Flicka DVD Giveaway

We have a special treat for our readers today. We have two DVD copies of "Flicka" to give away, courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. We were contacted by their publicity group earlier this week about this offer. We agreed it was something our readers would be interested in winning.

Clint Black (personally one of my favorite country singers) is the star of this movie.

To enter, just make a comment to this post. We'll choose the winners by a random drawing of all the names. The last day to enter will be Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

From Country Stage to Silver Screen

Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD May 1

Exclusively at Walmart, Sam’s Club® and Walmart.com

When Toby (Clint Black) takes on a job at a stable with Flicka in tow, the owner’s teenage daughter Kelly (Kacey Rohl), quickly bonds with the wild horse. A budding equestrian rider, she hopes to break Flicka for an upcoming competition, despite her mother’s (Lisa Hartman Black) disapproval. With the competition approaching, a rival trainer stealing business, and a growing fear they may be forced to sell the stable, Toby steps in to turn things around for Kelly and her mother.

Make a comment below to win a copy of Flicka: Country Pride on DVD!
 

The Weigh-in

Over the past several months, I discovered a very large downside to not riding on a regular basis (actually not riding at all would be more like it). I am way out of shape.

Of course, I realized riding was good exercise. What did surprise me was how many parts of my body are affected by not riding horses. While I haven't actually put on weight, I am definitely more out of shape  in ways I didn't predict. My usual 30-minute walk at lunch leaves me huffing. Mowing the lawn hurts my arms. Walking up four flights of stairs to my office is next to impossible because my leg strength is gone. Even gardening is a chore. Okay, we could chalk it up to getting older, but riding horses did keep my body younger than most women's bodies of my age group.

Something needs to change. No, I don't plan on buying another horse anytime soon, if ever. Nor do I plan on leasing one. A new horse is not part of my current or future plans. Paying off bills and carving out time to write are along with working on my property.

When a writer friend of mine, Lucy Monroe, invited me to be a team captain for her fitness challenge, I jumped at the chance. I'm competitive so what could be better than almost three months of competing with others to lose weight and get in shape. Even better is the added pressure of heading a team (I've always been better under pressure) and being a good example. Also, the team captains have a side bet in which the winning team gets to donate the proceeds to the charity of their choice.

So today is the first day of Lucy Monroe's Fitness Challenge and what I hope will be three months of eating better and exercising more. We're using MyFitnessPal.com as our fitness/weight tracker. If you haven't used this tool before and are interested in losing weight, I strongly recommend it. It's free, and it's pretty simple to use. There are also apps for iPhones and Androids. What I love is that it tells you how much you need to eat to lose so many pounds in so many weeks. I find that extra incentive quite helpful.

Wish me luck as I embark on yet another attempt to lose weight. I'm hoping the team concept is what I need to finally stick with it. If you'd like to join us, I don't think it's too late to sign up either. Lucy is offering some nice prizes, especially if you're a fan of romance novels.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

A Fall Trail Ride

Fall in the Pacific Northwest is fraught with perpetually gray skies and incessant rain. Once in a while, we get a few sunny fall days. During those rare times when the sun peeks its shy head out of the clouds and graces us with its presence, most of us native northwesterners jump at the chance to be outside.

Last weekend was one of those weekends. It was a low 60s, crisp, but sunny, fall day. If you read this blog regularly, you know my mare has been battling lameness issues. She’s certainly never going to be a dressage horse again, but she appears sound enough for casual riding. With that in mind and a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I decided to take her out for her first trail ride in about seven years.

So I tied Gailey in the crossties and groomed her. I hauled out the western saddle, dusted it off, and heaved it onto Gailey’s back. Dang, but I’d forgotten how heavy that thing is. I probably haven’t used it in seven years.

This would be the second time I’d ridden Gailey this year. With the exception of a short walk through my neighborhood, she hadn’t been out of an arena in about seven years. The cautious side of me heckled my more “reckless” side about how stupid it was to hop on the back of a horse without any preliminary work when the horse hadn’t been ridden more than once in a the past year. Let alone take this horse out on the trails by myself.

Yet, I know this horse. She’s never been one to need lunging before you ride her, always been a bombproof show horse, and a dependable trail horse. I decided to trust her.

I called to the dogs, got on Gailey’s back, and off we went through the gate in my arena which opens onto commercial timberland with miles of logging roads. She walked along, enjoying the day and relishing being outside of her small little world.

We ambled through the clear cut into the woods with Douglas Firs and cedars surrounding us on all sides. The cold bite of fall floated in the air, even though the temperature bordered around 60 degrees. Sunlight filtered through the tree limbs and dappled the gravel road with rays of sunshine. The dogs ran ahead sniffing all great the scents. The yellows and reds of the maple and alder leaves added color to the woods.

On a long rein, Gailey weaved back and forth across the road like a drunken sailor. I’m not sure why walking a straight line was such a challenge to her, but it was. I finally had to take up some rein just to keep her straight. I don’t know if she was sight-seeing or trying to find something edible close to the road which she could grab on the way by. Not that it mattered, we were on a trail ride not a food foraging expedition.

Our little ride lasted only an hour, but it brought back memories of how much I’d once enjoyed rides in these woods, especially in the fall. Of course, the rain has since prevented a repeat of last week’s ride, but I’m hoping for at least one or two more trail riding days before the really nasty weather sets in.

I hope you all get the chance to enjoy a little fall color with your horses.

Simplifying My Life

My goal for this winter is to simplify my life and get rid of stuff that I haven't used or looked at in over a year. I'm starting with the attic. So today I hauled boxes out of the attic, one at a time. They've been stored in there since we built the house in 1994. I was actually doing quite well until I got to the horse books and the model horses.

The model horse in the picture below was from a kit in which you put the horse together and painted it yourself, complete with mane and tail. I loved this particular model more than any of the dozens of Breyer horses who graced my bedroom shelves as a kid. Notice, I even made a double bridle for the horse. I can't remember what I named him/her, but I suspect this horse had more than one name. I couldn't bring myself to throw him away even though he only sports one good leg. So I put him in a Rubbermaid bin along with a few toys I can't part with either.

The next box presented even more problems. It was full of horse books, most of them out of print, some of them belonging to my older sister which makes them quite old.

Below are photos of one box of the books. There are a few more boxes. If you click on each photo, you can see a larger version of it. Many of them are by Marguerite Henry and C. W. Anderson. There are so many old favorites here, books that kept me company, books that fulfilled my fantasy of owning a horse, books that transported me to other places on the backs of beautiful animals. How I loved those books.

Here's my dilemma. What do I do with these books?

I'd gladly give them to a child who is as horse crazy as I was, but I don't know one. Neither of my step-granddaughters are passionate about horses like I was. They wouldn't appreciate these books like I did. I thought about offering them for sale on eBay, but I simply do not have the time to put them out there or handle all the overhead that goes with selling adn shipping on eBay.

