Monty Goes to the Colorado Horse Park Horse Trial

This past weekend Monty, Miles, and I loaded up the truck and trailer and headed to Parker, Colorado, for the horse trial at the Colorado Horse Park.  I had planned to take Monty to a few schooling shows before this big event, but the weather had other plans, resulting in this being Monty's first trip off of my ranch since he arrived for training two months ago.  For his first horse show he sure acted like he does this every weekend.  One of the many things I love about retired racehorses is how they are so accustomed to commotion from their time at the track.  This first show was no problem for Monty.  He traveled well in the trailer, ate and drank well at the show grounds, and was very calm and mannerly as well as being interested in everything that was going on.

From my rear view mirror hangs a piece of my old Thoroughbred's tail.  His Jockey Club name was Ginko, and I called him Thai, because he was as hot as Thai food can get.  When he passed away in 2007 I wrapped a piece of his tail with beads and a strip of leather, then I hung it from the rear view mirror of my truck.  I wasn't able to event him when he was alive, but I bring a part of him to every competition with me. 

Miles, Monty and I arrived at the grounds Thursday afternoon, and had a good ride in the dressage arenas and walking around the grounds so Monty could check everything out.  Friday we were able to do a schooling jumping round so Monty could see all the stadium jumps before the competition actually started.  After his schooling ride I reapplied some kinesiotape to his neck to help his  muscles relax.

Miles loves to travel with me, and he's always popular at events.  Who couldn't love a three legged border collie that trains horses?  He also thinks he's a lap dog and is constantly on the alert for a good snuggle. 

The first part of a horse trial is dressage.  We perform a series of maneuvers including walking, trotting, cantering in circles and changing directions.  It is an assessment of a horse's balance, rhythm, and how well he listens to his rider.  Monty had one of his best rides ever in his dressage test.  I was thrilled.  We have been working for the past two months on getting him to push with his haunches and really use himself in a balanced way, rather than relying on the rider to hold him in a position.  These photos are from the warmup, and the video of his dressage test can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgzTLR-mz7M

We were really proud of ourselves and I had a huge smile when we were done with the first phase of this competition!

The second phase is called Cross-Country.  It is a test of a horse's endurance and heart, as well as his jumping.  It is a gallop through varying terrain, including solid jumps that don't fall if you hit them.  Miles and walked the course together the first time, so that we could see what sort of obstacles we were up against and I could get a feel for the lay of the land and the gist of the course.  This one was very inviting and confidence building, just right for a horse going through it for the first time.  The second time I walk the course I count strides between close jumps so I know how fast or collected I need to keep the horse.  The third time I walk the course I pretend I'm riding, and I visualize how I'm going to ride each part of the course.  For example, I imagine I sit taller when we are going to be galloping downhill, and I imagine putting pressure on the horse with my legs when I know he will need encouragement to a fence that is intimidating because of lighting, location, or appearance.

Once I knew the course and felt confident doing it with Monty, it was time to get ready to ride!  The preparations for the horse for this phase of competition involve applying protective leg gear and all the tack we would need for traveling at speed over jumps and hills.  I love my cross country saddle, which luckily fits Monty just right.  It is very minimal, but the balance point on it is just right for my build so I have nearly an effortless time getting into and maneuvering around within a two-point position.  This is important because throughout the course I need to be off of Monty's back so he can use himself to the best of his ability, minimizing fatigue and maximizing athletic effort.

In the warmup I simply wanted Monty to figure out what we were going to be doing.  My goal was for him to realize that we would be galloping and jumping, but I wanted him to stay calm and focused so we would get around the course safely and with him feeling confident.

The warmup is traditionally pretty intense, with horses and riders feeding on the adrenaline rush that comes with this phase.  Monty walked over to the warm up field and was pretty excited, watching horses jump and gallop around with trainers bellowing at their students and riders shouting at horses and at the crowd regarding which fence they would be jumping next. Monty watched all of this and took it in for a few moments while we trotted around the field.

I had him jump first the cross rail, then the small log, and lastly the vertical.  I only did a very little bit of jumping and cantering with him because I merely wanted him to realize what was going to be expected of him.  I'm training his brain, the physical training all came before the competition.  Then we walked calmly around the field as we waited our turn to go.  As a result, he was quiet and attentive to me, feeling eager to attempt this fun run, and he stood quietly in the start box as the attendant counted down from ten for us to begin. 

There was one jump that was particularly small, with just two logs and some gravel in between them.  Monty took a good look at it and then launched over it tucking his toes, just in case it was actually made of hot lava.

After we crossed the finish line I felt extremely proud.  Monty had never done a full cross country course like this before, and he did it happily and eagerly.  He listened to me, looked carefully at the fences and leaped over everything with typical green horse moments.  I was so pleased that he had been so brave and athletic.  I poured some water on him to help him cool off, and we walked back to the barn to untack.  As soon as I had his tack off I went to hose him off in the wash racks to get his body back to normal temperature and rinse the sweat off of him.  He is pretty fit, and so he handled the effort quite well.  He was very relaxed after his round too, walking nicely back to the barn and eager to graze as he dried off.  

Saturday evening I made sure to wrap his legs and do some hand walking.  This is to give the tendons and ligaments some support after such great exertion and to minimize any potential swelling.  We also went for a walk with Rebecca and Miles in the evening after dinner, so that he could keep his muscles loose and moving.  As an added bonus and another reason I love this sport, it is totally acceptable to use bright yellow leg wraps and to wear my neon yellow shirt.  Yellow and black are the Bit of Honey Training stable colors, and we are easily recognizable from any distance with the bright ensemble! 

The third phase of the event is stadium jumping.  It continues the test of the horse's endurance by asking them to jump a course of technical fences in an arena.  Our stadium round was on Sunday afternoon, and Monty and I were both pretty tired by then.  I have to give the young horse credit, he tried so hard to focus and really listened well to my aids.  He also jumped well in the warmup, got a little heavy on the forehand in the beginning of our actual course, but by the end of the course was jumping well.  The photos are from the warm up and the video of his stadium jumping round can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IqTnPnCPMc

This was an incredible weekend.  It was Monty's first horse show of any kind, and he did really well.  I could not have asked for a better confidence building first event for this young horse.  I also feel quite proud of myself.  I had a brain injury in 2008 that still has some leftover effects on me, including a large fatigue factor.  This was the first horse trial I was able to completely finish since the brain injury.  I've tried several times previously, but the multiple days of competition in a row combined with the memorization of the dressage test, cross country course, and the short term memory component to the stadium jumping have been very challenging for me.  To have driven myself with my rig, dog, and horse, finished this event, with a sound horse and a big smile, then to drive us home at the end is a phenomenal accomplishment considering the brain damage.  Not to mention I had back surgery a mere five months ago, and Monty has only been here in training for two months.  I'm so grateful to be alive and have come out the other side of  these various health issues.  I'm grateful to have incredible athletic horses to work with, and I'm eager to find Monty his new home now that he has proven himself a steady and willing mount.

For more details about Monty and to get particulars on him and his sale, you can view all of his blog posts at:

http://bitofhoneytraining.blogspot.com/search/label/Monty