California bound in a month!!

Winter is finally starting to subside, and I'm looking forward to the 2012 show season! I leave for the Festival of the Horse CDI in San Juan Capistrano, CA, in late March. All three horses (Charismatique, Victor, and Escorial) will be coming with me and competing in the CDI short tour (PSG/I-1). It will be both Charismatique and Victor's first I-1 in competition, both are going quite well in training so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes at the show. I would have liked to have done a few I-1's with those two last year in preparation, but there you go. :)
Escorial (aka Monkey) has been going really well, initially we were preparing for the I-2/GP but I decided to do PSG/I-1 again for a shot at Gladstone. With his good scores from last year's Golden State Classic CDI, he's in a good position for this year. The I-2 debut can wait.
I also have several very nice youngsters going right now, including Bolero (who is coming 6 this year) and will debut at First level later on. I also have a couple of very nice horses owned by clients that will be showing as well later in the year (debuting at the Idaho Festival in March). My amateurs are also doing well, and looking forward to the 2012 show season.
Ernie is getting a hip replacement on March 16, so hopefully that will help his pain level and give him some relief. He's also scheduled to do his knees (yes, both) in November. Guess who's going to be riding more?! As if I'm not busy enough!
I will plan on updating my blog while I'm in California (like I did last year) so everyone can follow the news. Should be a very exciting year with the selection trials for London in full swing.

Heather

Upcoming Conrad Schumacher clinic!

In a couple of weeks I have a 3 day clinic with Conrad Schumacher in Gig Harbor, WA, at the lovely Starr Valley Farms. At this point I haven't decided which horse to ride, it is a toss-up between the 3 FEI horses: Escorial, Victor, and Charismatique. At this point I am leaning towards Charismatique, since he is the one who would really benefit from some outside input. Conrad has seen Escorial and Victor, but he hasn't seen Charismatique. I've always had some stiffness issues with Majek, particularly in the canter, and Conrad is great at working through suppleness problems. Also Mom has always wanted Majek in the clinic, and now I finally feel that we have a solid enough communication to take the extra pressure.
The clinic is not for another week or so, so I have plenty of time to procrastinate on my decision.
Fall is here all of the sudden, I swear it showed up in a day or two. One day it was 90 degrees, the next the high was 45 or 50 and it was raining. Ick! I want summer back.

Successful Regional Championships wraps up show year!!

NO RAIN at Regionals this year!! Summer hung around for the USDF Region 6 Championships, held in late September this year in our backyard (Nampa, ID). Temperatures even topped 90 degrees. Thank goodness, this show is notorious for crappy weather no matter where it is held.
The show itself went very well for all of us. Everyone had a great show and we came home with multiple championships and reserves. Of special note student Paige Haas was Reserve Champion NW Third level Jr/YR and rode both Junior tests for practice, scoring mid-60s! Student Beth Harris won the NW Third level Adult Amateur Championship, and a Reserve and Championship in the Third level Musical Freestyle. Congrats!!
Of my own horses, Charismatique and Victor, battled it out in each class they were entered (the open PSG), and depending on the day, one or the other emerged victorious. The fabulous Victor is finally back on top form after his long lay-up, the first two days he was untouchable with 69+% and 71+% in his two PSG classes. Super expression and flair, combined with precise execution, however, his pirouettes still need work and the engagement needs to be more solid for next year. The bratty younger brother, Charismatique, an 8 year old in his first year at PSG, put in 3 very solid tests, scoring from 65 to 68%. What Victor has in flair and expression when he's on, Majek makes up in consistency and energy. By day 3, Victor was tired and his test showed it, whereas Majek was still just as active and energetic as the first day.
After all was said and done, Victor won the Northwest Open PSG Championship and Majek won the GAIG/USDF Open PSG Championship!
Escorial sat this one out, and is working hard at home to learn the I-2/GP movements. The one-tempis are solid (we can even do them on curved lines and sometimes in a really big canter), but the piaffe/passage still needs work.
Lots to do for next year! Time to rest and then train for the upcoming season.

"Look at the trees beyond the fence!"