Would a library take these books? A women's shelter? A hospital? Yet, I hate to see them ruined by careless children in a group situation. I want them to be treasured, loved, and passed down to another generation of children.

I even considered giving them away to readers of this blog, but I simply don't have the time to organize a project that large, nor could I figure out who to make that work without creating a lot of overhead for me.

There are so many old favorites among these books:

• A Horse to Remember by Genevieve Torrey Eames
• Rufus, The New Forest Pony by Jean Rowan
• Several versions of Black Beauty
• Famous Horse Stories library of books
• And the list goes on

So I'm open for suggestions. What should I do with these timeless horse books, many of them are no longer available?

On a book-related note, my equestrian romance, "The Gift Horse," is a retro release at Bookstrand publishing this month. You can purchase it from Bookstrand for 50 percent off through November 12 by clicking this link: http://www.bookstrand.com/the-gift-horse.

The Equestrian Ink Great Summer Giveaway--The Gift Horse

Perhaps it's fitting that we start off our great summer giveaway with my contemporary romance novel, titled The Gift Horse. To enter just comment on this blog post. I'll draw a winner at random next Friday night, July 8. You must be 18 to enter. You can choose either a paper or electronic copy. I am willing to ship to anywhere in the world. Every week for the next month or two, we'll post another of our author's books.

The Gift Horse BLURB:

Never look a Gift Horse in the mouth?

Carson Reynolds would dispute that statement. A gift horse got him into this mess in the first place. His mission: transform a run-down horse farm into the premium facility in the Pacific Northwest and a disorganized horse trainer with a penchant for self-sabotage into a winner.

After six years, Samantha MacIntyre has returned to the scene of a horrific barn fire allegedly caused by her carelessness. She accepts the head trainer position at that run-down facility to prove her innocence and to ride the talented, temperamental horse Carson received as a birthday gift. But first, she must pass the test: compete the horse for one season, impress Carson, and best his sister's preferred trainer.

As Sam and Carson get closer to the truth and mishaps escalate into serious accidents. With the help of an opinionated equine, they face a surprising reality--that love is more important than ambition, money, or blue ribbons.

Read the first chapter here:

http://www.jamidavenport.com/GiftHorse.htm

Looking for a New Horse

Last time I wrote about my epiphany of not being ready to quit competitive dressage.


Once I’d come to this realization and had a budget to work with, and a very small budget at that, I mentioned on Facebook I was horse hunting. A trainer friend of mine, Molly, whom I’ve known for years, started sending me horses from Dream Horse. One horse in particular caught my eye. The price was in my range, though a little higher than I wanted to spend, but he looked like a sweet fellow. He’d been used as a school horse at a hunter/jumper barn for flat lessons. Molly had been considering buying him for a resale project, but she said she wouldn’t be able to look at him for a while.

I contacted the owner and made plans to see him the following weekend.

In the meantime, I had a lesson on Gailey from my instructor, Kari. In an ironic twist of fate, I’d started her on arthritis medicine, and she was sounder than she’s been in a long time. We discussed my looking for another horse. Kari mentioned that Leslie had returned the chestnut mare to Sandy because the mare had failed the flexion test. Sandy needed to cut back on her horses ASAP so Kari believed she’d offer the horse for an indefinite lease or a minimal amount of money.

Now I had two horses to look at. Of course, I’m a little nervous about the chestnut mare as she’d been vetted twice in the past six months and failed both flexion tests. Now, we’ve all heard of horses that have failed the flexion test but stayed sound forever. With the hope in mind, I tried out the mare on a Saturday. She was lovely, as I expected she would be. Perhaps, a little small for me, but she knew all the second level stuff. Yet in talking to Sandy, she never mentioned a lease, and her price was considerably higher than I’d anticipated. In fact, high enough that I couldn't afford to take a chance if the mare's soundness was questionable. Sandy told me if she couldn’t get that price, the mare would be put in a pasture because she didn't want to give her away.

That evening we went to a birthday party for a friend from the barn. My husband grilled several people on the chestnut mare, including the one who’d returned her earlier in the week. We decided the risk was too great. She was not flexing sound in the hocks, and she was only six. I was sad because she would have been a wonderful horse to have. I also feel sorry for the seller because she believes the horse doesn't have a soundness issue. She had a horse she was hoping to sell in the mid-five figures who is now priced in the mid-four figures and still isn’t selling. What if the flexion tests were wrong? What if there’s really nothing seriously wrong with this mare. She’s also had two sets of x-rays, one vet saw something, another claimed there was nothing. With all this conflicting information what is a buyer and seller to do? Did I pass on the best deal that might come along in a long time?

The next day I tried out Larry, the horse Molly had mentioned to me. Larry was also coming six, and he’d had a partial avulsion in the pastern a few years ago, which as I understand it is a tearing of the ligament which connects to the bone. Larry was bred to be a jumper but the vet recommended no jumping because of the avulsion so he was looking for a home as a dressage horse. He didn't have the dressage training the mare had. In fact, he was quite green though dead broke.

My friend and I saw something in the way he moved that seemed odd, but when he was ridden forward, it went away. Since the owner was willing to allow me to take him home for a 30-day trial, I decided to try him out at Kari’s barn with Kari riding him a few days a week. I picked him up last weekend, and it’s been sub-freezing temperatures ever since with snow on the ground so I’ve been unable to ride him. I lunged him last Monday, and he’d settled in nicely.

Kari rode him on Tuesday and felt something wasn’t quite right with him. She wanted to ride him a few more times before she made her decision, but he felt he had a flat tire. Not necessarily unsound but not right exactly. I plan on riding him tomorrow and all week so we can make our decision. Right now, I’m paying board on two horses, and I can’t afford the expense so I need to make a decision soon. If I'm keeping him, Gailey needs to go home or be leased to someone else.

So that’s where I am right now. More to come...

Cowboy Country

When I was a little girl, I loved to watch westerns, mostly because of the horses. I remember asking my mother one day why we couldn't live out west. Much to my surprise, my mother answered, "Honey, we do live out west. In fact about as far west as you can get." I was puzzled by that because I didn't think "my" west looked like the west you see in the movies.

Looking back, I have to laugh at my ignorance. I grew up in rural Eastern Washington in a small town far away from anything. You had to drive 140 miles to find a town bigger than 3000 people. My great- grandparents homesteaded in this area. In fact, I still have the original homestead certificate.

I'd like to share some childhood pictures with you of where I used to ride.

My friends and I getting ready for a trail ride.

