AIKEN 2015 - Starting Over

It has been a while since this has been updated... But why not start again now. A lot has happened over the year between the good and the bad, the ups and the downs. Instead of recapping anything, we will just start where we are now. With Zara not in the picture for this year, Geoni will take over as the top kid in the barn. He has some big shoes to fill, to say the least. Tracey and working student Emily Sixbey came down to Aiken, SC around the end of January to get a jump start on the eventing season with the horses. We brought 6 down: Tracey's "Geoni," Erin R. Huffer's "Joe," Darby Hewes' "Skogen" and "Benson," Jeannette Lazzaro's "Reggie," and Emily Sixbey's "Kenny." Geoni had goals to be good at preliminary level, and move up to intermediate level, both of which we have accomplished. Although his run at Pine Top, his first intermediate, wasn't ideal, I always have to keep in mind that he is still very young, and has a lot of experience to gain at the upper levels. He came out this season with a great feeling around the cross country, which is a great step in the right direction. His dressage is steadily improving, and his stadium is our current hiccup. I believe he will come around and show true success at intermediate with more practice, just as he did for preliminary.

Going from a horse that could do the intermediate level in her sleep, to a horse that really needs my help has been a big adjustment for me, and will teach me a lot as a rider. I am very excited for the challenges, ups and downs, and adventures for myself, Geoni, and our team for 2015.

Why do we do this?

Photo: Lauren Edzenga

It is no secret that horses are humbling creatures, whether to simply be around, ride, compete, or do all of these as a career. They offer us our greatest dreams, but also deliver devastating heartbreak. Onlookers often consider horse people "crazy" for what we choose to do and endure for the sake of our passion, but to us passion is not even a grand enough word. There simply aren't words to describe the feelings of someone immersed in these animals. 


          Going through the ups and downs of this passion, and following this dream, takes a great toll on the emotions and body, but it also brings great rewards. These rewards may be large or small, and are different for every equestrian. Some of these great rewards are large victories, but many are small moments that fill your heart and bring you to life. Winning events is fabulous and encouraging, but the smaller moments leading up to that victory are what is truly important. Nailing that perfect lead change, finally getting a true extension, discovering lightness in the bridle, finding that perfect spot to every jump in your course, getting over that ditch, or through that sunken road.... these moments fuel the spark that keeps us entrenched in this dream.

Photo: Lauren Edzenga

           Despite the many setbacks we must endure to follow our dreams with horses, we become better people and better horsemen because of the nature of this lifestyle. The most important part of this lifestyle is the care and compassion for our animals. They are as much a part of who we are as family members and dearest friends. They mold and change our lives as we live them, and remind us constantly how fragile life and emotions are. So to answer the title question of why do we do it, if it is so taxing, exhausting and heart breaking? The answer is that if equestrian life is who you are, then you do it because you must. You do it because there is no other way to live than with your horses closest to your heart and first on your mind.

Photo: Lauren Edzenga

Picking up your Pieces

Well, here I am again surprisingly close to my last blog. I have a bad habit of abandoning my blogging duties when things get so busy that my computer gathers dust in the wake. Anyhow, I find it quite ironic that my last post was about getting your "ducks in a row," as there is a vital piece missing from that blog entry. It is the nature of our sport and our horses that despite all the preparations, sometimes things can and WILL go wrong. The important thing is how to bounce back from these inevitable setbacks. If you missed the excitement of Plantation CIC last weekend, there was a large collection of horses and riders that unfortunately got to taste the footing on the cross country. I was one of those riders. After having a brilliant ride through the tough water complex in the CIC** on Sunday, Zara and I had a miscommunication that lead to a major spill on the table at #21. Luckily for both of us, as she went down I was catapulted in one direction and she rolled in the other, and neither of us faced any very major injuries. With a well planned fall season for my horses, a now separated shoulder, and question of how Zara and I will tackle our next big table, I am left with the tough work of picking up my pieces.

First on my list, and should be on anyone's, will be to let myself heal! This sounds easy... who doesn't want a few days of being a couch potato, and resting up a bum shoulder. To answer.... ME! I cannot stand being still, seeing my horses have to take vacation when they are so ready to go, and I feel so fit and game. Days off from riding are the very last thing that I want as I hope to do Fairhill International in 3 weeks. I realize that this goal seems unrealistic with my shoulder, but that is my goal none-the-less.

Next, keep the horses going without micro-managing their rides TOO much. All my horses, whether mine or a clients are on very particular programs, and to deviate from this program is like missing your only TV show that doesn't get re-aired or go online. Disastrous, to anyone that watches a TV show. I have no TV shows. Therefore, my horses must be on their programs! Unfortunately for my needs, my horses' and exerciser's welfare must be a priority, so in order to at least maintain their current situations, I will have to make due with modification.

Another difficult step in picking up my pieces will be being flexible. As much as I love my horses, when I get to be back in the tack, there's a good chance the day that I planned to jump, my arm will be trying to escape from the containment of my shoulder, as it feels it is right now. Sadly those days may fall on an important day, but I will have to stay flexible to allow myself and my horses the best possible schooling and healing.

Along with being flexible, to pick up the pieces I will have to rebuild confidence with patience. I know that I am a strong cross country rider, and that I have conquered some of the toughest advanced tracks around America. But, I also must accept that I am not super-human, and am not immune to the possibility of my own guts being shaken up from our dirt-eating party at Plantation. We will have to start small, and minimize negative experiences AND minimize mistakes if I am to accomplish my goal this fall.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, to make sure my pieces come back together in perfect order I will have to LISTEN TO MY HORSE. If we begin getting back to dressage scores and we don't feel we are together, we will have to take a step back and make sure I'm riding as well as I can be for Zara's sake. If we begin jumping and something seems majorly different in her style or mine, again, we will need to step back and evaluate what's going on. We will need to practice with super mentor Sally to help decide where the issues may be and what can fix them. And lastly, I will have to listen to Zara if we are even on those last few days schooling for Fairhill and she gives me an indication that we are not ready.

I do not undervalue how lucky I am to have a horse quick enough on her feet to at least try and land from our disaster jump. And I will not take for granted that this time our mistake was forgiven, but next time our problems may be much more serious at such a miscommunication.

These are my thoughts for the day my shoulder hurt enough that I am just getting out to the barn at 4:30pm. Resting is like torture, but I know I need it if I want my shoulder to be strong enough. Keep thinking healing thoughts fans, and we will be at Fairhill to root on my fellow riders at our tailgate spot whether or not Zara and I are running.

Check out these awesome photos of Zara from Plantation!
http://akdragoophoto.zenfolio.com/p641109774/h76e05971#h76e05971

Stay ON!
Tracey.

