After 2 days of dressage (phase 1 of the 3-day eventing) at the world equestrian games, you would have thought Emily and I would have had enough. But we were fortunate enough to receive a pair of tickets to the sold out freestyle dressage finals.

I have never seen anything like this in my entire life! These horses and riders were unbelievable. Although this pair didn’t win the gold, they were by far the most memorable dressage pair I’ve ever seen. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed watching them on September 30, 2010!

Horses

As I travel home I’ll be adding photos and write up about my experience here in Kentucky at the Eventing World Equestrian Games. Let me just say WOW!

MORE while I travel!

Horses

My very good friend, Amy Richardson, writes a family-based blog called Bliss Happens.  This weekend Amy and her daughter, Amanda, were my “guests” at the King Oak Horse Trials. This was their first EVER event and here is what she wrote about her experience. (This is taken from her blog Bliss Happens).

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My friend Debbie is a mother mucker. you see, there is a whole lot of work that goes in to having a daughter who rides horses and competes in Equestrian Eventing.

She hauls trailors…

She carries hay, shavings, saddles, tack and other gear to and from the barn.   She mucks the stall (scoops the poop), cleans the tack, and assists Emily in preparing the horse for competition. 

Debbie walks the cross country course with Emily…all two miles of it!  While trying to remain calm about the fact that her teenager will be sitting on the back of a large animal who’s attempting to jump over these giant obstacles.

on the walk through, Amanda jumped almost half of the 28 jumps.  This was a “fairly easy” one.

Emily in the Dressage

I now have a deep appreciation for not only what Emily does, but what her mom does to support her.

Thankfully, after this weekend at the King Oak Horse Trials in Massachusetts, my own daughter is not begging for a pony!

* * * * *

It was so much fun – AND SO MUCH HELP – to have Amy along. And Amanda was FANTASTIC for her first time around such excitement. NEXT UP: GMHA … last show of the season.

HAVE A GREAT RIDE!

Friends, Horses, Shows / Events

What's a Mother Mucker to do?

As my daughter approaches her last few shows of the season before taking her Fall break I find myself scratching my head and wondering WHY we sign up for these last few shows.

Of course … it’s because my daughter loves the eventing and back 6 weeks ago when we signed up, it was August 1st and we were both still raring to go! But now, school has started and as a Junior the homework is already heavy. And she plays Varsity Volleyball for her school, which is practice every day as well. Someday (like the past 2 days) her schedule would be:

• Wake up and get to school before 8 AM
• Homework from 2-3:30
• Volleyball practice from 4-6
• Ride Billy (thank goodness there’s an indoor arena)
• Finish homework upon arrival while choking down dinner at 8 PM

One more week and she’ll attend her final show of the season: GMHA Fall HTs. These few weeks of my daughter’s overload is tough on mom as well. I know she loves it all and she isn’t willing to let any of it go. You think after all these years I’d know better but NO!

I am, after all, just a mother mucker.

Horses

After two successful dressage outings – both which also included an RF in the final stats – many of our horse friends were emailing us and sending us facebook messages that read like this:

“We’ll have to glue her to the saddle.”
“Let’s get a big ball go string and tie her up there.”
“Put velcro on your bottom.”
“Next time we’ll duct tape you to the saddle.”

There were more … but you get the idea.

So, after  GMHA August horse trials, my daughter signed up for Valinor Farm to run Prelim/Training as a schooling to get back into the groove and work out the kinks.

Off this mother mucker drove through summer traffic south on I-95 around Boston for a one day event – which included our overnight camping adventure. I did my usual tack-cleaning therapy session, complete with ipod tuned into Grateful Dead tunes so I could dance around the stall. Since there weren’t many people around, I didn’t feel funny grooving to the music as I applied the cleaner and conditioner.

We went with rider friend Tiffany Cunningham for a great Indian food dinner before hitting the hay (aka the tent) and awake to a beautiful morning. this was our view from the stabling area:

The view from stabling at Valinor Farm

Dressage went fine, with the exception of a canter on the wrong lead.

Show jumping was … well, different. The warm up, actually. Billy didn’t want to go over the warm up jumps and that never happens. But just before going into the ring, Emily kicked him on, he went over, and off to the show jumping ring he went – with no hitches at all.

Within 30 minutes she was out on cross country, where I strategically placed myself near the water for optimum viewing. Emily was number 3, so I didn’t have long to wait.

Rider 1 came through … STOP at the bank down into the water.

Rider 2 came through … STOP at the bank down into the water.

I heard Rider 3 on course, clear through jump 4. Soon after she came into view. Clear 5. Couldn’t see jump 6 or 7, but I saw her coming toward where I was standing – a log at the top of a steep hill. CLEAR over jump 8.

And then … horse briefly stops at the water and JUMP DOWN THE BANK – through the water, and out the other side.

No Duct Tape Necessary!

Emily and Billy continued to a successful AND COMPLETE finish. Confidence regained. Nuff said.

Next up – King Oak Farm on September 12, 2010. I hear they have a bounce there in the fall horse trials. Anyone know?

Horses, Shows / Events

Last weekend we traveled to Vermont (again) for the GMHA August Horse Trials. The weather was nothing short of PERFECT. It’s the first time in the last 2 seasons of going to GMHA that it wasn’t either POURING or WICKED HOT (that’s Maine talk for very hot).

If you’ve read these posts before, you know that dressage has always been the sticky point for my daughter – the eventer. Two weeks ago, at Fitch’s Corner, Emily and Bully for Billy had their first real dressage success with a score of 32.6. Excited and yet not ready to call it “success”, Emily attributed it to the test – Prelim Test C. GMHA required Prelim Test B, the test she’s had trouble with … until now. With a score of 33.9, she was sitting in first place after dressage. Perhaps this is a trend?