My summers were filled with riding the hills above the valley I lived in, all open range land complete with cattle, old ghost towns, abandoned gold mines, and crystal clear lakes. I had no idea how lucky I was. Now I do. I didn't have a horse until my senior year, but I had a best friend whose family owned upwards of 50 horses. They lived at the base of the foothills and rangeland between Oroville and Tonasket, Washington. We'd saddle up, ride about a mile on a paved road then we'd be on a dirt road or take off on trails through sagebrush and cactus. Once in a while we'd encounter rattlesnakes, which to this day still don't thrill me much.



An old homestead near a lake

Sometimes we'd ride to an old homestead. The log cabin was still standing, testament to a simpler time. Even though life was tough back then, but were they really missing anything. A time devoid of cell phones, computers, the Internet, and all those things we take for granted. I often wonder if we haven't lost something important in our high-tech world.



My fiend, Connie, opening a gate next to a cattle guard.

 Often we'd ride up to Golden, an old ghost town, and a reminder of my hometown's history of gold mining. At the time several buildings were still standing, weathered and gray.



The ghost town of Golden, WA  The road in the distance is the same one in the picture above this one.


Two or three mine shafts were cut into the rocks in the surrounding hills. Being kids, we did explore a few of these. But ever wary of rattlesnakes, we never went too deep into the mines. The rattlesnakes were everywhere in those hills.

Exploring an old mine near Golden, Washington.

If we planned to be out all day, we'd take lunch in our saddlebags, put halters on over the bridles, and tie the leadrope to the saddle horn. We never concerned ourselves with helmets. I have no clue where we'd buy any if we were so inclined to wear a helmet. We wore boots, jeans, t-shirts. Our horses wore various western saddles and bridles with simple curb bits. I never laid eyes on an English saddle until I went to college.



Stopping for lunch near a small stream


Once in a while, we'd chase cattle we found grazing on the rangeland. Something which I'm sure the local ranchers weren't too thrilled about. All the cattle were Herefords, maybe a few Angus. Other times, we'd take the horses swimming in Blue Lake, known for its healing qualities because of the minerals in the lake. It'd be so hot that by the time we got back to the barn, everything would be dry.

A few years ago I went back home for my class reunion. My husband and I drove up the old dirt road you see in these pictures. The road hasn't changed much, but everything else has. The out-of-staters and  "city people" from Western Washington have found my little paradise. They've subdivided the land, put up fences, and posted "No Trespassing" signs. There are several houses in those hills, where once there were none. You can't get to Golden anymore. In fact, even Blue Lake is fenced off with warnings not to trespass.

Blue Lake

I was sad to see a little piece of my childhood barricaded from the public. I look back on those years fondly and regret that today's kids won't get to ride to the old ghost town or the homestead cabin. They won't get to imagine what it was like one hundred years ago when the first settlers came to the area. I was one of the fortunate ones, and I know it. Boy, do I know it.

I loved growing up "out west."

Breaking up is Hard to Do

A few days ago, a friend of mine (we'll call her Pat) left me a few voicemails. I could tell by the tone something was wrong. I called her back to find her choked up with emotion. She'd discovered a few things and was filing for a divorce.

You're probably wondering what this has to do with horses. Actually, lots. How many of you have been through a divorce or faced with the stark reality of one? I know I have. With it comes the sticky situation of how to keep the horses and the farm intact. Most single women find it daunting to run a farm on their own, financially and physically.

In Pat's case, she has five horses, some valuable, some not. She wants to keep two, and she'd love to keep her beautiful farm. Yet, how realistic is that? I was lucky. My ex had a business, so I kept the farm, he kept the business. We did everything quite civally. I know others who aren't quite that lucky. Another friend of mine kept her farm, for a while. After a year of working long hours as a nurse and being a slave to her small farm, she ended up boarding her two horses and selling the farm. Now she has a small house and lots of spare time for her horses.

What happens when you've amassed a small herd of horses and are faced with the stark reality of losing your farm and your horses, not just through divorce but possibly through loss of income? How realistic is it to try to keep everything? What options are open to you? I've been trying to help Pat with her options, but she isn't ready to accept them yet. She doesn't want to change her life or lose her farm and horses. In most cases, this is not realistic.

Sometimes, it just takes a little imagination and a lot of networking to find options for your horses, especially ones you want to keep.

One of our local trainers is looking for inexpensive Hanoverian broodmares. Pat has a broodmare approved by the Hanoverian Society. Another friend has a nice farm, grooms for a local trainer and takes regualar lessons but cannot afford the upfront expense of a nice dressage horse. I suggested Pat lease her most hard-to-sell, difficult yet talented horse to this friend. She'd get a good home and free training, possibly even exposure at shows. In a year or so, they can decide where to go next. I'd go the advertising route for the third horse, a nice young Hanoverian filly.

The last two horses, she really wants to keep. Pat isn't working and is in school and has one more year to go. Can she keep two horses and finish school? Even if she can, they won't be worked or shown or become anything but pasture ornaments. They're both too nice for that (both are nieces of my mare). It seems to me, she'd be better off leasing both of them for two years until she gets back on her feet. People would line up to lease them, they are that nice, including me. ;)

Yet, still she hesitates. I can understand. It's hard to face life changes like this, especially after two decades of marriage. You have to think of what's best for your, your family, and your horses. Sometimes you really can't have your cake and eat it, too.

You also have to face the issue of the horses being considered community property. I've heard several horror stories of horses being split between the fighting couple and being starved or sold for meat in a moment of spite or revenge. Not that I think for a moment either of these two would do such a thing.

In my own case, my horse was listed in the divorce decree with a value assigned to her. For us, it didn't really matter, but for others, it may. How do you protect your horses from becoming "assets" in a nasty divorce? Can you? By rights, they are most likely community property. Assigning a realistic value to them might also be an issue considering the parties involved and the relative ignorance of the legal community. If the horses are insured, that's one way to assign value, which might also be something to consider when valuing your horse for insurance purposes.

I think the best thing for a horse-loving person to do in a divorce situation is to be pro-active. If you believe you'll need to sell off part of your herd, take control of the sales so you know where your animals are going. Of course, talk to your attorney first, but I wouldn't wait until the courts decide the fate of my animals, I'd be taking steps to insure their well-being and their future. If I want to keep one or two, I'd start working on ways to do that before the horses are pawns in a nasty tug of war.

While I hope none of you ever have to go through this, I'm sure many of you already have. I hope things turned out okay for you, your family, and your horses. 

Felice--The Happy Jumper

I started taking dressage lessons in my college years. I didn't own a horse at the time, but a friend of a friend of my sister's had a horse she wanted to find a good home. It had some soundness issues but could do dressage. We checked out this pinto, and I immediately wanted the horse. A day later the person backed out and the horse was no longer available. I was bummed.

The friend knew of another horse, so we checked her out. Felice was a six-year-old Anglo-Arab mare, gray, over sixteen hands. I lived with my sister that summer. She had access to a barn and pasture next to her house. So Felice came to live with us.