Getting your "Ducks in a Row"

As a way to review the happenings of the last few months, I'd like to share some thoughts about training, lessoning and preparing for events and shows. Getting your ducks in a row is how we all work, train, and prepare every single day for our goals.

In your daily training for your next competition, a consistent program helps you and your horse stay on target for your upcoming goals, and keep track of previous training sessions and how to move forward in the work.  If you only manage to do a real dressage school once a week on your schedule, it is difficult a week later to keep a steady build of confidence and practice going. As for jumping, exercises need to be focused and to the point to maintain your horse's health and joints. If you jump twice a week for example, and you do grids once and course lines the other: on grid day, exercises would build upon the previous course lines school on portions that were weak. Building distances for yourself and your horse to work through with ground poles and cavaletti allow you to work together every time. For course work, you must recall what kind of canter work it took to most successfully work through the grids. This consistency and building blocks style of work keeps you on track for improvement, and also makes it fairly easy to take it back a step if things feel a little off. Remember in addition to consistent work, horses also need to understand that sometimes they are allowed to relax and enjoy. Whether this means cooling out on a nice walk outside the arena or spending a fitness day on some good winding trails instead of hills.

As many professionals do, I maintain a consistent lesson program for my own horses. This Spring and Summer, I pretty much focused on exclusively dressage lessons at Hassler Dressage since the chaos of my schedule didn't allow the time to haul up to Sally Cousins for our jump tune-ups. Since Zara wasn't competing yet anyways, this wasn't a huge issue. Anyways, every week, my actively training horses would lesson at Hassler - Skogen the dressage pony, Zara, and baby thoroughbred Geoni. Keeping in regular lessons is a vital part your competition preparations. A mentor that sees you and your horses on a consistent basis allows you to keep track of the odds and ends that may become bad habits if let go. They help to establish a plan for your ride, whether it's how to nail that leg yield, enhance the cadence and elasticity in your gaits, or stay STRAIGHT on a center-line. In addition to these points, your instructor is someone who gets to see how you and your horse flow from the ground regularly, and can help identify little gaps in not only training but also soundness. A subtle favoring of a direction, lead or balance may not translate to you on top as a possible health issue, but could be noticeable to your trainer.

When it comes to competition prep, all of the above are very important elements, but also keep your routine, your mental health, and your time management in mind. A well planned preparation night must include a pointed ride to feel ready and not over-faced or overwhelmed for the next day, plus braiding and bathing, careful packing, and a good meal before the end of the evening. Some of us also have superstitious rituals, but to each their own on that front! Your pre competing ride often depends on your horse; for example, Zara does best on a 2-a-day schedule, with the day before including dressage and a light gallop ride. I try to complete her rides earlier in the day, so she has some downtime, and I don't feel stressed with her preparations. Typically an early finish to the day of riding, followed by a dinner adventure with some friends, then a return to the barn to put in braids for the night before going home to relax. Your packing should be done without rushing to assure you don't forget anything, and leave time to double check! Your evening plans should be relaxing but stimulating -- if it's too relaxing it may allow you to dwell on the day to come. Know and practice your test, but (easier said than done, I know) don't obsess over it. If you've gotten all your ducks together and marching this far, knowing the test should not be of worry.

When you're down to the wire, and preparing to "enter at A," it is the time to show off how well you have prepared. A carefully calculated warmup, following a well planned arrival and tack up are your final steps to bringing your very best into the ring. Always remember to consider how far it is to get to the warm up, that it will take a few minutes to do bit check, and that the chaotic warm up may distract your horse. Stay focused on what you need to accomplish in your warm up to give yourself the best chance at a stellar test. Find your own area, and keep your work focused. Keep yourself breathing deep, and show off the hours, days, weeks, months, years or whatever excessive, insane amount of time you devote to your competition. Smile at that judge like you know you've got it, and make a positive impact.

Dreams do Come True, One Jump at a Time

        One of the most important traits we gain as not only horsemen, but competing horsemen, is patience and understanding that time devoted is directly related to the successes you will achieve. I have been working with a special student of mine for quite a while now, and enjoyed watching her develop as a rider and horseman. It is a great pleasure to a trainer and instructor to see a student's hard work paying off. When I met Erin and her horse Joe, they were a pair that enjoyed playing around the farm, but often feuded over a wide variety of training issues. When I say wide variety, I mean anything and everything can set this pony off, whether it was the rattle of the indoor, the wind in the corn, the look of something scary, the look of something not really scary, butterflies, a patch of grass..... well, you get the picture. Joe is spooky, bossy, and in general a bit of a jerk. He is an arabian cross pony, with a bit of a little guy complex, which means a big guy attitude. Erin was not discouraged by his behavior, small stature, and occasional distaste for work, and has stuck with him for years now. When I came upon their partnership, and took an interest in improving them, we learned a few things: this pony can JUMP... AND he can flat fancy. But he will never make either very simple to accomplish. He rides among legends in the area of spin-out refusals, and holds good status in the area of run-outs and big spooks as well. He usually prefers to carry his head as if it is a flag pole rather than a normal horse's neck.


        With a slight background on these two, their recent accomplishments would come as very impressive to anyone who met them a year or two ago. After beginning work with me, Erin set out with the goal of taking Joe to an event at some point. She spent hours in the saddle, as well as a couple spills out of the saddle, worked independently outside of lessons as well as in lessons, and used plenty of watching others to learn as much as possible. Our first goals towards her main goal were to show at some local shows and get out cross country schooling through fall and winter of 2012-2013. We got out cross country schooling a few times, and learned about how Joe would handle the atmosphere. Through the winter, she attended her first jumper shows with him at Breezy Run, winning most of her classes and earning high point award for the season. She also participated in some schooling dressage shows, both on her horse and on another horse from the barn. Come the spring, we felt ready to venture out to their first event, and chose the Fairhill Starter Trials to give it a shot.

        Last Sunday, Erin and Joe completed their first of many exciting events to come. Although dressage is not Joe's or Erin's favorite, they cooperated very well together to earn a 40.6 starting them off 3rd in their division. In the jumping, they made their first outing look easy breezing through the stadium smoothly. Erin took her time with Joe on the cross country, successfully navigating the course to end on her dressage score and hold 3rd place. More importantly than the placing, was the pure happiness and team work that took place that day, where Erin and Joe believed in each other and were both smiling throughout the day. I bet they can't wait to give their second event a try soon!!

THE SEQUEL: Controlling the Uncontrollable: What to and NOT to do when Re-starting Light Work with the Stall Rested Advanced Horse.....

