You can stick a Fork in me....

.....but I am NOT done. :)

So, once again, my competition weekend did not live up to my hopes and dreams and expectations.  The Fork is a lovely place.  It's one of my favorite events.  The facility is gorgeous, the show is well-run, and it's just one of those venues that makes you feel big time.  

As usual, Bug was great for his dressage warm-up.  He felt really good, and I was determined to get the test done.   I was NOT going to panic if he misbehaved.  As per his usual, Bug went in the arena and started to get a bit fresh.  However, instead of having a panic and forgetting to ride, I just kept putting my leg on.  I rode every corner and tried to be as accurate as I could.  He actually settled right away if I put my leg on instead of panicking.  I left the arena knowing that the score wouldn't be stellar, but proud of myself for not shutting down.  We ended up with a 41, which isn't great, but compared to what we've been getting, it's an improvement.  We're making headway.  

After walking the XC course with Kim, I was feeling like the course was tough, but that if I kept my head, we could get it done.  Unfortunately, I had a panic at one combination that led to a 20. :(  It was a large open oxer at the top of a small knoll, landing in 6 to a very real triple brush on an angle.  I didn't quite have Bug in hand enough, and he decided to jump the oxer HUGE (the photographer got a picture of it, and he's jumping at least a good foot over it).  Instead of landing and putting him on his feet to go forward to the triple brush, I panicked and just rode to the triple brush.  He never even saw it.  The rest of the course was quite good.  We are really starting to work as a team and get the right spots.  I was so disappointed that I caused that run-out.  Otherwise, it was one of our best runs.  

Unfortunately, my brain fart moments carried over to show jumping.  All those that know my horse, know that he wants to jump around clean.  If there are rails involved, it's all my fault.  Well, we had 2 rails....and I totally forgot where I was going on course and had to circle.  Thus, 12 sj penalties!  I was appalled.  My mind was so out of the game.  I couldn't seem to concentrate on what I was doing.  My horse put in a huge effort, and I failed.  

If nothing else, this has renewed my determination.  It was the kick in the pants that I needed.  I am working hard, and I WILL do well at the CIC** at Fairhill.  Poplar and The Fork were learning experiences, and I will take the knowledge that I obtained and put it to use.  I WILL NOT let my horse down.  


We are heading to Kim's next week for lessons and a vet check-up for Bug.  After that, we head to the CIC** at Fairhill for Easter weekend.  


Thank you to everyone who supports us!!  Bug loves having fans, and I love having the support.  Knowing there are people out there routing for you makes the determination even stronger.


Chin up and leg on! 

 

Taking a tumble...

Unfortunately, my weekend going to Georgia for the Poplar Place Horse Trials was not all I had hoped and dreamed.  
The day before I was supposed to leave, the fun began.  I went out to feed the boys, and Renn's right hind leg, from hock to fetlock, were skinned and swollen.  The theory is that he got down to roll in his stall and kicked out a low board and got his leg stuck in the hole.  I was sure that the injury was mostly cosmetic, but nonetheless, he was out of going to Poplar.  Bug would be going the journey alone.  
I'll keep the Poplar recap and short as I can.  Our dressage was less than stellar.  His outline was good, though he was a bit more into my hand than he has been.  I did not pay attention to detail and accuracy, and it cost me big time.  We ended up with a 68.3, which is barely a qualifying score.  I was hoping to break 60, but yet another dressage disappointment this year.  This solidifies my thoughts that I need major dressage boot camp with Kim.  If anyone can push me to make it happen, it is her.
I walked the XC three times.  It was a stiff course that asked a lot of good questions, though it was very rolling and gallopy, which I was excited about.  My time was early afternoon, and I was not excited about waiting around being nervous all day.  What didn't help was that the Advanced XC was going very badly.  There were multiple horse and rider falls.  Buck Davidson lost a front tooth when his horse fell in the water.  Michael Pollard's horse randomly broke her leg galloping on course.  I send out my thoughts to the rider and owners of that special horse.
I made my way down to XC.  Bug warmed up great.  I was seeing my distances and feeling good about going.  Out of the box we went!  He jumped the first two perfectly and in sync.  He came down a large hill and got up a bunch of steam.  In hindsight, I probably didn't have him quite enough in hand as we went up the next steep hill to the panda bear at the top.  Bug was a bit strong and started to take off, then peeked over the side and thought, oh wait, that's not what I thought it was.  He hung his right front leg, but his hind end had already pushed off.  He had to twist fiercely to get over the fence and not fall.  This ticked me off of the side, but I wrapped my arms around his neck and hung on all of the way down the hill.  I was determined not to fall at the two star!  Unfortunately, there was no way for me to pull back on, and I had to drop to my feet and hit my butt.  
Wow, talk about a bummer!  Falling off at the third fence of your first CIC**.  Nice.  I have a lot of bruising on my arms from trying to hang on, a lot of sore muscles...but my pride has the biggest bruise of all.  After I walked my xc, and I would talk about the fences that worried me, I kept getting, "Ooooh, don't worry!  You're on Bug!"  I kept saying, "I don't want to take anything for granted."  It just goes to show that unluckiness doesn't play favorites!
I thank God that it wasn't worse.  Bug had a bit of swelling and soreness in his right stifle, but he seems to be almost 100% today.  Luckily, we have a Plan B, and we'll be heading to the CIC** at Fairhill the end of April.  
Our next outing will be at The Fork next week.  
This weekend, I'm heading to my alma mater, Wilson College, to teach an eventing clinic on Saturday and Sunday.  I'm really excited about that!  I hope to get to see a lot of my college friends.
Thanks for reading!  Keep your eye on the next jump!

