Valley Miss 3/7/1988 - 10/14/2011

Well over the last few weeks I've had a lot of stuff keeping me busy and distracted.  Dressage shows, the new boy and playing with baby Titus, all gave my a chance to put something out of my mind.  But it's time to face to reality.  A couple weeks ago Bonnie and I really talked about Miss.  She's just not been doing well lately.  She's losing weight and she's not herself.  Her breathing is getting really bad again.  We agreed the best thing for her would be to let her go before winter got here.  She doesn't need to go through another cold winter.  And I don't want to wait too long.  It's not fair to Miss to keep her around just so I feel better.

Still even after making the decision we couldn't quite make the call yet.  A couple weeks passed and we still didn't call the vet.  But then Miss told us it was time.  Her breathing was steadily getting worse and she kept losing weight no matter how much grain we gave her.  When we saw her almost lose her hindquarters just walking out to the arena we knew it was time.

I went out and spent a couple of hours with her this week.  I groomed her and gave her as many peppermints as she would eat.  I cried into her mane for the last time.  It was a good evening and I got a chance to say my goodbyes to her.

Dr. Maro came out Friday and Miss was put to sleep out behind the arena.  She buried out back with her friends.  She was reunited with Vinny, Tru, Jade and all the others that we've lost.  I know she happy to finally be able to run free without any pain or discomfort. 

Thank you baby girl for taking care of me as I was learning to event.  Thank you for showing me how much fun this sport is and what a terrific partner can be found in a thoroughbred mare.  Thank you for trusting me to take care of you.  I'm glad I was able to keep you happy and comfortable these last few years.  I'll never forget you baby girl.

One of my favorite Miss photos.  Her and Maura at Virginia

Bonnie with Miss in Kentucky

Maura and Miss at Pony Club Champs in Kentucky

 In Loving Memory

Valley Miss

March 7, 1988 to October 14, 2011

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NWPAHA Summer Classic Dressage Show

Yup that's right, Bugsy and I went over to the dark side and went to a dressage show.  And I loved it!

Our win at Erie means we are halfway qualified for the 2012 AECs and I want to go.  Bugsy will probably be my best bet to do well there.  And let's face it, although Bugs is nowhere near ready to retire, he is getting older and realistically, he can't keep doing this forever.  So this is it, this is my chance.  And I know the lower levels at the AECs are extremely competitive.  It's not like the upper levels where you can usually bank on moving up a few placings if you jump clean.  At beginner novice you have to have a good dressage score.  And although Bugs and I can muddle through the dressage well enough for here at home, I want to be good.  So I need ring experience, and lots of it.  Luckily last weekend I had a dressage show practically right in my backyard.

Saturday morning, Courtney and I loaded up Kiwi and Bugs for the short drive to Harlansburg for the Open Dressage Show that is held in conjunction with the NWPAHA Summer Classic Arabian Show.  Being so close, Courtney thought it would be a good opportunity for Kiwi to get her feet wet.  And of course we had all our minions along, Astrid, Victoria, and Ari.

First up was Training Test 2, Bugsy warmed up great, he was listening and soft and really just working well for me.  I ended up not needing much warm up at all on him.  We just did some trot work and then our canter departs.  So then I just kept him walking to keep his muscles loose and warm.  Of course when we headed into the ring for the test I got nervous.  And as a result the first half of our test was a little bit tense.  But as we moved through the test I relaxed and things got a lot better!  And apparently the judge didn't see the tension because I walked away with a 73.214!  In a recognized dressage show!  I was shocked.

Then it was back to the trailer and Bugsy got to chill and eat hay for a couple hours before we headed back to the ring for Training Test 1.  Again Bugs warmed up great.  And then this time when we headed into the ring I wasn't nervous at all.  It was a much better test right from the start.  Bugsy was supple and tracking up, working off his hocks.  He felt great in the canter work and he gave me this great long and low stretchy circle.  To me this test felt 100% better.  Enough so that I got the high score of the day with an even 75.000!  So pleased and proud of my Buggers!

Look at that stretch!

And then it was a break for a couple more hours till we rode our last test.  I'll be honest.  By the time we headed over to the ring for Training Test 3 I was tired.  And so was Bugsy.  Dressage is hard work!  We kept the warm up very short.  Just a little bit of trot work and then a quick canter depart on each lead.  Even so we were both tired when we headed into the ring and it showed.  Plus this was the one test I never had a chance to ride at home in it's entirety.  We still had a fairly decent test.  Just not as great as the first two.  We still came away with a 62.400 and lots of things to work on for the next time.

At the end of the day we went home with blue ribbons for Training Tests 1 and 2 and a red for Training Test 3.  Pretty good accomplishment for my first recognized dressage show.  So now we are thinking about heading to Chagrin on October 15th for the NODA Schooling Show.  And we might tackle First Level Test 1.  Stay tuned!