Looking back, I'd have to say Felice was a little hot for me at my level of riding. I'd been taking weekly dressage and jumping lessons for about a year, but I'm not known for my coordination or my nerves of steel. Felice liked to go and go and go. What else would you expect from her breeding?

Felice had been evented by a teenager since she was three years old. The teenager loved that mare. She had straight, short pasterns. By the time, she was five she'd been diagnosed with navicular disease. Her owners had her nerved, hoping to continue to jump her. She couldn't stay sound, and she stumbled. So they'd given her away to me with the caveat that I'd return her if I ever decided I didn't want her. I spoke with people who knew the horse. Many of them mentioned, disapproval in their voices, how hard and often this mare had been jumped at a young age.

My veterinarian recommended a horseshoer. He said if this guy couldn't keep this horse sound, no one could. I begged the shoer to come out. He finally agreed, even though he wasn't taking new clients. The man was a miracle worker. He rolled Felice's toes and put pads on her front feet. She stayed sound and didn't stumble as long as he did her feet. Anyone else, she immediately went lame.

Felice and I had a few good summers.  We lived next to an arboretum with bridal trails and an abandoned golf course. The two of us galloped across the golf course and went miles on those trails. We even attended a couple horse shows within riding distance, and I received my first ribbons.

Felice LOVED to jump. It was a shame she couldn't jump any longer. Once a week, I rode a few miles to take lessons at a nearby equestrian center. I'll never forget one incident. I was in a group lesson. We were taking turns cantering around the arena. There were a few small jumps set in the middle of the arena. When it came time for me to canter. I steered her to the rail and asked her to canter around the arena. She was having none of that, not with jumps in the arena. She ignored me and headed for the jumps, popping over all three of them, turning around and jumping them again. Jumping excited her and scared me. Plus, jumping made her sore. We avoided places with jumps after that.

Felice knew a lot more than I did at the time. In fact, she did changes like nobody's business. All you had to do was switch the weight in your hip bones and slightly move your outside leg back, and she'd change. She'd do lead changes every stride if asked. She did half-passes, shoulder-in, haunches-in with the slightest cues from me. I wish I'd owned her about ten years later when I was good enough to appreciate all her talents.

I owned Felice for two years, keeping her at my sister's, six hours away from where I attended college. I didn't get to see much of her during the school year, and I couldn't afford to bring her to college with me.

My sister moved, and we no longer had the free barn and pasture at our disposal. I was graduating from college and didn't know where I'd end up. Felice needed regular riding or she became almost too hot to handle. You couldn't wear her out on a lunge line either. Lunging made her hotter.

So I contacted the teenager's mother and asked her to take her back. She picked her up while I was away at college. I told her several times to make sure that my horseshoer shod the horse. He'd agreed to continue as she was such a nice horse, way too young for her problems, and he felt obligated to keep her sound. The mother blew me off, said they had a good horseshoer.

Several months later, I dropped the mother a note to see how Felice was. She'd had the mare put to sleep. They couldn't keep her sound. I was devastated and so very sorry that I'd ever given the mare back to them. Someone would have loved to own that mare, as well trained and responsive as she was. She didn't deserve to lose her life at eight years old. To me, they had an obligation to her since they'd overjumped her in her youth and contributed to her navicular disease.

Several years later, I ran into the "teenager," now an adult and a well-respected horse trainer. She asked me how Felice was? My mouth fell open. I didn't know what to say. This girl's mother had never told her I'd given the mare back. She thought I'd kept the horse. I didn't have the heart to tell her what really happened so I merely said Felice was fine.

She probably was fine, galloping around horse heaven and jumping jumps to her heart's content, pain-free and happy.

The Magazine Junkie

I admit to being a magazine junkie.

Just like everything else in this economy, the magazine industry is struggling. This year two magazines (non-horsey) I've subscribed to for years have ceased publication. More and more people are getting their info off the Internet and not reading magazines. Yesterday I received a special notice from Sunset Magazine, one year for ten dollars. I've never seen Sunset so cheap. It's usually three times as much, which is why I let my subscription lapse. Now I'm going to renew. It appears they're trying to keep their readership and bring back their former subscribers.

I started thinking about the horse magazines that I enjoy. As horse people, I'd like to encourage all of you to subscribe to your favorite equine magazine rather than buy it off the grocery store shelf or borrow it from a friend. Not only is it much cheaper to subscribe, but it'll help ensure it continues to be published. Most magazines are offering subscriptions for $10 to $20 a year right now. That's less than the cost of one or two lunches. Or team with a friend and get a subscription together.

Here are a few horse magazines that I enjoy every month:

• Practical Horseman--I've been subscribing to this one since 1980. Practical Horseman is one of the best magazines when it comes to accurate and in-depth articles on horse health, feeding, care, and how-to articles. It's primary geared toward English riders in dressage, jumping, and eventing. Currently a subscription costs about $19.95 per year.
• Dressage Today--I've subscribed to DT since its inaugural issue. Obviously, the magazine's emphasis is on dressage with dressage-related health care and training tips, along with dressage news. Also $19.95 per year, though I've seen it for $9.99 at times.
• Equus--I've subscribed off and on to this magazine over the years. It's dedicated to health, care, and feeding of horses. The articles are usually well-written and researched. It doesn't contain a lot of how-to articles on riding, but you'll find everything else inside its pages. Again $19.95, though I've seen it cheaper, also.
• Horse and Rider--I haven't subscribed to this one in a while, but it's a western version of Practical Horseman with valuable training tips from popular western riders. Also $19.99 per year.
• Western Horseman--I've read this magazine since I was a small child. It's chocked full of articles on western riding, horse care, and even the western lifestyle. This magazine is great reading with something for everyone. Subscriptions are $18.00 per year.

The first four magazines listed above happen to be published by the same publisher, who bought out several horse magazines years ago. There has been a deterioration in size and amount of original articles since that date, but I still believe they are good deals for your money.

Please tell us about your favorite magazines and any I've missed on this list that you enjoy.

Why Do I Ride?

Why Do I Ride?

Now there’s the $20,000 question. I’ve ridden for so long that it's just something I do. So today I took the time to stop and analyze the real reasons behind why I put my feet in the stirrups a few days a week.

I've posted before about why I board my horse, but why I choose to ride as opposed to some other pursuit is a different question.

So why do I ride?

The obvious reason for me at this point in my life has to do with exercise. I find riding, especially dressage on my particular horse, to be very good exercise. There have been a lot of times in the past few years that I’ve considered quitting, but the ultimate decision came down to exercise. I don’t want to be one of those middle-aged women who rarely ventures outside when the weather is bad. In fact, I’ve put on twenty pounds this past year, which I attribute to the fact that I have gone from riding 5-6 days a week to only riding 2-3 days a week.

