Back to basics

After concentrating on the "Bundesschau" for the last month I'm now back to intoducing Crispin to bit, bridle and surcingle.

I'm ridiculously happy and impressed whenever he is wearing his bit and bridle or any other kind of tack. He looks so "grown up" then . :-D

He does not like the bit, he thinks it's annoying but he also can't resist the delicious paste I always smear on it (cough drops dissolved in water, very sticky and sweet). It's funny to watch.

Today, for the first time he wore "his" saddle pad. I bought it last year, it's in his color and has his name embroidered on the side. So far I haven't used it because it was too stiff and new. I used an old pad, a less scarry pad.

I think he looks so good in his new "outfit" all grown up, I just had to take a picture (it was his first time wearing bridle AND surcingle too).

Show report

OK, here it goes, our first show report: The good, the bad and... ...no, let me phrase that differently

...the good, the stupid and the very good that the stupid turned out to be...

At first let me say, I can not tell you just how nervous I was. It was ridiculous! I was sick to my stomach the whole morning before I left for the barn. I'm NEVER this nervous! I do not have a problem with show nerves. Never had. Maybe sometimes just a ride or two before I had to enter the ring in a jumper class I would get a little nervous (heck, you can break your neck in a jumper class). But usually I'm just very excited and nervous in a positive way.

I think it was the unknown that drove me crazy. With Amy I always knew what was coming. She was fun at shows. No matter if she went well or not, she loaded/unloaded well and rode basically like she did at home. With Crispin I had NO idea what was coming.

Well, he was a star! And I still think he was a star even though we didn't place (or even finished our course, for that matter)!

The Good: he loaded well at home and good enough after the show. (After the show he took his time to decide if he was ready to get into the trailer or if the whole "show thing" was just way to interesting to leave just yet. It took him about 10 minutes and a couple of carrots to decide that the trailer it was the right choice.)

The stupid: I knew that we couldn't/wouldn't do the rocker. So, before the class I went to the judge to ask him if I had to try and tackle each obstacle or if I could just take the penalty and continue to the next. He said I could just pass. Obviously he didn't know his class!

We went through the first obstacle (the gate and umbrella) and passed the second only to be disqualified. Very embarassing! Obviously it didn't matter If a team failed each and every obstacle, they could always continue to the next but they had to at least fake and attempt to try. That was exactly the my question from the start. Well, the judge was very nice and I think he didn't know himself (it is an unusual class) he seemed to feel bad and promised I could try again after the class had finished. That turned out be the very good!

Crispin was a very good boy all through out the whole event. He was a little nervous and didn't know where to look first but I think he was just as excited as I was and not scared at all. The audience, clapping, music, announcements, all the other horses, it wasn't a big deal. The biggest problem was to get him to focus on me at first. But after we had waited for the class to end and our turn came to try again he had calmed down enough to focus on me enough to try the simple obstacles again, the ones I knew he could do well.

And here's our "Second try": (I know, my ground work skills are far from perfect yet. Keep in mind, this was my first in hand class as well as his.)



After all, this second try was a great chance to make the whole thing a positive experience for us both. I cold break down each task and make sure he did it right. All in all it was a very good day. Proof again (as if I would need any) that he is the perfect horse for me!

Today is the day...

...and in about an hour I'll be off.

The class will start at around 12.45 am and it looks like Crispin is going to be the first horse to go. Not ideal, I would have liked it if he would have had the chance to watch a few horses before his turn, well, nothing to do about it.

The last two trainings at home went really well but that doesn't mean anything, everything will be new and different at the show.

I'm confident that he'll load just fine but still I'm VERY nervous and excited! I'm so courious about his reactions to all the new and exciting things that are going to happen to him today!

I'll just hope I'll get my nerves under control in time.

Busy week ahead

The Bundesschau is only 4 days away and it is going to be a busy week for us.

I have not done as much in hand training as I should have during the last month. On friday the confirmation for the show arrived including the setup for the "Gehorsamsprüfung". It's almost exactly like last year (the video). The only difference is that this time it will be an umbrella that has to be carried (instead of a bucket) while going through the gate. Unfortunately there will also be the "Teeter Totter" included again, like last year. Already one obstacle we will fail (or better not even attempt to try) because I can't train for it at home.

Crispin has not been near a trailer since his arrival almost a year ago. Needless to say that I was very curious about his reaction to it when we did a bit of loading training on sunday and monday. No big deal. We made everything very inviting. He went up and down the ramp a few times (and I let him) and then went in. We loaded and unloaded a couple of times and all went well. Good boy. Obviously Chistina's loading training from last year still sticks.

Today for the first time I set up more or less the whole trail. Crispin was a Star! I think he's never been as good and focused before as he has been today. Since this wasn't the dress rehearsal I'm going to take it as a good omen.