My Girls

Tequila Sunrise might not be up to snuff yet (but we're trotting again, at least, which is good news!), but her kids are making up for it.

Promise, the older of the two, attended her 3rd show this past weekend. When she scored 68% in her first test, I was quite pleased--it was her best performance yet, and she had no major mistakes. (A few transitions could have used better balance, but hey--doesn't that happen to the best of us at times?) Then she came back and did Training Level Test 4, improved on the problem spots, and laid down a 70%. I was thrilled. She wasn't satisfied. On Sunday, she repeated Training Level Test 3 (just the one test because I figured with the heat and it being a two day show, she'd be tired), she nailed it... every bit of it, and won High Point with a 74.4%!!! I'm still floating sky high on that one.

Then, we started Quila's other daughter, three year-old Pik's Margarita, in training this week. What a darling "The Little Terrorist" has turned out to be... She is the sweetest, easiest youngster we've ever worked with! You'd think she'd had a bit in her mouth a thousand times before, she took it so easily and once it was in, she showed no reaction. AND, when we asked to her to lunge, it took all of 15 seconds for her to figure out what it was that we wanted, and for her to agree that it was a perfectly reasonable thing for us to want her to do. I daresay, if she'd had the strength, we could have placed a saddle and girth on her today, then put a rider on her back, and she would not have batted an eye--not as long as we told her she was a good girl and gave her a scratch on the forehead. She lives for praise and extra love and attention. It breaks my heart that I have to sell her, but the reality of the number of horses I own (and particularly the number of horses that require my attention and the fact that God has only given me 24 hours in a day) has become painfully obvious, and I'm having trouble keeping up with Quila and Facet right now. I've realized adding Endor to the list will be beyond me, so a junior rider at our barn is going to get a few extra rides on him (which should do her riding career wonders while her young horse is learning the ropes) during those periods when Susan is too busy with college. I will MAKE time for Promise this Fall, but there is no way in heck that I could manage Margarita, too, even if I do retire Quila. No way. And I can't forget that I've got Vittoria growing up out in the pasture, too.

(And what kind of sense would it make to have two full sisters, anyway? Because really, it would be a choice between Vittoria and Margarita... and Vittoria has Facet in her, too. Oh, I hate this. I truly do... Why can't I have everything--the old my cake and eat it, too, syndrome). The best I can hope for, I guess, is a home where Margarita will get the love and affection I would give her, and I hope it will be someone that appreciates her talent and that will show her. (And that lives close by, so I can watch her grow. In a perfect world, they would get help from Jürgen, so I would know that she's getting the right training and progressing according to the correct methods...)

Just look at the two photos. You can see how identical Promise and Margarita are... same active hindleg, and Margarita will develop the same lovely topline. I whispered in Quila's ear that I would breed her again this spring--I'll bet you can guess which stallion I picked.

There are links to videos of Promise's SUPER TEST and Margarita's SECOND DAY LUNGEING here.

The German Riding Fairy

The bad news: it was more than tempo.

The good news: I don't care. The German riding fairy has paid me a visit and granted my wish, so I had a fabulous ride on Facet today anyway. I actually FELT like I knew what I was doing (there are days when I'm told I look like it, but I've yet to feel half as good as I'm told I look).

You see, after that great ride last week where I made the breakthrough with tempo, I could never quite reproduce it again. Sure, things got BETTER, but not better enough... I was still struggling to do Training Level work, just struggling a little bit closer to my goal.

Today, however, I actually rode SECOND LEVEL WORK. And, I haven't ridden a horse since Saturday. Clearly, I've been blessed by the GERMAN RIDING FAIRY. Actually, the real difference is that Facet's saddle is in the shop, so I had to ride him in Quila's saddle, and for the first time EVER, I forgot I was even sitting in a saddle. I forgot about my seat, forgot about trying to sit on his back, forgot that I had ever had difficulty sitting his gaits... it was like I'd been riding him all my life. IT FELT LIKE HOME.

Can a saddle make that much difference? Obviously it can. Because it did. I didn't struggle today, not one little bit. I rode shoulder in--and like Quila, I'm a helluva lot better to the right than I am to the left, so I guess it MUST be my problem since Facet's stiff side is opposite hers--and I was able to COLLECT the canter, ride counter canter and do some canter-walk-canter transitions. (We won't discuss my requests for flying changes that he studiously ignored--as in completely 100% ignored my aids, "I'll counter canter for you all day lady, but until you get your aids and timing right, I'm not even going to think about changing" ignored. We decided to try again another day.)

