Green is a lucky color!

There are times in your eventing career, where you stop and take a look back at all that you've done.  You remember all of the horses that you've had, all of the heartbreaks you've endured, and all of the highlights.  It has been a long up and down road for me, just as it's been for most riders!  There are a lot of heartbreaks, but I must say that the highlights stand out the brightest.  I have been BLESSED with truly amazing horses, and Bug definately tops that list.  He's truly a once in a lifetime horse!  
This past Friday, my husband, Jeremiah, and I woke up around 3 am, loaded up Bug, and we headed up North to Erie, Pennsylvania.  It was a long, boring drive, but I was very excited.  We were heading to the Lost Hounds Horse Trials, and Bug and I were going to compete in our very first Intermediate.  Lost Hounds is held at the Erie Hunt and Saddle Club, which is a lovely little place with a very laid back atmosphere.  
I walked the course on Friday for the first time.  The optimum time on course was 4:45 which included 31 jumping efforts!  It was a very windy course, as they had to make a lot of loops to make the distance.  I was pretty sure that making time was not going to be an option. There were a lot of good questions, though it wasn't a HUGE course by any means.  I definately thought it was doeable, but I was going to have to be good about keeping my eye and my shoulders.  I was also giving myself "the talk" constantly that I was going to have to set him up and then leave him alone.  I couldn't be picking at him to the fences.  There were two different corner combinations, a bounce into the water with a one stride on the way out, an interesting pimple jump with a huge downside into the water and bending line over two skinnies on a one stride, another log with a huge drop hill straight to a bank up one stride down then skinny, coffin on an angle, etc.  I knew there would be plenty to keep Mr. Smarty Pants interested.  
We have been working very hard on our dressage.  Bug is not the most uphill of horses, and he has always struggled with his roundness and rideability in dressage.  However, I can confidently say that we have been making leaps and bounds in his work.  Granted, we still have a lot to do, but he has been soooo much rounder and more rideable.  He struggles to hold the roundness during his lateral work, etc, but he's getting there.  He was very rideable in our test.  It was definately the best test we've had at a recognized event.  We had two bobbles, but he came right back to being good.  There wasn't any spooking or acting silly.  He was great. We ended up with a 44.8, which was a bit disappointing, but this put us 13th out of 22, so I don't think the judge was giving away many scores that day.  I was still very happy with how my boy went, and I was looking forward to jumping on Sunday.
Bug has really started to know his job.  He's always been a pretty cool cucumber in warm-up for XC, but he has started getting a bit excited.  He was jigging in the walk, trying to veer toward the start box, and getting worked up when other horses would gallop past.  All I could do was laugh.  He wasn't bad about it, he was just showing me that he was ready.  When we left that start box, he shot out of it like he was shooting out of the starting gate!  He was ready!  My horse was AMAZING!  He jumped everything out of stride and was perfectly rideable!  There was no time on course where I felt like he wasn't listening to me.  It felt like the best ride.  I had one moment at a super skinny between trees where I got ahead, but he saved my butt.  The rest of the course rode great!  I didn't push for time, but I let him go at a pace that he felt comfortable and safe.  He was such a star.  A lot of the horses had trouble at both waters, but Bug handled everything like a champ.  I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face!!  He jumped around clear with only 8 time penalties!!  There was only one horse that made time, and that was a horse that had just run Rolex this spring.  haha  I was more than happy with him.  This moved us up to 9th.
I walked the show jumping course with the realization that it was very big, and it was going to be tough to make time, as it was outside in the grass in a big area.  I knew that I needed to ride forward and in balance to everything.  The SJ courses are known to be tough there.  I had my plan, and Bug and I went into the arena.  He was such a star again!  There were two places where I needed to push him a bit more to the base, but in true Bug style, he jumped way up over everything.  I was more than thrilled.  He was one of only 4 double clear rounds!!  
All of this hard work placed us 6th out of 22 in our very first Intermediate!!  I am sooooo happy with my superstar boy.  He is such a blessing and an amazing horse.  I am so happy and thankful!!