Counting my four legged blessings...

I must start by saying that I am TRULY BLESSED.  I have two of the coolest horses on the planet!  If I didn't know it before (which I'm pretty sure that I did), I definitely know it after my weekend at Full Gallop Farm.  

I went down Friday to Aiken to have jump lessons with Kim.  Renn was having a hormonal day and was pretty wild.  However, I did the best that I could, and once we had a good moment or two, we quit while we were ahead.  I was praying that he would calm down for the show!  He's normally very well behaved, but you springtime can do crazy things to the boy's hormones!  

Bug's jump lesson was much better.  Kim really has me working on knowing where I am on the course at all times. She also has me riding more forward in my show jumping, as it helps to keep Bug from adding a chip in front of the fence and jumping way up over it and landing steeply.  He's so athletic, that I can place him under the jump, and he'll still jump up over it, but it's so hard on his legs.  I've been trying really hard to tune my eye in and tune myself into the rhythm of the forward that he needs.  It was quite a good lesson, and I was very happy with him.

Bug was entered in the Intermediate, and Renn was entered to do his very first recognized Training.  My student and friend, Naomi van Yperen, volunteered to tag along to groom for me, as this was my first event of the season running both horses and coaching a student, and I wasn't sure how it was going to work.  Thank God she decided to come!  Even though there seemed to be a lot of down time, my boys' times seemed to be really close together.  

Bug's weekend was a great one.  After walking the XC with Kim, I was mostly concerned about two combinations on course.  The first was a cabin- 2 strides, down large bounce banks-3 strides to a large corner.  In order to get to the corner, you either had to take a direct 3 but jump the corner at an angle with a great chance of a runout, or you could take it on a bit of a bending line and jump the corner squarely.  However, you would have to be quick to make the turn.  The other option, due to the way it was numbered, was to circle out after the bank and come back to the corner.  My plan was Plan B, to take a bending 3 to the corner.  The second combination that worried me a bit was a sunken road.  You jumped in over a rolltop drop, 3 strides across the bottom and up to bounce out over a wedge.  All of this was set up at a slight left to right angle.  

Finally, Bug was very quiet for his dressage!  I was so amazed that I forgot to really push him for brilliance in the test.  I just sort of rode around the pattern.  Oh, and lest I forget, I definitely halted in the wrong spot, earning me a -2 for an error.  :(  We ended up with a 42.3, which was not what I was hoping for.  I plan to really buckle down before Poplar and get this dressage thing together!  We were sitting about 18th or so out of 22 after dressage.  Disappointing.  

The show jumping was by Marc Donovan, and as usual, it was a great course with a lot of questions.  The show jumping at FGF is on terrain, so that always adds for some extra excitement!  I had walked the course with Kim, and I knew all of my striding.  Bug and I went in there, and we had yet another great show jumping round.  I feel like we are really starting to get it together.  He is getting a lot more rideable instead of just overjumping everything by 3' and shooting me out of the tack! :)  We moved up to be tied for 12th with our double clear round.