Last week, I struggled to even maintain working canter. Today, I was riding COLLECTED CANTER, and I could do it. Mostly. I was admittedly pushing the envelope, and there were times I pushed the envelope too far and we ended up trotting, but that's part of learning (and once I'd done it a few times, Facet started to play with me and started to fall out of canter earlier and earlier until I gave him a smack with the whip, then he was back to his good old gentlemanly self). I also extended and collected in the canter and felt my sporty stallion respond to leg and seat in a way Quila never has (and that he's never done for me before)--GREAT FEELING--and I rode a trot lengthening.

You cannot imagine what today did for my self-confidence. I do not feel like the same rider that I was last week. I still need to learn his buttons--he responds so differently than Quila--but I was actually able to RIDE him, something I'd been struggling to do before. I'm not a klutz, I'm not, I'm not. Jürgen hasn't been wasting his time on me.

I hope they never fix Facet's old saddle (which interestingly is SUPPOSED to be the same make and model as Quila's, but it sure doesn't ride like it)... or rather, that when they do, it feels just like hers. If it doesn't, I think I'll pretend I never saw it. I will not go back to the struggle. Why should I? Her saddle fits him well, and I don't think she'll mind sharing.

Her saddle is the equine equivalent, I think, of the pants in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. So far, it has fit every horse I've tried riding in it on. Jürgen says that saddles like that come along once in a lifetime, and that I should cherish it. I do. It will have a spa day on Monday, with a nice mineral oil bath.

Aha! Tempo...

I had a lightbulb moment today. I'm always hesitant to report them, because I know if/when Susan reads them, she'll call one of her YR friends, and the two of them will point and laugh, and try not to fall over. Susan can never believe how slow I am on the uptake, but usually it is all a matter of misunderstanding. I hear the words, but I don't assign the proper context.

Forever, now, Jürgen has said to make Facet "quick to my leg" and to "keep the jump" in the canter. He tells me "more canter" and I'm "losing the canter." I know I'm losing the canter (fortunately for matters of propriety, I can curse silently... Jürgen would not care to hear the names I call him when he states the obvious, and I am not able to do anything to correct it :sheepish grin:).

Today, however, there was no music playing in the dressage court, and that magnified the problem. You see, I'm very much aware of the music. I tend to breathe by it, and if the wrong music is playing, it can really screw me up if I'm not careful. The right music can really help my riding. (Is the fact that my trot work is absolutely at its finest when Quila and I ride to Ricky Martin my issue or hers???)

Anyway, at canter today with Facet, it became obvious we were getting slower and slower in canter until we fell back into trot. I don't know why... because Jürgen didn't particularly say anything different, but somehow, I noticed it in conjunction with his usual phrases. I tried adding leg a split second or two EARLIER than I wanted to, tried to think about speeding up the tempo. Magically, Facet stopped requiring any particular energy at all on my part to stay in the canter. I didn't need much squeeze. I just had to keep adding the cue whenever he started to lose energy. WOW!

So, I discovered I'd been waiting for Facet to set the tempo, and he was waiting for me... and we were slowing down to nothing as a result. I vaguely remember having had this really really problematically at trot when I first started riding him, but it felt different back then, and I no longer have an issue with trot. (And by first started riding him, I'm thinking about 2003, when I first imported him!). I had lots of problems with lots of things back then.

This will make a big difference, I think. I'm looking forward to my next ride with the gentleman.

Frustrated

This has not been a good competition year for me. In fact, it hasn't been a competition year at all. Quila and I just can't seem to get it together... or rather, I can't seem to get her sound long enough to get her fit. She's trying, and I get glimpses of how wonderful she can be, but nothing has been sustainable.

The upside is that Facet looks as if he's found the fountain of youth. His coat is shiny, his muscling is wonderful, and there is a bounce in his step that I, for one, thought I'd never see again. I've been able to ride him when Quila has been unavailable, and even when I can ride Quila, I've alternated between the two. As a result, I feel as if there would be a demonstrable difference in my riding... if only I had the chance to prove it. I can't, really, on Facet. I still look like a beginner much of the time. Not that I haven't improved by leaps and bounds with him (I can sit his gaits with ease now, and the transitions between gaits are generally smooth), but keeping him in front of my leg, particularly at the canter, remains a challenge. The skill I'm working on now is learning how to keep him soft in the jaw/poll, and round/through, without losing forward energy. There's a delicate balance there, and it's so easy to lose it, and not support enough with the leg. Too much, and I'm told, "He's not a four year-old, and this is not a materiale class--collect him!" Not enough, and we break gait. Sigh. But I'm getting a better feel. Of course, if I would ride him in the double, it would be easier... it would remove the jaw/poll from the equation... but I refuse. I hate the double bridle, and if he continues to go as well as he has been, I could conceivably show him. But not for some time in a double... (i.e., I'd have to be able to ride to Third Level, and I'm a ways from there), so I keep working in the snaffle. I figure the extra effort now will pay off for me in the long run, even if Jürgen is pulling out his hair in frustration.

But, while I may struggle with Facet, who insists that I do everything "just so," I get on Quila, and she's become a dream to ride. Every thing I learn on him transfers over to her, and she becomes that much better, that much easier to ride. I've hardly cantered her at all since April, but the quality of her trot is vastly improved. So much more "through" and she's so much lighter in the bridle. I can ride her from the seat now, collect her with seat and leg and minimum of hand, and really insist on my tempo by sitting in and using my core. It's a great feeling. And I have a much better sense of using my leg to shape her, and for controlling my seatbones.

When we did canter, that was better, too. The balance was better, and the single day of counter canter we did before the last setback was fabulous. But more recently, she had a problem trim from the old farrier... just a little short, but it took ten days for her to grow long enough to where she could be really worked again. And now, yesterday, her right fetlock was swollen. I iced and poulticed, and gave her Bute. And I said a prayer. I hope it is nothing, but her fetlocks have plagued us in the past.

The bright side, I guess, is that Facet is doing so spectacularly well, and I really could start riding Promise. She is becoming solid as a rock. I would like for her to have more show experience before I start showing her, but just because I start riding her doesn't mean I have to be the one showing her... at least not yet. So, I have options even though I'm not ready to give Quila up yet. On the other hand, I am getting tired of beating my head against the wall, and that's certainly what this year has felt like.

My Winner

Pik's Promise (Pik's Pride x Top of Class x Der Radetzky) went to her second show this past weekend. Is was a radically different experience than her first show because we set her up for success. Amazing how that works, isn't it? She trailered there with 3 friends, was in a warm-up ring full of horses, surrounded by horses who lived on the property that were looking on while they contentedly sunned themselves and/or ate their lunch (she's used to that at home), and the show ring was immediately adjacent to the warm-up, so she didn't feel like she was leaving anybody. Simple.

She was relaxed and confident, except the large letters had her a bit "curious" at first--not spooky, but she did want to take a closer look. She was a very good girl in the ring, if a bit tired from the trailer ride and a longer warm-up than we needed. We've still got a learning curve there. But I was VERY pleased with her, and with her rider. Promise has a great mind, and she's going to be a solid performer. And after two shows, I can confidently say that I will be very comfortable riding and showing her when I get my turn--but I remain committed to leaving her in professional hands for this all-important year.

(Besides, I'm having a wonderful time riding Facet. He feels younger than ever, and he's teaching me a lot. He's a devil for the details. The smallest things--a shoulder an inch too far back, for example--make a BIG difference to him and how he goes for me. I've got his trot figured out now, in that I can sit it just fine. Now I'm working on getting it nicely forward, and I'm working on getting crisp transitions between gaits, plus keeping the jump in the canter. I still don't feel like I'm anywhere close to where I'd want to show him, even at First Level (and really, I want to wait until we're doing Second Level work), but I'm learning more and more about my own body and my own riding every day that I ride him and I feel like I'm making lots of progress. That seems so funny to say... I'm not ready to show First Level with him yet, but I'm making lots of progress, when I was schooling Second with Quila in mid-March. How can I be riding so much better/stronger now when I'm performing at a lower level??? Well, when Quila is fit again, she's not going to know what hit her, because I'm going to be more correct, and as a result, she's going to have to be, too (and I won't need her to cheat for me anymore--I had no idea how "good" to me she was and how much she fudged for me because she knew what I wanted).

