What a blurr this last week was!
Beast likes to keep me on my toes, that's for sure.
I got a bit ahead of my self last week and really stepped up Beasts game.....5 days before leaving for Va horse trials. I need to make sure to do that the week prior (if at all), and give her little mare body a chance to recover! Beast is also in a raging heat cycle, so she felt stiff on Wed. No one could really see it, but I could feel it(no not crazy-the vet saw it also :).
Thurs am I picked up Sharon O, and her farms owner is a vet and a acupuncturist. Be Be got a dose of the small needles, back on track sheet and a lot of love!
She felt great when I rode her that afternoon.
I almost cried.
Both Beast and Cappy acted like it was normal to be at this huge venue, hacked around and hung out!(Both acted like other funny things were normal later, but I will get to that.)
Thursday finished with a lot of hand grazing, stall set up, hotel check in (weird), dinner at Applebees, and more hand grazing. I think there was a course walk in there also.
Observation.......not all of the upper level riders take these shows as an opportunity to market themselves. What I mean is (to be blunt), a lot of these very important people don't act so friendly. In fact a lot of people act the opposite!
Duh, people will not want to clinic/buy a horse for you if you snub your nose at them, never graze your horse- because you are to busy keeping your chair on the ground, and keeping your beer warm with your hand!
I will say, Boyd Martin is always seen grazing his horses, chatting up a storm, and kind to his horses. Lynn Symansky (Kristen's trainer) was just lovely. Super friendly, always relaxed and very professional.
I obviously liked our crew, and "A Bit Better Farm" was stabled near us-they are always fun to chat with.
Friday was great! We did a lot of grazing. By the evening though, Beast decided she required loooooooooong walks before she would even consider grazing.
Dave and Maggie arrived, we headed out to walk the XC again. I wanted to make sure I was familiar with the terrain so I wouldn't have silly time penalties!
We watched Kristen's dressage (fabulous), paid 6 dollars for 1 can of coke and one small bottle of coke, and then realized it was 4pm and we hadn't eaten!
We had snacks did some more stuff, then got take out around 9 and went to bed.
Saturday started at the barns at 6am.........with Beast with a small amount of blood on her head. UGH. At first I though it was just a scrape, but it was a small slit that went through most of the layers of her skin.
I called the barn vet, and he popped over 40 minutes later. I braided Beast while I waited.
It needed a stitch or two, but we couldn't sedate her (she would have to not compete with it in her system) so we super glued it!
It really made putting the bridle on fun.
Poor Beast, it was right in front of the crown piece, so her bridle would pull on it. She threw a fit the first 15 minutes, but I kept thinking of what V would say, and did it.Beast got it together for me.
Our turn!!!!! She was feeling pretty good. Still a tiny bit tight but good. I trotted down the center line with a big grin on my face annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd then the whistle blew. oops the halt.
OK...re-do.
Beast was great. She got a 40, with out the error she would have broken a 40 (which was goal 1)! No big deal though, she was less then one rail out (or less then 4 points) from 3rd!
I can not express how much Vanessa has helped us. I know that Beasts dressage has come so far, but I also know she is going to get even more amazing.
I rode some random bike all around the horse park looking for Sharon to watch her dressage, but never found her. I kept repeating to my self "you never forget to ride a bike". That was some scary $hi@.
I went to help Kristen in the box, Dave and Maggie watched after helping us bring stuff over. My old box skills kicked back in.
I was ready to rock and roll.
Both Kp and Briley looked less then winded. There recovery was lightening fast!
XC time for me....Time to hammer down.
Beast got very excited in warm up. It was my turn to go, we rocketed out the box and my mare was taking me for a ride! Holy hell, she was in it to win it! Every jump was perfect, then the one jump we got an awkward distance to I heard the click click click. Ugh, my vanity will be shadowed by the photographers stupid photos. ;)
Beast was PERFECT.
I wanted to be an over achiever and deploy my air vest upon dismount. I then proceeded to ask for help from some poor lady in a chair. She never was able to help too much, Beast took me away with my arms tangled in a pinny and a vest.
Sharon show jumped well, and so did April-Kristen's student.
Icing, poulticing, grazing, grazing, grazing. Beast spent the night in her Back on Track sheet.
I was curious to see how tight she would be on Sunday for show jumping after running XC on Sat, then being in all night.
She was Amazing. She was perfect in warm up, a bit nervous in the coliseum, but tried hard (after a lazy legs rail at fence 1). She was rideable, and listened to me very well.
When I said jump, she jumped. Holy hell, I was a goner there for a minute at fence 3. I JUST got it so I'm tight in the tack and now she throws in a whole new level of back cracking. The new variety it where she kicks her back legs out as she goes across the oxers.
This mare is teaching me how to be a good rider! There is simply no other choice!
The BeBe star ended 3rd
Sharon O looked AMAZING XC. Her horse was also in it to win it!
She ended 5th.
A great week(end)
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