Of course, if I’m only looking to exercise, there are cheaper ways to do that. I could get a membership to a gym or I could start jogging or swimming, etc. Instead, I’ve chosen to spend my free time with an animal. Maybe that’s the difference? Maybe that’s why I ride?

Riding involves interaction with another living being. It's a cooperative partnership. When all goes well, it's one of the greatest natural highs on earth. There's not another feeling on earth like riding a horse who's happily going forward, light and round. I had a ride like that last week. No pulling, no shying, no falling on the forehand and going faster. Instead, the horse and I seemed to be in sync. When that happens riding is easy, effortless, and infinitely rewarding. There was this tenuous thread connecting us, easily broken, simple and complete, needing only the slightest movements from my body and subtle thoughts in my mind.

A leisurely trail ride through the woods on a brisk fall day would feel just as good. The sun shining through the trees, leaves crunching under the horse's hooves, geese honking as they head south for the winter. The feeling of my horse underneath me, relaxed and happy to be out of the arena. Just me, my horse, and nature. I've had moments like that, and they're priceless.

How about the perfect ride at a show? Usually I know when I ride into the ring that it'll be a good ride. Everything just comes together and one movement flows into the next effortlessly. All I do is sit and enjoy, not wanting to do anything to disturb the harmony between my horse and me.

So why do I ride? For moments like those.

Barn Friends

People often ask me why I board my horse. I have a few acres, pasture, a nice barn, and an all-weather outdoor arena. I could give the standard answer, and often do, that I want to be at my trainer's barn so she can ride the horse a few days a week.

Truth be told, while that's a good reason, it's not the main reason. I've kept my horse at home quite a bit over the years. It's been fun. In a lot of ways, I miss seeing her every morning and hanging out with her in the evenings. Yet, keeping your horses at home can be a solitary venture. At least, it is where I live. No one around me has horses so I'm pretty much on my own unless I want to trailer somewhere. With my busy schedule, that's often not possible.

The main reason I board is because of the people I meet at the barn. With the exception of childhood and college friends, I've met the majority of my good friends through horses. Let's face it, horse people are little different. Most of the time the only other person who can understand us in another horse lover. Over the years, my dearest and closest friends have been met through a boarding stable. Usually we share a love of horses and dressage that it's hard to find elsewhere.

When we meet for drinks, horses are the main topics of conversations. We talk about other horse people we know, their horses, where they're boarding and training now, etc. We go to clinics together, sometimes making it a girl's weekend out. Now those are the best of times.

While my barn is competitive at shows, most of the people who board there are not wealthy. We're working people who are willing to make sacrifices in our lives so we can afford our horses. We mortgage our homes to buy our next show horse or work two jobs to afford extra training and show fees.

I enjoy the personalities, both horse and human, you find at boarding stables. At least most of them. I could do without a few of thoses personalities, especially when their behavoior endangers themselves and others. For the most part, I like everyone at my barn. We hang out at shows together. Have parties together. Spend time at the barn together.

I'm a social person, so being around people is important to me, even if it costs me twice what I'd pay to keep the horse at home. So I imagine I'll continue to board for now.

There are other ways to socialize and ride horses. Perhaps, I'll cover some of them in later posts. Does anyone have suggestions? Especially those of you who keep your horses at home?

Horse Personalities

Years ago when I was a horse lover but not a horse owner, I didn't realize that horses could have such distinctive personalities. Oh, I'd grown up on Black Stallion books and any other horse books I could get my hands on. Truthfully, though, I don't recall that The Black had that much of a personality, at least not those little quirks that make a character in a book, animal or human, more real.

I rode my friend's horses every chance I could get. They had so many horses that you never really got to know one particular animal. My first horse didn't seem to have much of a personality either. She was just a stubborn, spoiled horse and incredibly barn sour.

It wasn't until my 2nd or 3rd horse that I began to see how different individual horses were, not just in how easy or hard they are to ride, but in how they approach their world. Certain characteristics were consistent across breeds, but of course didn't always hold true.


I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise to me that horses were so unique in their personalities. But it did.

My old horse, Moses, was a great guy. He went with the flow and didn't make much of a wave while in pursuit of not working too hard. You could do anything with him, though not exactly well. He checked out every person who ever got on his back and treated them according to his assessment of their riding skills.

Then I bought my current horse, and once again, I was caught off gaurd. Not only was she a mare, but she was my first warmblood. People warned me that warmbloods were different, but I didn't really believe it.

They are different in how they react to their environments (at least my mare is). The first thing that struck me about her was how she handled a scary situation. Instead of jumping sideways, whirling around, and getting the heck out of Dodge, she'd stop dead. Then she'd get down really low like a cutting horse. That alone on a 17-1 hand tank of a horse seemed incredible. She got down so low, I could have stepped off of her. Then very slowed she'd rise to her full height and even higher. As if she was standing on tiptoes. Then she'd stalk toward the offending object with great purpose and false bravado, snorting all the way.


I'd never had a horse do that before. Then there was the problem with loading in the trailer. I've mentioned this in detail in another blog post so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say my mare would rather die than go into that trailer. Nothing was changing her mind. I'd never dealt with such a stubborn animal.

Of course, she has a sweet side. The side that charms everyone who meets her as she bats her big brown eyes and begs for treats. She's loaded with personality and quirks. I think that's what makes me love her so much. She's unlike any horse I've ever encountered. I suspect its a combination of warmblood and mare. Yet, I've never had a mare that was like this.

Now I enjoy getting to know the different personalities and quirks of the individual horses around the barn. I'd love to hear about your favorite horse personality.

A First Time for Everything

My husband and I spent a beautiful four days in the San Juans Islands last week. We came back on Wednesday. Needless to say, I hadn't been on my horse in about a week.

Thursday I readied for my lesson, fully intending to tell my instructor that I was going to try showing next year if my mare stayed sound. So I'm riding around the arena, starting my lesson and waiting for the appropriate time to tell her my plans. We move into a canter and work on half-halts from a school canter to a walk and back again. Gailey was dull and lugging, not really into working hard. We circle at 20 meters in this slow collected canter. Just as we come back to the rail, Gailey leaps sideways and shies. Now, my mare is NOT talented when it comes to shying. She's too big and too slow to unseat anyone.

Until now.

She goes one way. I go the other. All of this plays out in slow motion while I fly through the air. Funny how moments like this slow down time. As I'm approaching the ground, my first thought is "I hope I don't hear a snap." For those of you that have followed my posts, you know my mare is 17-1 hands and a long way to fall. I slam onto my side into the hard-packed arena sand near the rail. My hip hits first then my right arm as I jam my elbow into the ground.

No snap.

But pain. Lots of pain washes over me. Darn.