Well, as you might have guessed as time has passed, Zara's workload in her rehab has started to build up! We began adding jogs, trots and even some canters as we approach her re-check date on April 15th to slowly strengthen the tendon and make sure it becomes flexible for her to start real work. I even decided to take up regular tack-walks, since my running "skillz" in the cushy indoor sand footing proved inadequate to keep pace with the big red monster. SO, without delay, here are my latest tips for how to handle a 1300lb Big Red Mare (sometimes mistaken for an orangutang, as she swings from the rafters of the barn/indoor).

TACK WALKING:

1. Tack slowly, to avoid explosion...... As if she is SHOCKED that now she must wear a saddle again. Poor poor mare.

2. Bridle carefully..... because that's an excellent time to reach over to the shelf with the cookies on it.......or spin around and flee.

3. Groom in small intervals..... because Big Red horses are so itchy from blanket season, when you brush them for an extended period of time they may:
A) lean back on the cross ties into you to help you curry harder, and then "accidentally" break the cross ties;
B) lean sideways and/or move over towards you (again, to help you get that extra strength to curry adequately), and squish you into the wall;
C) fall down from ecstasy (and then discover you are not tied and flee).

4. Ride in the indoor until conditions outside are acceptable enough that there is good footing in case of sudden decision to flee or bounce or spin, good weather so no small items such as papers, ribbons, pieces of hay, etc. will fly by and terrify the advanced horse, and ideally there are no other horses outside to make things more exciting than you would like.

5. If you ride outside do it gradually..... Wind and birds and grass will need to be slowly re-introduced. Reaction will be as if never seen before.

6. Beware of hills...... because you may get stuck on them. They are an excellent reason to rear, buck, spin, or refuse to move feet in a positive direction.

7. Deer...... have become horse-eating monsters while your horse was in stall. If you see them before the Big Red, hold on, or allow a gentle turn away from the evil.

8. Walking/trotting partners..... make us less spooky, but more competitive, and result in angry ears and occasional kicks and strikes while trotting.

9. Always wear the neck strap....... ALWAYS!

Despite these highly limiting rules, I somehow look forward to getting to sit on the Monster every day, now especially that I get to ride outside in the warm weather, and get to trot for almost 20 whole minutes! (in intervals, on flat, of course)  Keep your fingers crossed for great news one week from today, maybe the Big Red will be out and about by this Fall!

Until next time, hold on to your strap!
Tracey

What NOT to do When a Big Red Advanced Horse is on Stall Rest.... A Guide for Controlling the Uncontrollable

So I hadn't really discussed it yet as public knowledge, but it's not too difficult to guess that Zara was scratched from Fairhill in October for an injury. She has a minor tendon injury that we are doing everything and anything to heal fully and get her back in action for next year. A vital step to this healing process is...... DUN Dun dun... Stall Rest and Hand Walks. Dreaded punishment to a horse that thrives on galloping and jumping out in the open. Throughout the past few months, I have gained a wealth of knowledge about the care and control of a wild trapped beast. Just in case anyone else needs to go through this, I thought I would share what I've learned so that if you must contain your wild beast, you can eliminate these mistakes from your experience.....
This list will grow as I learn more.

1. Do not walk without the chain.

 This is a fatal mistake for the wily contained beast. Even if your horse is an angel to lead most of the time, and they've never needed a chain in their life.... They do now! Fear the unchained monster, when you least expect it they will unleash their fury, and escape.

2. Master the Nose Chain, Lip Chain, and Various Wrap-Around Tactics.

Once you have made the mistake of trying to walk without the chain, you must learn which version of the chain works for well behaved horse, slightly excited horse, and wild beast. For Zara, as well behaved horse, she wears the nose chain wrapped under her chin, connected around to the same cheek as the lead is on. For excitable mare, the chain is lower on her nose. For beast of fury, lip chain with wrap under chin to opposite cheek.
          As a side note: Beware of the rage factor when you can finally control the beast - possible striking, biting and rearing.

3. Do not walk in the wind.

This mistake is especially applicable if you happen to have a barn/indoor that creaks, groans, blows, etc. Your formerly fearless cross country machine will think a small thump of something on the building is a dragon coming to take her away..... Or maybe as an excuse to fly away from your grip - either way, beware the wind!

4. In fact, do not walk in the rain... Or snow.. Or a storm of any sort.

Similar reasoning to above. The slightest noise, and the rearing, striking and bolting may commence.

5. Do not allow wind/rain/snow/storms to make noise in the barn.

If you thought your athlete was super impressive galloping out in the open, picture a similar level of impulsion and explosiveness, but in a 15 by 15 foot box. Duck and cover, preferably under the feed bucket or hay rack, if inside the stall. 

6. If you DARE tack walk, use drugs.

Or you will die.

7. Do not take your eyes off the stall door when inside.

Because super athletes are also successful Houdinis'. Apparently. You're probably better off latching the door while inside. (Beware of flying limbs at her distaste for the lack of escape opportunity.)

8. Do not take your eyes off of horse while she is on cross ties.

 Again, Houdini skills are honed with stall rest. Little-known side effect of confinement. If she doesn't know how to back out of ties, break ties, break halters, or other tactics of this nature, she probably does know how to chew through the tie. And escape.
          Side Note: Also, if you look away, she will paw, kick, spin, look behind her, and other erratic behaviors to make sure that either A, you will pay attention to her and only her, or B, she will escape.

9. Do not get distracted while wrapping legs.

They may start flying in every direction, one of which is towards your face. Surprisingly quietly.

10. Offer many rub downs, curries, brushings and head and neck scratches.

Or she will take any opportunity she finds to scratch, rub and lick you until you give in and appease her desire. Occasionally knocking you to the ground and practically rolling on you to scratch herself.

Closing 2012 with Success

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Baby Geoni rocked his first training at the Maryland Starter Trials!!
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          Hope everyone has had a good kick off to the holiday season! Although I was sad to withdraw Zara from Fair Hill this year, it opened another opportunity to get my other horses out and about before the end of the recognized season. Geoni started his recognized career at the Maryland Horse Trials, where he was quite mind-blown by the atmosphere, but managed to get around his first event with success. He was a star for his first true cross country run, and jumped clean in the stadium. Zoomer was on his best behavior, earning a good position from dressage and jumping clean in the stadium with just 2 seconds of time to earn 3rd in the preliminary. Since Geno was already signed up for the training level at CDCTA a few weeks later, I decided to compete him the next weekend at the unrecognized Maryland Horse Trials, where he got over his worries, and put in a stellar performance to lead his division from start to finish, ending on his dressage score. In November, Geno competed in the training at CDCTA, and was a little stressed in the dressage, but jumped well with one rail in the stadium and double clean cross country and end up 6th. I was thrilled to have followed through perfectly with my goals for Geno for this year; and excited to be back on Zoomer and competing.

          Now that we are coming into winter, we are planning lots of schooling shows, schoolings, and other opportunities to improve our weak spots to come out even stronger next year. Keep warm, and hope for a mild one up here in area two!

Tracey

Summer has Flown by!! AEC's, and Plantation

Well I can't believe it is already September!! Now that the fall is upon us, my other horses who have been on vacation while I focused hard on these past few weeks with Zara will be coming out to play! But first, here is a recap of Zara's last few events.

After deciding at the last minute to re-route from doing our 6th advanced level competition at Richland in Michigan to competing in American Eventing Championships in Georgia, we prepared for a longgg trip! Luckily, Zara is a good traveler, and made the 15 hour trip without incident. She settled in wonderfully, and schooled great the next day. If you've never been to Chattahoochee Hills, it is worth the trip! The facility is incredible, and creates a top-notch atmosphere for this great competition.  On dressage day, I unfortunately did not give Zara the warm up she needed to excel in the busy atmosphere. She kept her composure and confidence well through the trot work, but became unsettled in the challenging canter work. We earned an appropriate, but disappointing score to set us up at the end of the group of incredible advanced horses. The cross country was quite complex, and faced us with not just a few, but many questions that we haven't faced before. The tactful use of the terrain became an important component of many of the twisty combinations. With Sally's expert advice, Zara and I took on the cross country on Saturday with impressive power. We worked hard through the combinations, and despite a few minor mistakes, made it around clean and fast to move a big jump up in the placings. On stadium day, Zara seemed in good energy and as it turns out, had a bit too much go remaining! She was a firecracker around the complex course, bringing down three rails on the way around. We decided after this ride it is time for a change in our stadium tack to get her a bit more focused on me in the ring. We ended up placed at 14th of over 20 incredible horse and rider combinations.

The next stop on Zara's schedule was the Plantation Field Horse Trials. We had hoped to enter the CIC3*, but because of our various dressage issues, we did not have the scores we needed. Instead, we ran the advanced, still hoping to get the scores needed. On dressage day, Zara was fairly well behaved up until the last few moments of the test. Now we all know that Zara can be quite an opinionated Big Red Mare, however, this was a bit unusual. After crossing the diagonal where we were supposed to do the left to right flying change, Zara decided that in fact, she would not be changing leads, and she WOULD be leaving the arena; right there at P. Whether it was forward, backwards, or sideways, she was going OUT!!  Of course, this idea didn't really fly with me, so we had a bit of a discussion there in that corner of the arena, followed by a quite disorganized extended canter, and a less than great collection, circle and halt. Luckily, her trot work was much improved, and we earned a 44.7 and were not in last, even with the poor scores from her escapade. Bad mare!!! Stadium was Friday in the hilly grass area near the stabling. The course was beautiful, but would prove challenging, as Zara tends to be stronger and a little less confident on her feet in the grass. In our new bridle setup, which I had schooled in less than I would have liked, Zara took on the course with more poise than ever before. She was very attentive and careful. We made it all the way to jump #10 before we had a rail! I didn't have her quite straight to the liverpool, leading to a slightly flat jump. My error there was also reflected in the triple combination, where we had 2 more rails, to keep us in the same standing. Saturday, the cross country footing was very well tended, and the course rode with great flow. Zara really stepped up to the plate and stayed with me the whole time around, taking every single jump in great form and distance! It was definitely one of my very best rides. We made it around with just a few time penalties to end up in 10th place.

Because we did not obtain the qualifier we hoped for at a CIC3* this year, Zara and I will be entering Fairhill at the CCI2* level again, hoping that our hard work on the dressage will shine through to improve upon our performance last year. In addition to Fairhill, I will be competing the other horses who have had some time off while Zara has been working hard. Brilliant Truth will do a training level before returning to do a couple preliminary level events before the close of the year, Aces Zoomin' Dude will be entering a few preliminary level events to determine what his plan will be for the next year. Geoni, now that he has healed from his various ottb ailments... such as getting stuck in a gate, fighting with Zoomer (poor choice) and giving himself an impressive new eyebrow on one side ... and will be beginning his recognized career at the novice level.
Baby and Zoomer will be going to Middleburg, VA this weekend to get started!

Hot Jersey, Ups and Downs at Millbrook, and a Great Comeback for Zoomer at Waredaca!

Well, I got behind and skipped a few things.. but to recap, at the end of June Zara and I did the horse trials at the Horse Park of New Jersey. We had a decent dressage test for us, and geared up for the jumping with lots of ice and water on hand! Advanced in 100+ degrees is certainly a great test of my and Zara's stamina. With the help of Mark and a newer friend, Nicole, we warmed up and headed over to warm up. Zara was wonderful, and we headed in confidently after some brilliant rides before us by Buck Davidson and Jennie Brannigan. An interesting thing about this stadium course was that it was nearly identical to the intermediate stadium at Seneca a few weeks before. At Seneca, we had one rail at the vertical one-stride at the end of the arena, when I allowed a loss of balance through our turn. Needless to say, I was excited to ride the course again and hopefully leave that mistake out! Zara went around wonderfully, keeping all the rails up. I did have one mistake, where I added a stride in a bend, but luckily we kept it together enough to get to the base and get over it just fine. Our first clean advanced stadium! We went on to ride the cross country after a cooling session, and had a great time. Zara conquered all of the questions with confidence, and we came in just a little over the time to earn 3rd place.

Zara's next event was the Millbrook horse trials in New York. I was excited, as I had never traveled there for an event. We arrived an uneventful drive and Zara settled in nicely. She gave me her most relaxed test yet, and I was very happy that we have been improving every single outing so far this year. The cross country looked fair but had an element I wasn't used to -- hilly terrain. I walked the course with Sally Cousins and she assured me as long as we are fit, we will adapt fine to the hills. She was certainly right, and Zara and I pushed ourselves to have one of the best rides we've had to date. She was light on her feet, quick, and adaptable throughout the course, and to make things better, we managed to get in tight to the time with just 2 seconds to spare. The next day for stadium, Zara was in good spirits, though likely a bit tired... I however, was quite fatigued from the ride, and did not ride my best in the stadium. With my lack of support, we had 5 rails around the course to drop us from 5th to 10th. Our drive home went well, and Zara got a brief vacation before we went back to work. I did not take a vacation, and have been focusing on my fitness and as much riding as I can to avoid that problem again!
[Video Here: Millbrook Advanced Cross Country!! ]

On a bit of a whim last week, when I saw Waredaca was accepting post-entries, I decided to enter my wonderful old mount Zoomer in the training. With some luck, someone scratched the open training division on Saturday, so we geared up to head over Sunday! Our rides were in the late morning and afternoon which gave me plenty of time to walk and prepare. Zoomer warmed up very nice for the dressage, and gave me a lovely test. Unfortunately for him, he is scored a little tougher than fancy big red horses, and we were in poor standing after the dressage. Luckily, I was entering him for the fun of it, and was very excited to jump my old super horse. Zoomer tackled the stadium and cross country with ease, and we ended on his dressage score to earn 7th. Not too bad for a year apart, and then only a week together! We will see what Zoomer's future will hold this time around!

Next on our schedule is a busy fall season for all of my mounts. Zara and I will go to Chattahoochee Hills in Georgia to try our hand at the AEC's for advanced level, followed by Plantation Field and Fair Hill. Baby will continue competing at the preliminary level after her summer vacation until she is sold. Geoni will have his recognized event debut hopefully going training a time or two before the winter. Zoomer will be doing training or preliminary as his fitness and limitations allow until I decide whether we will try and bring him back up the levels for find a new place for him to live. Very excited to be busy busy eventing again!!

Respect and Enjoy your Fellow Competitors... and LOVE AND CHERISH your volunteers!! An experienced eventer's adventure in volunteerland.

Well this blog post will be unlike my others (Don't worry, I'll still blog about Jersey... sometime), as they always cover events from my point of view as a competitor.... This time, it is from behind the scenes of the volunteers. I decided to skip the MD Horse Trials this year, as my horses have worked pretty hard this Spring. But I couldn't possibly spend the weekend of such a wonderful event sitting around in the heat worrying about my own things. Instead, I chose to volunteer at the horse trials for the weekend. I had never volunteered before at a recognized event. Here is a recap of my fantastical, toasty, slightly soggy day!

I made the potentially poor decision to go out with a friend on Friday night, and stayed out a little later than I should have. But regardless, made it up to Loch Moy by about 8:00 after a very important trip to Starbucks. At the volunteer meeting where I met my comrades for the day, we got our orders by the various hard-working organizers and headed out on the course. Throughout the day, from 80-couple degree start around 9:00 until the 100-couple degree end, every single person involved in running this show was extremely dedicated, humble and hard-working. I never heard even a single complaint. Not about the heat.. or about the jobs.. or about anything. The event ran quite smoothly, calmly and successfully all day because of this wonderful group of people who decided to devote their precious time to our passion as competitors. At the end of the day, we all gathered under the tent with food and wine (and some other beverages too). This group of volunteers, that before this morning didn't know much about each other, buzzed about the happenings from the day. Sharing the happenings at each of the jumps, complimenting many of the riders who navigated the course today, everyone stayed cheery and positive.

I was so happy to meet all of these volunteers, and although I tried to be appreciative before, after this weekend, I understand how much they truly deserve our thanks!! I look forward to my adventures tomorrow!

Plantation Field & Seneca Valley Horse Trials

After our adventures with MCTA, moving to Worthmore Equestrian Center, and rushing through fairhill, I decided to take a short break with the onset of the Summer heat and the chaos of settling into my new location. The last weekend of May and first in June, I actually didn't compete and had a relaxing weekend. Of course, I still spent most of it at the barn. Our next event was at Plantation, an event which I hadn't been to since 2008!! I entered Baby at the preliminary on Saturday and Geoni in the unrecognized beginner novice on Sunday.
Saturday was quite warm, but we hid under the shady side of our trailer and had a pretty good day. In the dressage, I unfortunately didn't study my test well enough. It's always a disappointment to negatively impact your horses score in such a careless way. Regardless, we started around the middle of the group with a very obedient test. The stadium rode the best it ever has for her, and even though we had 2 rails, every ride this horse feels more and more confident in her jumping. The cross country went extremely well, with a very bold, confident round and just a second under the optimum time to end up in 6th in the division.
Sunday we had mid-day rides, but Geoni didn't seem to mind the heat. He warmed up very nicely, with none of the greenie behavior he showed at his first event in April. He earned a respectable 34.5 to start off in 5th. He was wonderful in the stadium for a clean round, and very brave on the cross country! He got his first yellow ribbon for 3rd.
This weekend Zara competed at the Seneca Valley horse trials in the intermediate, so we would have a good run before we do the advanced at the New Jersey horse park in 2 weeks. Zara and I have been working very hard on our dressage (which I'll post about another time) and it was very rewarding for it to show at this event!! Friday evening, I developed a migraine, which was not helpful in the 3 hour haul to Seneca to walk, then 1.5 hour haul to my Mom's house to stay for the night so we were a bit closer to the event for our morning times. It was also not helpful for sleeping, waking up, or the event day in general. Ugh! After a rough drive there, I forced myself to just get through dressage, and see how it goes, then plan to jump stadium and WD for cross country if I was still feeling so nauseous. Zara gave me a great first half of our test, with a much better feel than our previous attempts. Unfortunately, she threw a big red mare temper tantrum in the canter work..... complete with rearing, striking and lunging. I was just pleased when we made it to the final halt without getting the whistle blown on us! Lucky for me, the judge had a sense of humor about it, and I'm sure it helped that for the whole airs above the ground performance I was laughing and shaking my head. She said "Whew! Good Luck!!" out the window. While I was very annoyed that Zara decided it was a good day for a meltdown, we got through it, and the trot work felt better. Definitely planning to WD still at this point, as I still feel horrible, and have low expectations for our dressage score! After taking a moment to collect myself, we tacked up for stadium. It was riding a little rough, as it usually does there on the grass with some tough distance questions to keep riders on their toes. I warmed Zara up a little aggressively, hoping to avoid the submission issues we faced earlier. We went in and she and I both jumped brilliantly. We had 1 rail where we weren't perfectly balanced through the turn to a vertical, but it was one of those rounds where you finish and you think "Wow!" I headed back to my trailer and got her boots off and tack loosened up to decide if I would run or not... Then checked my phone to see that we got a 41.2 in dressage!! Ok, I guess well have to run now! So we geared up and headed out to have a nice easy ride around the intermediate, with a couple time faults to end up in 6th. Not too shabby after such a rough start to the day! I picked up my dressage test to be SO ecstatic that Zara earned 9's, 8's and 7's on much of the trot work. It was such a rewarding experience with the hard work we have done on fixing our fundamentals in the trot work over the past 2 weeks. Better watch out once we learn how to canter!!

Next, Baby will be doing the eventing qualifying rally for Pony Club at Waredaca, and Zara is set to do the advanced at the New Jersey horse park.

