Be the Duck

Life is so sneaky.

Sneaky like when your little brother tapes the sink sprayer so it blasts your face when you turned the water on. Sneaky like when you run over a tiny nail; not a big enough hole to notice, but just big enough to let the air escape over the next 10 miles leaving you with a flat tire in the middle of banjo country (this is North Carolina, people, we’ve GOT some banjo country). Sneaky like when you think you’ve been rocking your favorite new dress at the Christmas party only to find out your underwear was showing the entire time.

Sneaky, sneaky.

And getting sneakier. Getting more clever, more…. Are you kidding me, what now???

I’ll show you what now:

Lame horse

Naughty puppy destroying the house

Like you could get mad at this face

That we’re trying to sell

Lame horse beating the crap out of himself on stall rest

Naughty puppy creating a league of naughty siblings to help destroy the house that we’re trying to sell

I would like to call my attorney now

Torn liner in pool at the house that we’re trying to sell (huh, it was full when I left this morning)

That's weird, where'd the water go?

It was most certainly NOT me

Serenity now!

Times like this we must Be The Duck. On the surface they are grace and softness, gliding across the water in an effortless dance. Under the surface, however, their little legs are paddling in a private battle to stay afloat. 

At least I’m not the frog.

Specifically, this frog:

This poor fella was probably hopping along, enjoying a nice day, and called back to his buddies as he jumped from the diving board: “hey guys, watch this! Half gainer with a twist, nothing but net”

I’ll bet his little frog posse was lined up under the tree saying “Should we tell him?" "Nah, he’ll figure it out. Someone get a video.”

Paddle faster, little duck, I think I hear banjos.

The Ups, Downs, and Sideways . . .

Southern Pines Horse Trials were last weekend and little Mr. Otie made his big debut! He was wide eyed and full of questions:

“Mom, mom, mom? Mommy, mom. Momma. Maaaaa?!?” 

Yes, Otie?

“What’s a Start.Box?”

He was very brave and went around his first cross country course like a little boy in the circus funhouse – a little afraid but having too much fun to stop. His confidence grew by gallons and the next day he marched into stadium like he was president of his own fan club.

I’ll tell you, they can come out of the womb with fancy gaits, chrome to spare, and a natural jump with legs tucked up to their chin, but a good brain is the best DNA a horse can have.  There were six (6!) dressage rings going and we were in the one closest to stadium. He had to get through his first big show with as many distractions a horse can have and the jump buzzer scaring the bejeezus out of him every 90 seconds.

We didn’t get any style points for our cross country, and we certainly weren’t in danger of taking home a ribbon from his first event, but it was still as sweet a victory as they come.

Meanwhile . . .

Coby was a bit of a different story. He was wonderful in dressage  and stadium:

But XC? Boy oh boy, if I didn’t laugh I’d have to go kick a puppy (not really, I would never kick a puppy. A cat? Maybe. But a puppy? Never.)

I’m used to him pulling me around course.  I’m used to him taking off with me from time to time. I’ve even grown accustomed to the blur of warp speed and ending up in a different time zone then where I started.

But when the startbox countdown looks like the space shuttle launch and the ensuing dash-for-cash feels as if he’s running  from something instead of towards something?

Not fun. Not fun at all.

People that know Coby from his Advanced days know that he always has been and always will be a bit of a bad boy (as honest to the fences as they come, but let’s face it, he’s a bit of a bad boy).  My gut tells me that perhaps the physicality of cross country might be getting to be too much on his 17 year old body and this new franticness is his way of telling us.

So, we are taking a step back from the banks and logs and tables and focusing on stadium and dressage while we figure it out together. He has given too much to the sport for too long to not have his voice heard.

We, the collective "we", have gotten very good at telling our horses what we want: Supple. Bend. Jump. Turn. Stop. Go. Load. Be. 

Always striving to be clear and fair in our direction, but always telling. 

Sometimes it’s just time to listen.

Listen I will.

Writing goals in concrete and plans in sand

The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry . . .

(Though most people associate the expression with the 1936 John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men, it actually originated in a 1786 poem by Robert Burns entitled To a Mouse which he wrote as an apology after turning up the mouse’s nest accidentally while ploughing a field)

Literature lesson aside, the expression stands true.

It’s been a pre-season of foiled plans and wallet hemorrhage. My credit card is still licking its wounds and my checkbook is asking about an exit strategy.

In my defense, it was a good plan: go to Full Gallop, slay the PT division, move back up to Prelim at Southern Pines, collect the prize money (as in $4 ribbon you can basically buy anywhere). What actually happened was a teensy bit different. Coby was so keen to be done with the Winter respite that he did the equivalent of a frat house brawl the entire show.