I sit up and flex my arm. No bones grate against bones. Just the pain. I get to my feet as my instructor catches my horse, who was more suprised by me landing on the ground next to her than I was. She's never had anyone fall off of her before and had no clue what it meant other than she might be in trouble.

I feel my arm. Nothing appears to be broken, but it hurts. I sit in the arena veiwing arena while my instructor jumps on the mare to make sure she doesn't attempt a repeat performance. She didn't. Meanwhile, I'm sweating like crazy and feeling pretty sick to my stomach. Then I find I have trouble breathing. I've never had that happen before, but I guess I now know what asthma must feel like. Shock, I guess.

My trainer calls my husband to pick me up. He breaks all speed records getting there. One of the boarders cools out my horse and puts her away (thanks, Kim).

The next day, I'm better, but then yesterday, it seems to hurt more. Plus, the swelling has migrated down into my wrist. I finally concede defeat and see a doctor. She used to ride, too, and has had lots of falls. They take x-rays. Nothing is broken, but I've sprained my wrist and elbow. I probably shouldn't even be typing this.

I feel lucky to have fallen off at that speed from that height and escaped with only sprains. I'm anxious to get back on my mare and get going again, but it appears it'll be a few weeks before that happens.

I guess it goes to show that things happen, especially with horses, that you can never predict. In the 11 years I've owned this horse, no one has ever come off of her, including me.

There's a first time for everything. So tell us about one of your firsts!

My "Bombproof" Horse

I had another post ready for today, but I decided to tell the story of my "bombproof" horse, Moses Malone. I've mentioned Moses previously in a few other posts.


Way back (too far back to even think about) in my late twenties, a timid riding friend and I decided to find a horse to half-lease together. Now, I'm not exactly a brave rider either but compared to her, I was. She's one of those riders that rarely gets beyond trotting. Nothing wrong with that, she was who she was.


We took a trip to Seattle and checked out several horses. One big warmblood we considered was quite impressive, but there were subtle red flags. The owner treated him like he was a bomb ready to explode any minute. We never saw any behavior that justified her caution, but obviously it was there. My friend refused to try him out. So that was the end of him.

We checked out a few more horses, all unsuitable.


Finally we showed up at this backyard barn. A very pregnant teenager came out and proceeded to show Moses to us. It was love at first sight. He was five years old and a rich chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail. Even my timid friend tried him out. He walked, trotted, and cantered (taking the correct leads) and seemed calm and agreeable. The teenager needed to find him a home for obvious reasons. She'd prefer to sell him but agreed on a lease with an option to buy in a year.


Moses had an interesting history. As a baby, he and his mother had been boarded in a small pasture. One day when he was several months old, the owner showed up and hauled away the mother, leaving him behind. Driving by his pasture every day, a woman noticed that he became increasingly thinner and thinner. Finally, she stopped and inquired with the neighbors. None of them knew who owned him, nor had they seen the owner in months. They did give her the number of the property owner. A quick call to him revealed that the absentee owner hadn't paid board on the horse for months.


So she loaded Moses up and took him home, naming him Moses because she'd found him "abandoned in the bullrushes." She attempted to find the owner with no luck. At three years old, she sold Moses to the girl I got him from. This girl added Malone to his name because Moses Malone was her favorite basketball player.


Moses proved to be an excellent horse for me, not necessarily for my friend. I found him to be bombproof, she didn't. While he was a mellow sort, he did seem to be sensitive to the moods of his rider. He also had one quirk. He liked to play with you if you weren't paying attention. All of a sudden, he'd shy for no reason. He was quick, too. One minute there'd be a horse underneath you, the next you'd be suspended in air and he'd be halfway across the arena. Within in a months, he had my friend's number, and she quit riding him. I kept him and bought him about six months later.


Over the years whenever anyone rode him who was overly nervous, he became overly nervous. He also checked out his rider to see what they knew. If they didn't handle him with authority, he took over, usually in the form of walking back to the barn and waiting by his stall. If they were heavy handed, he became annoyed and jigged the entire ride if it was a trail ride.

On the other hand, even if you were a novice, as long as you treated him fairly and confidently, he'd do anything for you. One time at an open show, a novice rider friend of mine hopped on him for a novice western pleasure class. She'd never ridden him before. They finished 1st in a class of 34 horses! Moses took care of her. She just sat there while he listened to the announcer and walked, trotted, and cantered based on what was announced.


I owned Moses for years. I rode him to Prix St. George, showed him to 4th Level. I also jumped him. He was a handy little jumper but didn't start using himself until he hit 3 feet, while I maxed out at three feet. I also did a stint showing him in open shows in western and English pleasure.

He wasn't a talented dressage horse, quite the opposite, but he was a wonderful horse just the same. We spent countless hours on the trails by my house. You could just loop the reins around the horn and enjoy the ride.


In his later years, I leased him to two men for a trail horse. A few years ago, I tried to get him back. The two guys were almost in tears. They said it'd be like losing a member of their family. I let them keep him. He's 30 this year, and to my knowledge still going strong. I loved that horse.

He'll always hold a place in my heart.

Missing the Show Season?

I've had a bit of a melancholy summer. Which is weird considering that a lot of good things have happened to my husband and me:

• We built an addition on our house, and it's beautiful.
• We both have great jobs that we love and have been fortunate enough to be doing financially well in this economy.
• My husband has renewed his relationship with his three grown children, and it's going well.

So what's wrong with me? I wish I could put a finger on it. I know part of it has to do with horses. I've been in love with horses since I was a very little girl. So life without horses isn't an option for me.

This year, I chose not to show. Am I missing the excitement and camaraderie of horse showing? Am I wandering aimlessly in my riding rather than pursuing a goal? Is that such a bad thing? All of my friends are off to horse shows, while I stay home. I rarely ride my mare, maybe once or twice a week. That's not much for me. I still take lessons, and they're going amazingly well considering how little I do ride.

All these great plans I had for my life, all the things I wanted to do but didn't do, are starting to catch up with me. Many of them have to do with horses. I always thought I'd get my dressage medals. Yet, I'm not even close to getting my Bronze, let alone silver or gold.

On top of that I miss the friendships. I met most of my dearest friends through horses. Anymore it seems as if I go to the barn, ride, and leave, without really socializing with anyone, and I'm a social person. One of the reasons I board my horse is because of the people at the barn.

So here I am, wondering where to go from here. Should I bring the horse home and buy a nice Quarter Horse for my husband and ride into the sunset? Should I attempt to make a new commitment to my riding? Do I ever really want to go through the stress of showing?

I wish someone could give me the answers, but I know that I'm the only one who can do that. I appreciate everyone's patience as I struggle to make sense of whether or not showing is in my future. It seems as if this issue has been the subject of all my posts lately.