MCTA and Fairhill Horse Trials

MCTA:
Zara started the weekend off with dressage in the evening on Saturday around 4pm. She warmed up wonderfully; I've found that she tends to be a bit less nervous and distracted when we ride in the afternoon. Just to keep things exciting as usual, just a few minutes before we are to enter the ring, Zara pulls a shoe. I got over to the check in station, and they said they couldn't fit me later, and the farrier would not be able to get it done in time (4 minutes to ride time). So, since Zara was very sound, and the ground was nice, we went on into the ring lacking the shoe and had a pretty good test! We scored a 45.6 to start the weekend at our 3rd advanced.
Sunday Baby was also at the horse trials to do her first recognized event of the year, running the training level. I was lucky to have the help of Dodon's wonderful Emily Hanna to help with the 2 mares for the day. We were the first trailer to arrive, and I managed to catch a walk around some of the advanced with Sally before Zara's rides. Zara was feeling very fresh in the stadium, and is usually a tougher ride in the grass. Being right next to the cross country didn't do us any favors either. Zara was less rideable than usual, and we had a disappointing 3 rails around the course. Lucky for me, excitable or not, Zara is a fantastic horse on the cross country. She went around the advanced easily, coming in with just a few time penalties to place us in 3rd.
After a long wait, Baby's dressage was around 3. Baby was well behaved in the test, and I didn't really understand the scoring. She scored in the 40s to start us in the lower end of the open training pack. Apparently it was not my best stadium riding day, as Baby was also a bit hot in the stadium and had 4 down, but was brilliant in the cross country. She showed me that she has the confidence to run preliminary at her next outing.

Fairhill:
Zara started this weekend also, with her rides early Saturday. She was fairly relaxed in the dressage, but I made a slight test error to earn a 50 under Brian Ross, which was acceptable because I am happy we are improving from our last ride with him. We again had the stadium in the grass field by the cross country, but this time she was much better behaved. I feel that I was able to keep myself much more still and steady in the contact to have a better step to each fence. We had 2 down, one of which was my mistake of a slipped rein coming around to the 4th fence, and the second was at the last fence through a tough combination. Despite the rails, it was a far better round. The intermediate cross country rode easily for her, and we didn't rush the time to come in 2 seconds over. Zara finished in 8th.
Baby's rides were early Sunday morning, and she gave me a lovely test minus a few distractions in the ring by the grandstand. Emily Olcott from Worthmore Equestrian Center came along to help for the day.  She earned a 37.7 to start off in 9th in the open preliminary. After the previous weeks, I had been toying with changes in Baby's tack, as she had a few habits that were new and undesirable. I found that she is much steadier in the bridle when she is in a single jointed bit as oppose to the french link type I have had her in for a while. She warmed up for the stadium very nicely, and I rode a little bit sloppily in the ring, but Baby showed me her scope as she successfully fixed my occasional rider errors to have one rail. She ran the cross country boldly, having a bit of a look at the big trakehner at number 5, but didn't let it affect the rest of her ride like it has in the past. She navigated the rest of the questions like a pro and made me excited for her next preliminary at plantation in a few weeks. Baby also placed 8th.

Next on the schedule for Zara is the intermediate at Seneca before the advanced at the New Jersey horse park. Baby is planned to run preliminary at Plantation, then either Surefire or New Jersey.

Solidifying our Confidence at Advanced - 5th at Fairhill!

GRC photos from Morven Intermediate

 GRC photos from Fairhill Advanced

After returning home from Aiken, with the consult of Sally, I decided that it would be best for Zara to assure her confidence before continuing at the advanced level. We went to the Horse Trials at Morven park and had a great ride around the intermediate.
We then moved on to do the Fairhill Advanced, where I also got to scope out the CIC*** course. In the dressage Zara was certainly having a grumpy day, as despite having a very nice, relaxed warm up, she choked a bit on the canter entrance, making our trot work have more tension than we have in schooling. The canter work was improved, despite her attitude about the flying changes. The judge was kind enough to consider each movement separately, awarding Zara good marks on her walk work which we have been schooling a lot.
I walked cross country with Sally, and felt confident about the course. The ground was quite hard, but we decided to run and it rode softer than it walked the day before. Zara had a pretty great ride around the course, with only a few small areas that could have been improved. The main issue we had was a misunderstanding about the skinny cabin, through steep downhill road crossing, up to a longer cabin. We went in slow and smooth to the skinny cabin, but Zara decided that the very steep hill was a bank and leaped down into the road, unsettling me a bit. Luckily for me, she was already locked on and going to the cabin at the top of the next hill, so I set my hands wide, sat back and let her take me to it. What a smart mare! The next 2 jumps suffered from the bit of confusion, as we trotted the hanging log and then I pushed her back up into a strong step for the 2 roll tops through the water and out over the skinny. We took a straighter line than I had walked, but with the step and power I had at the time, it was a better choice for her to have a big confident step through them than a more collected bending line we had planned. Our neighbor in the barns, Susan Beebee commented, "you rode her socks off at that water!" The very next jump was the fish tank table, which was the cause of our troublesome experience in the CCI** last fall, and we conquered it perfectly. We finished with a clean round and about 5 time penalties.
Stadium the next day was a bit tough, especially with the hard ground in the warmup and in the ring. Many people were having rails, in fact, Sally was the only clean ride in my division. Zara warmed up well, but felt a little sticky in the ring. We had the first rail but went clean the rest of the way around to place us 5th in the division.

Next we will do MCTA Advanced.

The Big Move: Pine Top ADVANCED!!

(photo by Ginny Nayden)

