September 5, 2011 - Status check

I brought Rory in to check him after the show yesterday.  I was a bit concerned about the short step on the right hind.  He was a bit muddy so I groomed first and put his boots on.  We went out to the arena and had a quick semi longe to check stride at the walk and trot.  Rory was quite willing to march forward and trot, though most of his attention was on what he could see out the doors.  He gave me just enough to do what I asked.  Fortunately he looked fine.

September 4, 2011 - It's show time!

All braided up!

I brought Rory in this morning and fed him before starting the grooming and braiding.  He stood reasonably well for the braiding process.  I know he'll get better and learn to snooze while I mess with his mane.  I wrapped his legs and loaded my gear into the trailer before taking Rory out.  Rory discovered that having his braids scratched was very nice and contorted himself to try and get my fingers into just the right spot - the spot I was avoiding so I didn't scratch out the braids.  He'd even lift his hind foot up to try and join in the scratching.

Looking around before going in the trailer

Going into the trailer was easy.  Rory stopped and looked, and sniffed and thought before cautiously setting foot onto the ramp.  Once he had his front feet up he took a look around before coming the rest of the way in.  I backed him out and reloaded before we headed off.  Rory travelled well.  He was a little uncertain about the bangs and bumps, but didn't get upset even if he didn't relax enough to nibble on the hay.  The show we went to is very close to home so it was a nice short ride.

A little tour of the grounds

Once we arrived I unloaded Rory and walked him around the trailer parking allowing him to look, and whinny.  He was very interested in everything around him but still listened to me for the most part.  There were times he was looking past me so intently that his feet drifted towards me and I had to give him a little reminder to not push into me.  When he'd settled a bit we went for a walk to pick up our number and see the rest of the show grounds.  Anticipating that he might try his signature "I'm leaving" move and knowing that I'd have to let someone else hold him for a minute at some point during the day I'd put a chain over his nose.  Rory was very good and I never needed to use it.

Rory looks like a pro in this shot

Back at the trailer we walked a bit more before it was time to tack up and longe a little.  Longeing took more time than I'd expected because Rory went right up to canter and didn't want to slow down.  I had to reel him in to a smaller circle to get the trot and then he settled a bit.  On the other rein he went right up to canter again and was less inclined to come back to trot as he just kept speeding up.  I tried not to pull him off balance but his feet slipped several times before he had a bad slip.  He didn't go down, but got his right hind leg out behind him.  I was afraid that was going to be the end of our show, but he trotted okay when I asked him to move out.  I kept an eye on him as we walked back to the trailer and I thought he was stepping a little short with the right hind the odd time, but the ground was sloped and uneven so I wasn't sure.

Here I'm telling Rory he has to be mroe careful after his slip

Everything is new and strange!

I took the longeing gear off Rory and got myself changed then headed off to the warm up ring.  There was only one other horse in the ring when we arrived and it left shortly afterwards.  The show was running a little early which meant that I could go up to the ring as soon as I felt Rory was ready.  He stood well for mounting and then we walked into the ring.  Rory's head was up high and he was trying to look at everything at once.  There were some barrels and jump equipment tucked under the trees at one side and he took a good look at those as he scooted sideways away from them.  I halted him, he looked and I got my friend to go and stand in front of the barrels to show Rory that they were okay.  He walked over a few steps at a time and touched one of the barrels.

We walked around the ring doing some circles and working towards the new areas as he decided they were okay.  Sitting on him I began to wonder if he was ready enough to be at a show and considered that maybe he's not ready for the cup qualifiers.  Gradually he relaxed a bit, and showed me that he was listening to me and trying to be good.  I talked to him and reassured him.  We trotted a bit and he was very uneven in rhythm and pace but got better.  At times he whinnied but wasn't sure what he wanted and would start with a little squeak, change his mind, wind down, then decide that he did have something to say and get louder again.  Once my friend burst out laughing at the noise he was making.  I was laughing too.

Rory's watching the other horse in this shot

Another horse joined us in the warm up ring and Rory looked at him, watching closely but didn't try to go over and say hi.  He did seem to relax a bit more with the other horse's company.  I decided that he wasn't going to get to ho-hum relaxation today, and that he was listening well enough to head up to the show ring.  When we got within sight of the ring Rory had to stop, look and think about it for a minute before going on.  I let him have the time, patted him and he went forward easily.

Taking a look at the show ring area.

Checking out the judge's booth

At this show the spectators and horse approach are at the C-M end of the show ring.  As we headed down to the far end of the ring I took Rory in between the ring and judge's booth first.  Someone made a noise inside and he looked, but didn't spook or refuse to go past.  The booth was just one more new thing to him.  The ring does double duty as a 20x40m ring in the morning, and is changed to a 20x60m later on.  The 20x40m ring is at the C end so there is a 20x20 space at the A end between the long sides.   We walked down the far side of the ring (HEK) and into the space at the end.  The bell rang before we got into the space but I walked Rory in a couple of small circles before heading for the gap in the fence.