Have any of you quit showing and found horse activities to replace it? Do any of you keep riding and taking lessons to pursue a goal unrelated to ribbons and points?

Watch What You Name a Horse

I've been pondering all weekend about the subject of my next EI post and couldn't think of a thing. After reading Laura's last post, it occurred to me that I'd never told the story of Broker, a story very similar to Ready's.

Eleven years ago before I bought my current horse, Gailey, I had a wonderful Morgan/Quarter Horse named Moses. Well, Moe was 18 and not inclined to be good at dressage, too short-strided, too stiff, and too lazy, and now too old. I loved Moe. You could do anything with him, and I did; but his story is best saved for another time.

A very good friend of mine had bought a horse for a foreign exchange student staying at her house. The boy had ridden hunter/jumpers in Europe. The plan had been that he'd train the horse to be passed on to her daughter after he returned to Europe. Well, that didn't quite work out, and she decided to sell the horse. She offered him to me for a VERY reduced price. I checked him out. He was a big, beautiful mover and wonderful on the ground. Under saddle, he seemed a little piggy. I put my leg on him. He sucked back instead of moving forward. No big deal, I thought. He just needs some training.

I paid her and took him home. I decided to rename him, Stockbroker, and called him Broker (Mistake Number One}. If there ever was a prophetic name, that was it. A few weeks before I purchased him, I remember commenting to a friend that I'd never been injured on a horse in all of my years of riding (Mistake Number Two).

I bet you see where this is going.

The first day I rode Broker in my arena, he slugged along and refused to move. I decided to take him for a little trail ride on my trails. We didn't get more than twenty feet out of the arena gate when he quite calmly stood on his hind legs. I slid right off his butt onto the ground. Surprised and pissed. I caught him, got back on, and rode him back out on the trails. I was ready for him this time. As soon as he started to rear, I whipped into a circle then drove him forward. This continued for several minutes before I took him back to the barn and contemplated that I'd been had. My "friend" had to be aware of this behavior. The horse was obviously quite talented at rearing.

The second time I rode him was in a lesson taught by a clincian who is also a trusted friend. We lasted about five minutes. He was slugging along, again, and she told me to take the whip in one hand and give him a solid smack. He started bucking in a way that would rival any rodeo bronc. Again, he knew what he was doing. I went flying. Unfortunately, I heard a snap as I landed. I'd broken my collarbone in two places and two ribs.

Giving Broker the benefit of the doubt, since I hadn't really given him much warm-up time, I asked the working student at my trainer's barn if she'd ride him while I was laid up. She could sit a buck a lot better than me and was fearless. She lasted about ten minutes before he dumped her. She tried to ride him one more time, same result. Next came another friend, equally talented and fearless. Same result, again.

Not wanting to risk these girls getting hurt, I took the horse to a trainer with a reputation of being able to rehabilitate problem horses. She had him one month and suggested I try to sell him to a rodeo. She didn't want him anymore and considered him dangerous.

Now, my dilemma. Here I was with a horse I didn't like, and I was afraid of him. I wasn't the one who ruined him. Someone else did. Yet, I was stuck with him. I called my "friend" who sold him to me. Of course, she didn't want him back. I ended up doing something I never thought I'd do. I took him to an auction. I put a note on his stall that he was not a beginner's horse and needed an experienced rider and that he bucked and reared. I paid a girl to keep an eye on him and show him in the arena then I left. I understand some cowboy bought him for a sheriff's posse horse. I have no clue how that worked out.

Broker left a legacy that I live with to this day. I have a fear of being hurt that comes out under pressure. I don't like riding horses I don't know, and I'm often stiff and defensive when I ride. I'll never buy another horse without trying it several times in different situations.

I called my next horse, Gailey, because I wanted to make sure that her name had a positive connotation. You live and learn. And what happened to the friend? I haven't talked to her since. I understand she divorced and left the area.

_______

Oh, and by the way, I just discovered that The Gift Horse is now in print, as of this weekend. You can find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Conrad Schumacher--Part 5 (Final Post)

This post concludes my notes taken at the Conrad Schumacher symposium a few months ago. I hope you've enjoyed this series.

Training the Upper Levels, Preparing for the Show

Classical riding enables us to work the in a horse-friendly way in harmony. Classical riding makes horses equal in temperment. Thoroughbreds and hot horses cool down, warmblood’s heat up. Dressage has nothing to do with head and neck position.

At horse shows, classical riding is not enough. You have to do quality preparation before and at the show grounds.

• Ride the test at home over and over.


• Train for the movements at home.


• Ride the horse other places.


• Put markers on the ground where each piece of the test is ridden.

Commitment

It takes a dressage rider twenty years to get there. You must have a lifestyle that you are on your horse every morning in the same mood. When you aren’t in the same mood every day, your aids are different in subtle ways, such as timing or intensity.

You need quality preparation. You must be secure in the saddle. The body part of the sport is the horse. The mental part is the rider. Everything is linked together by a training system.

Warm-up

Train at home with a warming-up concept and train it over and over. Make the horse ready for the work. The warm-up needs to make the horse excitable but controlled. You need to know what do I do, when and how.

Ride slowly in the warm-up. Ride for position first then ride for expression. The test at a show is not the place for schooling. You can only just “ride.”

Train the test until it’s perfect. Ride as good as you can.

The correct focus is mental fitness.

Wrists rotate in when ears come up at canter

Upper level Exercises to get the haunches under:

• To raise the head use only the snaffle, one sharp snap, then stop.


• Ride shoulder-in, move to inside track, still in shoulder-in, move back to track in shoulder-in (slowly almost reining back in trot to come back to rail).


• Do the same but in renver.


• Do the same in Canter shoulder-in


• Reinback then forward w/o halt


• Canter, make a square, (half-halt, turn).


• Diagonal in Shoulder-in, then change at wall.


• Changes: Four tempis: Say "1-2-3-I will."


• Do 4 tempis on a circle

Classical Structure of the Dressage Lesson

Warm-up, preparing for the work phase.
Put the horse on the haunches to make them controllably excited.

Phase 1: Warm up the Muscles

• Walk for 12 minutes first


• Move on and trot slowly


• Deep trot to help back for 2-3 minutes


• Canter—medium to working canter, back and forth then more precise (10 strides med. 10 collected).


• Back to trot, working trot to halt.

Horse should get in a more active mood.

Working Phase

Use the power of impulsion to achieve your goals.
When horses are relaxed in the minds, they can listen to the aids

• Turn on haunches, trot, med. Trot.


• Halt-RB-Canter


• Short canter, bigger canter, short canter. On the spot canter, med. Canter


• Medium canter. On the spot canter, medium canter.


• Down long side HP left


• Four tempis, start with collection finish with medium canter.
  