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EHSC Photo Overload

Guess what came in the mail yesterday.  The amazing pics Brant Gamma took of Buggers and I at EHSC!  Woot!  Here are some of my favorites.

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Erie Hunt and Saddle Club HT

Ok, finally getting around to blogging about my time at Erie Hunt and Saddle Club.  I had Friday before the event off.  So time to get Bugsy all squeaky clean and that last ride in.  Bonnie actually got on Bugsy and rode him first, so that was a nice treat.  I always enjoy riding after she's been on to tune things up.  Bugs got a thorough scrubbing as did my tack and he was tucked in for a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning I was at the barn e.a.r.l.y.  My ride time was at 9:12 but we had to feed and load up with enough time for me to get dressed and tacked up and plenty of warm up time at the show grounds.  Plus Bonnie wanted to work Bugs a bit before we left.  He goes better the second ride usually.  Made it to the barn in time to watch Bonnie ride, always educational.  The kids all slowly started arriving and we managed to get on the road only slightly behind schedule.  Pulled into the show grounds with about an hour till my ride time.  Perfect.  I got myself dressed while my superb grooming team took care of Bugsy for me.

Soon enough I was in the saddle and heading down to the dressage ring. Bugs warmed up great.  He was in the bridle just where we wanted him.  He was tracking up nicely.  All in all he looked exactly like a beginner  novice horse should.  We did our walk, trot and canter warm up, then just walked some small circles until it was our ride time.  As soon as Bugsy hit the dressage ring he suddenly remembered that he was a big bad intermediate horse.  And he went like an intermediate horse.  Oh well, he was a little more up in the bridle than we would have liked for beginner novice, but he was listening to me, and we rode a pretty good test.  So I figured we would either end up about mid pack or at the bottom of the division, depending on what the judge liked.  I practically had a heart attack when scores were posted and Bugsy and I were tied for 3rd!  I was shocked, I never expected to do that well.

I actually look like I know what I'm doing!

We had a couple of hours till it was time to jump, so Bugs was untacked and got to chill on the trailer with a hay bag, and we headed out to walk the cross country course.  It was a nice, straight forward course, actually the exact same course I jumped with Kaye 2 years prior.  Bonnie and I worked out how to ride the course, especially the water, and then we headed over to stadium.  Once again the stadium course was straight forward, no confusing turns or anything like that.

Before too much longer, the kids were tacking Bugs up again (in my snazzy new Ecogold pad) and we headed over to stadium warm up.  Bugsy warmed up great for me, although he was a little insulted by the small jumps.  We watched a couple of rounds and then it was our turn.  He was perfect in stadium, until the last fence.

As we were jumping the last fence we had a slight, uh, equipment malfunction.  My right stirrup slide off of the stirrup bar, and that threw me off balance just enough that I lost my other stirrup.  Well, then the banging stirrup spooked Bugs and he took off around the ring.  We did about 5 laps or so of the ring at a gallop before he jumped an oxer backwards and that's when I went off.   I just couldn't stick on anymore.  Luckily I was ok.  A lot sore, and a little shaken up, but ok.  Bugs stopped as soon as I went off and so the kids were able to grab him and take him back to the trailer.  Honestly at that point I wasn't sure I was up to finishing the show.  Luckily we had crossed the finish flags (several times) and so we were not penalized for the fall.  The kids took care of Bugs for me, hosed him off and then tacked him back up for cross country.  I got a drink, calmed down a bit, and manned up to get back on.

Warm up was a little rough.  Bugsy was being good, but I was still very nervous.  But the good news is even though I felt like I was going to be sick, I was staying with Bugs perfectly, even when he started leaving out strides before the fences.  Tammy coated my saddle in Saddle-Tite.  And then my support crew headed out to find a spot on course and I just had a few minutes left.  The starter called for my time, and we were off.

I was super nervous the first few fences.  And I kept Bugsy fairly slow.  And then after fence 3, my stupid pinny got caught around the whip I had under my saddle, so that slowed things up a bit.  We trotted the up bank at 4 and then down into the woods.  Then coming back up out of the woods Bugs picked up and easy canter, and suddenly I remembered how fun this was.  I rode my entire course in two-point, which actually Bugsy liked a lot better, sitting the canter/gallop on him is just asking for a little too much at this level.  He was such a good boy for me!  Even did the water like a champ!  The water was just an unflagged pass through for beginner novice, about 5 strides or so after a log.  Originally the plan was to go around the water rather than risk a stop, as we all know water is not Bugsy's favorite thing.  But after seeing the course Bonnie told me to take him through it, since it wasn't flagged, even if he did stop we wouldn't be penalized.  About 3 strides out from the log he saw the water and sucked back a little, but I growled at him and he said ok!  Jumped the log and then he did drop back to a trot before the water, but he trotted through with no hesitation and then picked up the canter again afterwards.  We finished the course with big smiles and 9 seconds under optimum time.

