Pony Club Show Jump and Dressage Tri-State Region

This weekend was the first big riding competition weekend for Middlest and Youngest. It was the Tri-State Region Pony Club Show Jumping and Dressage Rallies. Middlest has been competing in this rally for 3 years, but this year was a first for Youngest. It was a challenge for me, as well. Having started the riding season rather late (lost Youngest's pony to colic in early spring, then Middlest's horse had the colossal battle with a bull gate that had her confined on stall rest for a month, and Middlest and me confined to lots of nursing care...plus Mother Nature enjoying winter so much she kept it around until summer) this competition zoomed up pretty quick! And, I haven't had two kids to prepare before. It was all great fun, mind. But in order for them to ride I have to trailer the kids and horses somewhere- our front field footing is a disaster- and my truck hasn't been, let's just say "reliable". Which has all meant a very involved preparation.
The truck quit "going forward" on the way to a Pony Club lesson 5 days before departure for the rally. Thanks to quick thinking, and a lot of effort, another Pony Club Dad, amazingly, with his mechanic, seems to have conquered the problems in the truck (well, these problems) by installing a Bullydog Chip. Beyond my current scope of understanding, I need to do some reading to comprehend the thing, but it got us to the competition and back in good order. It is a 3.5-4 hour trip on the Semi-truck saturated Interstates and a few backroads. Not an easy drive. I did some sweating on the drive, and not just because my air conditioning is kaput either. But, God did not make horsewomen short of courage or long of sense, so off we went. "We" were four Moms, driving four truck and trailer combos full of horses and children. It is always nice to have a little convoy!
My job this weekend was that of "Coach" to the two teams from our Pony Club. I enjoy this role. The kids I have to work with are each little gems, with well suited mounts, and they make my job easy by being well- prepared, smart, confident and handy little riders. That being said, it is not a relaxing job, and it left me quite chuffed to crawl into our tent and recharge at night.
Middlest and Youngest were on separate teams ( always a good idea to split up the sibs), and on arrival set to getting their mounts settled and their competition tack rooms set up and organized. Youngest made a break for the parking field before it was dark to set up our tent- thank goodness for his efficiency and  favorite saying "I'm on it!" Between Youngest and the Moms, we soon had sleeping quarters, cooking and dining areas, a place to wash and food to eat. The kids got the horses settled, (two water buckets on double snaps- snap facing wall, clean stalls, hay, fed, walked and put to bed) and we had dinner after dark. 10-ish? Then, to sleep for tomorrow is a big day. Well, I didn't quite get to sleep. Youngest and I went to check on his pony before bed, and she was anxious, weaving, whinnying, not drinking... so I stayed up with her for a while until she drank and settled. The people that spend the night at the barn to care for the horses kept an eye on her all night, which was a comfort.

 The sun was waking by 6 a.m. and so were we. The competitors to the barn to prepare for their Formal Inspections, and the Moms to our support jobs. Pony Club is unique, in that the parents are not permitted to even be in the barn area, let alone do anything for their kids. Parents are not permitted to give instruction or help, beyond helping a child in danger, or a catching up loose horse. As "Coach", I have a special dispensation. My job is to interact with the kids in a coaching capacity when they are mounted and away from the barn.  I am there to keep them safe, encouraged and to help make necessary corrections between rounds of competition. So, I got to watch from the sidelines as my own left the barn and presented themselves for Formals.

 Clean, polished, perfect. The Formal Inspection is meant to demonstrate that the rider knows how to care for their pony, tack and equipment and themselves in a way that not only keeps pony and equipment safe but also sends a polished impression. There is no scurfy skin bits in their tails. There is no dirt or dust on their tack. They are fitted perfectly and appropriately. The kids know what every piece of equipment is there to do on their pony- and why. They are judged as "Meets Standard", "Exceeds Standard" or "Does Not Meet Standard" on a host of points that get more technical as they get more experienced. Proudly, Middlest works very hard on a regular basis to meet these standards, and at her Formal, she "Exceeded Standards" in 6 separate areas! That is unheard of. Well, until now.

Then, it is through the jog-outs to demonstrate the horse's "soundness"- that they are not lame atall atall- and up on ponies! (FYI, in Pony Club, they are all "ponies" no matter how huge, and there are some really big ponies at these events! )

 Nelle and Scooter had the first rides of the day for our group. They were both fairly calm and seemed ready to get on with it. So a lot of walking, some nice loose trotting, a bit of a canter to get muscles warmed and nerves out, and into the warm-up arena.

 "Coach Cate" observes over a few warm- up fences...
And then into the arena for the first round.

At this point last year, Nelle was rearing up- too much energy to contain. This year? Calm and settled. I love progress.

 First round always has inherent challenges, and Scooter and Nelle both had positive rounds, but Nelle and Middlest miscommunicated about fence #3, and had a stop there, and Scooter and KZ had a stop and a spin at fence #3 too. I guess Scooter watched Nelle and thought that must be the scary one. Scooter is fairly new to jumping, but sooo cute and willing!

 See his face? Adorable.
They had great second rounds in this arena- Scooter just ticked a rail and it fell (which is points off) - and then it was time to go to the "Big Arena". This was a first time for one of my own to head to the big arena. Middlest and Nelle were going to try some really colorful fences and a complicated course. KZ and Scooter were also going "big".

 Meanwhile, it was time for the next set of our team to get up on their ponies. But when I got back to the warm up after course walking, Youngest was not on his pony. His pony was having a "moment". One that included behavior with no feet touching the ground. This is not typical of his pony, and not suitable for a beginner to ride, either. So, I took her into the warm-up in hand, and reminded her with a lot of ground work commands that paying attention and staying calm has benefits.

An anxious Youngest looks for teammate support as Coach Cate works to settle his pony in the background.
To test her relaxation, I put her on a lungeline and indeed, she lunged calmly (this is her going in a circle around me on a long line). So, I put my baby boy up on her back. Sometimes it is hard to be a Coach and a Mommy.

But 5 weeks after picking up this pony, and 3 weeks after jumping for the first time, they road three clear rounds, and did it with style. SO PROUD of them!

 And how adorable is this pony??? This is MZ riding "Starz", and they are a perfect little pair. They also pulled out three clear rounds, for a successful day. Easy coaching. 


And, talk about PROUD! Middlest so confidently approached the jumps in the big arena....

 She and Nelle going over fence #2 "Captain America". The sides of the jump have big cut outs of the patriotic superhero. Nelle was a big apprehensive of the Captain, but over they went!

 And over the Jungle, Sea World, Carousel Horses, Buckeye Proud.... building confidence with each fence.

 Now, they are "in it".

And pleased with their well done, clear round! Great job girls!  Scooter and KZ followed next, and had some "HOLY MOLY! You want me to jump that?" moments from Scooter, for whom this was a huge leap of faith, but they managed to finish strong. That darn Captain America was just a bit too intimidating at first.

Now, at this point I should mention all the previous photos were courtesy of Huz! He made the long trek up just to watch the kids ride for the day. And, with a long trip home yet, he departed after our own children's last ride. But there were other teammates yet to go, and go they did! With RL on her long time pal "Falcon" turning in two clear rounds, and one stop in round two, and VG on her new mount "Listo", an accomplished dressage horse who is new to jumping , gently jumped all three rounds clear!

 Eventually, all are done, ponies again clean, tack polished and ready to go for tomorrow, and a tired, happy bunch show up for the Show Jumping awards.

 First competition was a success.

 With pretty ribbons to show for it. This is their second place Horse Management award, finishing with NOT ONE PENALTY POINT ALL DAY LONG.This means for one day in Youngest's life he put things back, kept his world tidy, did not leave one sock on the floor! It can be done?

 "Do I look happy about it Mom?"

Well, he was! But he's also a silly, wonderful boy. 

 Middlest's team also incurred zero...ZERO penalty points in Horse Management for the day, also taking second in HM for their efforts, and winning third place overall. Well done, Ladies!

The Hunters Run Pony Club Team Photo for Show Jumping Rally 2014! 

 18 jumping rounds, 13 were clear, and all were well ridden. I am enormously awed by these young riders.
Way to go team! And, the green ribbon in RL's hands is her sixth place in equitation overall. Wonderful!

But, we are not done...sorry. And as long as this blog seems, the days were much, much longer.
One More Day.

With rain predicted, severe storms possible, and no Huz as Papparazzi, I was divided on whether to bring the camera down to the horse park at all. But I did. As Coach, the camera was not in my hands much, but between storms, the Moms did their best to get pictures. Thank You Moms!

 Youngest and Sunnygirl turn the corner to start their first ride.

