Our First Horse Trial

On Sunday July 31st Otis and I competed in a horse trial, consisting of three phases, Dressage, Cross Country Jumping, and Stadium Jumping.

When we arrived at  Hilltop Equestrian Center the higher level dressage had already started. It was different to arrive at a show and have people already competing. I am used to arriving at least an hour before anything starts to get ready for the fist classes of a pleasure show. I like the format of the horse trial, where you call a few days before the show and get your ride times, it's nice to know when you need to be ready! After we parked our trailers, Liz and I headed over to the secretary's booth to check in and get our numbers. We were given a list of the cross country jumps in the order that we would go over them, so we headed out to walk the cross country course. My course and Liz's course (she was in a higher level than me) were pretty much in line with each other, so we were able to walk the course together and not get confused. The fist six or seven jumps were in a huge field, and weren't very big, much lower than the 18" maximum height of my division. We walked into the woods to see the rest of the course, there were a couple of logs that looked pretty intimidating, but I reminded myself that they always look smaller once you are up on the horse. After we were through walking the cross country course we headed back to unload the horses. We had quite a bit of time to kill because the dressage times were running about 20 minuets behind, due to the fact that the judge got stuck in traffic. I watched Liz warm up for her dressage test, and then went over the dressage ring to watch her test. Then it was finally time for Otis and I to get ready.

As I was getting dressed and getting Otis saddled, I felt like I was running out of time, like it was going to be my turn soon. So I hurried to get him ready so I could get some time to warm up. As I was getting in the saddle I heard my number called! I started to panic, and then realized that they said I was on deck, which meant that I had another person before me. That still isn't a lot of time, so I put my coat on and headed into the warm up ring. Otis was being really good, considering the amount of horses in the ring. I walked and trotted him a few times in each direction and headed over to the dressage ring. When they rang the bell to signal that the judge was ready for us, we headed down the center line. It was such a neat feeling to be in the ring all by myself. We did our pattern correctly, and Otis was very well behaved. He wasn't as soft as I would have liked, but he was paying attention, and doing what he was asked. I felt very good when we saluted the judge and the end of our test.

Here we are doing our Dressage test

While I was doing my dressage test, I missed Liz's cross country phase, which was a bummer, I really wanted to watch her! I didn't have too much time to get ready for cross country because, although the dressage was running behind, the cross country was running on time. Once I was changed and Otis was tacked up we headed over to the warm up area, so we could jump the warm up jump a few times. Otis was a bit more high strung in this warm up ring as there was a lot more activity. He was still very well behaved, and was listening to me, despite his higher energy. We jumped the warm up jump a few times, he was leaping over it, which caused me to pop out of the saddle. I discovered at a practice session at Liz's house that this is how Otis jumps when he is feeling naughty.. not so fun... I finally got a good jump out of him and headed over to the start box, because it was almost our turn for cross country. The count down started, I took a deep breath and reminded my self to look up, not at the jumps! Away we went. The first jump was a VERY small log, Otis almost refused it, and we kind of walked over it... This wasn't a very good start... Our next jump was a bunch of hay bales lined up, Otis thought about refusing this one as well, but jumped over it. The next jump was a bit bigger, so I talked to Otis to calm him down and to try and get our confidence up. He LEAPED over it, and caused me to loose my balance a bit. At this point I was starting to get nervous too! It is not fun when he jumps like that. Otis sensed my nerves and he started to get more nervous, so things started going downhill from there. We walked over the next jump, LEAPED over the one after that. The next jump was one of the big intimidating logs, so I actually stopped Otis to try and regain our focus (it doesn't count as a refusal unless we back up or do a circle). I asked him to trot towards the jump, all the while talking to him and patting his neck. He jumped over the jump so high and strong that I lost both stirrups and almost fell off! I put my feet back in my stirrups and headed for the next jump, which thankfully, was very small. This is how the rest of the course went, a lot of walking and trying to get us to relax. Towards the end I actually went around two of the jumps because Otis was so wound up, I didn't want to fall, I would rather get two refusals than fall off. We jumped the last jump and headed up the hill, where Dad, Angie, Doug, and Liz were waiting for us. I was less than thrilled with our round, but Liz reminded me that it was our first time, and I should be proud that we finished the course.

Jumping the Hay Bales

While I was untacking Otis from cross country, Liz went up to check the results for dressage, Otis and I were tied for FIRST PLACE!! This was so exciting, and definitely boosted my spirits after our cross country debacle! Liz and I went back up later on to check the cross country scores, there was an E next to my name, eliminated! What?! I thought I had only two refusals for the two jumps that we walked around. Liz I asked to talk to the judges at the jumps that we were unsure of. It turns out that two of the jumps that we walked over, Otis backed up a step before he went over, which counts as a refusal. I was pretty bummed out. I asked if I could do stadium, just for the experience and they said I could.

I had some lunch and then tacked Otis up for stadium. I had quite a bit of time, so I got quite a few practice jumps in, and Otis was no longer leaping the jumps like a deer. I sat and watched a few rounds so that I could make sure I had the course pattern down. Finally it was our turn, we went in, did a warm up circle at the trot, and went for our first jump, a small cross rail. Except for a bit of head throwing, (which was caused by me grabbing his mouth by accident when he was leaping the jumps) Otis was excellent in the stadium phase. We did a clear round and it was SO MUCH FUN!!

Here we are in stadium

We didn't end up with a ribbon because of the elimination in cross country, but that doesn't even matter, it was a great experience, and the most fun I have ever had at a horse show!! We are going to try a two phase (dressage and stadium only) in September, and then Hilltop is having another horse trial in October. We have to work on our bravery in cross country, but I think we have a pretty good foundation. I have definitely fallen in love with eventing, and want to try more!!!

Show Number Two... Success!

So Otis and I had our second show of the year on July 10, 2011 at the Mousam Saddle and Harness Club in Kennebunk, ME. We got there over an hour before the show started and we were only the second ones to arrive. I wanted to get there early to make sure that we got a good parking space, and also because I didn't have any help with me, so I wanted plenty of time to get ready.

We had three in hand classes, the first of which was Grooming. There were nine horses in the class, and Otis and I entered the ring first. Otis was a very good boy and stood very well the whole time. We placed first! That was a very good start to the day. The next class was Open Halter, there were five horses in the class, again Otis was a very good boy and stood quietly, we placed third. Our last in hand class was Adult Showmanship with 10 (!) horses in the class. We did our pattern and stood for the the judge's inspection. She made the comment "it makes my job easy when the person knows what they are doing, thank you, very nice job". Now that was a confidence booster! We ended up placing second out of the 10 people! We were off to a great start.

Next were our riding classes. I had decided that I would try warming up as little as possible and just let Otis look around and watch the other horses, since his issue seems to be that he is nosy and gets grumpy when he can't see what the other horses are doing, hence his naughty behavior. I walked him around the outside of the show ring a few times. Then I decided to take him into one of the two round pen sized warm up rings they have at Mousam. There were two other horses in there at the time, Otis was interested in them, but was able to keep his cool and watch them at the same time. Once we had the ring to ourselves I walked, trotted, and cantered in both directions. Otis was good, so I left it at that and we spent the rest of the time before our classes standing by the in gate and watching the other classes. He seemed calm and relaxed, I was very happy with that.

Our fist class was English Pleasure. Otis was very good at all three gates in the first direction, even when another horse cantered past us! This was one of his biggest issues at past horse shows, it would usually cause him to completely loose composure. I could here the horse coming, so I just made contact with my legs and hands, and talked to him, and he maintained his canter! I was very happy! The next direction didn't go as well. He walked and trotted fine, but bucked a couple of times at the canter, unfortunately, the judge was looking right at us when it happened. There were nine horses in that class (I think) so we didn't place, which was fine by me, because he went SO MUCH BETTER than he usually does.

Our next class was Hunter Over Fences, which was going to be Otis' first jumping class at a show, and my first since I was like 12 years old showing my trusty pony, Rusty. When I signed up that morning I asked if I could do the Walk Trot Hunter Over Fences class since the jumps were lower. They told me I couldn't because all my other classes were Walk/Trot/Canter classes. The show secretary insisted that her young daughter does this class, and that the jumps are closer to 18" than 2'. I figured, what the heck, we might as well try it. Well they set up the course for the walk trot class, and the height seemed fine. There were two jumps that seemed very close together, and Otis and I have not practiced that, so I was a little nervous about that combo. Well, once the Walk Trot class was over, they raised the jumps, and I knew they were much higher than anything Otis and I have practiced. That's when I got REALLY nervous. I didn't want to be a quitter so we entered the ring when it was our turn. That's when I knew that I shouldn't ruin our so far good experience, trying to jump something higher than I was comfortable with. I told the judge that I was only going to jump the first jump, which was a cross rail, set at a height that I was comfortable with. We did our warm up circle and approached the jump, well Otis could sense that I was still a little nervous about the other jumps and he refused it. We approached it again and he refused it a second time. So I cantered a circle to calm both of our nerves, and this time he jumped it, he over jumped it a little but at least he did it. I was really bummed that the jumps were so high because I was really looking forward to that class. I am glad I decided not to do it, it would have been stupid to create a bad experience by trying something for the first time at a horse show, that just isn't the place for trying new things, especially with jumping.

Our next class was trail, so after lunch break I switched over to our Western tack. Otis is very good at trail, so I was pretty confident that we would do well in this class. There were only two entries, and we were the first to go in. The first obstacle was a make shift gate made out of two jump standards with a rope in between them. Well, Otis must have decided that he had been far too good, and needed to mix things up a bit. He acted scared of the gate, and I couldn't shut it because he kept backing up so far that I had to let go. I was very frustrated with him because that should have been easy. The gate incident wound him up, he almost wouldn't go over the tarp (he usually walks over tarps like they are the same as the rest of the ground) and then when I asked him to canter he started bucking. I took the reins in both hands so that I could regain control and get him to listen. He did fine at the next two obstacles, which were backing an "L" and getting mail out of a mail box. We were disqualified from that class, I am assuming because I used two hands, which you aren't supposed to do in Western. I know it wasn't because of the gate because others dropped the gate as well and they weren't disqualified. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with that class, because we should have rocked it, and Otis decided to be naughty. We had a lot of time before our next two classes so I tied Otis to the trailer and let him have some hay and drink some water.

Our next two classes were Western Pleasure and Adult Equitation. I took Otis into the practice ring one more time, and he was being kind of a brat. I was able to work him out of it a little, so we called it good and went to stand by the in gate. I didn't have very high hopes for our Western Pleasure class because of his behavior in the practice ring. We went in and found a spot on the rail where we would have plenty of room. When asked to jog, Otis picked up a very nice western pleasure jog on a loose rein, so this was a good start to the class. When we were asked to lope, I gave him a very subtle nudge with my outside leg, and he picked up a very nice lope. He was going a little fast for western I thought, but he was under control, and the horse behind us wasn't bothering him at all. He did the same in the other direction. I was VERY happy with this class. We lined up to wait for the results, I didn't think we would place well, because like I said before I though he was a little fast at the lope for a western pleasure class. Well boy was I wrong! We placeed FIRST out the five horses in the class!! My mouth dropped and then I gave Otis a big pat. It was such a good feeling to not only get a good ride in an under saddle class, but to win it as well! I actually got a little teary eyed, that's how happy I was. We were in the next class as well, so we just stayed in the ring. Otis did just as good in the Adult Equitation. We only had one little mishap, he has such a slow jog that we got passed by the other three people in the class, and they were all directly in front of us. When were asked to lope, I made a circle in order to avoid a traffic jam, well just as we rounded the corner, something behind us spooked Otis, so he jumped/bucked. Again right in front of the judge. Other than that he was very good, so I didn't even care that we placed fourth out of the four people in the class.

Overall Otis and I had a GREAT day! He had a few naughty moments, but the good moments definitely outweighed the bad. It felt really good to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and for my hard work to pay off. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this trend continues.

Here is a photo of our Ribbons. 

We also got a plate and a paper weight with our blue ribbons! 

Our First Show of 2011

Otis and I had our first horse show of the season on Sunday June 19th at Cumberland Country Riding Club. This place is very near and dear to me, as that is where I first started showing with my first horse Rusty. We arrived at the show grounds early enough to get a great parking spot right in front of the in gate, with easy access to the warm up ring. I had plenty of time to get Otis and myself ready, so there was no need to rush, which was good, the less I have to rush, the less stress. Otis seemed really relaxed so I had high hopes for the day.

Our fist class was halter geldings. We entered the ring first trotting, as requested by the judge. There were two "ribbon" boys sitting on the ground right off to the side of the in gate, and they stood up just as Otis and I entered the arena, well Otis decided that was super scary and jumped/reared. Not a very good first impression. We got to the line up and I set him up, he stood like a perfect gentlemen the whole time. There were seven horses in the class, so we had to stand there for quite awhile. We ended up with 2nd place out of the seven horses, a very good start to the day.

Our second class was adult showmanship. For some odd reason, I love showmanship. It is one thing that I can honestly say I am good at. I am pretty hard on myself, so it's not often I will say something like that. There were eight horses in this class, Otis and I entered the ring second. We did our pattern flawlessly, and returned to the line up with high hopes. Some of the other horses in the class wouldn't stand, or wouldn't trot back to the line up (the last part of the pattern), so I felt like I actually had a pretty good chance at winning. Well, as everyone who shows horses knows, no matter how well you think you do, the judge may not agree. We ended up placing fourth.

After showmanship I saddled up Otis in his english saddle for our first two riding classes, Adult Pleasure, and Adult Equitation. As soon as I got in the saddle I could tell that Otis was feeling naughty. He had his neck arched and his ears forward and he was prancing rather than walking... GREAT. I tried working him through it without much success. My mom came over to inform me that my class was next... double GREAT. So I finished changing into my english attire and into the class we went. There was only one other horse in the class, so I figured I would school him and try to get him to behave. Well he walked and trotted okay, but as soon as we were asked to canter, he decided that bucking was a better idea. I am not sure we got one good canter stride in either direction. He acted pretty much the same for the pleasure class as well, maybe a few less bucks.

Our last two classes of the day were Command Class, which I entered just to get Otis in the ring, and Trail Class. He seemed to be mellowing out more as the day went on, which to me is progress since he is usually naughty the whole day. We got eliminated first in Command Class because my little western pleasure horse has no idea what a hand gallop is, he got a little excited, and we ended up cantering sideways instead...lol... at least he wasn't bucking anymore. Trail class was our last class of the day and Otis was a very good boy, he is better when we are in the ring alone, and he is pretty good at trail anyways. We ending up winning the class! A good way to end a frustrating day of riding a naughty Otis!

Overall we had an okay day. Otis made some progress by calming down little by little throughout the day, we won our trail class, and we have one more horse show under our belts. I also got to spend the day with my mom, who is a GREAT horse show mom. My goal this summer is not to win a bunch of ribbons, but to get Otis more comfortable with the horse show atmosphere, so that next year we can kick butt...lol.. maybe... :-)  

Getting Back in the Game

I have had my horse Otis (registered as Impressively Rapid) since he was eight months old, he is now eleven! He is a solid chestnut registered American Paint Horse with a blaze and two and half blue eyes.

I have been showing since I was 12 years old with my first horse Rusty. Otis and I did a little showing for his first 4 years and we did pretty well. We went to Connecticut for the APHA yearling futurity when he was 1.  We tried out for the Maine State 4H Equestrian team when he was 4, and made it as first alternates. Then I graduated high school and had to get a real job, so although I still rode Otis whenever I could, showing was not exactly something I had the time for.

I have made it my goal this summer to ride as much as possible and start going to shows again. I am going to start with Cumberland County Riding Club, because their classes are very affordable, and that is where I started showing, so I am comfortable there. I am also hoping to do some versatility challenges, we did two of those last summer and they are very fun! The thing I am most excited about this summer is that I am going to try a two or three phase (haven't decided yet) horse trial! My friend Liz goes to them, and I have always wanted to try it, so we are going give it a whirl! I used to jump all the time before I got Otis, so I am looking forward to getting back into riding english and jumping.

I am very excited about riding more, and getting back into showing, and having horse friends again!