More relaxed after the test

I decided to walk to the gap and then trot from there rather than worry about Rory taking a peek at the fence or wobbling into it.  He was looking around as we entered and was slow to get to trot, then wobbled off the centreline and got past X before he halted.  Our circle at B wasn't quite round - it had a distinct corner on the last quarter as Rory stared up at the spectators, horses and various booths.  The KXM diagonal was fairly straight and he walked well before we got to C.  The free walk loop HXK was wobbly and not at all "free".  I had thought Rory might try to leave the ring when we passed A but he wasn't even considering it and trotted on when asked.  The circle at B was worse than the first as he failed to turn after crossing the centreline en route to E, then did a very sharp turn and broke to walk when he reach the fence.  I got him trotting again and he drifted out as we passed B and again I thought he was going to hop the fence.  He was more likely just letting his feet follow his attention and side stepped away from the fence just before he got to one of the supports.  The HXK diagonal was pretty good, and he made a good turn onto the centerline, then wobbled down to X and into the halt.  This halt was close to X, but he did step sideways with his hind end as he came to the halt.

The judge's comments summed it up nicely "A lot of tension so it is good you were able to ride it through without big problems. Some definite potential though!" A couple of 4s, mostly 5s and 5.5s with one six gave us a score of 50.952%, placing second out of two.  I was hoping he'd be more relaxed and get a better score, but I was taking him for the exposure and not for scores so I'm not disappointed at all.

I dug the carrot stick out of the top of my boot and gave it to him before we left the ring and he was much more relaxed leaving the show ring.  We went back up to the on deck area and the whip suggested running the walk/trot equitation class early.  One entry wasn't there and we had to wait ten minutes for them to arrive.  I dismounted while I waited.  Rory stood quietly as he looked around.  He was still very interested but not nearly as tense.

We were the last of the six riders to go down to the ring for the equitation class.  Rory was happy to go forward without trying to catch up to the other horses.  In the ring we spaced out and walked round together.  Rory was very good during the whole class.  The horses trotted at different speeds so we got passed and did some circles ourselves to gain room.  He had horses come up beside him and didn't worry about them at all.  In the line up at the end he looked at the horse beside him then stood quietly as I patted and rubbed his neck.  As the only Open rider in the class I declined to take the ribbon for it since I was only out to give Rory the exposure.  We waited while everyone else got their ribbons and then left the ring in good order.  I was super happy with how well he'd behaved in the group.  He'd relaxed enough during this class to feel the strain of his longeing slip and was stepping a little short on the right hind.

The inevitable post braid hairdo

A lot of good things happened today. Rory DID stay in the ring. He DID follow the pattern of the test with transitions and figures roughly in the right place. He DID listen to me. He DID have moments of brilliance (very brief, very shiny, blink and you missed it moments). He DID relax a lot after he got his carrot at the end of the test. He didn't have a meltdown. He didn't panic. He didn't spook at anything. He didn't try to attach himself to another horse. He didn't try his signature "I'm leaving" trick. He did go in the trailer several times. He didn't stress out about going somewhere. In the Eq class with six other horses he was excellent. Super well behaved through all the various jockeying for position, and attentive to me. I was really pleased with how good he was.

Before we returned to the trailer I took the number off my saddle pad and my friend handed it in and picked up our test and ribbon.  At the trailer I untacked him and cut the knots off his braids.  Another friend pulled the braids out and then scratched Rory's neck much to his pleasure.  I showed him the water again, but Rory wasn't interested in having a drink.  I sorted my stuff out, wrapped Rory's legs again, packed up and reloaded the trailer.  He was a little unsure about getting back into the trailer and went in and out a couple of times before staying in.  I didn't try to hold him and he didn't get upset about it.  He was hungry and started munching on the hay once he did get in.

Hungry Rory at his own haybale again

Back at the farm I unwrapped his legs and then gave him a good hosing down to cool him off.  It was another hot and humid day and he'd gotten warm in the trailer.  I turned him out and he headed right for the hay.  Totyo came running to see him, but Rory turned his bum and told Totyo to leave him alone.  After I took care of unloading my stuff, cleaning the trailer, and sorting out the laundry and tack I took Rory's post ride snack out to him and kept the other two away while he ate it.

September 3, 2011 - Show prep

Today I shortened Rory's mane and gave him a bath.  It was too hot and humid for a sheet to keep the dirt off so I took Rory out to graze for a while until he was dry before putting him back out.

I debated using boots for the show because at "real" dressage shows the horses aren't permitted to wear leg protection.  Tomorrow's show is just a local schooling show and leg protection is allowed.  I eventually decided to use the boots because I'd be really mad if he clonked himself hard enough to prevent us going to the cup qualifier.

It's been so long since I have taken a horse to a show that I was feeling a bit discombobulated and unsure of what I needed to do and pack. 