 
My support crew took Bugs for a well deserved shower, after he got lots of treats of course.  And I got a well deserved gatorade and a seat.  It wasn't too much longer till we heard the announcement that scores had been posted for my division.  If I was shocked to be tied for 3rd after dressage, just imagine my shock when I saw that I had won!  The first and second place horses had some problems in stadium and so I was tied for 1st after that.  Everyone else already knew it, and actually I'm glad Bonnie didn't tell me.  Would have made me a lot more nervous for cross country.  Both the other girl and I ran clean on cross country but I was closest to optimum time and so I won.  1st place out of 19 in the division, including some professionals, feels pretty darn good!

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Cross Country with Boyd Martin

Well, it time to start moving on with things.  As hard as it is, and as much as I still want to just cry everyday, I'm still here and I still have a life to lead.  And the first step will be recapping the amazing clinic in which I rode with Boyd Martin.

Boyd came back to Northern Ohio at the end of June for a 2 day clinic at White North Stables and South Farm.  When he was last here in October of 2010, I took Miss Kaye and we had a blast riding with him.  Well this year, I was going to pass on the clinic.  $300 is just a lot of money.  But as the date got closer and Katie was getting ready with Kaye, I really wanted to ride.  So I talked to Bonnie and we decided to take Bugsy along for the second day and ride cross country at South Farm.

Wednesday morning we were up nice and early to get on the road.  Katie was scheduled to ride at 7:30 and then I would be in the 9:00 group.  Well when we got there, we heard the sad news that Boyd's father had taken a turn for the worst after his accident and so Boyd was leaving early to catch a flight home to Australia.  So Katie and I both ended up riding at 9:00 with about 5 training/prelim riders.  On one hand it was nice to still get to ride with Boyd.  On the other hand it was kinda disappointing to have to be in a group with the prelim riders, I don't feel we got as much attention.  But what can you do.  The poor guy was just trying to work with as many people as he could.  I give him a lot of credit for still continuing with the clinic after getting that kind of news.

We were on our own for the flat warm up, which was good.  I wasn't that big of a fan of the way he warmed us up on the flat last year.  Especially with our horses.  Bugs was a little pumped when we first headed out.  He would not stand still so that I could get on even.  But once we got out to the field and started on the small circles, he settled down into the work nicely.

Then Boyd came to get us and we headed out to start jumping.  We started over a small coop, which Bugsy was not at all impressed.  But then as we moved into the next field, Boyd had us string together a couple fences.  A little coop, around to a log, back to a bigger coop and then finishing up over another bigger coop.  Bugs was awesome!  Now that he was jumping some novice fences he was much happier.  He did get moving a bit between some of the fences, just having fun.  But he came back to a nice controlled canter for me when I asked.

Then it was time for banks.  All I can say is I'm getting pissed at myself with my bank issues!  First Boyd asked us to just walk up onto the bank and then step down off the beginner novice bank.  And of course I had a stop the first time.  Turned Bugs around and we did it again.  Then Boyd had us trot down the bank, land in a canter, and with out gathering our reins jump the novice coop that was about 6 or 7 strides away.  Then we turned around and jumped the coop and up the bank.  We did those both a couple times and then headed down to the water.

Bugs was a trooper at the water.  He trotted right through without needing any encouragement, which was nice as water is not his favorite thing.  We trotted through a couple times and then jumped the beginner novice bank up out of the water.  Turned around and jumped it down into the water.  We jumped that bank and swung around to jump a stadium fence that was set up at the edge of the water.  Finally we finished with a little mini course.  Trot through the water, jump the stadium fence, go around the pond and jump a log, loop back around heading towards the water and jump a flower box and then finish up with the novice down bank into the water and across to the stadium fence.  And this is where Bugs made me love him even more.  We jumped the stadium fence and he just settled into this nice hand gallop over to the log, didn't pull didn't try and speed up, he was just content to run at the speed I told him.  He popped over the log nicely and settled back into that nice gallop to the flower box.  Now after the flower box it was kinda funny.  Part of the field next to the water was roped off because it was VERY wet and Sarah was trying to save the footing for the horse trials that next weekend.  So to get to the down bank you had to ride close to the ropes and it still set you up at an angle to the bank.  But it set you up nicely to jump the prelim down bank.  And so that's what Bugsy thought we were doing.  lol  I did manage to get him over to the novice bank, only because I'm not sure I would have made it down the prelim one still on his back!

All in all it was a great clinic.  I learned a lot from Boyd, and I had a blast riding Bugsy.

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