• Canter Pirouettes (the pirouette is a Half Pass in a turn):


• Ride half-pass around instructor. He taps hocks and croup with butt of lunge whip then let horse stretch down after about 3 or 4 of these.


• HP to Pirouette, ride back(wards) and turn.
  


• Down diagonal at medium trot. Halt @ X. Medium trot, Halt in corner.
  

Exercises for a big, lazy horse

Keep your hip in front for changes.
For a horse who is a bully and doesn’t listen, use shorter diagonals and bend/counter bend.
In half-pass point the neck where you need to go.

Exercises:

• Shoulder-in in medium trot.


• Haunches in, rein back on centerline, haunches-in.


• RB 5 steps, one step forward, pirouette immediately.


• Turn on haunches, immediate reinback (more control and improves walk).


• Trot, reinback, trot.


• Medium canter long side, halt.


• Medium canter to collected canter.


• Volte in corner, show diagonal, change at wall (keeps horse from running in the changes.


• Half-pass, correct bend and counter bend of neck in half-pass.


• Half-pass in canter, 8 strides in, straight strides, 8 back, change.

Q&A

How long do you ride your horses: 20 minutes of warmup, 20 minutes of work, and cool down phase.

At Conrad’s barn: We don’t turn out horses but give them chances to move. Go outdoors to ride whenever possible.

Stretching: You should be able to stretch whenever you want. A horse full of confidence takes the rider’s invitation to stretch.

Hips in Front: Bring your hips forward, without leaning back. Scoop with seat.

A horse with tongue out has a lack of throughness and not giving in the neck. A very few do it by nature.

A horse with an open mouth gives in the mouth, not the neck.

To straighten the canter ride shoulder-fore.

For flying changes the hip in front keeps the horse straight.

Wide hands: Should be as natural and easy as possible. Keeping hands together tightens the shoulders. An open upper body makes it easier ride without stiffness.

More Preparing to Show

Drive forward only when you have a rounded neck.

Two traps at shows:

• Open space makes the horse more forward than at home. Collect in warm-up more than needed.


• Two-minute before the test: Don’t just ride around. Do something.

Pre-warmup routine: What works best for his riders is to learn to mediate the test. Sit somewhere, shut your eyes and ride the test in your mind five times the hour before the test. Live in the feel of what you want in the test. Feel your leg on the horse, his back underneath you, etc. When warming up have a clear plan. Find out what works best for your horse.

The Way to the Grand Prix Level

The main differences in Grand Prix are the piaffe/passage and the one tempis.

Work from the ground: Don’t need to do as much as the Spanish Riding School as we aren’t training the airs above the ground. Start at 3rd level. Use side reins so the horse stays round. Take the outside rein over the poll and through the bit ring. Frame the horse next to the wall with your body and the whip.

Piaffe/Passage

In-Hand

Think of it like teaching a dog to sit down.

First start with a nice collected walk in hand. Moving backward is the sign of a blocking neck.

Practice 2-3 times a week but for not very long.

Under the rider:

Volte in walk
Flex to inside
Strighten and piaffe
Volte (volte is the reward)

Passage:

Walk, Leg Yield, Passage (Makes horse flexible in the spine)

One-Tempi Changes

Start with nice 2Xs
Counter Canter
Go down longside and do inside bend of the neck, outside bend, inside (get the first change in a corner, then change back in a corner)

Canter Pirouette

Canter Pirouette to Halt to Canter Pirouette

Unfortunately, as the symposium went on, I got more and more tired of writing notes. If none of this makes sense, let me know. I'll be glad to elaborate as best I can remember.

Conrad Schumacher

I'm just dropping by to let everyone know that I just spent two days at a Conrad Schumacher dressage symposium. It was the single most educational and incredible experience I've had in my 30 years of riding dressage.

I took 60 pages of notes and will be posting them here in future blogs. So stay tuned.

To Show or not to Show

Subtitled: Just when I thought I had it all figured out.

A had another good lesson last week. Gailey is as sound as she's been in a long while. We're both having fun, things are going well, and oh, no, here it comes again. Out of the mouth of my trainer: "How many scores do you need for that USDF medal? Have you considered showing this horse again? This is the soundest I've seen her in a while."

That dreaded four-letter word. You know the one.

SHOW.

Yup. That's the one.

It's expensive, nerve-wracking, at times demoralizing, and other times a heck of a lot of fun. Why I'm entertaining the thought of doing this again, I swear I should be smacked up the side of the head.

I'm no good a horse shows. I suck in fact. And by sucking, I get embarassingly low scores and suffer the pitying looks of my barn friends. Why would I consider putting myself through this again. Last year, I swore was my last show. My fragile self-confidence can't handle the whispers and comments behind my back or even worse, to my face. Such as, she can't ride that horse. She needs to get a different horse. I could ride that horse much better than her.

I know what you're thinking: Oh, she has show nerves. Man, I wish it was that simple. The truth is I don't, exactly, not really, not like many people. I sleep fine the night before a show. I don't get butterflies when I ride into the ring. I don't have problems eating (unfortunately) before a show. I can remember my tests. So what is it?

If I knew that, this wouldn't be such a delimma to me. I just don't ride tests well. And my mare, for all her talent, doesn't show well. She tries too hard, over compensates, second-guesses me, memorizes the tests, then gets mad if I don't ride the test she's doing in her head.

Okay, well, I should be able to solve that, right? I wish. For some reason, when I get in a show ring, I lose my judgment (I know what you're thinking--Ah, ha! She does get show nerves.). I ride the tests pretty accurately, I just can't seem to get a good handle on whether or not the horse is forward enough, round enough, through enough. My subconscious tries to send me signals, but my conscious mind ignores them.

My trainer and I have also come to the conclusion that I am often saddled with reverse prejudice. What's that? Well, in dressage there's a lot of talk about non-traditional dressage breeds facing breed prejudice in scoring. In my case it's the opposite problem, the judge sees this big beautiful mare floating around the outside of the arena, and thinks what a lovely mare (truthfully, I can't tell you how many times, they've also told me that as I ride by before my test starts), As soon as we enter at A it all goes to H@#$ in a handbasket. I stiffen (okay, I know, show nerves), she stiffens. I hang with my hands, she opens her mouth and pulls. Her head goes up, she plows on her forehand and speeds up.

Meanwhile, the judge's expression has gone from one of expectation to looking like she's swallowed a lemon.

I swore after the last two years, I'd never put myself through this again. I spent more time hiding in my horse trailer or camper and crying than I did having fun. This is supposed to be fun, right?

But...

I really want that medal. I've done this for too long not to get one lousy little medal. Okay, I could borrow a friend's upper-level horse, zip through the tests, and be done with it. But I really want it with my horse, the horse I bought as a baby.

What am I getting myself into? Is it really worth it?

I'm not sure. Those trails behind my house are beckoning to me, but so is that medal. What should I do?