Well I'm finally writing about this, I'm not exactly sure what took me so long! Maybe just making sure I wouldn't wake up and find this all to be a dream. Anyways, as planned from last fall, Zara and I signed up for Pine Top as both of our first advanced horse trials! The excitement and nerves in the few days before quickly vanished as I focused on getting everything right getting ready for dressage. Unfortunately, some poor luck stepped in as about 5 minutes before I was supposed to "enter at A" Zara pulled a shoe, followed quickly by a lot of rain. Despite this, we held it together, were luckily skipped and then allowed to enter the ring after our time by judge Brian Ross and got our test done. Unfortunately with the heavy rains that persisted, the cross country and stadium would both be the following day. Now that the really stressful part of the event was over, Saturday was beautiful and kept me beaming all day that I would be riding the big blue numbers that day. After a decent stadium round, pulling one rail, I got one more course walk in before getting on for cross country. The course was big but quite inviting and presented a nice balance of large tables and complex questions, and rode very well for us! Here are some of the combinations that presented challenges: The first decent question was a large table, slightly long strided up a hill to a hanging log, and down the hill with a left bend to a right tipped corner. This question seemed to ride very well as long as the horses maintained their impulsion through the hill. The next big challenge was the first water jump. A large ramp with a short 6 stride bend right to a large log and drop into the water, with a forward step out and over a skinny. This question asked riders to recollect themselves after taking on the very forward thinking beginning of the course. The next big question, besides the GIANT table in between these two, was the coffin. It was a good size grouping of logs, with a long 1 stride to a wide but shallow ditch, followed by the short 2-strided option of either a left or right skinny angled brush fence. When I walked this, it was a bit worrying, as Zara and I have some work to do yet on getting really well collected in the cross country, but we worked well together and got through it with ease. The next combination, after another table, was the bounce. This question had 2 substantial log groupings spaced about 10 feet apart, into a hollow and a hard left bend 6 strides to a right tipped corner as the "C" element. I felt this was the best combination Zara and I handled that day. It felt smooth and easy for the smart horse. Another table in between, and on to the second water jump. This water was fairly straight forward, but presented many more obstacles than the other, and than any water jump I've done before. The gator jump in, 19, was followed by a drifting turn to get straight to the next 4 elements. "20AB" was a bank up, short 1 stride to a hedge jump back into the water, slightly collected 5 strides to an up bank, "C," and another 5 strides to a left point corner. Unfortunately, I should have checked my equipment better, and failed to replace my stirrup pads which are highly worn, and slippery once wet(from the first water). As we jumped in, I lost my footing and landed in a bit of a heap with no stirrups. Luckily, I learned that I CAN think fast while I'm competing, and realized the fences were numbered separate, so I made about a 10 meter circle to the right (which would have made a dressage judge proud!) and got straight to the following elements. With the disorganization that occurred and the extra leg I put on to make sure Zara's confidence stayed up through the questions, we came back into the water off the hedge bank a bit too strong, getting a comfortable 4 in the 5, and with a big jump out, got a slightly long but not extravagant 4 to the corner. I even heard the bystanders applaud my efforts, which got me going to get through the last 2 fences. After... yes, a table, and another giant table, we had finished our first advanced! AND we got through it following one of the most important things Sally Cousins has worked with me on down here for moving up: "Don't run at the tables!" Thank goodness for great advice, as getting the perfect spot to each of those tables was not only a small victory for me, but also proved how much BETTER it felt to feel your horse cover a large obstacle with no troubles.I certainly have an incredible horse to make that course feel so great! Zara was as foot perfect as she could be, and I think we handled the questions like a great team. The dressage may be tough for this horse, but to jump her is a huge joy and honor. Although we have plenty to work on before the next one, I am still beaming at such an incredible first advanced experience. We look on to plan out intermediate at Morven Park before another advanced at Fairhill in April. Home from Aiken on the 21st =]

Pine Top Intermediate - First Event of 2012!

So last Friday, after over a month of preparation down here in Aiken with Sally Cousins, Zara and I went to our first event of the season! It was a super early morning, pulling out around 5:00 to head over to Thomson, GA. Zara was braided and bundled up ready to go after feeding around 4:15. Having never been to Pine Top, I did pass the entrance once, but then parked and got situated, as only the 2nd trailer there, in the dark. Unfortunately despite my early arrival, I still managed to run a little late in getting everything including myself prepared for our dressage test at about 8:25. I lunged Zara, but not quite as long as she really needs to be relaxed. Then, upon stopping at my trailer to put my spurs on and get on, my dress boot (which has been worn a grand total of about 6 times and shown in only once at dressage at fairhill) BROKE!! The zipper broke right off.... So in a slight panic, I scrambled to find my other field boots and got them cleaned up enough to be acceptable. I got on, and after going about 50 feet realized I forgot my bridle number. Went back and got off to get it on her, got back on, and headed over to warm up. Zara was fairly well behaved in the warm up, and we went into the ring more tense than I would have liked, but did quite a decent, consistent test right up until the final canter work where we had a little tiff over the tight turn to the center line on the right lead. We scored a 44, putting us at the end of the pack, but not last. Happy to have that over with, I went on to walk some of my xc and look at the stadium course. Unfortunately I just missed the walking time. We geared up and headed over to stadium, where Zara was a bit hectic and piggish in the warm up. Our round was similar, with 2 rails due mostly to her unsteadiness -- and normally I blame the rails on myself!! We went on to walk the xc with Sally and some other students of hers to find a long, bold and big but fair course for a solid intermediate. After waiting a while for my 3:30ish ride time to come near, we tacked up and headed over. I was sure to not overdo it for Zara in the warm up, as lots of canter or gallop before her ride can make her a bit fussy with me. Unfortunately, maybe she could have used up a little more energy on warm up, as she went out to fence one VERY strong. I love having a horse that loves to take me to the fences, but not when it messes with my eye for my distance. We had a few ugly jumps over the first few and smaller of the course as she got settled into the routine. It took a lot more time to settle her into the combinations after her wild beginning of the course, so in order to be safe (and keep her sound, as the footing was a bit harder than I would have liked) we took our time. I didn't really allow her to get into a big good gallop between fences and over the big tables because I was worried I would not have her back enough to have a say in the approach. Despite a bit of a trip step into the first water, most of the remaining jumps rode very well for us. The big tables that looked a bit intimidating to walk rode like they were just another jump, and the combinations backed Zara off enough that we didn't have to go into anything complicated with a ton of pulling. I was especially pleased with her through the first water after her trip step on the entrance, as she pulled herself up, and payed attention to me to get her to the next 3 elements of the course - out of the water over a big triple log jump, one stride back into the water over another triple log jump, and out through a beach up to a skinny near the fence line. She also held herself together well to figure out the second water, which came after a big table off a right turn, with a drop in and a right turn around to a good sized bounce-out element. We crossed the finish line with a fair amount of time added to the optimum, but I wasn't too worried since Zara and I have almost always made time at the level. We certainly have a few things to sort out before the next pine top in 2 weeks, but it was not too bad of a start!! The most important thing will be getting a change to her bridle situation to make sure that I will be as safe as possible in the jumping phases. Until next time, stay warm wherever you are and hope the fantastic weather returns to Aiken very soon!!

How it All Began: Finding Zara

Well as I approach my first advanced horse trials this February, I thought I would share with all of you the details of my journey with Zara to where we are now. So first of course, is how I came by such an incredible partner for eventing.

Many people have asked me how I chose Zara, or what I would look for as a horse for the upper levels. To be honest, the first time I ever went looking for an eventing prospect was this Winter when I bought Geno, my new baby thoroughbred off the track. So far, for the most part, my eventing partners have "found me" in a way.
As for Zara, well everyone knows that Steuart Pittman bred, broke, and worked with her as a young horse. I had been a student of Steuarts since I was about 10 or 11 in pony club. I continued lessons throughout college when I could, and in the Summer of 2009, I decided to take on a job as a working student to continue working on moving up with Zoomer. Over this Summer, I met Zara. There were many wonderful horses at Dodon that I enjoyed watching, but none that got my attention more than this stunning mare. I didn't often ride her in the beginning, because as she still is, she was BIG, strong, tense and opinionated. I watched as Steuart worked her, or while I rode on hacks with Steuart or Emily on her, and was repeatedly impressed by the mare's boldness, scope, and movement. Despite her alpha mare attitude and belligerence in the barn, there was just something about her that caught my eye. I was finally given the opportunity to ride her, starting on trail rides and working up to more. As my interest grew, I despised every time (and it was very frequent!!) someone came out to look at her and try her. Most people couldn't really ride her well enough to consider buying her, as while very talented, she was far from simple or trainable.
I knew I couldn't keep another horse at my house, and I didn't need another horse to compete, and I knew it was a bit crazy to invest in a tough, big, red, hot headed mare. Despite these things, Steuart came to me one day and pretty much said, Look, if you think you would really want to buy her, I need to know, and I suggest you work on it. I caved and said yes, I would like to try and buy her. So, first thing to do was sell a horse, since I can only keep 3 at my house. My older pony, Joker, was sold quickly to a lovely family where he would be loved and pampered by 2 lovely little girls. Ok. Now I needed to find the money. While Joker was wonderful, he was not a high dollar horse, so I resorted to taking money out of other sources to gather what I needed. With the help of MANY, I managed to buy her by the beginning of my school year at Washington College that Fall, and took her to her 2nd and 3rd novice level events in October. So this was the strange and simple start of my now incredible upper level horse -- It might be cheesy, but this horse truly did find me and stir up a spark the inspired me to be where I am with her today.

Maybe some day I'll have the resources to actually buy an upper level horse, or shop for another young one like Zara and then I can answer when people ask me how to shop for one!! Because for now, my answer would be to look for one like her =] (but less hot, just maybe?)

Happy New Years, From Aiken SC!!

Hello everyone and happy 2012!! I obviously meant to post something like this actually around new years time.. But I have been in Aiken since coming down to meet Sally upon her arrival on the 29th of December and been very busy! I am a lucky happy rider to be a working student with Sally Cousins for the Winter!!

As far as the big plans, I will be working closely with Sally aiming for a few combined tests at the intermediate and advanced level, the intermediate at Pine Top Farm in mid February, and our first advanced at the Pine Top end of February event! We are very excited and a little nervous =] Look for the next few posts before we embark on the "big A" adventure all about Zara and how we became an awesome pair.

Wrapping up the Season

Well, I never managed to get a post up directly after Fairhill International, so I'll go through a recap of stadium and awards. Stadium day began with jog outs....which to eventers means 3am wake ups to go walk and walk and walk and walk, and walk some more, along with removing all poultice, bandages, mud(of which there was still an abundance) and everything else on the horse. After excessive walking and grooming and touching up of the braids put in the night before, I scrambled to get dressed and practically ran up with my white pants tucked into my wellies to stay clean. With friends trailing behind with various grooming supplies, we heard them calling numbers close to mine, and realized my nice boots were still back at the barns! Mark ran back to get them, but upon arrival I was immediately sent down to jog, wellies and all. With pants pulled out over them, I was lucky they didn't get coated in the gray soup. We weren't winning the turnout award today, but Zara jogged well behaved and was accepted immediately.
After walking around the course alone, then with Sally Cousins, we were ready to go prepare. Zara warmed up great with the help again of the wonderful Sally and we headed in the ring, surrounded by people! As we made our way around, I held a little too much to the first fence, pulling a rail. Not the right way to start!! But a good reminder that I needed to ride Zara the way Sally had me warm up. For the remainder, I put my hands forward and kept Zara in front of my leg and she went around just perfect. We added only 4 faults to our dressage score for the weekend to land us in 25th place of 61. We also earned the young adult champion award for the competition as well as for the CII** level overall for the year. Very proud of Zara! Now on to plan our Winter in Aiken!!

Cross Country Day!!

Despite the tons and tons of rain, todays course rode great for many including me and Zara! She warmed great and confident in the footing with some nice big studs borrowed from friend & neighbor for the weekend Jessica Bortner-Harris. The first few fences rode great, building confidence as we made our way around. The early water was a good first challenge, followed by the table to corner challenge at #7. We handled them in perfect stride! The next few questions were also well handled, with a confident jump through the road by the vendor area and a great step through the giant drop down, 5 to the table and 5 straight to the corner. Jump #12 was the first "breather" fence on the course, so I relaxed a bit since we'd been going through tough combinations -- big and nearly disastrous mistake. Zara and I took a bad spot to #12, the fish jump, where she hit pretty hard in front, and her back end caught up very quickly. She was nearly knees to the ground before she managed to pick herself up, and I was luckily right where I had to be, in balance and out of her way. She picked herself up quickly and went back to gallop. I was very worried, so pulled her up to trot a few meters to check her soundness. After making sure she felt good, we continued on course to the tough skinny bending tables. We didn't ride quite according to plan, as my eye was a bit off between our earlier incident, along with the stadium jumps that were now set up that were not there when I walked at 5pm the night before. We ended up riding an alternative route that I had walk that was a 5 stride line taking a decent angle to the second table. Following this question were a few gallop fences before the next big set of challenges. First up at #16AB was the double brush, which she did foot-perfect. next, the sunken road. We rode exactly where planned on my walk with Sally, and had a great go there as well. Following that was the big ducks water. Zara decided she was taking a longer spot than I was interested in, and we got over the duck and I sat up and pushed her with wide hands to stay on the line and make it through the tough 3 strides with the hill, over the brush, and 2 strides down to the other sharply angled brush - She was a super star! On the next gallop, I felt her lagging a bit, so after the big ditch and brush we eased up our pace a bit and focused more on safety and not missing any more distances. The issues on # 12 were too close for comfort! She jumped through the table to chevron question at #20 brilliantly, bumped the next table a bit before preparing for the water. I can definitely feel her lag now, and gave her a good strong push to and through the water to make the four strides and get to the skinny. She caught a bit of a second wind after the water, and got a great step to the big red table, pretty good step to the second to last, and a nearly cantering spot to the last. She took a bit extra to cool out, but I learned later that we came in under time, which was a great feeling. She recovered well once we got her temperature down, and will hopefully be feeling OK for the jog and stadium tomorrow. We will see and hope!! I'm so very proud of her for keeping it going even though I know she was very tired, and giving me her very best.