Go and Play Ambassador Update 2

On May 7, Charlie and I had our first show of the season: the Printanier de Bromont, where we competed Pre-Entry and Entry level Combined classes. I was so proud of Charlie that weekend - words cannot even express it. If anyone who had seen Charlie at a show - or even at home, sometimes - last season, they would have been convinced that I was not riding the same horse. Last season, at our first show - a small schooling show - we spent more time on two feet than four in the ring. Each show got better, but he was still spooky, looking at everything, and paying less attention to me than virtually anything else. This show, even I could hardly believe the difference in Charlie between then and now. The environment at Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park is entirely unlike anything Charlie - or even myself - had ever experienced.

How we spent most of our first test at our first show, in March 2015.

First of all, when we arrived on Friday for our schooling round, we were rushed and running late, adding to my normal level of show stress; as soon as we got off the trailer we had to tack up and head straight to the warm-up ring. Sure, we'd been to shows before, but they had all been local circuit schooling dressage shows. This warmup ring was nothing like those we had experienced before: this was a jumping warm up ring, with three different lines of jumps and three different coaches screaming at who-knows-how-many riders. And then, our schooling round: the first time Charlie had seen such bright, colourful jumps with such loud wings (such as clouds and red maple leaves) - not to mention that the oxers were wider than we had practiced at home. Charlie took every jump like a total pro! It was obvious that our training and the development of our working relationship had paid off; with all the distractions, Charlie stayed tuned in with me the entire time, and jumped everything I pointed him at, no questions asked. This in itself was a victory at the show, ribbons or no.

Our schooling round at the Printanier de Bromont.

The next day, our first class wasn't until after lunch - something I wasn't used to. We spent the morning walking around the stables of the show grounds to get Charlie used to his new environment. The biggest struggle we faced all weekend was the first time we went down to the dressage warm up ring; it was in the Olympic stadium, with huge flags flapping incessantly in the wind, and the music for the freestyle blaring over the loudspeaker. All of these new stimuli at once seemed, at first, to be a bit much for Charlie, and I was worried for a second that we would have a flashback to 2015 Charlie - but, once again, he surprised, and impressed me, with his focus on me. We were schooling perfectly in no time. Our dressage rides went very well, much better than any test we rode last season; the critical errors were essentially all my fault, and there was minimal spooking at the Charlie-eating monsters at the judge's booth.

Riding the Entry level dressage test. Photo credit: Back Home in Bromont Equestrian Photography. 

The weekend of the show was the first hot weekend of the year, so that took a toll on Charlie, combined with the stress of a show. He was very tired after our dressage rides, but we still had two Combined jumping/cross country rounds to go. Our first round went better than I could have hoped; while we struggled, but successfully made it, over some of the scarier cross-country jumps, including a terrifying skinny (which thankfully had wings), the stadium jumps proved to not even be worth a look. Charlie came alive in the ring; I could tell he was truly enjoying his job in that moment, and he was fuelled by our faithful supporters cheering us on in the crowd. I came out of that round just laughing, grinning ear to ear like I had slept with a hanger in my mouth. 

Unfortunately, due to fatigue in both horse and rider and largely rider error - it was 7pm by this time - the line to the skinny came up faster than I had anticipated and I let him look at the jump just a little too hard, resulting in our elimination. But that did not bring me down from my high from the previous round. Charlie had done me so proud that day; my baby chicken Charlie, out there at an Olympic park, competing like that is what he was born to do. He had given me a glimpse of what I know he is capable of; he'd shown me how much he has grown in such a short period of time, giving me so much hope as to how much farther we can go. He tried his heart out for me that weekend, and I could not ask for more from him than that. And, to top it all off, we went home with a fancy 3rd place Bromont ribbon! But that's just bonus. 

The terrifying skinny - no scope, no hope, right Charlie?! Photo credit: Back Home in Bromont Equestrian Photography. 

Photo credit: Back Home in Bromont Equestrian Photography. 

A shiny 3rd-place ribbon for Charlie!

Since the show, Charlie and I have been quite dedicated in our training, working on becoming more confident over jumps and through a course. With Charlie, I have really learned that I have to be absolutely 100% focused on our task, on my aids, and on the course. 99.9% is not good enough with Charlie. He's becoming increasingly honest over jumps, as he grows to enjoy jumping more and more, and as he strengthens and becomes increasingly fit (and boy, is he fit!). Even so, I still have to remember that he is a young horse who hasn't even been jumping for 6 months yet, and I can't let my focus or the sharpness of my aids slip; this is what got us into trouble in our last round at the show. Everything is a learning experience, and it is my job as a rider, and as Charlie's leader, to make the most of them.

We had originally planned for a show jumping show on May 28, however unfortunately, due to lack of entries, the show was cancelled; as such, our next show will, again, be a show jumping show, on June 25, where we will compete at 0.75m. We will be that much more prepared for our next show - we've even started to work on flying changes and changing leads over jumps, a big step for Charlie! 

Go and Play Ambassador Update 1

The Charlie that left Alberta nearly six months ago was very much a baby. He was terrified of everything, reactive, and could be quite obstinate from time to time. In the last six months, though, Charlie has had a world of new experiences - and, now, I have a horse who, though still only 5 years old and still very young, is beginning to mature into a respectable young man.

Charlie, just after getting on the trailer in Edmonton last November to head to Quebec.

From the day that Charlie got on that trailer in Edmonton, his life went from predictable and perhaps somewhat mundane, to quite the contrary. He spent 8 days travelling across the country, being transferred from trailer to stall and back again countless times, travelling through the prairies' first winter storm and making me, on the other side of the country, already lonely and sad, worried sick (I'm sure the hauling company didn't miss my daily phone calls after they dropped him off). Then, when he finally got off the trailer, Charlie became an indoor horse. I'm sure, although not certain, that in his brief stint as a track horse, Charlie spent a lot of time in a stall; but, from the little knowledge I have of that period of his life, he was turned out to pasture quite quickly after his first attempt at training failed. In the 20 months that I had owned him at that point, though, he had been a strictly, 24/7/365 outdoor horse. So, after being plucked from his field and spending 8 days trekking across the country, Charlie became an indoor horse. That took some getting used to, and was just one of the new experiences he was faced with.

In Edmonton, Charlie and I had only trained in walk-trot and training level dressage. I do believe that dressage is key to a good foundation for any riding horse, regardless of the intended discipline; as my goal with Charlie has always been eventing, however, it was a natural starting point. Charlie had been over little 18" raised poles and cross rails before, mostly as training exercises to help with his gaits, but he had never truly jumped.  In January of this year, the start of Charlie's 5-year-old year, I felt Charlie was mature enough, physically, and mentally, to start jumping, so we began taking jumping lessons.

The transformation in Charlie since we began to jump has been astounding. I began to see improvements in all of his gaits, but most predominately in his canter, almost immediately. As his muscles began to develop, it became easier for him to hold himself in proper frame for longer and longer, and with that his ability to relax under saddle has also improved; I can now successfully cue for a more connected frame and switch to a long, loose rein - something that was severely lacking in our repertoire previously.

 Dressage schooling, nice and relaxed: April 30, 2016

When we first started jumping, though, Charlie still lacked a lot of confidence. He would still balk at almost every jump if it was just a little different than the last one he'd seen. In early April, we did a "mini clinic" to introduce some cross-country jumps into a Combined course. Charlie was all over the place that day - everything was brand new and terrifying. But, we worked through it. He saw other horses do it, and after some discussion - not really arguing, anymore, like it might have been just a few weeks earlier - he tried everything.

Combined Clinic: April 3, 2016

And that clinic turned a new page for Charlie. After those rides, we no longer had to work so much on the approach to the jump - 9 times out of 10, we got there ok, whereas before, it was a win if we just got to the jump well enough to clamber over it. Now, we could work on the landing, on the ride after the jump, and eventually, on the ride to the next jump. It's still very much piecemeal, but slowly, we are softening up the edges and blending one phase of a jump into the next, and one element of a course into the next. Now, when we get to a jump, or a combination, it still isn't pretty all the time, but between the two of us, we figure out a way through it. Sometimes, Charlie is 100% in my hands, and he listens to all my aids, and we glide over it beautifully; other times, I goof, and Charlie problems solves, on his own; he figures out his own way over it - something, again, that wouldn't have happened just a few weeks ago. I had a moment a week or so ago, during a jumping lesson, where Charlie gave me a glimpse of the horse I know he can be; the horse that, when he's older and more mature still, and has a few more miles on him, will be a solid mount, one whom I can take anywhere. This moment, though fleeting and brief, gave me the encouragement I needed to keep chipping away at this young man to find the horse and athlete I know he is capable of being.

Schooling a mini course: April 26, 2016

Charlie's jumping transformation, in pictures:

 March 14, 2016

 April 3, 2016

April 26, 2016

Taking Charlie on his first trail rides were another new experience for him. His first one, he was excellent, but the one after that, for some reason, was just too much for him, and we had some kinks to work out. A few days in a row of trail rides - one of which had more distractions than I could ever have imagined possible in a 1 hour ride - and we were so comfortable on the trails that we went for our first gallop in a matter of days. We even go on little hacks around the back of the property by ourselves to cool down after a ride, now.

Looking out over the Mines de Capelton on one of our trail rides

All of these changes in Charlie have one common denominator: we are finding our groove. We are building our relationship. We're strengthening our bond. And by this, I don't mean just that Charlie greats me with a nicker when he hears me coming down the barn aisle. I don't mean that he looks forward to spending some time with me, or even that he looks forward to our rides (all of which, I really believe, he does, and has for a while). I mean, more specifically, developing our working relationship. This is a very different relationship than the one which we have on the ground together. On the ground, we are best friends, we enjoy each other's company, and that is wonderful and important. But in the saddle, it's a different kind of relationship. We are working on trusting each other a little more. Charlie needs a confident leader, as he is not inherently brave; sometimes, I don't feel that I am particularly fit to be that leader, as I am not always brave, either, in the saddle or in life - but I have no choice, sometimes, but to be brave for the both of us. Charlie has to learn, and is learning, slowly, that, wherever I take him, if he sticks "with" me, we will be fine. Similarly, I have to gain a little more confidence in Charlie's ability to take the reins, quite literally, in the event that I am not the leader he needs me to be. We're getting there. Slowly, but surely. Every ride is a new set of challenges, and there's always something new to learn; but, at the same time, every time I get in the saddle, I notice something - even if it's something small - that encourages me, that tells me, yes, what we're doing is working. Slowly, but surely.

Love the Brand!

Next Saturday, May 7, is our first show of the season! It is also our first non-dressage show; it's a Combined show, a condensed form of Eventing designed to introduce green horses (or riders) to the sport of eventing, and the Stadium Jumping and Cross Country phases are combined into one phase - cross country jumps are placed in the course with stadium jumps. We are competing at the two lowest levels: Pre-Entry (Walk-Trot and 2'0" obstacles), and Entry (Entry dressage test and 2'6" obstacles).