She's trotting again, we'll canter this week. I can hardly wait to get her all the way back, but will take my time... no sense in taking any steps backward. But the true measure of progress for me has always been whether or not I can take what I learn and translate it into performance with her.

Proud Mom

I was up painfully early today (4 A.M.) and at the barn by 5:30 A.M. to take Promise to her first show. Somehow, we managed to have the bad luck to draw the first ride of the day. And it was bad luck for a young horse's first show... Promise rode alone in the trailer to the show and was alone in the stabling area. It was a one-day show, so the majority of the horses didn't even bother to rent stalls, though the fee was only $10 more than hauling in, and stalls give the horses a place to relax and roll while waiting for scores and for other horses to finish... The other horse in our barn didn't show until 10 A.M.--nearly two hours after us--so his lucky owner got to sleep-in by comparison.

Promise was also alone in the warm-up and in the show-ring. She was anxious, but she didn't call out and she trusted Birthe. She was fine until a gust of wind blew and rattled the doors on the indoor arena--then she decided that it wasn't safe down by "A". She wasn't horrible, though--she just refused to stay on the rail and became a bit distracted. I was encouraged by two things. First, she didn't do anything that was at all dangerous to herself or her rider. (Gotta love a horse that doesn't buck, bolt or spin when frightened!) And second, she calmed again and returned her attention to Birthe as soon as she left the scary area.

I've watched more than a few tests that have gone from bad to worse once a horse has become frightened--tests where you find yourself praying that it would just end soon. That was not the case with Promise. She kept pulling herself together again, and would have nice long sections that were lovely, but then the test would make her go down "there" again. If only she could have shown in a shortened 20 x 40 meter arena and cut off the 20 meters on "that end," then life would have been good, ya know?

She only lacks experience. She's been away from home only once before (except to go to the hospital, and I don't think she thought very much of THAT particular trip), and she's NEVER seen an indoor arena before in her life. That she handled it as well as she did is remarkable. She'll be a trooper with more experience, I'm certain. She acted like she's been riding in a trailer all her life, and didn't seem the slightest bit stressed about that part of the adventure.

She placed 2nd and 4th.

Photo album online here.

If It's True, I'm Gaining

If "No pain, no gain" is true, then I am definitely gaining. Or, if as my nephew says, "It's not pain, it's weakness leaving your body," then I have no weakness left. I am absolutely certain of that fact.

Parts of me hurt that I didn't know I owned. The only swinging I'm doing right now is in a hammock, and then only if there's a stiff breeze...

You see, after 3 weeks of no riding, I'm back in the saddle. But not on my comfy couch Tequila (who had her hocks injected yesterday and is on handwalk A..G..A..I..N--thankfully, looks cannot kill, because she is NOT happy about it) but on Facet. Mr. I'm-so-bouncy-and-and-full-of-suspension-that-you-don't-ever-need-another-ab-workout himself. And, if that weren't enough, I'm redoubling my efforts in Pilates AND I'm going to the gym and working with my soon-to-be-certified-as-a-personal-trainer nephew. Why? He needed a "practice client" and I volunteered. I may have had a few glasses of wine at the time...

Actually, Andy's doing a wonderful job. He knows just how hard to push me, he made a great assessment of my current level of fitness and what muscle groups were strong and which ones weren't (I can do 110 pounds on the thigh adductor machine--which causes the jaws of a lot of the guys to drop, but my quads are pathetically weak and have no endurance), and he's come up with a program to even things out and improve my overall stamina, cardio and strength, and to make it easier for me to ride Facet and Endor. Riding was the main reason I decided I needed to start going to the gym, that Pilates wasn't enough, so I'm glad we're keeping that in the back of our minds.

I feel good when I'm exercising. Once I got to Pilates this morning, it was fine. Once I was riding today, it was fine. Once I was at the gym last night, it was fine. But walking around, simply breathing, and stretching--Oh, God, stretching is particularly a killer--are painful reminders that my body isn't in its twenties anymore. Do any of those three things, and I hurt. A lot.

I just need to get past the next few weeks, though. Particularly the next week or two, and then it will be good. I know this from past experience. That's why I have the personal trainer. My gym membership comes with their pros for 10 sessions, plus I have Andy. And then Jürgen pushes me when I ride, and I have the semi-privates at Pilates to keep pushing me, as well. In the meantime, hot baths, anti-inflammatories and whining should get me through. :wink: