Count Down to Show

We successfully loaded and hauled Joy around the block this week. I was nervous. She hasn’t been in the trailer in two years. She did great.

I’m feeling a touch more confident about at least getting to the show Saturday.

I got my ride times.

First ride is 8:37 AM.

• It’s a 45-ish minute drive.
• It’s her first off-property event in two years.
• It’s supposed to thunderstorm.

I should’ve gotten an overnight stall.

I thought the rides would be closer to noon for my level. Nope.. all the First Level rides are first thing in the morning. *sigh*

I have test 1 and 2 mostly committed to memory. The flow on the First level tests seems so odd to me.

Straight from strerchy trot to lengthen?

Why is free walk in test 1 so short?

Why are there random spots where you’re just tooling down the rail after they jammed in 7 movements in 12 meters earlier?

Do we trot at C or M?!?

Do we hit the rail at V or K?!?

Ack!!!

The joy of being an AA

Work has been killing me. 50 to 70 hour weeks for over a month. I am exhausted. Burnt out.

I also don’t get anything for all this overtime. No overtime pay, no extra time off..

I can’t even reap extra money for all this hard work. *sigh* No new brushing boots for Joy again this year.

My first show is a week away. I’m not sure what to expect.

I’m still struggling every ride with either making her too hot and tense, yet better balanced, or supple and relaxed, yet horribly on her forehand. I can’t seem to get balanced, supple, forward, and relaxed all in one ride.

We have some fabulous moments though.

Our lengthen canter (aka go fast) elludes me, but we have a very nice downward transition. She engages well under herself. It’s quite neat to feel. There’s not much length of back on a pony so you really feel the back coil and the haunches come under.

Our lengthen trot has gotten a wee bit better. More lengthen in the stride. However, we can’t hold it long. Not long enough even for a short diagonal.

You know what’s really improved? We can do simple transistions down the quarter line like nobody’s business. Not exactly a staple of dressage tests though. Super fun to ride though! Weeee!!!

Anyway, I just don’t know how this whole show will go. We’re not really ready for First Level Test 3. We’ve got the canter loops and leg yields, but no real lengthens. I can’t get a stretchy trot at all if she gets tense. It’s so easy to accidentally make her tense, and so hard to relax her again.

Since this will be her first time off property in 2 years, and only the second show she’s ever been to, I’m not expecting it to go all that well…

But… I’m hoping to take her to a few more shows this year, and I think she’ll get used to it pretty fast. She’s always had a really fantastic brain on her. Adapts well. Maybe the second show we can show off our training a bit better, or the third. We’ll see.

First Dressage Show

My first dressage show, ever, on Joy is in 3 weeks.

I’ve been freaking out ever since I signed up for it. A combination of excited and scared to death.

I have such high hopes for our debut in public and at First level.

However, since this will be Joy’s second show (first was 2 years ago at a local open show), I’m expecting her to be tense, distracted, and spooky.

I’m more nervous that we’ll do poorly because my training sucks. This is the first horse I’ve trained solely on my own, without lessons (I did have 2 on her a couple years ago).

She is entirely a reflection of my level of knowledge. Not a trainers, not my ability to do as told, not any outside influence… mine and mine alone.

It means a lot to me that we do well.

Add on to that… I am highly competitive. So I’m bouncing back and forth between “It’s just for fun. We’ll have fun and who cares how we do!” to “Crush the competition! I must bury them in the dust of my success!”

And on top of that…

My anxiety riddled brain is coming up with ever horrible event that could possibly happen the day of the show. Pony freaks out and runs off with me, tosses me, freaks in trailer, won’t load in trailer, freaks at judges stand and refuses to go near it, etc. etc. etc..

Oh, and add in that I’ve idiotically decided I can’t buy a new show coat and will lose enough weight in 3 weeks to fit my old show coat (a goal I’m not convinced I can achieve), and we’ve got an amazing recipe for total disaster!!

Really all I’m saying is I’m a mental basket case.

Stay tuned for more “How can Mia screw this up?” adventures!!