They rode the Intro test A and Intro test B, the first two tests in the Dressage playlist, and scored very high, marking a 69.4 and a 74. 8 to start the day. This nice forward trot earned an 8!
Plus they got in both their tests before the downpour began.

 Look at that nice square final halt. Good Pony!

Middlest and KZ, on the other hand, started their warm-up dry, but a few minutes in were soaked to the bone. Both had nice warm ups, and The only thing we worked on for Middlest and Nelle were improving their canter depart, because otherwise they were ready and lookin'good!

That is where the day became...interesting. The calm, pretty pair left warm up and somewhere in between the warm up arena and the dressage arena, everything changed. The elevated trot, the back to front connection...it all disappeared, and Middlest was riding a resistant, inattentive horse whose nose pointed to the sky and body wiggled like a snake. She looked uncomfortable and irritated. Middlest kept her cool, but didn't know what to do. I couldn't blame her, having had such a nice warm up, the unexpected change would've rattled me too. But that is what it is like to ride a horse. I the scant minute between her first two rides, I tried to give her help and encouragement, but there is little you can do when you horse is really NOT cooperating.
After her rides she had a long break to groom the pony and reset the expectation for her last ride. It was her Musical Freestyle. This is an optional ride, but probably the most fun. This is where you choose music to suit your horse's gaits and personality, and create a dressage test that shows off the pair's best traits, with a few required elements. There are two judges for the Freestyle that watch from the front and from the side and score all the things you do technically, and artistically. Middlest and Nelle chose music from West Side Story. I include them both, because Middlest chose a few different options and then played them all for Nelle while riding her. It was obvious that Nelle liked the song "Cool" from West Side Story. She also like "America" from the musical, and so "Cool" was the trot music, "America" was the canter music and "Somewhere" was for her walk. Youngest and I learned how to mix music and created the soundtrack for her ride, with the correct timing for the walk, trot and canter, weaving the songs together to give them a opportunity to shine.
Middlest and Nelle worked out the test with my help, staying within the requirements, but letting them choose what to do, "dancing" with the music. They worked hard for the weeks leading up to the competition, and I know Middlest was disappointed that on the day of,  Nelle was not feeling cooperative. During their warm up for the Musical Freestyle we worked mainly on relaxing the horse. Watching her, I just felt like there was something wrong. We hadn't seen Nelle be this resistant all year. So I worked on her back, and sure enough she was back sore. Whether it was sore from her jumping the day previously, or her saddle was bothering her, or what, I think it was more than just inattention, I think she was ouchy. I worked on her back in the warm up, massaging her muscles from loin to poll and we stretched her out. Middlest decided to ride the test anyway, knowing it wouldn't be pretty, but choosing to follow through. And, you know, it wasn't bad. Middlest rode it very well, staying off the horse's back and letting her have her head instead of restricting her or fighting about it. I was deeply proud of her maturity. And, of Nelle too. You could see her trying over and over to come round and step into the bridle, but no, not comfortable, so instead, she would pick up her head and bop to the beat of the music..selling it.

 These were some of the best pictures. You can see Nelle trying to make it happen. Now we are home and will try to figure out what is hurting and why. Maybe they can perform it for just our club, one more time, and show off what they created together.

Our club had three Musical Freestyle riders,  RL on Falcon and VG on Listo put in very pretty rides with nice scores. Both of the pairs did so well throughout the day that they qualified to go to USPC Festival Championships in Kentucky to represent our region in Dressage! Congratulations to both pairs!!

With the rainy day, a 4 hour drive home and six ponies to pack up, we raced through awards and proudly brought home a first place blue and a second place red ribbon in Horse Management for the Dressage competition, with ONE point off for the entire weekend for both teams. Gulp! Fantastic! And, that one point, for a brush box left in front of a stall on the ground will likely never happen again for these kids...
they had serious vigilance to have that kind of score. Kudos to Horse Managers KS and HH. You earned it!

Overall, Youngest's team brought home a second place finish in overall dressage and Middlest's team earned fourth place.The kids had the tack rooms broken down and horses ready to load in no time, and we rolled out of the Buckeye Horse Park well before dark, making it half way home before nightfall. In our own driveway by midnight.
Truck made it there and back, thank you, thank you, Gerry Z. Bullydog and, the power of prayer.

And now to unloading, washing, drying out everything after a day out in soaking rains, oiling saddles that got wet, helmets that are still soggy. It ain't over 'til it's all put away!