I was watching a jumper lesson the other day and an amateur was having some fear issues with the fences. On the approach, she would look down at the jump and worry about the fence itself, and subsequently the horse would either run-out or stop. The instructor had her look up at the trees beyond and ride the line, focusing on keeping the horse straight and keeping her leg on. This simple instruction had the effect of getting the rider to keep the horse on the aids and in front of the leg, rather than allowing the horse to suck back or deviate laterally. Rather than focusing on what she wasn't sure she could do (get over the scary fence), it made the rider think about what she could do (keep the horse straight and forward).

No Woodside CDI :(

Due to the recent outbreak of EHV-1, I decided against attending the Woodside CDI*. I first heard of the outbreak Sunday afternoon, and I was supposed to leave for CA on Tuesday...talk about tight timing! After talking with my vets and doing extensive research online, I decided it would be prudent to stay home and sit this one out.
This show was to be Victor's first CDI, and I was really looking forward to showing both boys (Victor and Escorial) under Hilda and the rest of the CDI judging panel...the standards really are different at the CDI level. But there are always other shows.
At this point it looks like the Central Oregon Classic in Bend, OR, is my next show (where, ironically enough, Hilda is also judging). I have all 3 (!) FEI horses entered. I am debating about attending another CDI but haven't made any final decisions yet.
At least it stopped snowing here!!

ID Festival Re-cap

Last weekend was our area's first big dressage show of the year (one of the few). Victor make his successful come-back after a year long layup to score 64+% in the PSG on Saturday and 65.7% in the Developing Horse class on Sunday. The PSG was much better balanced and organized than the Developing Horse test (which was a bit more messy and had several mistakes), but the judges saw him a little differently.
The big surprise to everyone (not necessarily me) was that Majek beat Victor in both classes! Majek (at 8 years old, and only did Third level last year) won the (fairly large) PSG class with 66.7% on Saturday and scored another 66+% on Sunday in the Developing Horse test. He learned alot about the PSG level in California this year, although we didn't show very well down there I was able to work through his issues and figure out how to best prepare and put together a solid PSG ride. So although Victor has more flamboyance, elasticity, and scope, Majek was able to beat him on consistency, balance and better use of the hind legs.
The young horse Bolero is also becoming a solid show horse, this weekend I warmed up without lunging and he was quite settled and focused. We had some spooking (particularly on Friday and in my first test), but the preparation work I did at home really paid off. He scored 65, 66 and 68+ in his three outings at Training level. This week he learned how to do canter-walk transitions, they were amazingly easy when I got that HUGE canter balanced.
The clients also had a good show, it had its ups and downs (per usual). Some really good rides that exceeded expectations, and some difficult rides that make you want to take up knitting. :) The show was LONG, however, and really exhausting. Nothing like riding at 8:30pm and then getting up at 4:30am the following morning for your 7am ride. Ick!

Victor returns to the show ring in a week!

• Victor has been back in action since November of last year, if you've been following his saga he has been laid up from a quarter crack for over a year. It was a really difficult decision to make, he was going fantastic (when he was sound)...even broke 70% as a 7 year old in the PSG. But in the end I had to let him rest and heal, overall his long-term soundness was more important than getting another show in.


• So his first show back is our Idaho Festival Dressage show May 7-8, he will be showing PSG and the Developing Horse tests (since he's 9 now, he's still eligible). He's ironically enough competing against Majek, who has just jumped forward in his abilities since the CA shows. Both are competing in the same tests, will be interesting to see who comes out on top...obnoxious (Majek) versus showman (Victor)?? Flashy but out of practice (Victor) versus flashy but green (Majek)?? Monkey will be sitting this one out, resting up for later shows. I also have a bunch of great clients going to this show, so I will be busy!!


• I have also signed up for the Woodside CDI* in mid May. Call me a glutton for punishment, I decided I really wanted to do another LONG drive to CA this year (13 hours via mapquest). I will be taking Monkey again (do the PSG/I-1 one more time in the CDI) as well as Victor (PSG in CDI, to get out, and Developing Horse) and Bolero (get that young horse out and about some more!). I used to live about 10 minutes from the Horse Park at Woodside (on Stanford campus), so I guess I can reminisce on my college years (or not). ;)


• I hope to keep the blog updated while I'm in CA.