He bucked in the dressage test. He bucked in stadium. He bucked, ran like his tail was on fire, bucked some more, ran with the tail-o-fire some more, buck, run, buck, run . . . on XC. In HIS defense, he just felt too darned good to be good. That’s why I love him.

Anywho, seemed a little premature to go Prelim at SP when we clearly had some more prep to do so we are now in the OT division.

That’s okay, Otie had all the prep he needed to make his debut (Open Novice). WRONG.

May I present failed plan numero dos: Step 1 - final XC school at the Horse Park (cancelled for rain). Step 2 - Novice CT (see snowy video below, jumping was cancelled). Step 3 - Novice unrecognized HT at Running Start (postponed for weather, couldn’t go).

The 2nd half of the snowy test is below (camera malfunction / operator error did not capture the 1st half). It was so cold the reins were crunchy and I had icicles for fingers. For only his 2nd time performing in the sandbox I think he did just fine.

Cancellations aside, I’ve decided to take him to the show anyway since it’s 2 miles away, paid for and he will at least get to have a trip down centerline. Maybe jump the stadium course, and maybe proceed to XC if it looks reasonable when I walk it. If anything looks like it’s beyond his education / comfort zone then it will just be one expensive dressage test. On the bright side, at least he’ll get his first chance to experience the electricity of a big show environment.

He’s just hoping they don’t cancel his Spring Break to make up the teacher workdays.

 

Otie's First Outing

Remember the first day of school?

The nerves, the excitement, the glances at other kids on the bus to see who might be your new best friend? The heart stopping fear the first time you raise your hand and then the enormous satisfaction that you answered correctly (clearly already the teacher's star pupil)?

Well, little Otie had his first pop quiz at the Pipe Opener 1. He got off the trailer and scanned the field for future friends. He tried his best to catch the eye of the dressage judge and make sure he was her favorite. He raised his hand sooooo high when he knew the answer in stadium.

And then he wanted his milk and cookies and a nap.

The stadium video was a little tough to follow because of sunspots, but he handled his first warm up like a champ. As part of my show strategy I got to warm up first and let him take it in before the crowds appeared.

He put in a solid first centerline to score a very respectable 30.0 which put us in first, then a little baby bobble in stadium sent him to the back of the class. It was a big day for him and I'm so very proud!

Coby was, of course, thrilled to be back in the ring. He did NOT handle the whole "light winter schedule" in stride. In fact, he was so offended that Otie got off the trailer first that he ripped his hay bag right off the wall and then rocked the entire trailer until it was his turn.

We dusted off the cobwebs in the Training CT and he was stellar. A 30.5 and beautiful stadium for 2nd place (1st was occupied by someone with a 24, oh to see that someday).

This week is Full Gallop and we will continue to shake off the Winter doldrums in the PT division. Southern Pines HT in March will be the return to Prelim and Otie's recognized debut (Novice). Helmet cam to follow.

Also in March there will be a little lady joining the fray. A good friend his sending her new (and stunning) Dutch Warmblood for 90 days of "Miss Jennifer's Finishing School for Girls". Lot's of updates on her new girl to come. She comes from a lovely breeding program and has already produced one foal, she is now going back to being a riding horse and just needs a refresher.

Tasmin and Kelly, in the wintry north of Maryland

This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy was all jacked up and had to have surgery which leaves me in the Frankenboot for 4 lousy weeks and now I’m mad at the world.

This little piggy cried wah wah wah all the way home.

One of these things is not like the other . . . Actually, several things are broken but we'll start with the toes.

Day one I was already bored. Day three and I’m gouging my eyes out with a dull spork. I know it could be worse and I know there are people with much bigger woes out there than me (especially in CT), so I’m dishing out a big helping of Suck It Up and use this time to reflect on the change I wish to become:

#1 – Let go of the stupid left rein. Period.

Just one more pull is not going to fix anything.

#2 – More seat, more seat, more seat. Less hand, less hand, less hand.

#3 – Patience, grasshopper. Change takes time.

The lotus must start from the seed and take the sun and moon each in turn while looking to the sky for delicate drops of nature’s tears . . .

blah blah blah

#4 – Oh yeah, stop looking at anything larger than 3’7” like its only purpose in life is to squash me like a gnat. Seriously, that’s, like, a warm-up fence for the jumper people and most horses can do it from a trot. 

Is it 4 weeks yet?

Well, here's a little entertainment to help everyone pass the time. Good stuff (If the embedded video gives an error just press the hyperlink, it's worth it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

And here's how Otie is passing the time: