PRO Derby Cross

*Aaaaaaahhh* I have spent the last two days in Wellington, soaking up all the Olympic-level showjumping that I possibly can. Last night was the Nations Cup and then today was the Derby Cross and the Hermes Puissance competition.

The event that I was most excited about ("giddy as a school girl" would be more accurate) was the Derby Cross, because I have been dying to see some eventers in action. In Wellington, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting at least 4 Grand Prix showjumpers and a dressage pro or two, but eventers are rarer than a fairly-priced drink. So when I heard that hordes of 4* eventers would be converging in Welly-World, I circled the day on my calendar and counted down the days.

For those of you unfamiliar with derby cross, it's a competition consisting of rider teams; each team has three event riders, one showjumper, and one polo player. They ride different courses that combine many of the same elements, but everyone jumps a combination of classic showjumps and cross-country obstacles. Each rail adds four seconds to the clock, and of course the goal is to get the fastest combined score. Each rider is also given the option of a "joker" fence at the end of the course, which takes 10 seconds off the rider's time if h/she jumps it clean. I believe the eventing joker fence was about 4'6" or 4'9" and it came down quite a few times.

Teams:

Team Triple Crown
Allison Springer (Captain), Eventing
Will Coleman, Eventing
Marcia Kaluk, Eventing
Meredith Littles Meredith (Team Udonna), Showjumping
Luis Escobar, Polo

Team Guardian
Karen O' Connor (Captain), Eventing
Hannah Sue Burnett, Eventing
Clark Montgomery, Eventing
Laura Kraut, Showjumping
John Gobin, Polo

Team Canada
Kyle Carter (Captain), Eventing
Jessica Phoenix, Eventing
Rebecca Howard, Eventing
Jonathan Millar, Showjumping
Brandon Phillips, Polo

Team Haygain
Phillip Dutton (Captain), Eventing
Jennie Brannigan, Eventing
Sinead Halpin, Eventing
Katie Prudent, Showjumping
Nic Roldan

Team FarmVet/Cavalor
Buck Davidson (Captain), Eventing
Will Faudree, Eventing
Bruce Davidson, Eventing
Aaron Vale, Showjumping
Kris Kampsen, Polo

For once, I remembered to bring my camera, but I have unfortunately not yet read the 700 page book that explains how to use it. I mostly just put it on "running guy getting hit with a lightning bolt" mode and shoot vaguely in the direction of action. So, don't fear, your eyesight is just fine -- many of these pics are just quite blurry (especially the jumping ones, which of course are the ones that we most care about).

David O'Connor was the course designer, and he came out and gave a brief overview of eventing and explained the course. Afterwards, hosts Boyd Martin and Leslie Law came out on horseback and went over the derby cross competition, explained some of the different tactics the riders would be using, and did demos of some of the fences.

Boyd Martin demonstrates the corner while David O looks on

Oh, I am just getting started. I promised 5,000 blurry photographs and I aim to deliver.

For some clear pics, click here.

All in all, it was quite the exciting event and I'm so glad that I was there. Team FarmVet/Cavalor placed first, Katie Prudent was the Most Valuable Showjumper, Will Faudree was the Most Valuable Eventer, and I honestly don't know who the Most Valuable Polo Player was (sorry, polo fans). I definitely think the event introduced a lot of people to eventing and hopefully they will be converted to eventing fans.

OK, moving on to the Nations Cup -- long story short, the USA won. McLain Ward and Sapphire were the only pair to jump double clear (looovvve that mare!!), and both Beezie Madden and Margie Engle each had one clear round and one 4-fault round (Margie's only rail was on the last fence of her second round, when Indigo came in to the fence distracted and caught a back rail of the oxer -- such a heartbreaker!). Canada was 2nd, Great Britain 3rd (finally got to see Nick Skelton ride!), Ireland/Australia/Mexico tied for 4th, Venezuela 5th, and Colombia 6th.

 Last but not least, Pablo Barrios won the Hermes Puissance tonight -- he and G&C Quivola were the only pair to clear the final 7'3" (!!!!) wall. Oh, and he did it with one stirrup. Yeah.

That first fence was a warm-up & didn't count

Hopefully, all this time spent basking in equestrian greatness has rubbed off on me. Tomorrow, it's back to reality and back to the barn to work Certs -- heck, maybe I can set up a 7'3" wall and we can just go under it!

Puissance Wall! (I'm 5'7")

Future Grand Prix Superstars

Last Friday, I finally trekked up to Wellington for the $75,000 2* Grand Prix -- had an awesome time, spent way too much money, drank a bit too much (the alcoholic pink lemonade thingies they make at the tiki bar are a little slice of heaven), and saw some truly amazing jumpers. I don't think any of them could hold a candle to these guys, though:





Hilarious, no? ☺ I particularly like the bunny liverpool. Those Danes seem like quite the fun bunch!

Tomorrow, I am possibly driving up to Welly-World for the Nations Cup and I'll attempt to take some pics (I'll have to print out Wendy's instructions for taking pics under stadium lights -- thanks again, Wendy!). But I am definitely dragging myself up there on Saturday for the Derby Cross; I am overjoyed at the opportunity to FINALLY see some of the big-name eventers in action! I promise I will go into full stalkerazzi mode and take 5,000 hopefully-not-too-blurry photos for your viewing pleasure. Go, Eventing!

Air Time

Just a quick post to note that my barn got its jumps up (well, all three of them, lol) this weekend, so Certs and I finally got to jump yesterday. Woohooo!

As a teenager, I jumped 2-3 times a week (usually 3'6"-3'9" and occasionally 4', which just seems ridiculous and damn near impossible to me now), but that was quite a long time ago. Since I moved to Miami, I've only ridden sporadically, usually on very green horses. I do recall popping a bratty pony over a couple crossrails about seven years ago and I hopped Mac over a vertical a few times the first time I rode him...but, other than that, I haven't jumped in almost EIGHT years!

Obviously, we kept things simple since Certs and I are both out of shape and out of practice. We trotted a single crossrail a few times (the first time, I was slightly behind the motion and Certs crow-hopped all the way to the corner when we landed, but luckily it was nothing ugly!). Once I got my position secure, we added another X and trotted into the line & cantered out in three strides. Since he landed on the lead, I just kept him going all the way around and cantered into the line, cantering out in two strides. By that time, we had both settled into the rhythm and the line was smooth, so I gave Certs a well-deserved pat and called it a day. It felt so good to finally jump again, even though it was just a few crossrails. That totally made my week -- I'm still smiling! :-)

No photographic proof yet, but I'm sure we'll get some eventually. Red Hills, here we come (ha!)!!

There's An App For That

How cute is this little App? While I'm admittedly OTTB-obsessed, I do have a huge soft spot for Appaloosas. The first horse I ever jumped was a very loudly-spotted saint of a leopard App named Susan; she taught me so much and is largely responsible for my love of the speckled ponies. And while Certs has just one tiny little wisp of a white splotch, he has the Appaloosa character through and through!

Unfortunately, I have barely ridden Certs the last few weeks due to holiday chaos, but things have thankfully quieted down and I managed to trek out to the barn this Saturday for a long-overdue ride. We got to try out my new Ecogold eventing boots (thank you, Santa!), which have unfortunately sparked a desire to purchase the matching hind boots. Damn you, Inner Shopping-Obsessed Troll!

We may not be eventers, but we can at least play dress-up

and pretend we are

I love these boots! They have a strike plate strong enough to withstand an axe (seriously, visit their website and watch the video), mold to the horse's leg, and are breathable to keep the legs cool and prevent fried (yes, that's the technical term) tendons. And Ecogold even allows you to try the boots for several weeks and return them if you're not satisfied. Love that!

Also on our test-drive list was the Korsteel Flexi-Bit that I've been dying to try since I purchased it during VTO's sale. Certs wasn't quite sure about it; I don't think he's ever gone in a plastic bit, and when I first put it on he kept opening his mouth and making indignant faces at me (ahhh, that Appy spirit!). During the ride, he was less responsive than he is with his double-jointed full-cheek. Our halts were slow and sloppy and Certs just seemed a bit confused. However, he was more willing to stretch down into the contact and was progressively more responsive. Not a total disaster, but I think we'll stick with the full-cheek for now.

Unfortunately, Certs is so hairy that he resembles a puffy little Easter chick. Despite a low-key ride and a long cool-down, he was soaked with sweat! 

Of course, it was too cool to hose him off, and his owner wanted his sheet on him during the night since the low was supposed to be 49. I decided to hand-graze him for half an hour in the hopes that the breeze would help dry his coat. No such luck, but Certs certainly didn't seem to mind:

Two hours of currying, toweling, currying, brushing, currying, and toweling later...and he was almost dry. Certs got so impatient that he started shaking his lips at me, which of course was just cute and hilarious.  Fortunately, all of my rubbing and scrubbing eventually got Certs not only dry but also sparkly/shiny and soft as the little baby chick that he resembles. He was just glad to be tucked away in his stall with several flakes of hay and some well-deserved carrots.

 

TACK Friday!

For me, the idea of waking up at 3am and spending the day at the mall, elbowing and shoving 5 thousand other half-crazed, jacked-up-on-caffeine-and-holiday-discounts shoppers is about as appealing as repeatedly stabbing myself in the eye. But I do love a good deal. Solution? Stay home and shop online -- lots of great deals, but with zero threat of bodily harm.

This weekend is VTO Saddlery's big sale. And since I need a new pair of paddock boots, I figured it was the perfect time to buy them. I found my Ariat paddock boots, selected my color and size..."Add To Cart" *click* "Aaaaaahhhh." It's like internet heroin.

But, of course, you can't just buy one horsey item, especially during a huge sale! My gloves seem to have wandered off into Lost Glove Land a few months ago, so I added a pair of MacWet Gloves to my cart. Then I browsed through the bit section; I've been lusting after the Herm Sprenger Duos and the Nathe mouth bits for the longest time, but I just cannot justify spending over $70 on a bit. And then I stumbled across this. It's a Korsteel Flexi Flavored Eggbutt Mullen Mouth bit and it's only $30 (pre-discount!). Yep, that got added to the cart, too.

By now, I had that blank, glazed-over look that one gets from repeated "Add to Cart" hits. And then I stumbled across the best deal yet -- a Soft Touch girth for only $20 (BEFORE the discount!)!! Eeeeeeeek! They are amazing girths and I've been wanting one for EVER!!  Deal of the century!

So, did any of you get some steals & deals on tack today? Or did you go the more traditional route and get into a knock-down drag-out brawl over a toaster oven?

The Eight Month Curse

Uuugghhh. What is going on in our little horse blogging community? First it was bad news for Gogo, then even worse news for Denali. And today I received some sad news of my own.

The past three animals that I've taken in have all died within eight months -- first, my little Jack Russel mix (picked up off the streets) developed Acute Lymphatic Leukemia; then Mac suffered from a massive colic; and finally Zamboni the barn-cat had a seizure. So, I had my fingers and eyes crossed for Sasha girl; I kept saying, "Just make it through the end of November and you'll have broken the eight-month curse, girl."

Ever since I've had her, I noticed that her back left leg toes in, and she doesn't walk straight on it; she brings it more towards her midline. She's only appeared to be in pain from it once or twice when she overdid things physically; and I had my vet take a look at it the last time she had a routine exam. He said that it was probably an old ligament injury, and that I should keep an eye on it and bring her in to be X-rayed if it started bothering her.

Well, with the cooler weather, she's been more active, and has been a little bit NQR on it a few nights. So, today I took her in for X-rays.

Oh. my. Gawd. The second I looked at them, even my untrained eye knew that they were very wrong. Apparently, some time in the distant past, Sasha was hit by a car. And nobody took her to the vet. Of course not. Why would you take a dog to the vet if it had been hit by a car? (That was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell.) Her whole left hip is collapsed, and she has bone spurs everywhere. Her right side has hip dysplasia and more bone spurs.

So. Where do we go from here? She has to lose a lot of weight. She can't go for long walks, but I'm supposed to try and get her to swim as much as possible. She's on Rimadyl for pain. That's all we can do. If she had been surgically treated after the accident, she would have been fine. That's what kills me. But since she wasn't treated (and it's far too late for that now), she has a year, maybe two, before that hip just falls apart.

Of course, I will not let her suffer. The minute she's in pain that the Rimadyl can't help, I will do the kind thing and let her go. I'm just so tired of people not doing right by their animals. I'm tired of cleaning up other people's messes.

At least she's comfy in her 2-layers-of-memory-foam bed!

Moving On

Well, it certainly has been quite a while since I blogged about any of my own riding adventures. Things have definitely changed quite a bit for me. I was riding a Thoroughbred gelding named Fortune who does the 3'6" jumpers up in Wellington; but, unfortunately, I felt that I needed to move barns (don't you just hate barn drama?!), so I'm no longer riding Forty. Luckily, I am a resourceful girl with a lot of horsey connections, so I wasn't without a pony to ride for too long.

Since last weekend, I have been riding Certs, a lovely little Appaloosa gelding. He and I have a very special bond -- a few years ago, Certs came down with a serious case of enteritis. He was a very sick boy and required 24-hour care; he was on IV fluids, had a gastro-nasal tube that was literally stitched into his muzzle (I called it his "snorkel"), and had to have his front feet in buckets of ice water 24/7 to prevent laminitis because of a very high fever. I pretty much got a crash course in nursing care (learning to change IV bags, etc.) and stayed with Certs every night to oversee his care. Let me tell you, it was nerve-wracking; I had to keep an eagle eye on the line of IV bags, make Certs kept his feet in the buckets of ice water, give him medicine, make sure he didn't lie down, etc. The poor guy was so uncomfortable and constantly snorking up the most disgusting-smelling stomach juices. But the good news is that he pulled through it and is none the worse for the wear. Certs' owner Jeanette still calls me Night Nurse Meghann. :-)

You might not believe that Certs is an Appaloosa, as there

is nary a spot on his sorrel hide -- but I assure you, he is

a full-blooded, registered solid App



Doesn't he look laid-back and innocent? Well, I was certainly under that impression; so imagine my surprise when, yesterday, I walked Certs up to the mounting block and he threw a tiny tantrum. He kept wanting to walk forward, but when he felt some pressure on the bit, he did a half-rear/pull-back/run-backwards move (which, of course, ripped the reins out of my hands), and then high-tailed it back to the barn! Hhhhmmmph. How embarrassing! Well, that earned him one all-expenses-paid trip to the round pen. 

Luckily, a few minutes of round pen work and a five-minute session on standing still while being mounted were all Certs needed to remember that he does, indeed, have manners. He is such a trickster! Jeanette warned me that he can be quite the devious little devil at times. Actually, I kinda like that, as it will keep me on my toes. Thankfully, today Certs was much better and it only took a few gentle reminders to get him standing as still as a statue while I mounted.

It has been quite a while since Certs was ridden, but luckily he is a pretty straight-forward ride. His trot is bone-jarringly springy (like, if you try sitting to it, you can feel your brain sloshing around in your skull), but his canter is awesome! It's smooth, balanced, and sooooo comfy -- like Jeanette said, it just kinda sucks your butt into the saddle! I'm pretty excited because, once I get Certs into shape, I can start jumping him.

OK, so this picture is pretty crappy, but it's the best I've got. I look huge on Certs (he's only around 15.1 or 15.2), but thankfully he doesn't feel tiny.

Hopefully, I'll have some better pics soon. :-)