Here are the You Tube links to the video that I have now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMmzW1SPm3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3opUDDtl3fI


Thanks for reading our story!  Kick on!!

*Insert Creative Title Here*

I'm just dropping in for a quick update.  

 (pic is Bug showjumping at The Fork)

Bug and I have been working very hard and gearing up for the Lost Hounds HT and our first Intermediate!  Our dressage has gotten pretty amazing for us...at home.  Can we repeat it at a show?!?!  That is the question!  I'm sure going to try to keep it all together.  It's amazing what this little horse has in him.  I ride around with a big grin on my face, as he's definately the coolest horse in the world!  Not that I'm biased...  We have also been working on our straightness and accuracy while jumping.  I don't have a very big arena yet, but I figure that if we can make turns to jumps in my little space, we can make any turn!  I'm so proud of my boy.  
In the fitness area of things, I have been trying to do some different things with Bug to keep things fresh.  It gets a big boring trotting around in circles, so I've started taking him to Stone Mountain State Park to do his trots.  They have lovely manicured trails and the shade of the forests eases the heat a bit.  They also have a huge creek that runs through the park as well, and Bug LOVES to trot and play in the water.  He thinks of it as a play date rather than fitness work!  We have also started going to the Yadkin Valley Hounds (www.yadkinvalleyhounds.com) Timed Trail Rides (they're basically Hunter Paces) for our gallops.  Bug LOVES these.  I think he will be plenty fit and ready for Lost Hounds.  
We will be hitting up Hillcrest Farms Schooling Combined Test (www.hillcrestfarm.blogspot.com) next Wednesday to do an Intermediate Combined Test and run through our dressage test an extra time.  We will be leaving Friday for Erie, PA!

                                         (Bug up the bounce bank in the rain at the Virginia HT)
As for my other boy, Renn, I took him to the vet today for an ultrasound of his leg.  He has no tears or lesions on the suspensory or the suspensory branches!  He can go back to light work starting Friday.  The vet said that he must have just had a strain, but we're going to be very careful and start him back slowly.  I'm sooooo happy!  I've been praying that he would be okay.  Thank God!  I was prepared to hear bad news, but I got the  news that I wanted.  I'm very excited to get back on my boy.
That's all of the news for now.  I hope all is well with everyone.  Heels down and kick on! 

Plan changes can mean more open doors...

I feel like this year has been a lot of ups and downs and changes in plans.  Either I'm sick or hurt or something's going on with my horses.  That said, I'm still very happy with it all.  The bad things have ended up leading to something good.  I have great faith that things happen for a reason, and God somehow makes it all work out.
Last week, after finding out about Renn's injury, I was all geared up to try to make the most of things and head to VA with Bug to do the CCI*.  However, last weekend, we had about 4 days of horrendous storms with pouring rain and hail.   Monday morning, Bug seemed to have a bit of a belly ache and didn't want to eat his breakfast.  He wasn't in any distress, just not interested in eating.  For everyone that knows Bug, this is definately not like him. To make a long story short, I gave him Banamine, not really thinking about anything except making him better.  He was fine about 10 minutes after I gave him his meds, but I then realized that I'd probably just messed up my chances at going to the CCI*.  The FEI is very particular about drug testing, and Banamine stays in the horse's system for 6 days minimum.  
Once again, another change in plans.  However, I could still switch him over to do just a horse trial at the Preliminary level.  I took that option.  Renn went along for the ride, as Jeremiah is not good with leg wrapping and medicine giving.  He was a perfect gentleman stallion all weekend, though, even after all of that stall rest.  I was very proud of him.  
I learned yet another lesson with Bug...  He warmed up beautifully for dressage on Saturday morning.  As soon as I went into the dressage arena and put my leg on to trot, he squealed.  I knew I was in for it.  However, instead of being patient and just pushing him through, I got frustrated.  This is something I need to work on.  I need to just push him forward instead of getting frustrated and making him more tense.  Lesson learned.  We ended up with a 45.2.  Not impressive, knowing what this horse COULD be getting. 
After walking the XC course, I knew that it had a lot of really good questions.  The jumps weren't huge, but I felt like it was a decent Prelim course.  I told myself that I wasn't going to take anything for granted.
Of course, just as I went out to warm up for XC, the rain started coming down.  I had a hard time seeing through the rain, and the ground was pretty mucky in places, so I decided not to push too hard for time.  Bug jumped like a champ!!  I was thrilled with him.  We ended up with 7.2 time penalties which was pretty average for our division.  
Show jumping was a very cool course with a lot of turns and interesting lines.  I walked the course with Kim, and I was determined to try to ride the lines just as she explained them.  I made the mistake of using Bug's KK bit for show jumping, as he was feeling a bit wild.  I thought that I would take it easy on his mouth after XC the day before.  Apparently, Bug wasn't tired at all!  We jumped around double clear and way up over everything, but he was definately not in as much control as I would have liked!  However, I was very happy with myself that I stayed on the lines Kim wanted us to take, and I stayed with him in his exuberance.  We were one of only two double clears in our division.
Thanks to Bug's phenomenal jumping, we ended up with a pretty yellow 3rd place ribbon!  I'm very happy with my boy, even though we definatley have more work to do.  :)
The next big stop is the Lost Hounds Horse Trials in Erie, PA, June 19-20.  Bug's going to be making the big move up to Intermediate!!  The plan is to spend the next month getting lessons and competing in some schooling combined test and dressage shows at the Intermediate level to get ready!!  
Renn seems to be doing a lot better so far, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it was just a minor strain, and he'll be back to work soon.
Hope all is well with everyone!  Kick on!

Rolling with the punches

We're coming down to the wire for the CCI* at Virginia next week.  Bug and I have been doing dressage boot camp hardcore, and he is feeling very fit and ready to go.  His jumping has been great and spot on, if a bit exuberant.  I am using this last week or so to really nail down our test and make sure our jumping is accurate and straight.  

Of course, there has to be some punches thrown at me...that's life with horses, eh?  Renn was all signed up for the Novice Horse division at Virginia.  He's been going really well and starting to really get his transitions down, and he's getting much better at staying relaxed and lovely in his flatwork and jumping.  Enter mysterious lameness....  No heat, no swelling.  VERY lame on his left front.  The farrier tried to find an abscess with no luck.  Off to Davie County Animal Hospital to see Dr. James Meeker we go!  To make a long story short, we're dealing with some level of suspensory branch strain or pull or worse.  Due to the nerve blocking that we did on his leg today, we could not do an ultrasound (the fluid from the block will show up as fluid on an US, and you can't tell if it's from the tendon or from the blocking).  The X-rays showed no bony problems, but you could see some abnormalities around the suspensory branch insertion (attachment).  

What does all of this mumbo-jumbo mean?  Renn will be on stall rest with hand walking for the next 2 weeks.  Intensive wrapping, sweating, poulticing, and medicine for the next 2 weeks.  If all of this helps? Just a strain.  If he's still lame after 2 weeks?  Back to the vet for an ultrasound.  

Renn will still make the trip to VA with me, as I have no one to care for him while I'm gone.  It'll be good for him to get more exposure, even if he doesn't have to compete.  He will go along and route his brother on!

Countdown until VA is on!  I will be saying big prayers that it goes well , and Renn heals quickly! 

Thanks for reading.  Hope all is well.  Kick on!

Wake up and smell the reflexes!

This past weekend was full of learning experiences!  It's rather a long 7 hour drive through Atlanta, GA to get to Poplar Place Farm in Hamilton, GA.  (www.poplarplacefarm.com)  However, upon arriving, I realized that it is a pretty snazzy place.  For those who have never competed there, it's GORGEOUS.  The show is really well run, the people are really nice, and facility is top notch.  
Bug and I were going to be doing the Preliminary division with the hopes of having a great run up to the CCI* at VA in a few weeks.  My student, Catherine Schumack and her wonder pony, Dreamin' Up a Thunderstorm (affectionately known as Thunder) was competing in the Junior Beginner Novice.

