Dressage at Triple Creek

Saturday's horse show morning dawned and we paused to appreciate the snow covered mountain views we have here at Bit of Honey.  Well, the humans paused, but Highboy had already kicked into high gear.  He was RACING up and down his paddock, winding up even mellow Fason into rearing, bucking, and sparring over the fence while we puny humans tried to get all the horses fed in the early morning light. 

As I watched Highboy catapult up and down his paddock, I decided I had no intentions of climbing on a horse who was that wound up.  While we waited for the elderly horses to eat their breakfast mash I took Highboy out to the round pen.  I set up the barrels on their tall ends with a vertical jump, and I turned Highboy loose.  He spent the next ten minutes launching himself over the jump at liberty, running around the round pen in pure joy. 

Eventually Highboy came down to a civilized trot and approached me in the center of the round pen.  When I could see he was ready to focus I took him back to the horse trailer, brushed the sand off of him, and got him dressed for the road.  He was so eager to get going!  I faced him to the back of the horse trailer and he jumped right in, then TROTTED to the front of the big trailer in eager anticipation of the fun day ahead.

We arrived at Triple Creek with enough time to hand walk the horses around in the show arena before they closed it to use for the competition.  I definitely wanted to get there in time to do this because Dewey and Rosie had never been to Triple Creek before, and a new indoor arena can be spooky to a horse seeing it for the first time.

When we were done hand walking we returned to the trailer to tack up.  Rosie the morgan took a little time to appreciate her dappled reflection in the mirrored trailer. 

Mirror mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

Warm up in the outdoor arena went well.  Dewey was his usual chill self, Rosie was a Marching Morgan, and Highboy was surprisingly calm.  Lynn, who owns Triple Creek, even approached me asking if this was the same horse I'd had there two weeks ago who had been such a pistol.  When I admitted that it was the same gelding, she was surprised to see him looking so relaxed.  I explained that with Highboy, I never know what horse I will have, so I just have to ride the horse that shows up that day. 

Dewey and Sara were the first from our barn to go into the dressage court to ride.  Dewey was a little looky, but when he and Sara went in to ride their second test he was much more forward and took longer strides.  They came away with positive comments and good scores, resulting in some fun ribbons and a great feeling of accomplishment!

Rosie and Sally were next.  This was their first real dressage show and they got some great positive feedback from the judge.  As I watched their tests from outside the arena, the other trainers, riders, and spectators were admiring Rosie and wondering what breed she was.  The judge thought she was an imported European warmblood of some type.  With great pride I claimed them as from my barn and declared she's a Morgan who is ALSO trained to drive!  Her stellar free walk was my favorite part of their tests.

Highboy was entered in three tests.  We were to ride eventing dressage Beginner Novice test A twice, then a 2'3" prix caprilli.  The first time we rode BN-A Highboy was a dork.  He bucked, he refused to bend, he flipped his head as high as he could in the air, he forgot he had front feet and stumbled going down on his knees.  It was a fiasco.  When we finished the test I approached the judge to thank her for her time, and she kindly tried to find ANYTHING to say about the test that wouldn't sound derogatory.  I expressed to her that this was our dress rehearsal of sorts, and the horse would get better as the day progressed.  She looked skeptical (a realistic reaction given his first performance), but ended with advising me to have him go more forward. 

The second time we rode BN-A Highboy was much better.  He was traveling more forward, he was lifting his back and looking for contact with my hands.  Still some unbalanced moments, but no bucking.  At the conclusion the judge expressed surprise at how differently he moved this time, and acknowledged that I did say he would get better, and turned out I was right.

The third test had 31 scored maneuvers in it, including jumping three fences in various directions.  This was compared to only 14 maneuvers in BN-A.  I was experimenting by giving Highboy a much longer, more difficult, and more complicated test to see if I could get him to try by making it harder.  When he's bored he causes mischief to amuse himself, so this was a try-and-see approach to getting his brain in gear.  

Thankfully, it worked!  He rode not only twenty meter and fifteen meter cantering circles, but changed rein at the canter over jumps with correct lead changes, did a ten meter sitting trot circle, performed trot and canter lengthenings, a stretchy trot circle, and trotted over the 2'3" verticals out of a leg yield.  When we had completed our last salute (scoring a 7!) I approached the judge a final time to thank her, and her eyebrows had shot up.  She said Highboy had been lovely and forward to the fences, more balanced overall, and looked like a horse that would be great fun to go galloping out in the field across country.  I smiled and nodded, and she then said, "That's it, isn't it?  You're an eventer.  That's why you're doing dressage with an obvious cross-country galloping and jumping horse."  I said indeed I am an eventer, and she said to enjoy him, clearly he was made for it. 

We were redeemed!  I've unlocked another door in his training, discovering that Highboy prefers a complicated dressage test to a simple one.  A great day overall, only made sweeter by the blue and red ribbons Highboy and I took home.