Cross country day was filled with nausea and apprehension.  haha  I BELIEVE in my horse 100%....but not always so much in myself.  My goal was to jump around clean and be within 20 seconds of the time.  I'm still learning how to go Intermediate speed and still take the jumps without riding too slowly.  With the CIC** at Poplar looming on the horizon, I knew that I really needed to try to get it done.  

Bug was a superstar!  He answered all of the questions with ease.  He did the step combination like a pro!  I later found out that I was one of very few to make it through the combination, and I was one of even fewer to do it without circling.  He made it feel so easy!  He tackled every challenge with style and athleticism.  Also, we ended up just 20 seconds over the time, which is exactly what I was shooting for!  It's tough to make the time at FGF due to the twists and turns and hills, so I'm very happy with that.  We ended up 6th out of 22!!


Here are the links to Bug show jumping and the steps combination on XC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyGB95reIdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UTWBtyLiZo

Renn's weekend was pretty exciting as well.  I walked the Training XC the first day that I was there, and I was definitely rethinking FGF as a move-up!  It was a TOUGH course.  The questions were very tough and seemed more like a mini Prelim.  After walking his XC, I was thinking I might be more nervous to go Training than Intermediate! haha  He had a full coffin on a bend that was hidden in the woods, a water to water jump, a house to a set of 2 stride down steps to a double chevron, a drop into the water then up a mound and over a rolltop, and another down bank combination. 

Renn was very good for his trotwork in his dressage test.  He was pretty wild for the cantering, thus giving us a 46.8.  This put us second to last in his division of 20.  He went on to jump around the Training XC like a superstar!  Yes, he was very green, and there was some bobbing and weaving, but he jumped around clear and only 1 second over time.  His clear round moved us all of the way up to 8th!  There were so many stops and eliminations.  I was THRILLED that my baby stallion got around and with confidence!  He grew up as we went around the course.  Unfortunately, he is still very green in the combinations in show jumping, thus causing us to have 3 rails on Sunday.  However, we ended up 10th out of 20, and I am so pleased with him.  I told him that after that Training XC, they would all seem like cake from here.  

Check out his videos of SJ and the second water of XC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y43_UEVeOys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-ghlI91OQc
I am so happy with my boys.  I have two horses that I believe are going to make top notch upper level horses, and, hopefully, international stars. :)  I must thank everyone out there who has helped me on my journey.  I've been working my entire life for this.  I've never had the big bucks to just do it.  I've had to make my horses and take things one step at a time.  I'm just hoping that the road will keep going for me!  I would love to make the Developing Riders List, as I think that is a pretty cool accomplishment.  

I am seeking out sponsorships of all kinds at this point.  It is very difficult to make it all happen when you own your horses yourself.  If anyone has any ideas of places to send my proposals, or advice, etc, please let me know!!

Our next stop is Poplar Place Farm in Hamilton, GA the weekend after this one!  Bug is doing the CIC** and Renn will be doing Training again.  Say big prayers and wish us luck!  


Thanks for reading and keep kicking on!!

Learning lessons and moving on.

Wow, once again I have failed at keeping up with the blog.  I hope I can remember everything!

Back in mid-February, I took both of the boys to the Frostbite Series at Why Not An American Ark.  Bug did 3 Prelim dressage tests back to back to try to get him to behave better in the arena.  He LOVES to warm up really well and then go into the arena and be wild.  He went from a 43 in the first test to a 35 in the last test.  He also competed in the Prelim Horse Trials.  He had two double clear jumping rounds.  I was thrilled with him.  This day was all about kicking off the rust again, and I felt like we did a great job! 

Bug doing his dressage test at The Ark

Renn was competing in the Training Horse Trial.  This was his first time out since November, so I was sure there would be some major rust.  He surprised me, though.  He was very very well behaved.  His dressage test had some issues, but on the whole, I felt it was a lot better than we were given credit.  I think he got a 38, but the test felt more like a 34 or 35.  Oh well.  He went on to jump a very green but double clear show jumping round.  There were dogs penned at one end of the arena, and they were barking wildy.  Renn found that to be very scary!   However, he kept it together, and we got it done.  He went on to jump a very big boy XC round with just a few time penalties.  Once again, I was THRILLED.  My boys were great, and I felt like I had knocked the rust off.  