Bug and I have been working very hard on our dressage, and it definately paid off at Poplar.  Our score didn't necessarily reflect how well I believe he went, but sometimes that's the case.  He was consistent in the connection, balanced, and listening to really well without all of the extra movements and spooking he sometimes likes to add to our tests.  We got a 37.3.  The judge really liked us, however, she said the Bug is "A very elegant horse that just needs to relax more over his topline."  Well, at least there weren't any comments about how inconsistent he is in the connection!  That's a first!  He got a 7 on his "Gaits," and I got a 7 on "Rider."  I was thrilled.  There was even an 8 on our first centerline!  We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we are definately on our way. This put us tied for 8th in our division.

The show jumping course was quite big and twisty.  It was a very forward riding course.  I watched a lot of the rounds, and I knew EVERYONE was having time penalties.  Anywhere from 5-10, depending on the round.  I had decided coming into this show, that I really wanted to have a nice controlled ride with Bug.  He can tend to really be over exuberant in his jumping.  We have had plenty of double clear rounds, but thinking ahead to the CCI*, I wanted to be sure that I was setting him up for a controlled, spot on ride at VA.  I didn't push for time in the show jumping, and it cost us 4 time penalties, but I was THRILLED with his round.  We hit every spot perfectly.  He didn't overjump and hang in the air forever.  He was just lovely.  I was very happy with my riding as well.  I've been working very hard to keep my upper body quieter and staying with him in the air (which isn't always easy!).  Even with our 4 time, we moved up to 6th place.   

The XC course was big and gallopy.  There were a few good combinations, including a bounce bank, a tough turn to a corner leading to another combination, and some great combos in the water.  It was also a very long course, at 6+ minutes.  I thought it would be a great chance to see how Bug faired on a longer course.  Once again, the course was riding BEAUTIFULLY.  He was getting every spot, making every minute marker, and I was really happy with my body control.   However, we came up to fence #15, the corner off of a turn with a very narrow place to jump. There were burlap bags filled with sand stacked on the corner.  We were on the perfect stride, and I took for granted that he was going to leave the ground, instead of keeping my left leg on.  IN that split second, Bug spooked, and we had a run-out.  My reflexes weren't quick enough.  If I hadn't taken for granted that he would jump, my left leg would have been on, and it never would have been an issue.  He came right back and jumped it perfectly.  
I'm a bit disappointed with myself, as this is going to eat at me until VA.  The good thing is, I will be practicing corners, skinnies, etc like mad until then!  It was my wake up call, and I plan on not repeating it.  Life is full of lessons, and I'd rather I be taught this one at the horse trial rather than the CCI*.  Disappointments are the fuel that make you work that much harder.  

As for Catherine and Thunder, they had a decent dressage, but it wasn't quite up to their normal standards.  They are usually putting in low-30's to high-20's and this test was a 36, putting them in 6th.  She was a bit disappointed.  We made a plan for her show jumping to make sure her little pony made the time.  She took all of the super inside turns that no one else was taking, and she pulled off a double clear!  I was very proud of them.  Their handy little ride moved them up to 3rd.  Catherine also rode a very lovely XC round with another double clear that gave them a pretty 2nd place ribbon!  I'm very proud of them.  When I started with Catherine, she hadn't done much jumping or dressage with her pony.  Thunder has been great with picking up the dressage, but he hasn't always been very brave with the jumping, even though he can jump very well.  They have just started recognized events within the past year, they have a pretty good BN record!  Two thirds and a second!  They are planning to head to the AEC's this fall.
Well, I'm going to be hitting the training schedule hard in the next few weeks.  Bug has a CCI* to prepare for, and Renn is going to VA to do Novice!
Hope everyone is doing well!!  Kick on!

