Recap of 2012 and Goals for 2013

I would have to say that 2012 was a great year for Otis and I. We tried a lot of new things, we had a lot of ups and downs, but overall we had a lot of fun! I always say what's the point if your not having fun?!

Otis made a lot of progress during the 2012 show season, he went from acting like a complete crazy horse at the UNH two phase in April, to a perfect gentleman at the September SMDA dressage show (our last show for 2012). Not to say that there weren't some bumps on the way (can't forget him dumping me off in the practice arena at the July SMDA/SPHO dressage show...) but I am really happy with how we have both progressed. I think it is safe to say that we even improved a bit in the stadium phase of eventing. Otis isn't launching himself over the jumps as much, and I think I have improved a tiny bit on my looking down problem.

We even won some year end awards to remember this year by! We received Reserve Champion in Intro Dressage from the Maine Horse Association, Seventh Place in Intro B and Fourth Place in Intro C from the Southern Maine Dressage Association, Third Place in Intro Dressage and an American Paint breed award from the Maine Dressage Society. It was really fun to go to all of the awards banquets and get big pretty ribbons for all of our hard work. ;)

I have a few goals for the 2013 show season. I want to start taking lessons as soon as possible, as I would really like to move up to training level at the SMDA shows this year. I would also like to take some jumping lessons, and do some cross country schooling. I really enjoyed doing the two phases last year, but I am dying to do cross country again. I do however, know that Otis and I both need to gain some confidence before we try another competition.

Our 2012 ribbons displayed on the mantel. To me these ribbons signify that we placed in every class we entered, and did not get eliminated once!  ;-)

These are our 2012 year end awards

Last SMDA of the season

Sunday, September 19th was the last SMDA show of the season. I was feeling very aprehensive about this show, and almost didn't go. Work has gotten really busy, so I haven't had as much time to ride, and when I do it's dark by the time I get done. I only had a chance to ride Otis three times on the week leading up to the show, and he was really bad all three days. I think a combination of the cooler weather, and I'm sure he could sense my stress level, even though I tried not show it. Not wanting to feel like I was quiting, I got home at 8:00 Saturday, gave Otis a quick bath, and double checked that I had everything packed for the show the next morning.

I got to the show and got Otis groomed, and decided to lunge him, just to see how he was gonig to be. Well, he was awesome, nice calm walk, trot, canter in both directions. I got him tacked up, got myslef dressed, and headed to the warm up ring. He was really good in there as well. The show was running a head of schedule, so I rode my Intro B test early, I figured since he was being good I would just go. He was a bit strong, and was doing this weird head thing that he has started doing. He moves his head from side to side, I think it's because he thinks I want him to do something, when really, I just want him to keep contact with my hands. It's just him trying to figure out this dressage thing, so I don't really fault him for it. We are working on it at home, and at our lessons. The judge really didn't like it though, and we got one of our worst scores ever. Her comments stated that is head "wag" is incorrect, and that I was trying to supple him too much. 

I took the comments into consideration for Intro C, and figured she would rather see his head up a little too far, than to see me trying to fix it all the time. Our Intro C test was AWESOME. Otis was so good. He was really calm, and was really paying attention to me. We had really good canter transitions, which I have been working on a lot at home and in our lessons. We got 7's and 8's on our canter and transitions! That made me pretty happy. We ended up with a score of 71% and a second place ribbon. 

I had to apologize to Otis for doubting him before this show. I thought it was going to be a complete disaster, and that he was just going to act terrible! Well he definitely proved me wrong! He was awesome for the entire show! He was a bit strong in Intro B, but he didn't do ANY of his normal naughty stuff (spooking or letting other horses wind him up). I was very proud of him, and I am confident that wtih a lot of work and continued lessons we can move up to training level next year.

Green Acres

August 18th was our second two phase in a row, this time at Green Acres in Madbury, NH. I got a good parking spot right near the dressage warm up arena and went to check in. I also wanted to check out the stadium course before I unloaded Otis, because it was in a field instead of an area, and I wanted to get a look at it. It was a nice course, and the jumps were spread out pretty well, so I felt better about it after seeing it.

After getting Otis unloaded and settled in wtih some hay and water, I started getting us ready for dressage. Otis was really good in the warm up arena, even with quite a few horses in there. He was very calm, soft, and responsive. He only had one little mishap when one of the horses on the cross country course ran through the water, he decided that was scary, and bolted forward and sideways breifly. I was able to get him calmed down and paying attention quite quickly, which made me happy. When it was our turn for dressage we made our way over to the arena to wait for the judges bell. Just as we were entering, another horse went through the water, which is right next to the dressage arena, so that got Otis kind of wound up, but we still got a nice center line and a good halt. He was really good for most of our test. He spooked once as we were ending our last trot circle, but that was pretty much it.