Stadium went well, but two rails dropped her into second. Still excited to be doing so well, she prepared for cross country day (held  last on Sunday at this show). This mother mucker, of course, went to volunteer as a jump judge. I was judging #3 and #20 for prelim and watched her as she went by, galloping toward and successfully over the coffin, and into the woods. With a 5:50 optimum time, I knew it would be a while before I saw her come out of the back field and within view.

The advantage of being a jump judge while my daughter is riding is that I can hear everything as she proceeds through the course. All clear through jump 15 – the last jump in the back field. Next was through the stream, up the hill, and over a pair of offset jumps (a bounce).

“Rider down at jump 16. Rider is up and walking home.”

It happened fast enough that I didn’t have to wonder and worry (while at the same time trying to keep my composure to watch others coming over jump #3 and #20). First walking toward me was her dad, shrugging and wondering what happened. Next was friend Lauren Leavitt, also wondering what happened. “She looked great going through the field.”. “He hit #6 with his front legs, perhaps he was lame.” SPECULATION. We waited and wondered.

Finally, my eventer came through. She was in tears – not hurt, but in tears.

“He was such a good boy” were the first words out of her mouth. “It was my fault – I was sitting too far froward as I came up the hill. He was such a good boy.” as she reached down and gave her 16h2 bay thoroughbred a big hug around the neck. I wanted to cry right along with her.

And so goes another horse trials. There’s always something to work on, but the journey is fun to watch.

Horses, Shows / Events

One of my daughter’s friends – and fellow Maine-iac –  Lily O’Brien made the Area 1 North American Jr. Young Rider Team (CCI*). They made this video to introduce the team. I’m so excited for them! Emily is hoping to qualify and be considered next year.

Meet the 2010 NAJYR Area 1 CCI* Team! GOOD LUCK GIRLS!

Horses

My daughter has struggled with dressage. It’s one of those things that, when at a show, we all hold our breath to see what her face and reaction is after the test … then we judge how long we need to “stay clear” before we can talk to her.

Before I go any further – if you are a mother mucker too, I ask you … does your rider do the same thing?

This was our first trip to Fitch’s Corner in Millbrook, NY. I can assure you, it won’t be our last. I knew before we left that it was probably one of the most beautiful events in Area 1 because I designed their website and had all the beautiful photos from Connecticut Photo to choose from. It was exiting to meet the Fitch’s Team I’d been emailing for a year. I especially enjoyed the fantastic competitor’s party that Fernanda & Friends put on for everyone. WELL DONE!

Back to dressage … even at training level, dressage was always Emily & Billy’s sticky part of the 3 phases. They can perform outside the ring, but when the nerves kick in, things get a little fast and usually leave her at the bottom of the pack and pushing her way back up to a ribbon during the jumping phases.

It was her first time performing the 2010 Prelim Dressage Test C – which she liked alot. Thanks to Babette Lena, who was there coaching other riders, she gave her a little boost in confidence just before entering the ring. Except for a wiggly halt at the salute, the test was FANTASTIC.

Smiles were on her face. Billy got big pats. Placement – SECOND after dressage.

Truly a “GREAT RIDE” on her part.

Fitch’s Corner HTs were held all in one day, so within a couple hours she was off to cross country. With her first fall in 2 years, she was quickly out of the game at jump 6. But knowing that she could have success in the dressage ring was accomplishment enough for both rider and Eventer Mom.

Next up – Young Rider Camp at GMHA and then the GMHA horse trials on August 13, 2010.

Horses, Shows / Events

It’s raining, it’s pouring … and I mean POURING!

It’s THE day Emily’s been waiting for … her first Preliminary Cross Country day. For the past year, as she walked her training xc courses, I’ve watched her looking over at the preliminary jumps saying “cool!” and “I wish I were jumping that”.

Today was the day … for both of us.

I volunteered as a jump judge and requested to be in a spot where I could see the most jumps during the Preliminary run. Although the last jump was an easy jump to judge, I was able to see about 6 jumps in all so I was happy … except for the pouring rain. And I do mean POURING RAIN. I had an umbrella, but it rained so hard it dripped down my back and formed a puddle on my chair. I was soaked right through to the bone!

But the day wasn’t about me … it was about Emily and her friends making it through their first Preliminary cross country outing. Some did, some didn’t. I’m proud to say my daughter made it through with no jumping faults despite the slippery, rain drenched footing.

CONGRATULATIONS EMILY! YOU HAD A GREAT RIDE!

And another congratulations …. to barn-mate and friend Lauren Leavitt on her first (of what we hope is many) successful event with her new buckskin baby, Cougar (Cougar King). A match made in heaven, so it appears.

AND … Oh, and I forgot to mention that to mark this special event … we have a new addition to the family. He’s an adorable, 12-week old, long legged jack russell terrier that my daughter named “BOO”. Holly (my short-legged JRT) became fast friends with BOO! Ok, so someone just shoot me now … I admit, I had a moment of insanity doing this. But I’m a sucker for loving animals.

Horses

The day has been completed. Emily wasn’t that happy with her dressage score – she rarely is. The best part of the day was that I had a front row seat to watch show jumping. I was the judge’s scribe – one of my favorite jobs! So I got to see ever horse in Preliminary and Training go through the show jumping course. To my untrained eye, it didn’t seem like it would give anyone trouble … but several jumps that caught many riders by surprise.

The triple combination was right in front of me and if I smiled too much when the horses rode by, then I’d be eating their dirt. I love it!

Emily did well. A couple rails, but overall a good ride today. Tomorrow is Cross Country Day. I’m volunteering in the morning as a jump judge and hopefully I’ll be able to see enough jumps to watch Emily’s first Preliminary XC.

I can’t wait! I wonder if she’s more excited than I am?

Horses