We ended up riding 2-3 on Saturday, and basically up until we went into the ring for it, I wasn't sure we were. I hadn't pushed Connor for two tests in one day since 2017, and it didn't go well back then.
If I had been by myself, I would've scratched, and I would've done too much in warmup. To be sure, Connor is a different horse now than he was back then, but we basically just touched on the stuff I thought would be hard and went into the ring early.
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| Again, sorry about the slo-mo GIFs |
2-3 on Saturday was okay. We got a 62% and change. The simple changes weren't as crisp as they can be (what an achievement to even type that sentence though, lol) and the judge annihilated my geometry. What can I say, the ONLY time I have access to a Dressage ring is at shows and when I haul to GP trainer's.
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| Got a 7.0 for this |
The bad thing about Saturday is that my judge had a train whistle. Why is this bad? Because at this park, there's a ride-on children's train with a 10 mile course that goes very close to the show ring, particularly close to the ring I was in.
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| Like...seriously though. |
So when I went off-course in 2-3 (ugh), in my deep-in-the-zone brain fog, not realizing I had went off course, I went back and forth with myself on whether that was the children's train or the judge's whistle. I decided it was the train and kept going, until the judge stood up in the booth and yelled at me. She was kind of nasty about it, but what else could she have done to get my attention?
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| The children's train only runs one Saturday a month, and happened to be running on this day. |
GP trainer complained to the TD about the judge's behavior on my behalf and I also let the TD know about the whistle thing. To their credit, on the second day of the show they had switched the sound for that ring to a football whistle from a train whistle.
I laid awake all night thinking about where I went off-course and how I wasn't going to do that again on Sunday, when that same judge would be one of the two judges judging me. And then...I did it again. Same spot.
I don't know why I'm suddenly riding that test wrong when the points matter when I rode it beautifully at the schooling shows leading up to this, but here we are. It was inexcusable, but in my defense, at that moment I was riding the shit out of that test. I mean, you can see me remembering to half-halt in the video, lol.
The judge that had not seen me the day before scored me much higher than the judge that had, but they still averaged out for a 64% and change, 2% higher than the day before.
Judge that hadn't seen me the day before:
Judge that had seen me the day before:
Really embarrassing error aside, I was thrilled with this. GP trainer called it a "good place to start", lol, I know she wants me doing better than low-to-mid 60s. But at my first show of the year, I qualified for Regionals at 2nd level, finished my Bronze scores up, got two scores for All-Breeds and didn't completely embarrass my new trainer, so I'm counting this as a win.
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| Good boy |
We ended up coming home with a pile of satin too, in part because this show is a National Dressage Pony Cup partner show. On Saturday, we took first in 2-1 and second in Pony TOC/2-3 (to someone that rode an easier test, sigh), and we were also Reserve High Point 2nd Level AA and Reserve High Point NDPC Pony. On Sunday, we took first in Pony TOC/2-3 and were High Point NDPC Pony.
Next up, we're following GP trainer to a new-to-me-facility next month to do it all over again, but there's a lot of lessons that'll happen between now and then!
Omg the whistle thing. Lots of judges around here use like athletic whistles, which is fine. Except... Galway Downs often runs soccer tournaments at the same time as their horse shows. The soccer is like... a few hundred yards away across open field, so it's so easy to confuse the soccer whistle with the judges whistle.
ReplyDeleteUgh, that's so frustrating. The worst part about this is, since this is my "home show", I was probably one of the only riders that would have made the train-whistle connection like that. But I've ridden here long enough that I'm conditioned to ignore train whistles and gunfire (it's right next to an army base too, lol).
DeleteI think dressage judges should have to blow a hunting horn instead of a whistle! Zero chance it'll be confused with surrounding whistles being used.
ReplyDeleteHahaha. I am in support of this plan.
DeleteWhat a great write-up! The whistle must have seared that mistake in your brain. But you rode a beautiful test in spite of that. Your trainer sounds amazing both as a teacher and a coach!
ReplyDeleteAnd I hear you about not being able to train in a dressage ring! This was the first year I put cones out to mark a small dressage ring inside the perimeter of our outdoor ring. And my geometry is finally improving! I like that I can still ride the entire length and width when I want because the cones are so easy to avoid.
She is really great, it's true, I'm lucky to have her. That's a good ring setup! I can somewhat easily chop both of my rings into small Dressage rings, but unfortunately the figures I'm having the most problems with are ones you can't ride in a small ring, such as the 3 loop serpentine in 2-2 and 2-3. I did set up a big ring in the grassy field, but it's slightly downhill with a couple of bowls in it, which is like putting things that are already difficult for us on Hard Mode, lol. So it's not ideal but hopefully it'll help.
DeleteScores in the 60s at recognized shows were always A-OK with me, so I think you did GREAT!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm thrilled as well, and I don't mean to make it sound like GP trainer wasn't, she absolutely was. She just knows I'm capable of more, and will push me to get there, which I appreciate!
DeleteDefinitely a good place to start, and hopefully next time will be even cleaner :)
ReplyDeleteI actually am really enjoying the slow mo gifs! It improves my eye for things if it is slower lol, too bad I can't view all of life in that way.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a great show!
Congrats!!! OMG that pile of satin!! I don't know how you guys all memorize a full dressage test and don't go off course more often! I've done something similar though- literally went off course twice by jumping the same wrong jump. Anyways, huge congrats!
ReplyDeleteGreat weekend! That whistle thing would really confuse me too. You'd think that might be something they would consider when assigning whistles!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things about having your coach at a show is that they can make things happen - like your coach talking to the TD about the whistle! I'm good at advocating for my riding school kiddos at shows, but when I'm the one riding, I'm awful. I love having coach around to back me up if I'm being rushed by a ring steward or something like that.
ReplyDeleteYay!! Don't beat yourself up about going off course. I truthfully have no idea dressage riders remember these. So many steps!
ReplyDeleteWhat a weird coincidence about the whistle! Mean judge aside, congrats, I am jealous of your pile of ribbons, they are gorg!
ReplyDelete