Dewey was amazing in the warmup,. He was soft, swingy, round, and moving the best he ever has. Once in the indoor show arena, however, he decided to be silly, and did some head tossing and other baby horse nonsense. Because I know he has a tooth that grows crooked, we keep on top of his dental work and he has his teeth addressed every 4-5 months. His last dental was about a month ago. I will reassess his dressage saddle's fit as he has definitely changed in topline muscle, but neither of those things can entirely account for his silliness in the tests when he was lovely in the warmup.
However, we did get some wonderful photos of Dewey. I'm so excited for his progress, and eager to see how he and Sara come along this season!
He's definitely getting the idea of the stretchy trot!
Dewey was very good about focusing and trying to learn his dressage test.
I also must include this obligatory photo of his loose lips. He's had long lips since he was a youngster, and mostly he's grown into them, but we still often get silly photos of his tongue and lips flapping.
Atlantis did wonderfully. He had a brief warmup since Dewey's second test was running a little behind, but Atlantis didn't need much. Just enough time to loosen up his muscles and get his head in the game and he was ready to go.
He rode really well in his test, and the things we've been focusing on the past few weeks really worked for us. He got 7s (good scores!) on his trot and canter lengthenings, as well as his gaits.
Unfortunately by that time the wind had kicked on, and I was fatigued enough that the head injury was starting to cause problems for me. This arena is always challenging for me because of the fluorescent lights. The brain damage makes it look to me like strobe lights flashing overhead. In addition to feeling like I'm at a rave, when my brain starts to struggle I have difficulty understanding speech. So despite Sara calling the test to me I went off course several times. I could hear her voice, but I couldn't understand her. The best comparison I can make is to the adults' voices in the Peanut's cartoons: "Wa waaaa wa wa waaaa".
I was really bummed that I needed to scratch Atlantis's second test, because I know he's capable of doing phenomenally well. However it's safer to stop riding when my balance and cognition start to fade, and Atlantis had gotten what he needed out of the field trip. He had a great warmup, he was quiet and obedient in his test, and got the experience of showing at another new place. Most importantly we got great photos! Thank you to Kimberly Hale Photography.
Perhaps the best part of the day was that Atlantis's owner was able to come see him! She lives in the mountains and doesn't often make it down to our section of the front range. She's had him since he was a yearling, and it's been a hard decision for her to sell him. It made all of our hearts feel good to see the two of them smooching and hanging out together, and she was pleased to see how he has progressed in his training, with his balance and impulsion having improved as well as his fitness level.
It was a good day overall, and I went home with two happy and tired bay horses.
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