After a long break, I got Otis tacked up and ready to warm up for stadium. I could tell as soon as I got on him that he was not going to be as well behaved for this phase as he was for the dressage phase earlier. I trotted him around the warm up, which was FULL of kids riding and a couple of their instructors. Otis was very high strung, and was not being very good at all. Almost everytime a horse would go out on the cross country course he would jump sidways away from them, almost unseating me everytime, at one point he jump/buck/reared so bad that his head hit mine!! He was acting terrible. I just kept trotting him around and switching directions, trying to get him to relax and pay attention. When I finally decided to take him over one of the jumps, he jumped it so big that my helmet fell down over my eyes! The next few jumps were better, but he was still acting crazy. Of course it was our turn before I was ready, but I figured at that point he wasn't really going to get much better, and I was right. He was high strung through the whole course. I tried talking to him and petting him between jumps, but that didn't even help. He leaped over every jump much bigger than was necessary, but we made a clear round with no refusals and no knock-downs.

We eneded up with thrid place out of seven people, so that made me pretty happy. I was pretty bummed out with our stadium performance after Otis was so good the weekend before at Hilltop. I was also hoping that where the stadium was in a grass field it would be a sort of practice for cross country, I REALLY want to do cross country again. The way he acted did not boost my confidence in that at all :( This was going to be our last event for the year, but now I think I am going to try and fit another one in so we can hopefully get a good stadium round in again.

Hilltop Equestrian Center Two-Phase

On August 12 Otis and I went to Hilltop Equestrian Center for our third two phase of the season. We had our first experience with eventing here last June, so I was excited to come back.

It was pouring rain all the way to the show, so I was really hoping the rain would stop by the time I got there. Luckily, it slowed to a sprinkle just as we arrived, and pretty much held of entirely for the rest of the day.

After watching Liz and Dreamy complete lovely Cross Country and Stadium rounds I got changed and tacked Otis up for dressage. He was feeling a bit fresh at first, and was using all of the higher level horses that were competing in stadium as an excuse to get all wound up. I took him in to the warm up arena and did a lot of trot work and figure eights and a couple of canter circles. That seemed to help bring his attention to me, instead of him looking for excuses to act like a jerk. We were next for dressage so I walked him over to the dressage arena to wait our turn.

He was actually pretty good for our test, with a really nice, consistent trot, and our circles were even okay. He still likes to slow way down when we transition to the walk, but we are working on it at home, so hopefully that will improve soon. We ended up with a score that I was VERY happy with (don't have the sheet in front of me, so I will have to update that later), and tied for second place :)

Next was stadium, after a change of clothes for me, and a change of tack for Otis, we headed out to the warm up area. It was VERY full when I got there, kids cantering in every direction and jumping here and there, so I decided to just walk and trot the outside perimeter until it cleared out a bit. I was very happy with the way Otis handled all the chaos. It is mostly organized chaos, but he doesn't know that ;) Once the area cleared out a bit I decided to take him over a small cross rail, he had been jumping better at home, but still pops over them really hard when we jump away from home, but I was ready. Sure enough he jumped the small cross rail like it was the big oxer two jumps over! I grabbed his mane and kept my position the best I could so I wouldn't accidentally grab his mouth (which makes him jump even worse). The next time around was better, and he just kept getting better and better each time, so I was happy. 

Finally it was our turn to jump the stadium course, I always get really excited to jump a course, because I only have room for two jumps at home, so eight is super fun!! I went into the ring with a smile on my face, and a voice in my head reminding me to look up. We went over the first four jumps really well. The fifth jump had fake flowers under it, which Otis didn't like in June at Green Acres, so I was ready for him to try and refuse it. He hesitated a bit, almost stopped, then went over it. We went over the next three fences without issue. 

I was SO happy with his performance! It was our best stadium round yet, no crazy leaping, I didn't look down at every fence, it felt really good, and to top it all off we took home a second place ribbon (the girl I was tied with had a refusal in stadium).

                            

SMDA August Dressage Show

Sunday, August 5th was the fourth dressage show that Otis and I have attended this season at the Hollis Equestrian Center in Hollis, ME. My ride times were a little later than usual, so it was nice to not have to get up super early (I am NOT a morning person). I got there just in time to see my friend's Liz and Katie put in two very nice rides in Inro A, and they ended up winning First and Second place!

I got Otis and myself ready to warm up for Intro B. Otis was acting bratty, so I spent extra time walking him around the grounds before I took him into the warm up arena. I did a few trot circles and went back out to walk around to see if he would calm down at all. I didn't want to take up space in the warm up if we were just going to walk around.

When it was our turn for Intro B I went in and walked and trotted around, waiting for the judge's bell. Otis was feeling a bit fresh, but not too bad. Our test wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. He had a nice trot, but our circles were not that great. Otis was really tense, and not really paying attention, so our circles were more like squares :-/ He was pretty tense and resistent through the whole test, so I didn't have high hopes for scoring well. We ended up with a score of 63.4% and sixth place, which was better than I thought, and we got a ribbon ;-)

He wasn't much better in Intro C tense and distracted. His trot was still nice, but the canter transitions weren't so great. He even bucked a little on our second one. We got a score of 61.8% and a fourth place ribbon.

So Otis was not on his best behavior for this show, but he was still leaps and bounds ahead of where he was last year, or even at the beginning of this year, and I just need to keep reminding myself of that.