Flying through the air with the greatest of ease!

It's been awhile since I posted...  Things have been a bit crazy for me lately!  After my week+ of illness, I got back to work with the boys.  I have been getting some dressage help from my friend, Hillary (www.hillaryirwineventing.blogspot.com), who always seems to have lovely tests on her horses.  She lives close, and she has a great eye, so she's been my drill instructor for dressage bootcamp!  Bug has really been making leaps and bounds in his dressage work, and I feel like I'm FINALLY starting to get it.  

Renn and I have been working on relaxation in the jumping and the flatwork.  He's really starting to come along as well.  

Of course, when all is going well, another wrench must fall into the gears.  To make a long and gory story short, I got double barrel kicked in my upper thighs, sending me flying about 10-15 feet into an old barrel which decided my left arm looked mighty tasty.  The result, two very badly bruised thighs and thirty stitches in my arm.  That happened Sunday, April 18th.  Luckily, I was able to keep Bug going with lunging and hacking one armed.  Hillary, from earlier, was also kind enough to jump him for me last
week.   I was able to do some dressage work last Thursday as well, just to test out the arm.  Fortunately, it hurts to do just about everything with it, except hold the reins.  I am getting my stitches out on Thursday, so Thursday evening, I'll be jumping Bug.  This week will be filled with a lot of dressage work, which is just what we need, anyway.  
We leave Friday morning for a 7 hour trek to Hamilton, GA for the Poplar Place Horse Trials.  Bug is competing in the Preliminary division, and Catherine and Thunder are taking on the Beginner Novice division!
I am hoping that myself and my horses can manage to stay healthy for the rest of the season!  haha We'll see.
Hope all is well with everyone!

Sometimes you have to make the big girl decisions....

I am the typical horsewoman...  I push myself to the limits, even when I'm feeling crappy or under 100%.  I always try to push through the pain.  haha  Well, sometimes, that's not always the thing to do....

After my return from The Fork with Bug, I came down with the flu from the darkside.  Coughing, sore throat, congestion, body aches, fevers....  I felt like death.  I kept thinking that I would feel better the next day, but I kept feeling worse.  Unfortunately, Jeremiah was busy with his two jobs all week, so that meant that I had to do all of the daily work around the farm.  There was no rest for the weary.  I was supposed to be taking Renn to The Fork II that approaching weekend, so I kept riding the boys every day as well.  You wouldn't catch this eventer wimping out!  

By Thursday night, I had myself so sick, I had a high fever, night sweats, and was generally looking like death.  I had also had a call from the doctor that my white count was low, probably due to my sickness.  Jeremiah put his foot down....Friday was a rest day, whether I liked it or not.  Bless his heart, he got up at 5 on Friday and fed everyone before he had to leave for the day.  I was determined to rest all day, so that I could take Renn to the show on Saturday.

One thing resting does....it gives you time to think.  I was thinking about all of the hard work that I've been doing with my boys.  Renn has been getting quieter and going so wonderfully, and Bug, well, we have big plans for him.  The more I thought, the more I realized that going to the show and making myself worse was probably not the option I should choose.  I would never feel well enough to give Renn a good ride.  I would hate to give him a bad experience after all of the work I've been doing.  I would also hate to make myself so sick that I mess up my health for the season.

I made the big girl decision, and I stayed home.  I'm very happy that I did, because I wasn't feeling very well by Saturday.  

However, I do need to congratulate Catherine and Thunder for going to The Fork and coming home with a 3rd place ribbon from their Beginner Novice division!  That makes two 3rds at BN, so they are not qualified for the 2010 American Eventing Championships!  I know Catherine is very excited.  It's been a very long road with that pony of hers, but she's stuck with him!

I'm finally feeling pretty close to 100%, and I've ridden the past 2 days.  Bug will be going to the Yadkin Valley Hounds Hunter Pace this Saturday for some fitness work, which I'm sure he will enjoy! 

Hope all is well with everyone!  Kick on!