Oh Danny Boy

**NOTE** I wrote this post RIGHT after the show and saved in anticipating adding video - sorry, I'm just not going to get around to posting the video. Besides, it was only about 30 secs before the battery died!

Well, Danny had his first ever Dressage show on Sunday. The good news is that he is DEFINITELY a dressage horse. The bad news is that we need to develop a better prep plan because he was NOT the same horse at the show that he is at home. This is okay though - I just need to know that and be able to plan for it. The fact that he was clipped earlier this week and it was like 27 degrees when I got to the farm did not help things I'm sure!



We went for a lesson on Friday and he was out of the world fabulous. My trainer rode him for the first 1/2 of the lesson. I thought it would be good for her to feel what he does and good for him to get a really good school with correct aids. Lastly I thought it would be easier for me once she set him up. I was right on that plan on all counts. She was able to make him move like I have never seen him move before - I actually had chills at one point. It reaffirmed my thoughts that this is really his destiny. After a while of watching I was really getting antsy to get on. In my head I was thinking - ok, my turn...that's good can I try...come on come on me now , me now. She FINALLY gave him back to me and it was great. He was soft, supple and forward. It was so cool to get a connection and feel his back just springing along. I left feeling really prepared for our first show in 2 days.



I had been having second thoughts that maybe it was too soon - mayby we weren't really ready. If Danny was my own horse I wouldn't care so much, but I'm riding him for his owner. He is for sale and it is my responsibility to make sure he is prepared to be successful. So I had some reservations - was he REALLY ready? Did I choose the correct tests (T-2 and T-3)? Could I actually pull this off? You have to keep on mind - Danny is 8 - sometimes he has the attention span of a 4 year old. He was broken and only ridden by his owner for his whole life. All he really knows is how the huunters go. He had been turned out for a WHOLE YEAR until I started riding him in January. Basically, he has only been back in work for about 10 weeks and he is being asked to do things that he has never been asked to do before. So, not too much pressure right??

He's a Rock Star!

I mentioned in my first update that I have been given a great opportunity to ride a really nice horse for someone. This is really an unbelievable opportunity because Danny is a really nice horse and this isn't costing me anything other than lessons and showing expenses. AND, the lessons are with my dressage trainer, not someone picked by Danny's owner.



So here is the low down. Mr. D is an 8 yr old KWPN/TB cross from the Concord/Voltaire line. He is a nice big boy toppping out at 16.3 1/2, and a nice mover. He has a wonderful puppy-dog personality and is really very quiet. His problem? He does not like the jumps. In fact, he is convinced that they will eat him. SO....if the jumps will eat you, it makes it difficult to be a show hunter. The solution? Dressage. That's where I come in being the resident DQ at a all hunter/eq barn.



Danny's owner is a top level adult eq rider. She is consistently #1 in our zone and #3 in the country. She horse shows - A LOT - to keep this rank. When Danny decided he was no longer going to entertain her ideas of a hunter for him, she literally "turned him out" and put him at a farm on pasture board for the rest of the show season so she could concentrate on her eq horse. So there he sat, and sat, and sat. All the while eating lush grass and getting fat! The only problem is that Danny is a "people horse". He LOVES attention and LOVES people. While he had pasture buddies, he did not like being away from people. He would harass the poor farm owner at the pasture farm by standing over him as he tried to do fence maintenance, or follow him around when he was throwing hay. Mr. Farm owner felt threatened by this and sent Danny home from "camp" in December (stupid horse). There was now a perfectly nice horse to ride - that NEEDED to be ridden and to find a job - and me, a horseless rider.



D and I have been together now since the first week of January and things have been going well. He has good basics which makes things easy. AND, he generally like having a job and seems VERY happy with he career change. He's clueless sometimes, but a quick study and things have been great. We went for out first lesson with my trainer a few weeks ago and she really liked him. She said we were a well matched and competent pair. She was also able to help me get some really decent work out of him - much more than I get at home. By the end of the lesson we were both exhausted!



This past week, it seems like we took a step backwards. I know, this happens with horses, but I was starting to get REALLY frustrated. I find it more stressful when it is someone else's horse. I feel the need to show that I am always doing a god job and moving him forward. The ultimate goal is to get him in a really nice place and sell him for a nice chunk of change so I do feel a little pressure - imposed strictly by myself - not at all from the owner - but I still feel it. This week I felt like everything was just a fight and the problems were not going away. I was starting to worry that maybe he was too much horse for me.



While discussing this with my friend, she said that she finally figured "it" out with her horse and that she wanted to come try it with Danny to see if it worked on other horses. She came out today. OMG - At first it was ugly - I mean REALLY ugly. Danny was MAD, his stuck his nose in the air, swished his tail and just refused to give in. Now, in this situation I would have said - "oh buddy, what's the matter you don't like this, here how about if I ask this way?" and he would have gotten away with being a butt. Not this time. my friend took up the contact put her hands in one place and put her leg on - and on and on until he finally figured it out to just accept the contact. Surprisingly, the resistance only lasted for about 5 minutes. It seemed like an eternity to me. I was starting to wonder how long I should let it go on before I stepped in - after all, if she really pissed him off, it would be ME who would have to fix it! But seriously, 5 minutes - maybe 7 tops and then this GORGEOUS dressage horse emerged! He was straight, he was supple, he was forward and he was in the contact. I usually get some of these things, but usually not all at the same time! This was amazing and he looked great.



I got on and by now the resistance was totally gone so all I had to do was look pretty - it was great. All of our issues were gone! We have been having a sticky right lead problem - not today. He has been bulgy and a little unbalanced - not today. It was SO exciting. There is a REALLY great dressage horse in there. I just need to learn how to bring it out!

Could this one the THE ONE?

Molly tried a pony last week that just wasn't a match - oh well. It was a good experience for her to get on something new and she what it threw at her. The pony was actually a little rude, but Molly kept her cool and really acted like a pro (especially for a 9 year old!). She did a great job riding it but it was obvious this just wasn't for her. Plus, it was at the top of our budget so in my mind it had better be nice!

Yesterday we tried another. I really had no expectations since the ad had no picture and no video - great, we could be going out to see a half lame, horrible mover and ugly to boot. However, I googled the farm - the website looked pretty respectable and I was familiar with the shows they attend so I crossed my fingers and off we went.

The pony was actually pretty cute. He is quite green, but sensible, a good mover, and good jumper. He had a nice little attitude and was really good about the jumps. Of course, as soon as we walked in I thought he looked a little off (ok maybe more than a little - he was kind of head bobbing off) but there were a lot of factors going on here I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Molly got on and rode pretty much like a sack of potatoes. I did not think this guy liked you to hang on his face, but Molly rode around with reins a mile too long. He didn't seem to care. Molly's stirrups were too long so her balance was all over the place - he didn't seem to care. He wasn't perfect - he needs work. He is inside out, a bit inverted and he gets a little quick. But I think he has a very kind attitude and when we finally did get Molly situated right and she put him together a bit he was VERY cute. He will not be something she can go out and horseshow on next weekend, but by the summer we should have something workable for the show ring (if we take him).

So here are the pro's for this one - Molly wanted to take him home as soon as we were done. He is a nice mover, a nice jumper and a nice attitude. He is also CHEAP (in horse terms) I think he can be flipped for nice money with a little work. We can take him on trial.

The con's - 1. WE NEED TO SELL TREENIE FIRST 2. He is green 3. He needs work

I think it is worth taking him on trial. We can see how he is and how much he progresses in a week. My concern is what if we really like him at the end of the week and we still have nothing happening on Treenie? Do I send him back and hope he doesn't get sold in the meantime? Can I send him back and ask for a right of first refusal? I'm kind of hoping we take him and then don't really like him because then - problem solved right? Oh boy, it's times like these when I really wish we did some other sport - like running!

Can I Help You?

This is what we see when we go out to get our pony every day! I had seen these fly masks on the web and thought they were really cute, but they were really expensive. I immediately thought - hey, I can do that! So I picked up a cute pony size fly mask and some cool colored permament markers and let Molly go to town with her design. She was really excited to do it and it is kind of cute - especially with the pink floppy ears! By pure luck, we managed to get the "glasses" right where Miss Treener's eyes are.

Molly showed again this past weekend - it was our local hunter show. Because of the holiday weekend, I really did not know what to expect as far as turnout - well, I guess the "staycation" theme has caught on because the show was packed! I could hardly find a spot to park our van and unload! The classes were huge and as a result, many of the divisions were split into 2 sections. It seems like they split the mini's by age as Molly was again in the B section. The first group of kids seemed young compared to Molly's group and they only had 7 kids while Molly's group had 9. Also, all the kids in Molly's group were pretty much at the same skill level. I have to say, it was good company this weekend because the kids were all competent mini riders. Once she finally got going, the classes ran pretty quickly - Molly was 3rd in the Eq, 4th in the pleasure and 5th in the figure 8. For some reason, she just can't seem to get the figure 8 down - the shape was better but still not 100% - oh well, something to work on.

Molly also won her cross rail class! It is the 3rd jumping class in a row that she has won - it seems like we have figured out the secret formula for this class!

This is my first attempt to upload video - it is from the FOD show a few weeks ago - Molly won this class also. At least you can finally see some action!

Thursday is our local dressage series again - I was hoping to make a nice Mom/Daughter day of it as I was scheduled to ride my musical freestyle. Unfortunately, my horse slipped and has 8 stitches on his ankle! So I guess it's pony groom for me! I am sure that Molly will do well - if only she can figure out how to make ROUND circles!!

Why I Hate the Hunters!

Warning: This post may offend some die hard hunter fans - sorry, I have to get this off my chest!



Preface - I was a hunter rider for 20+ years, children's hunters, schooling hunters, pre-adult hunters, adult amateurs etc - been there, done that - and I was perfectly content while I was doing it. The turning point came during a lesson. I had been jumping a course that turned out really well - I hit every distance and it felt great. I turned to the instructor and said "that felt really good" - her response was "you could have been 6 inches closer to the last jump". That's it, I was done. I was not interested in having to be that perfect. I stopped riding for a while shortly after that. I had just had a baby (Molly) and life was too complicated to fit in riding that was just frustrating so I took a break. I started again after reconnecting with a friend who had moved onto eventing. I evented a little as a junior - it was fun and in the lower levels, you just had to get from one side to the other. Maybe this is what I needed. My friend set me up with an event barn and that was it I was hooked! I have not been back in the hunter rings since. I LOVE the fact that you get an actual score and on the dressage test there are comments along with the scores. You know exactly why you got what you got.



So, Molly is now doing the mini stirrups which brings me back to the hunter shows. Almost every time we go I think "God, I HATE this." There is no sense to the judges' picks. At least not that I can see and I have a good eye. At one show, the judge pinned a short strided horse that limped in the corners in the pleasure class - can someone please explain that? At another, a pony stops twice to poop in the middle of the class and that kid is in the top 3 - I'm sorry, I just don't get it.



Molly showed again on Saturday. It was another HUGE division - 10 in each class. She was 4th in the pleasure, nothing in the Eq, 6th in the Figure 8 and 4th in the cross rails. I can't really say why she got what she got. Treenie is a decent mover so I thought she should have been higher in the pleasure. They asked for a sit trot in the eq which Molly does great - more than half of the kids bounced around like jumping beans - but Molly got nothing. In the Fig 8, I expected her to get nothing because one of her circles was really lopsided but she managed to pick up 6th. I REALLY thought she won the o/f class but was 4th.



On the way home she asked me why she only got the places she got - I had no answer. I told her that the judge picked the ones she liked best. I also told her that there was nothing that she really should have done differently - she is riding really well and there is nothing we need to change. She really is on the right path, in the right program and has the right pony.



I thought a lot about her question on the ride home. To put everything in perspective:



1-This is her 1st year of showing (her 5th show to be exact)
2-This is the mini-stirrups - not the Maclay's!
3-She manages to get a piece of the ribbons almost every class
4-She is usually in the top half of the class
5-She said - out of the blue - that she loves to horse show



I felt a lot less frustrated after I came up with my list. I think it was bothering me more than it was her. Still, I can't help but wonder if we are doing anything to help these riders along by handing out arbitrary ribbons with no reasoning? Would it be so terrible if the judge handed out the ribbons and gave each rider a little comment? Like they do at a schooling dressage show? Nothing too deep, but just a little hint "try to keep your heels way down" or "make sure you don't let your reins get too long". Something - anything to give a clue on what the judge was looking for.




So, that's my soap box for the week. As parents, we shell out a lot of money for our kids to show, I don't think it is too much to ask for a little feedback.



If the weather holds out, Molly will be going cross country schooling on Friday. It should be really fun. I know once she gets a taste of it and realizes she can stay in control, she will love it. She also has a dressage show coming up on June 12 - scores and feedback to make Mom happy!



Will try to take a lot of pics of the xc day!