South Farm or how Naughtie Earned Rockstar Status

Memorial Day weekend officially marked the start of the Windhurst Event Team's show season.  We had three horses and four riders entered at the South Farm Combined Test on Saturday, May 28th.  Of course we had a tiny bit of a problem.  Three horses and only a two horse trailer, you do the math.  So Friday night, Bonnie hauled Kaye and Naughtie over and then we took Mystic Saturday morning.

So first thing Saturday morning when we got there, the kids and I fed and watered the two mares while Katie got Mystic ready to ride.  After the marsies finished eating we gave Kaye a bath and the kids got her tacked up for me.  I started to warm Kaye up a bit for Victoria.  She was rather, um, excited to be back at South Farm.  So I worked her down for a while and then got Victoria up.  While I was riding Kaye, Ethan and Astrid were kind enough to bathe Naughtie for me, so I could get started tacking her up.  Since it was Naughtie's first show, and I wasn't sure what she was going to do, I figured it would be a good idea to lunge her in the indoor a bit.

Astrid and I took Naughtie over to the indoor and started her on the lunge line.  She was a little perky for all of about 2 laps and then settled right into the routine.  I lunged her about 25 laps each direction, just in case. And then I got on.  She was as god as gold.  We walked some small circles around the indoor and she just relaxed and walked.  It was almost time for Victoria to ride her dressage and since Naughtie was being so good, I figured we could head over to the dressage ring and watch.  Well, just as we were leaving the indoor, some birds flew out the door right above us.  Naughtie spooked a bit, and by spook I mean she trotted off about 4 or 5 strides.  Then she realized it was nothing and settled back into a walk.  Good girl!

So we headed over to the dressage ring and got there in time to watch both of Victoria's tests.  And she rocked them!  She had very nice, relaxed rides.  Really proud of how well she did.  After that we had a bit of time before the rest of us rode.  So the marsies got to chill in their stalls for a bit and get some water.  And I was able to change into my show clothes. Naughtie and I hung out in the barn for a bit and then we headed back over to the dressage rings.  Ethan, Katie and I all rode our test right around the same time, so I was able to watch their tests.  Naughtie was a rockstar for dressage really.  The first test we rode was USDF Intro B for the very green division.  She was a little fast in her trot work.  But that was my fault, so I can't really be mad at her for it.  Our figures we good and symmetrical, our transitions accurate.  Really I couldn't have asked for a better first test from her.  We had a few minutes then to pull off the running martingale and take a few canter departs and then it was back in the ring for USEA Beginner Novice Test A for the baby beginner novice division.  The trot work was much better and the canter work was pretty good.  Our second canter depart was a little ah, explosive.  But again, entirely my fault.  I was asking for way too much for the depart.  After the depart though she settled into a nice forward canter. And we finished up with a fairly nice test.

We headed back to the stalls, and Naughtie got a chance to drink and chill in her stall for a bit before it was time to jump.  Victoria and Ethan were up first for jumping.  And well it was eventful.  Ethan was up first in the cross rail division.  And he had a nice round, Kaye was listening and just trotting around like she usually does with the kids.  Then it was Victoria's turn, and well, she did the same thing she has a tendency to do at home.  She grabbed with her legs and did nothing to slow Kaye down.  And so Kaye went faster and faster and faster.  And Victoria got scared and bailed.  Right into the wooden fence around the ring.  She was ok luckily, scraped up and bruised a bit, but mostly ok.  So I borrowed Ethan's helmet and got on Kaye to settle her down.  Lots of walking and s-l-o-o-o-o-w sitting trot around the warm up.  Finally Bonnie and Victoria come back (with my helmet, so I could see!) and since Victoria wasn't going to ride her second Bonnie suggested I take her in and do a schooling round at the 2 foot height.  Which actually really exciting me since I had the chance to take Bonnie up on a challenge. 

The stadium course was a very twisty, turning course.  And there was this one section between fences 7 and 8.  Sarah intended for it to ridden with a large looping circle around to 8 like so:

Well you know Bonnie, why take a longer route when you can go shorter?  And so her challenge was to ride a direct line between the two fences:

While I wasn't quite sure I'd be able to do it on Naughtie, I knew on Kaye I'd have no trouble.

Kaye was her usual awesome self for me in the ring, and so Ethan felt ready to try his 2 foot round.  And Kaye was great for him.  He jumped everything well and then after he crossed the finish he leaned forward to pat her, and accidentally kicked her.  So Kaye took off a bit and Ethan bailed in pretty much the same spot.  So Kaye was in the doghouse, and Sarah was none to happy. 

Well by this time I needed to get Naughtie ready to go, ran back to the barn, threw her bridle back on and we made our way to the jumping ring.  She warmed up great, and soon we were ready to head into the ring.  She was Awesome!  She jumped everything for me.  At first she was a little confused by all the colored jumps and everything being crammed in the ring, but she listened well.  We finished the very green division with a double clear round to land us in 2nd place.   A couple minutes to rest and it was time for a return trip.  Unfortunately I let her get a little flat coming into the first fence and we pulled a rail, but with no other mistakes it was enough to keep us in 4th place.  Not too shabby for her first show. 

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South Farm CT

So home from Rolex and it's time for the Combined Test at South Farm. Wednesday night I headed out to the barn to clean tack. And then Friday after work I got a short jumping lesson on Kaye. Of course then Bonnie and I had to drive over to Tammy's to pick up the trailer, so by the time we did that and fed the horses, it was late when I finally got home. Saturday morning I picked Astrid up at 5:30 and we got to the barn to start feeding and get the ponies ready. Airy and Kaye both needed quick baths. Neither of them was terribly dirty but they both we're a bit dusty, and Kaye's tail was gross! So got them bathed and the trailer packed and we were on the road shortly after 8. Not too bad!

When we got to South Farm, Bonnie was the first to ride. So while she and Astrid got Airy ready I headed inside to pick up our packets. And then back over to the trailer to help Bonnie get on. Of course though Kaye wouldn't stand quietly on the trailer without Airy there so we had to take her over to the dressage ring with us. Airy was a complete snot in dressage, totally distracted by everything, including the Amish buggies. Of course when she actually settled down for the second canter the judge gave them lower scores than the first, bad canter, go figure! After Bonnie finished dressage we all headed back to the trailer. Airy to get a bit change and Astrid to start getting Kaye ready to ride.

Astrid headed into the dressage ring first for her Very Green test which was Intro B. She was having a pretty decent ride until she got to the free walk. And that's when she had a complete blond moment and forgot what she was doing. Unfortunately she was eliminated for it. Then it was time for Bonnie to do her stadium round. Airy was still way to fascinated by the Amish buggies so it was interesting to say the least.

Airy did have a double clear round even if she did make things difficult for Bonnie. And that was enough to keep them in 3rd place in the Training division.

Then it was time for Astrid to head back into the dressage ring for her Baby Beginner Novice test. Luckily she did much better that time and remembered her whole test. She had a pretty decent test overall, Bonnie and I were both really pleased with her. We quickly changed tack as she wanted to jump in Bonnie's saddle rather than mine. A quick warm up and they were ready to head into the stadium ring. A double clear round later and they finished 5th out of 7. Not too bad for Astrid's first show!


By the time Astrid finished her stadium course I only had about 10 minutes to switch tack and warm up before I was due in the dressage ring for my first ride. Luckily Kaye was already warmed up, it was just a matter of getting her listening to me and on the bit. Finally it was time to my Novice A test, and for pretty much the first time ever I rode into that dressage ring confident! It was actually pretty cool. I didn't think about the judge I just went in there and rode my test. Seriously it was the best test I have ever ridden in competition. And I got to bring home a pretty blue ribbon to show for my efforts.


A few minutes later I went back into the dressage ring to ride the Beginner Novice B test. Again we had a pretty decent ride. Not quite as good as the Novice A test, but still better than most other dressage tests I've ridden. Unfortunately the judge favored horses that were behind the vertical rather than one that was in a beginner novice appropriate frame and we didn't get a really great score. Oh well, I don't really care about the ribbon, I know I had a good ride.

Time now to put on Kaye's boots and running martingale and head over to stadium warm up. Had a good warm up. As usual my first fence was pretty ugly, but it quickly improved. Jumped maybe half a dozen warm up fences and we were ready. Unfortunately they weren't ready for us in the ring. So we waited, and waited and waited. Finally it was our turn to go into the ring. And Kaye was a ROCKSTAR! God I love that mare. She was just on. Jumped every fence exactly the same, we got our leads, she was listening to me. It was just awesome. And of course, we had a double clear round. Which ended up being enough to move us up to 8th out of 14. I'll take it.

Just cracks me up that we both had our eyes closed

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