Three years ago my other horse and I finished second in our division at a championship show and won a prize of a Greenhawk cheapie leather halter.  My horse had a nice custom halter so I dropped the prize halter into the show box to have as a spare in case of a broken halter at a show.  I prefer to use leather halters while shipping and hoped I'd be able to crank the halter down tight enough to fit Rory's cob sized head.  Much to my surprise the halter was about the same size as Rory's nylon one.  I pulled the tag out of the garbage and discovered that it was a cob size.  A pretty neat coincidence!

September 2, 2011 - Final Rehearsal

Today was the last chance for a schooling ride before the show on Sunday.  I wanted to run through the test a couple of times, but I also wanted to ride outside so we couldn't depend on the arena walls.  I spent a while marking out a 20x40m ring inside the sand ring before I went to get Rory.  He hung over the fence and watched me for a while before going up to the shelter with his buddies for a snooze.

We went into the arena for the longe session.  Rory was full of beans and went out to trot right away without waiting to be asked and stepped into a canter.  He was very well balanced in the canter and didn't pull on me to make the circle bigger.  I was surprised and let him go round about three times before bringing him back to trot.  I had to reel him in to a smaller circle to get him back to walk.  When I asked him to trot he bounced and shook his head and pulled away.  It took a couple of tries before he'd trot properly.  He bounced harder on the other rein and I checked the saddle to see if anything was wrong before sending him out again.  He settled and did a couple of transitions between walk and trot, and within the trot before I took him out to ride.

I started on the left rein today and asked him to reach down for the bit and lift his back as he'd done last time.  Rory got it right easily, then got it wrong for a bit as he tried to understand what I wanted.  I gave him an enthusiastic "Good boy!" when he was right and he stopped to get his bit of carrot without prompting.  We worked a little bit at trot with the same sort of exploration of possible responses, and had a little canter.  Rory was definitely getting the idea.

We did a little trot on the right rein and then ran through the test three times.  My ring "fence" was only poles marking the corners, B, E and C with cones to mark the corner letters which meant I had to put some concentration into keeping Rory inside the ring.  Which in turn meant less attention to Rory's attempts to reach for the bit and lift his back.  He was really trying to carry himself so his trot and topline were rather inconsistent.  He did well with some wobbles, and the odd ignoring of turn aids.  The turning will be easier when we have a real ring fence for Rory to look at.  After running through the test twice we did a couple of figures and an interrupted third run through, then finished with some practice of the walk figure (loop HXK).

I am really pleased with how quickly Rory is picking up the idea of lifting his back and stretching into the contact, and how willing he is to offer it but it's not a great fit with the timing of his first show.  Rory really needs a bit of time to explore the contact and self carriage ideas with my full attention to rewarding his correct tries, without me worrying about exactly where his feet are going.  On Sunday I will have to remember to keep that in mind and allow his feet to wander a little.

It was hot today and Rory sweated up more than he has before.  After I untacked him we went out to the washrack and I hosed him off.  He had to stand there for a few minutes while I rescued the trouble kitten from the spare tire under the farm truck.  I fed him outside and he was almost dry by the time I took him into the barn.  His belly was still too wet to put fly repellent on, so I took him out to graze while he finished drying.



August 31, 2011 - Stretch and lift

Rory had a little extra energy today and trotted off on the longe before I asked.  He didn't try to pull away or canter, just trot.  I actually had to reel him in to a smaller circle to get him back to the walk - something that hasn't been necessary for a while.  After that he listened well and I could keep the longe work short to save that energy for the ridden work.

Left working outline, right starting to lift his back and reach for the bit

 I asked him to keep moving forward and kept a light contact.  Rory moved forward willingly enough but he found the contact distracting and was too busy testing the contact to listen to the bend requests.  There were moments on some of the circles when he relaxed and lifted his back for a few steps but they didn't last.  It was just luck that he tried it and I didn't give him obvious enough praise so he didn't realize that was the right answer.  I managed to catch him once and give him a "good boy", a pat and halted for a carrot.

 After the halt I kept him at the walk for a bit and encouraged him to stretch down into the contact and lift his back.  When he did I really felt his back lift under me and I was quick to praise.  He halted and I gave him a carrot.  We repeated the process several times and Rory very quickly picked up on what I wanted and lifted his back for several strides at a time.  He would lose the contact at times, but he found it again with a little encouragement.  We stayed on the right rein to give Rory a chance to really understand what I was asking.  The walk was going well so I asked him to trot.  Again at the trot I really felt his back lift up when he stretched forwards and down into the contact.  I praised and Rory halted so he could get his carrot.  Then we tried it again and Rory lifted his back and reached down into the contact.  It wasn't long before Rory was trotting around with his back up more often than not.

All of that work took just about twenty minutes and since it was quite humid and Rory had been so good I quit there.  We went for a walk around the grass field to cool out.  I untacked and hosed him off, and gave him his extra post-ride grain before putting him back out.