Renn show jumping at The Ark

Two weeks after The Ark, I packed Bug up, and we headed to Thomson, GA for the Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials weekend.  This was to be our first Intermediate of the season, and I was very excited.  I wanted to have a good weekend, where I felt like I rode my best, and we got around safely.  I walked the XC with Kim, and I felt like it was a nice, straight forward course.  Yes, it was Intermediate, and I still had to be "on," but it wasn't trappy or scary.  


Bug warmed up like a pro for his dressage.  I was sure he was finally going to behave.  Alas, I was wrong.  He was a wild man.  I have to figure out how to be able to have the conversation with him in the arena and keep riding him forward.  We ended up with a 43.2, which should not be happening.  I was frustrated yet again.  Due to the close timing, I had to bring him straight back and tack up for show jumping.  

The course was a tough one, and I knew that I had to keep riding forward to make all of the striding.  Bug was a superstar.  I felt like it was the best round of our lives.  We were together, forward, and hit every stride perfectly.  He jumped around a lovely double clear round.  This moved us up to like 10th out of 22.  I was thrilled.


For XC, I knew that Bug was going to be a bit wild, as he LOVES his job.  He started out the course quite well and listening, but he got a bit fresh in the middle of the course.  He was leaving some strides out, and I was letting it get to me.  Unfortunately, this cost us a lot of time, as I got discombobulated after launching a big table and went down the wrong path in the woods.  I had to turn around and go back.  :(  After that mishap, he really started listening a lot better.   He was great for all of the combinations, but he just thinks that he can launch the gallop fences sometimes.  However, I think we were on the same page by the last half of the course.  We ended up with 22 time penalties which dropped us way down the rankings.  Unfortunately, he had been pretty close to his minute markers, and would have been in the top 8 had we had just a handful of time.  

Bug jumping into the water at Pine Top

I have tried not to kick myself too much over the loss of direction, but I'm competitive, and it's hard not to do.  


Our next stop is the March Full Gallop Farm Horse Trials this weekend in Aiken, SC.   Bug will be doing Intermediate again, and Renn will be doing his first recognized Training!  


In other news, my student, Catherine Schumack, and her horse, Mr. Secretagentman, won the Novice combined test at Hillcrest Farm the end of February.  I'm very proud of the hard work she's done with him.  They will also be going to Full Gallop to compete in the Novice division.


That's all for now!  I'll check back in after Full Gallop. :)  Keep kicking on!

 

Kicking off the rust...

This has sure been an interesting winter, as far as the weather goes.  I have been trying very hard to keep up with riding, but it sure hasn't been easy!  I know that we have had it pretty easy compared to other places, but it still hasn't been a good winter for riding!  I have had to get pretty creative.  I'm hoping that spring is right around the corner, because I think I can speak for myself and the ponies when I say, "We're sick of this!"

Win the War has gotten too big for his britches. :) Sammi braids Firedrake.

It's official...the 2011 show season has begun!  Bug and I headed off to Aiken this past Tuesday for a dressage lesson with Kim Severson in preparation for the Full Gallop Horse Trials the next day, Feb 2nd.  Bug's dressage has been getting steadily better.  Kim was happy with how much progress I've made both in my position and with Bug.  I am not a natural dressage rider, nor have I had strict instruction in it for very long.  Bug would much rather be galloping around and jumping than trotting around in the arena.  We still have much work to do, but isn't that always the case?
My good friends and adopted NC family, Jenny and Sammi Majors, also made the trip down to SC with me.  Sammi and her horse, Firedrake, were competing in their first Training together.  Sammi is an excellent rider, and her mom, Jenny, is an excellent eye on the ground.  She's been helping me with my dressage, as I don't get to see Kim as much as I'd like.  I am determined to get my flatwork up to par!
Wednesday's performance at Full Gallop was definitely useful for knocking off the rust!  Bug and I were entered in one of the two Open Prelim divisions.  I had assumed since Bug hadn't gone XC since last fall, that he would be a bit fresh.  Fresh was an understatement.  haha  He warmed up beautifully for dressage, and when we got in the arena, that fell apart.  He was so exuberant to be at a show again, that everything fell apart.  He went on to show his excitement in the show jumping as well, costing us 2 rails.  Everyone that knows Bug, knows that he is not a rail taker.  He just decided that Prelim was too small, and he didn't need to pay attention.   

The first fence of SJ.  He was being a star at this point. :)

I decided before ever entering the start box, that I was going to go very slow.  I wanted Bug to pay attention and get the job done.  I did NOT want to be the scary person on XC.  We were almost a minute over time, but I was pleased with his round.  He was very ADD, but he answered all of the questions and was much better about coming back to me.  

