The Soloist

I went on a long solo ride today after work. I've mentioned before that I rarely ride solo so it was nice to go out on a challenging ride where I could just focus on Brego and myself.

We did the four mile loop to the next town and back and stopped along the way to sprint around two laps of the gallop track. Then a brisk trot home through a neighborhood. I have discovered that evening on a nice day is the perfect time for a horde of small children to be running around the neighborhood, screaming, riding bikes, dribbling basketballs. Luckily, Brego understands noisy children and we safely trotted through and made it home.

The old mare apparently trotted around the pasture in our absence and called but otherwise was sane, thank goodness. Brego did not seem to miss her much on the ride, although he did call to one horse we passed in a field. Otherwise he was alert, but responsive, perhaps a bit less bold than when we ride out with a buddy.

Over the four miles, we got about 30 minutes of trotting in two long 15 minute stretches. We got to go fast at the gallop track and then trotted up the ginormous hill to the house. Brego was barely sweaty and not winded, but he felt tired by the time we got home, so I think he got a good muscle workout from all the hills.

All in all, very good training for our solo cross country trips, and a wonderful way to end the day.

Modern Eventing

Andrea has put together a wonderful post on Modern Eventing on her blog.

Please read it.  Think about it.  Discuss it.  When need smart minds and loud voices right now.

Legging Up

Never one to rest on our laurels, we hit the trails after work today. We headed for the packed road in the next town and did two canter sets up the hill. Brego felt strong and fresh.

On the way home, I had trouble keeping him in the walk. He wanted to move out. Finally, after many corrections, we walked peacefully home.

As we approached the farm, I noticed that my (other, non-horsey) neighbor had placed two logs next to the trail. I had harmlessly mentioned to him about a week ago that it would be fun to jump some logs, you know, while I was riding on his trails through his property. So he found two logs and placed them by the trail for me. Have I mentioned how much I love my neighbors?

I took Brego up and over the log and Brego, formerly known as Mr. Chippy, launched into the biggest, roundest jump from a stride out to clear this little 2' log. Needless to say, I was jumped out of the tack. So I have some work to do, and Brego has made it clear he's ready to start jump training.

And now we just need a few more days of sunshine to get the jumps set up and then we will begin.

I love this horse.

Dressage Show Videos

I want to thank all my readers for their kind words and warm wishes regarding my show. It means a lot to me that there are so many people pulling for us to do well!


Brego was very strong for the first test, Training 2, and you can see a lot of tension from me just holding him together. He wanted to run back to the trailer which was behind A, so every time we turn away from the judge, I was holding him back. The second test, Training 3, was less "crisp" but he was more relaxed and workmanlike. The stretchy trot just didn't happen, but the judge said she would rather him stay in balance than throw his head down and fall forward, so she was happy with what she saw. We had a lot of trouble with halts, to the point that before I could finish my salute, the judge called out "You just blew your 9!" and laughed. We usually don't have these troubles at home, but I think because he was so forward, I was too strong with my aids, and he just weaved trying to figure out what I wanted.

Anyway, enjoy the video! I put both tests into the same video, so sit back, relax, and pretend I am Bettina Hoy! Woot!





Dressage Show - April 26, 2009 from Eventing Percheron on Vimeo.

Brego Looks Nice In Blue

Brego had a big day today. We placed first in both of our divisions, scoring a 64.6 on Training Test 2 and 62 on Training Test 3. A storm was rolling in, so a stiff breeze coupled with the show atmosphere meant Brego was nice and forward.

He was so forward that he bucked and bolted in warmup, but once my initial "I'm going to die" thoughts retreated, I actually thought it was funny. It was not major and we recovered in a couple of strides. Yesterday, when it was 90 degrees, I was lamenting to my trainer that Brego is so behind the leg, I longed for a horse that would spontaneously burst into a trot from a walk. Well, what a difference a day makes!

His head and neck look nice, just need to work on the junk in the trunk.

I did get videos of both rides, but the perfectionist in me is pretty unhappy with my riding. Brego did great, aside from some minor distracted fussing, but my hands were noisy and I looked slouchy. And although I think he's lost some weight, he is still much bigger than I would like for competition, so that's something I need to address soon. I will probably post the videos tomorrow, when I have more time to put them together.

You know, I should be happier about the show. And I *am* happy, just not thrilled. The judge was very enamored with Brego, even calling him "superb". She said once the stretch trot came on board, we were ready to move up, that he had all the fundamentals of training level. She did appropriately discourage some horses so over bent, their necks looked broken at the third vertebrate. She scored Brego the highest of all the training level riders, and I am not sure yet if we won High Point over the entire show.

And yet, I wish I was a better rider. Watching Rolex this weekend gave me a twisted view of riding. Um, only the top 0.001% of all riders look like Bettina Hoy. Well, actually only one. And I love Brego, but he is no Upper Level anything. So I am happy and I realize this is a great performance for two weeks of lessons and the winter off. I'm just ready to be *really good*. And Brego is ready for me to be really good as well.

Despite his sad eye, Brego was in a pretty good mood most of the day. We just got home and he is tired.

Meanwhile, my next lesson will be over fences. I have a Hunter Pace lined up for May 16th and then my first three phase of the season will be May 31.

Here's a fun anecdote. My trainer came to watch, not in an official capacity, but just to see how we did. She was very, very happy with the tests, but again, she's only seen Brego for the last two weeks and some videos of him from last year. Anyway, I showed her the old picture of Brego where he was on his forehand and she gasped and said, "Oh my God!" I asked her if she could believe it was the same horse. She said, "No... and you have an incredible imagination to see what he could be."

I take that as high praise indeed. :)

Ride Times Posted

We have our ride times for the first show of the season.  Wow, I am nervous, even though it is "just" a fundraising schooling dressage show.  It's been raining all week so I haven't ridden since Sunday.  It should be dry enough today to at least get out and the arena should be ready tomorrow.

I am also doing the Training 3 test which is brand new for me, the stretchy trot being particularly difficult.  However, I wanted to get the test "broken in" at a schooling show before debuting it at a big show, so I figured now was the time, unprepared or not.

Oh my, so much to do.  Clean tack, bath the winter gunk off of Brego, clean up his mane, prep the trailer, fill the water tanks, learn my tests (ack!).

At 10:50 am on Sunday, I will be turning up the centerline for the first time in the '09 season.  It's here. 

Just

Ok, I admit it, I am sore as hell from my conditioning ride yesterday. Brego seems totally fine. His tendons feel nice and tight, no heat, a little sore over his loin. But I am in pain. My thighs hurt to the touch and my lower back is chanting death threats.

I, officially, am pathetic.

So to stretch both of us out, I took Brego on the trails behind my house bareback, just walking, enjoying the sun, looking for the moose sighted recently. We paused at the brook for Brego to drink and I took this picture with my phone.



Just beautiful. And I got to share it from the back of an incredible horse. Just... happy.

Rolex Fever

Ok, what self-respecting eventer doesn't have Rolex Fever???

As jaded and embittered as I am about the whole "sport in crisis", I still look forward to Rolex. I am not so lucky as to get to actually *go* to Rolex, but I still subscribe to the online broadcasts (if nothing else, to vote with my dollar that online coverage of equestrian events is a Good Thing).

Like everyone else on the planet, I am rooting for Jennifer and The Good Witch.



But this year is special, because not only will I be cheering from the relative safety and comfort of my couch, but I will be hosting the Horse Radio Network's LIVE coverage of Rolex on this blog. The Horse Radio Network publishes several excellent podcasts, of which I am also a subscriber, and I am happy to promote them getting more listeners. Again, any intelligent horse news is a Good Thing.

I don't make a penny off of hosting their LIVE coverage, just blogging karma I suppose. Also, please note that they will not have live video, since NBC owns the rights to that, but they will have lots of content related to bios, commentary, pictures, and interviews.

Sounds good, where do you go to see said Horse Radio Network coverage? I will post their widget on the home page of this blog starting Tuesday night. My usual blog entries will follow below it. I know it's hard to imagine anything more exciting than watching The Good Witch totally rock Rolex, but Brego and I have our own little show going on next weekend.

Brego Gets Fit

The promise of today was for rain, so I awoke early and tacked up. I wanted to try out the "go fast" track I found before the rains made the going sticky. It was a 20 minute walk hack to the track and there it was, exactly as I remembered.

We did almost the same conditioning set I ended with last year:
5 minute trot
2 minute walk
5 minute trot
2 minute walk
5 minute trot
3 minute walk
3 minute canter
3 minute walk
3 minute canter
3 minute walk
3 minute canter

Brego ended the last canter in a gallop because I love pushing him when he is tired to see if there is any gas left in the tank, as in, could he still save my butt on the last fence of xc. The answer, today, was "Hell, Yea!" He was blowing and I wouldn't want him coming off a course any more tired than that, but after a recovery, we ran around some more on a sand track nearby. So Brego is officially "Beginner Novice" fit. He can certain go around any of the local schooling show tracks.

I am not sure why he is so fit, considering his still rather portly size. Maybe the near continual turnout in deep snow over the winter kept his heart and lungs going. Maybe horses don't lose fitness as quickly as people. Speaking of, I am hurt, hurt, hurt. My left ankle and right knee were very angry about the amount of two point today. I MUST get more fit for my horse.

Anyway, after the conditioning set, about 45 minutes, we rode up the power lines, to the top of a large hill to see what we could see. We saw about 10 miles north to the state park and about 5 miles south. One continuous trail.

With so much good riding around here, I have made it a mini-goal to get Brego "Novice" fit by Fox hunting season (cubbing starts in August). Thanks to fox hunting last year, he ended Novice fit, but I want to see if I can get him there without the external stimulation and inspiration of following the hounds. That is, can we have the discipline to condition like we should all summer.

All in all, a 2.5 hour ride, lots of go fast, lots of hills, and now lots of ibuprofen for Daun. Brego got bonus hay and I am phasing more feed into his diet. He is certainly going to need it.

Thinking

I love dressage because it makes me think. I hate dressage because it exposes my weak body control and awareness.

But I love dressage because it exposes my mind.

I love jumping because it exposes my heart.

I love cross country because it exposes my courage.

But tonight, it was all about my brain. My second dressage lesson with my neighbor was twice as illuminating as the first, if that's even possible. Brego was more forward, but still more sluggish that I would have liked. But it was all about me, me, me me me.

It's all about my twisted right shoulder that creeps forward, negating the boundaries set by my right hand when tracking left. Woops, there goes my outside rein, my rock, my pillar, my wall.

It's all about my brain, computing angles, planning transitions, anticipating Brego's mysterious magnetic pull to the exit of the arena.

It's all about my hands, both harbingers of good and evil, giving, taking, rewarding, discouraging.

It's all about my ears, or my balance, feeling him drift, collapse right, always right. At the halt, at the transitions, up and down, it's all about right with Brego. So I have to out think right. And fix that damn right shoulder, which actually resulted in me riding with my head looking backwards over my right shoulder, looking where we have just been, backwards. And then lo, the horse went straight.

That's what I love about dressage. It doesn't make any sense if you think about it logically, but if you just use your brain and your balance, it works.

What tonight was NOT about was riding the front of the horse, what it was not about was a head set, or a flash nose band, or short cuts. My trainer and I agree on that, thankfully.

When I could get Brego straight, his right shoulder properly in front of his rear, his spine aligned, it's like Brego super charged. Huge power, indescribable power. But I've been siphoning off that power by letting his outside shoulder escape, especially to the right. Dressage is all about the minute corrections, the impossibly small differences that turn a trotting draft horse into a spectacle.

His canter, if I say so myself, was completely delicious. I just grinned from ear to ear.

I've said it before, and I will say it again. I am the luckiest person alive.

Twitter Generation

So I signed up for twitter a few weeks ago. I literally held out as long as I could. I mean, I am young and hip. I have not one but TWO blogs. I am part of the Web 2.0 generation. But I could not see the point of twitter. I mean, do people really need to know what I am thinking in 140 character segments all the time???

I guess so. Because some of my enterprising readers found my twitter account without me advertising it, or even making it public. Actually, it's not *my* account, it's for Brego. But still. People found Brego on twitter. I suddenly feel old and obsolete.

So for those of you who just.can't.get.enough Brego, I present to you: Brego on twitter.

I am still not sure how chatty I will be on the service, since I need more "connection" like I need another hole in the head. But it's fun and all the kids are doing it these days.

See ya there!

P.S. No, I do not have a Facebook account. Period.

Getting Into the Swing of Things

Another day, another great ride.  We popped over to the neighbor's outdoor and just worked on the stuff we learned in the last lesson.  After Sunday's ride, I wanted to go easy on the legs and just work on the brain.

Brego has been getting more feed with his hay, as his work load has increased.  He's still a little chubs, but he needs quality energy to produce quality work in the dressage arena.  So I was happy to see that he was way more forward than during the lesson.  We got a nice walk-canter departure both ways (surprisingly, the left was better than the right) and called it a night.  Then a short walk through the woods home and, just like that, a great ride in under 30 minutes.  I love it.

I did take my laptop to my neighbor and showed her pictures and videos from last year when Brego and I were doing much better.  She was very glad to see them and completely impressed with Brego, especially his jumping.  I showed her the 3'3" triple bar picture and she couldn't believe it was the same horse (she did believe that was me riding though :) ).  So now she has raised the bar for us, seeing what we are capable of.  I am excited.

Next lesson is Thursday.

Riding Out

We hit the trails today, rode to the next town, and then took the power lines home. Total loop was just 4 miles, but we found some very nice sandy trails that are definitely "go fast" worthy. I think I have found my galloping conditioning track.

Even with 40 mph north wind gusts (read: freezing, running nose and ears), Brego was perfect. Everyone had every kite, wind chime, flag, etc on display in their front yards as we rode by and Brego took it all in stride. Only one mile of the ride was on a sleepy back road (we saw zero cars), so I hope to make the loop part of our regular routine.

And when the wind ever stops, I am going back to "go fast". I did find a gear or two above normal on part of the packed gravel road, but it really was too hard for gallop work, just right for trotting.

When we got home, the neighbor brought his grandkids over and Brego ponied them about, a saint as always with the kids. I swear, Brego likes kids more than me sometimes.

There is no rain in the forecast so it will be a week of riding in the neighbor's outdoor, trying to put things together before the show on the 26th. I hope to have another lesson sometime this week.

Despite Brego's dominance issues, today highlighted just how great of a horse he is. I rode out, wherever my heart desired, through forest, over brooks, down lanes, down rocky power line trails reminiscent of the merciless trails of Bandera, TX, and made it home in time to pack some kids around. We went fast, we went slow, we stopped and chatted. He's a good "using" horse, alright.

Dressage Lesson 9

New state, new trainer, almost 4 months off from serious work. Our last dressage lesson with me riding Brego was February 17, 2008! Yea, it was one of those kind of lessons. It was warm and sunny and I had to wake Brego from a nap to get him ready to walk next door to our neighbor's outdoor arena.

Needless to say, he was behind my leg perpetually, which weakened my position as I nagged, nagged, nagged. I am always hesitant to get after Brego in front of a new trainer. So instead of popping him like I should have to reinforce my leg aid, I nagged, which made me slump and draw my leg back.

Additionally, this lesson proved that Brego, in all his fat glory, if fitter than I. I was huffing and puffing after the canters. Brego, aside from looking lazy and slow, looked like he was trailing, not really stepping through. He's definitely weaker than last season. But it's hard to get serious about his movement when he wasn't really trying.

Ok, now on to the good. Brego was sound, sound, sound. He was well behaved and it looked like his left hip was moving well. His left canter was not a complete disaster and he only broke gait when I screwed up.

The best part is that I LOVE my neighbor/trainer. We agree on many philosophical points, she's definitely way above my level. She normally teaches big clinics down in Mass, so I am sure she was having to dumb down a lot of her instruction. But she was still positive and as quick to praise both me and Brego as to correct. It's funny, but I am not used to instructors praising me, just the horse. It was weird to hear a "Good girl!" come out of her.

My biggest challenge in dressage is that I lack the coordination to be consistent with my aids. My neighbor/trainer would ask me to do something and I would understand her, but it took way too long for me to coordinate all my aids, execute, and then release. So definite room to improve there.

Edited: Now the video has sound! Sorry about the technical mixup.

I learned a ton during the lesson, mostly about my largely non-existent outside rein. I have been so focused on the inside bend that I just leave the door wide open for him to evade outside. He does it on transitions and especially at the canter so he can run around haunches in which is easier for him. All because of my training, so now that I am on to him, we can work on it.

Anyway, I feel so lucky and grateful to have the amazing luck to move in next door to an excellent trainer. She is also way too generous. I asked her how much for the lesson and when she told me, I laughed, doubled it and it was still the cheapest private lesson I have ever taken.

Back in training, I feel like we have a purpose. When I finally admitted I was not going to shoot for nationals, or even regional championships, we lost some long term goals to work towards, you know, beside surviving the year of transition on the farm. Now I have this amazing resource right next door. There's so much we can work on, without the pressure of big money shows. We'll take time out for school show just to get an outing, but I can funnel my very limited money into lessons. I am inspired!!

P.S., only one more month until my neighbor's jump field will be ready!! We're also talking about building some arena jumps (she also used to event).

Broken Brego

As I suspected, Brego was broken. Although he was doing well on our rides, and eager to go, he just couldn't hold that left lead together. The chiropractor confirmed it today: left hip.

The good news is that she was able to get it mobile again and she flexed the hock and believes that it is clean and clear. She suspects that the hip was the result of his falls, and not necessarily favoring the hock. She did not seem to think there was any real muscle loss.

The bad news is that I dropped the ball. I should have gotten him to a chiropractor before the end of last season, certainly before he sat all winter. I am sad I let him down. I knew he was having trouble on that left lead and I let my finances dictate timing to get him looked at.

Never again. I will beg, borrow and/or steal to get the cash.

The chiro thinks there's no irreparable damage and Brego will be fine, but I still feel guilty. Any fall and he gets looked at, although hopefully we will not fall again. Additionally, I think I will get him looked at every 6 months until I am sure he stabilized.

Two Great Rides

As Funder astutely pointed out, there's no snow in those pictures. Spring arrived, gradually and then suddenly.

As a result, I had two great rides in the Great Outdoors. We've been doing ok in the arena, getting soft, solid work, nothing spectacular. But the Great Outdoors poses challenges of its own, like wind, things that move suddenly, wide open spaces and maybe some fond memories of fox hunting or galloping over hill and dale.

Regardless of the cause, when Brego goes out, he is ON. Sometimes naughty, but always ON. I rode him out in his French link bit and he minded. We even got some lovely rocking horse canters across the fair grounds. Brego was happy to be out and threw in some exuberant bucks, but nothing malicious and when I locked my hips and opened my chest, he came back to me.

The thing is, Brego is a great paradox. I am both in love with and afraid of the horse. When he reads my mind, saves my butt, is fun and game and happy, he is the best horse in the world. Period. But when he's had enough, when he is scared or bored or just done, he gets aggressive and dominant and very much not fun.

The last three weeks as Spring approached, he got worse and worse. Aggressive, kicking out in the field, he even bit my stomach once while I was bridling him. Very unlike him, he was unsettled or unhappy. And that makes me unhappy, because you know, this is as good as it gets. This life of his. At least with me. Sure, I bet he'd be happier on 20 acres of rolling pastures and five fun geldings to play with nonstop (as would I, believe me!), but he's on a muddy side of a hill with a geriatric and quite witchy mare. I was worried that he was unhappy in his life, and when Brego is unhappy, he's dangerous. I was starting to dread riding him out, that he would kill me in the first five minutes.

But something's changed. His eye has softened. Even yesterday with 30 mph gusts of wind and a storm rolling in, I forced myself into the saddle to ride. But before I swung up, I looked him in the eye and he told me, clear as day, that he was ok. He was soft. So up I went and off we went and even though the sky was threatening and a million things were blowing across our path, he was ok.

When we got to the fair grounds and he saw the huge field open in front of him and I braced for the take off, he waited. He went my speed. He trotted when asked, cantered when asked, and most importantly, checked with the slightest shift of my weight.

Today was even better. Again, Brego looked soft. He looked like he wanted to have an adventure. We hit the back trails which have been closed for a few months and they were wet but not boggy. Even the old mare was happy to be out on the trail. We headed over to the next town, found a really nice packed gravel road, smooth with no rocks sticking up, and tested a few gears. Brego was amazing, powerful, fast, but there, with me all the time. We finished the ride, two hours total, at a ground covering trot. He never even broke a sweat.

I think part of me is just not used to a horse that wants to go. Brego has a taste for it now and his preferred gait is a canter. That just blows my mind. Stacey talks about Klein that way, but she's young and obviously talented and fit. Brego has always been, well... slow. There's just so much power there when he wants to unleash it, it scares me. I need to treat him more like my Thoroughbred mare, expect him to want to open up and release some steam. Stop nagging and checking. Having a horse that wants to go forward is a GOOD THING. I just need to keep up.

It will likely rain the rest of the week, but this weekend was perfect tonic for both of us. We went out, we even had fun, and we cleaned the cobwebs that endless hours in an indoor will do to you. Brego will see the chiro on Tuesday and then get the rest of the week off to soak up the goodness. Hopefully, rain willing, we will have our first dressage lesson with my awesome neighbor next weekend and then, bam, show time. April 26th.

A Lot Less Hair

It's Spring and that means helping Brego shed out his coat by clipping it all off. The boy would be shedding into June if I didn't do something about it, and with his increased workload, he would long have overheated.

Yucky coat, dumpy horse.

Now that's what I am talkin' about!

So the first dry patch of weather, I tied him to the trailer and got to work. It took about an hour to get the rough cuts done. He needs a little cleanup along the lines with his full coat, and of course, his mane. I roached it once again and this time I also roached his forelock. I always love the way he looks with his forelock braided up tight, so I thought I would save the manual step and trim it off. Needless to say, I immediately regretted it. Brego looks like a mule. :)

But regardless, he is much happier without his coat, even with lows in the upper 30s.

I did not video the fun, but you can revisit this popular film from last time I clipped him.

Brego is angry from being tied to the trailer for so long. A front was blowing in and he was feeling it.

Chasing the mare in the new sacrifice area.

I see canter pirouettes in his future...

Considering the amount of time he spent on his hind end, his hocks do not appear to be bothering him.

Additionally, we finally laid down enough stone dust (about 30 tons) for a sacrifice run to make it through the spring rains. I would say sacrifice "paddock" but it's actually quite small, about the size of a good run: 100 x 30. It's not ideally shaped, but I trust my two horses not to corner each other.

Both of them were very happy with the upgrade in footing, after standing in mud the last week, but they are not thrilled with the size, for obvious reasons. All the more incentive to get Brego out and worked every day while the forest pasture is being logged, graded, raked, seeded and allowed to rest. It is an inconvenience for the horses to be in a run, no doubt, but they will be happy when their pasture is done and is grassed.

Pretty mare, she's looking good in her new program of food and good riding.

Clean Hocks

I took Brego to the vet today to get his annual xrays. Because we compete in a sport not exactly suited to the big guys, I like to make sure I stay on top of any developments. I am happy to report that Brego got a clean bill of health from the vet. He saw nothing that would indicate that the work is too strenuous for Brego's joints. If it was a prepurchase exam, he would pass with flying colors.

Whew, what a relief.

Brego has been very sound (*knock on wood* *sacrifice a chicken*) on the fronts, so I did not get his front feet done this year. Just 8 films of the hocks were spendy enough, thanks.

I have a chiro visit lined up for Tuesday and then we're all systems go to get back into heavy work. Brego is a little sticky on that left hock, but the xrays were clean and I am hoping the chiro can work any kinks out from him favoring it through the winter.

Enjoy the bone pics!

Sponsorship for Brego!

My radio silence has been the result of some exciting news about the big Brego and our plans this year. I didn't want to spill the beans too early, but it looks like everything is pretty much final, so I can share.

Brego and I will be traveling to the US Eventing American Eventing Championships at Lamplight Equestrian Center, Illinois. No, not as competitors, but as exhibitors! We got sponsored!

We will be exhibiting as a guest of a well-known tail extender company. Yep, Brego is going to be living large with a new 6 foot long, pure black, luxurious tail.

My little "Anyone Can Event!" post caught the eye of some upper ups at USEA and they slotted us in as a feel good exhibition. I was on board, but we needed to line up a sponsorship and of course, what does every stylin' Eventing Percheron need? A tail extender. It's perfect, I say.

I am very excited for Brego to be an ambassador for the sport as well as his new beautiful tail. It really will complete our look this eventing season.

Edited To Add: Happy April 1st, everyone! This year's entry was better received than Brego's mysterious bonus testical last year. I appreciate the vote in confidence in the big guy actually being an ambassador for the sport. I truly have the best readers. I hope to get to the Championships one day, but hopefully as a competitor!!