then got Warren ready. I am working really hard at staying long and tall, he seems more able t o move forward that way. I am also working on getting him to use more hind end through the turns and corners. He's always been a letter weaker on his right side and lately picking up his right lead canter has been more of an issue so I was a little nervous about blowing a lead, but in warm up he popped into it well. So I was able to think about all of these things in warm up and focus on my riding. Which is good because in the past; all I used to do was get worked up and nervous and agonize over remembering the test. So I'm up and we ride into the ring very smartly and have a just a lovely test, he does all I ask him to do, exactly when I ask him, including riding across the diagonal at K when we should have gone down the long side. I made the turn and realized my mistake, durn that's 2 points. We got back on track and finished nicely. The judge was super impressed by him, she told me how lovely of a horse he is, I couldn't agree with her more. (as I was talking to the judge and not paying attention, Warren the goon tries to take a step over the dressage fence and out the arena - I caught it at the last minuet and we made the proper exit - but his antics are on video- eek!)
Stadium was next, and they were way behind. We were to ride our stadium between 3:30 and 5:00. (My x-country time wasn't till 6:38 - yeah did I mention it was a LOOONG day!?) So I get over to warm-up about 4:45, after finding out they were running late and also getting my dressage score of 34 and putting us in 6th place. At this point folks had already gotten on the list to jump so I was 27 away. That's a long time to hang out! So I try to keep track of how many have gone and keep Warren awake and next thing I know I am 10 away and I figure I need to work on getting his attention and focus a little bit more so I canter him around and hop a few fences but, he's not really getting serious and coming together, but in the back of my mind, I don't want to get him too tired either cause we still have a long x-country course to run. Anyway, we stood around a little bit more, thinking I'd turn him up a little bit right before we go in but suddenly we are in the hole. We make one more lazy fence and then it is time to get in the ring. Well at least there was a crowd of spectators and horses hanging around the fence. Warren likes a crowd. Once he got over the first fence his jumping brain clicked on and he was the jumping horse that always surprises me. There were some funky turns and a even a triple line, but he took them all very cleanly. He did run out of juice down the line but that was my fault I didn't send him into it with enough forwardness to get through the other end. It wasn't pretty but it was clean. He's always been so clever with his feet! So after a clean round of stadium we bump up to 4th place and then hang out some more till x-country. I didn't do much warm- up at that point he got his jumping brain on pretty quick and pretty soon we were in the start box and then off on the go. Warren never likes going away from the herd. It was zig-zaggy to the first log but he got over it and cantered on and then fizzled out to the freshly painted roll top. That's a refusal, so much for our standing. I wake him up, send him forward and he is on again, we head off to the ditch, he cantered right over it, what a star, then it was that hard left turn to the awkwardly placed table above a sunken spot of ground. The grass was greener in this area and Warren was more worried about eh color change than the jump. He hopped over it at the last minuet. I am really pleased at the pace he had settled into at this point but I was catching up to the gal in front of me, her horse was having lots of water and everything else issues. I know I am entitled to pass if there are issues for the one ahead but we weren't being timed as it was a schooling show and I was trying to take it easy so I was half thinking about slowing him a bit to a trot but at the same time I wanted to push him some too, to see what he could do. And he had just a lovely pace so far! We hopped over another flowery table and then into the water, out again and over a log. All going well, the gal in front of us picked up steam again and was getting out of the way. Warren and I kept moving along, he was doing great, very forward very responsive and looking for the next fence. The next few were straight forward then to the ditch and another hard turn to the right and then to the hill. There were tons of folks spectating from the hill and the approach is nice cause it gives the horses a good look at all the commotion. Warren was quite intrigued and cantered almost all the way up to it then I asked him to slow down for the little climb up, a look around on top and a sit on the hunches to get back down. I haven't really ridden anything like that before that I can remember, but he did very well. (Of course I was coaching him through the entire thing! - I tend to talk to him a lot out there). We had a few more fences and we were headed to home and done. He took them all in stride but the last two I could tell he was running out of steam. We crossed the finish line with only one refusal and running around the longest course we have ever done at a fairly nice pace. I was quite pleased with the day all the way around. I stuck around for scores to be posted, I really wanted to see where we ended up; it turns out only 2 people had clean rounds x-country out of the entire senior BN group. Warren and I actually moved up to 3rd place - woo hoo. I'm pretty proud of our work. I've decided that was our last 3 phase for the season. There are a few more recognized events, we might try one next year, but I don't know, that's pretty high stakes and really, he's just a big ‘ol plow horse.
Our adventures are not over for the season. We are going to camp on the beach for a few days with some of the NWHTA gang in late August and there is another schooling opportunity in September back at Inavale. It is a pace setting clinic and then a jumper derby the following day; I am all over that. It has been a long time since we have thought about our times and if I'm considering a recognized event we need to take it a little more seriously. In October there is an ODS Dressage show and that will wrap us up for the season. So there is plenty more to come!!