We still had fun, and we are always improving, and that's all that matters.

Dressage is #1!  (and Otis loves Reva)

Intro C - Nice trot :)

Not a bad Halt in Intro C

Photo credits go to Kate Flaherty Photography

An Eventful Dressage Show

I originally didn't have any shows scheduled for July, so I decided at the last minute to enter the dressage show put on by the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of Maine. This show was also affiliated with the Southern Maine Dressage Association. It was going to be a really hot day, so I was glad my ride times for both tests were early, and I would be done by 9:30am. 

Once I got Otis tacked up and myself dressed, I walked him around the grounds and to the warm up ring, it was empty so I figured I would take advantage. Once we got in there, Otis started acting like a brat, and then I heard my name announced as next! The show was running quite a bit ahead of schedule because of a few scratches. Instead of waiting until my actual ride time, I decided to just go ahead in, and do my Intro B test. That turned out to be a really good decision because Otis was AWESOME! No bratty attitude, no naughty behavior, he just went to work, and we did our test! I was so proud of him, and felt so good about our ride!

Usually I would have let Otis have a break before our next test, but they were running so ahead of schedule that I just stayed on, I needed to finish warming up and get ready for Intro C. Well.. while we were trotting around the warm up, Otis decided he had been far to good in our Intro B test. He spooked big time (at nothing of course) and I fell off!! I couldn't believe it, I was sitting in the dirt watching him buck and run away!! Luckily there were some really nice people standing near the entry of the warm up, and they caught him before he escaped. They were even nice enough to dust me off and help be back on. It was so nice of them to help me out. I was not impressed at Otis' behavior, so back to work we went. I took him over the trailer to grab a drink, and let him get a drink as well, and back to the warm up we went. I got some nice trot and canter circles out of him, and decided to call it good and walk him around the grounds until it was time for Into C. 

Otis was just as good, if not better in Intro C! His trot felt really good, much more extended and forward than it usually is, and his trot to canter transitions were much improved from last month in both directions. His walk is still way too slow, but that is something that I am working hard on at home. I exited the ring and went back to the trailer feeling really good about both of our tests. 

After getting Otis untacked and hosed off, and myself in some more comfortable clothes, it was time to wait for the results. I ended up with a  score of 62.5% and a fifth place ribbon in Intro B, and a score of 58.5% and a third place ribbon in Intro C. I was very disappointed in our scores to say the least. I felt so good about both of our rides, and was kind of deflated when I saw the score sheets. I just reminded myself to be proud of my horse, and to know that even if the scores weren't as good as last month, the rides felt better. Each judge has different opinions, and they aren't always going to match mine. 

I am just so happy that Otis has improved so much these last two shows (even if I did end up on my butt in the warm up arena). It reminds me that my hard work is finally paying off!

SMDA June Dressage Show

June 10th was the second show for the Southern Maine Dressage Association, and I entered Otis and I in the Intro B and Intro C tests again. I woke up that morning with a sore throat, and was not impressed that it seemed I had acquired my husband's cold on the morning of a horse show :( Despite the looming sickness, I loaded Otis into the trailer, and off we went.

Once I tacked Otis up and walked him around the show grounds for a bit, I decided to try the warm up arena, since there were only a few horses in there. Otis was being a bit naughty, but I was actually able to work him out of it, which was awesome! Usually once he decides to be naughty, he commits! I was very happy to be able to get some nice warm up work out of him before our first test. Wanting to end that on a good note, I left the warm up, and just walked around the outside of the show arena until it was our turn.

When we were next up for Intro B, we entered the ring and walked and trotted around the outside of the dressage arena, waiting for the judge to ring the bell. This is usually when Otis starts to get wound up, because we are suddenly all by ourselves, but this time he stayed relatively quiet :) We entered the ring at A, once the judge rang her bell, and Otis was AWESOME for the whole test!! He was calm, and willing and was just such good boy, I was so happy that he finally realized that this whole showing thing isn't really something to get so worked up about, it was like something clicked and he was just awesome! I couldn't have been happier with that test!

We had a little while before our Intro C test, so I brought Otis back to the trailer so we could both get a drink.

While we were in the ring waiting for the judge to ring the bell for our Intro C test, they announced the placings for Intro B, and we had gotten FIRST PLACE with a score of 67.2%!! I was so excited!

Here we are with our Blue Ribbon :)

As we were entering the ring to start our test for Intro C, a bicycle went by, and Otis thought it was going to eat him, and he had a mini melt down. Much to my surprise, I was able to calm him down, and get him back to normal before we entered at A and started being judged. Otis was very good for Intro C as well, we had a few little baubles in our canter transitions, which is something I have been working on at home anyways. There was even somebody just outside the arena, flapping a huge piece of plastic, trying to get their horse's ears up so they could take a picture (totally rude!) and Otis could have cared less! I was so proud of him, he usually would have used that as an excuse to act up. We ended up with a second place ribbon with a score of 65.8% for Intro C!


Otis and I had such a good day at the SMDA June show. He was such a good boy, and made SO much progress over the last show, not only in our scores, but in his attitude as well.