Getting our gallop on!

I think we have successfully knocked the rust off, and I am looking forward to the next outing!  Both he and Renn will be going to The Ark Frostbite series on Feb 12.  Bug will be doing 2 dressage tests plus the Prelim horse trial.  Renn is doing the Training horse trial.  It should be exciting!  


Some more exciting news!  Rocky Start has acquired two new horses.  Valid Adventure, "Avery," is my new resale project.  He is a 2007 bay TB gelding.  I'm very excited about getting started with him.  His grandfather is Fappiano, who is known for producing event horses.  

Valid Adventure, fresh off the track.

I also acquired, Pine Island Girl.  She is a 2006 bay TB mare.   I am planning to breed her to Renn this spring and have a beautiful baby in 2012!  

Pine Island Girl the day after leaving the track.

All in all, I'm very excited about the start of 2011.  I hope everyone has a great year as well!


Until next time...kick on!

A New Year is Here!

When I was little, all of the "grown-ups" would say, "Cherish your youth, because as you get older, time will fly!"  Wow, they weren't kidding!  I can't believe that we are in 2011!

The year has started off well so far.  Duncan C's Waterford, aka Newton, went off to his new home with Alex Harvey in Maryland.  They are getting along great, and he promises to send me pictures soon!  I'm so happy to have found such a great match for Newton.  

This past weekend, I had the great opportunity to ride with my coach, Kim Severson, at a local clinic.  The weather was horrendous, from pelting us with ice balls (think Dip N' Dots ice cream falling from the sky!), to 50+ mph winds, to 11 degrees in the mornings.  However, being the tough, dedicated eventers that we are, we all rode in the clinic and learned a ton.  

Bug is BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!  I show jumped him with Kim both days, and let me just say, that horse is sooo amazing.  With the help of the vets at VA Tech and some of my close horsey friends, I came up with a new feed and supplement regime that seems to have been the perfect choice for my superstar boy.  He looks and feels better than ever!  Kim was very happy with how he looks and how well he is going.  I am still working on getting my eye back, but by the second day, we were totally in sync and getting every spot.  

Renn was also an amazing boy!  Once again, Kim was very happy with how he looks and how he's going.  He has become a completely different horse in the past year.  We also show jumped both days, and Kim had him jumping some BIG BOY jumps.  He rose to the challenge, though, and answered every question.  I am so thrilled with how well he's doing.  He definitely seems ready to go!

The next excitement for Rocky Start Stables will be the addition of another resale project and a new mare to breed Renn to!  Stay tuned for pics and information!

The 2011 show season is just about upon us, and I must say, the boys and I are very excited!  Bug will head out to his first event on Feb 2nd at Full Gallop Farm in Aiken.  

I hope to keep everyone updated regularly from now on!

Thanks for reading!  Kick on!

Time flies!

I can't believe that it's December and almost Christmas already!!  Wow!  I haven't blogged in forever.  I am finding that life is getting in the way of my updates.  :)

Let's see...

1.  Bug is back in action and BETTER THAN EVER!  I can't believe how good he looks and feels.  He looks better than he's ever looked, I believe.  The change in supplements and feed has really made him bloom.  I can't wait to get back to competition with him!  

2.  Renn has continued in his superstar ways!  He did his first schooling horse trial at the Training level this fall.  It was a bit chilly for the dressage, and he was freshly body clipped, so that didn't go quite as well as expected.  However, he jumped a bold XC round and a great SJ round to end up 2nd.  I am thrilled with his progress, and he will come out in the spring doing Training.  He is also making leaps and bounds of progress in our dressage lessons.  He's turning out to be quite the baby stallion. 

 

3.  Duncan C's Waterford, aka Newton, my Conn/TB cross did his 2nd schooling horse trial this fall as well.  He was in a large 2' division and ended up 4th!  He was a super boy.  He put in a very workmanlike test for a baby, and he went on to jump 2 double clear rounds.  I was thrilled with my little man.  Newton had some visitors this past weekend to try him, and he passed his vetting yesterday, so he should be moving to his new home in MD within the next week!  What a good boy!

 

4.  Rocky Start now has Rocky Start Stables gear!  We have polos, sweatshirts, and jackets.  I'll post pics when I get the first shipment!  I'm really excited about it.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I hope to be better about keeping the updates coming next year. :)