Show Number Two was a
grand success! We placed 2nd (out of 7) in the Starter Horse
Division, and 5th (out of 8) in the Starter Rider Division! We
scored 66.25% in the Starter Horse and 60.25% in the Starter Rider. I am so
happy with Surya; she was brilliant.
We started off the day
in much the same mood as the last show…spooking at everything, head in the air,
tense through the back, and generally displeased with the whole situation. A
giant black trailer drove by us two minutes after we started warming up and
Surya took off cantering sideways. However…I kept her trotting and insisted she
pay attention to bending and transitions instead of everything else that was
going on. By the end of our warm-up she was relaxed and listening, and I was
happy! Thankfully, this time we got to ride in the indoor arena, which is where
we’ve done most of our schooling. At the entrance to the arena there was a
great big blue tent providing shade for the show officials. It gave us trouble
last time, and Surya again stopped. But this time I gave her a very light tap
on the shoulder with my crop (didn’t want to go with the dressage whip in case
she freaked out completely) and she moved forward into the arena with no
problem.
I spent a lot of time
since the last show riding around cars, blowing whistles, and blaring car horns
at Surya. To her credit, she did not look twice at the car the judge was
sitting in, and did not even flinch when they beeped the horn for us to start.
She did give the stink-eye to the letters on the edge of the ring, but she
listened to my leg telling her to stay on the rail. She was on the bit for a
good part of the time. My Awesome Rider Friend took video of our first test
(Starter Rider), even though she was preparing to go ride her own test. (Technical difficulties preclude me from posting the video at this time.)
Unfortunately, I
memorized the test wrong, and we did Free Walk from F to H instead of F to E.
That got us two points off for errors, and in that class we ended getting 5th
(sorry to put a cramp in your style Surya!). Happily, the second time we went
in the ring, we competed in the Starter Horse Division, and she was so good
(and I made no gross mistakes!) that we ended up with our red ribbon. I do not
have a video of the second test because ARF rode her test 5 minutes later.
Suffice to say it was better than the first test.
I am so happy with the
way this went. We may not have won, but we showed up!
As I told my trainer in
our lesson on Tuesday, I am re-committing to dressage. I’ve spent a lot of time
the past few weeks introducing Surya to scary stuff, but then slacking off and
just running around in my jumping saddle (no jumping yet). I have now ridden
Surya a total of 110 times. I should be able to put her on the bit, round, and
relaxed at least 80% of the time. I need to re-commit mentally to being a
thinking rider, both in terms of my physicality and hers. I rode with this
attitude on Tuesday, and it felt like a completely new kind of riding. Surya
was perfect, and my position felt good.
66.25% is a good start.
We have a lot to work on!
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