2 Competitions with an Unexpected Twist

This past weekend I went to two different horse shows. On Saturday September 12th I went to Glenaura Horse Farm for the Obstacle show, and Sunday I went to the Uxbridge Fall Fair Gambler's Choice Horse Show.

Obstacle Show
On Saturday morning it was pouring rain, dark, and cold when we headed out with the horses at 6am so we could arrive on time to Honeywood. By the time we got there the skies had cleared, the rain had stopped, but it was still pretty crisp in temperature.

We unloaded Cupid and Khaleesi and discovered Kahleesi was ouchy on her front right. Not horrible but not perfect. I walked her around a bit, assessed her legs/hooves, and determined it is either an abscess brewing or she stepped on a stone and bruised her foot. There was no heat in her leg, but seemed to be a little heat near her coronet band.

We tried wrapping her and putting hoof boots on and that helped. She was walking nicely and willingly but occasionally would take ouchy steps. I decided to keep Kahleesi walking because walking is good if it's an abscess, as well she seemed comfortable.

The competition started with an online obstacle class. I decided to keep Kahleesi in the class because it was going to be all walk and the exposure to new obstacles would be good for her. I competed in the Intermediate (they had two levels: Beginner & Intermediate).

The obstacles were fun and included:

• Tarp
• Barrels to circle around
• Pool noodle car wash
• Tunnel made out of a tarp
• Pushing a ball off a tire
• Pool noodle standards
• A swivel obstacle where you had to get the horse to push a piece of wood (watch the video because I don't really know how to describe it)
• Narrow bridge
• Pedestal (giant one)
• Caveletti jump (on a low height that you can walk over)
• Kiddie pool with water and an inner tube around it
• Teeter tauter

Cupid and Kahleesi were awesome. They did everything pretty easy except they had a good sniff at the pool. 

Kahleesi finished 1st and Cupid was 3rd out of a lot of people (they placed ribbons to 10th and there were more people than placings). 

After that we competed in Liberty, which was the same course but no rope. The horses were awesome and Kahleesi was 1st with Cupid 4th. There was a lot of impressive liberty work from the competitors. Kahleesi got top marks because I could send her through many obstacles from a distance. 

Next we had riding obstacles. This was walking (trot was optional, but with all the obstacles there wasn't room for a lot of trotting). This time Cupid came 1st and Kahleesi was 3rd. 

After that I decided to scratch Kahleesi from the Trail challenge because that would involve some jumps, trotting, and cantering. I didn't want to push her out of her comfort, and at the trot she was more ouchy. 

Cupid competed in the trail class which was outdoors and in a big back field. 

The obstacles included:

• Logs to cross over
• Flag that you had to move from one round bale to another
• A squeeze to ride through (hay feeders lined up in parallel rows)
• Brush jump with brush on the sides (similar to pool noodle standards but with brush)
• Jump with a car wash over top
• Brush jump with brush facing up towards the horse's belly
• Pick up a water bucket and move it
• A pole drage
• Water crossing
• Ditch
• A tunnel made out of tarp for a floor, round bales for sides, and a tarp for a roof
• A gate
• Bank jump
• Giant tires filled with sand to cross over
• Gate

It was a lot of fun - Cupid wasn't super relaxed so we need to work on finding relaxation at the obstacles so he can stand still better at them. He thought the ditch was scary and took about 5-10 minutes to cross it the first time. I was just patient and insisted he look/try but wasn't forceful. Our gate wasn't super pretty either because he was a bit anxious to stand beside it calmly. 

He placed 4th in the trail class and then when it was all done I spent an hour with Cupid at the gate building his confidence to stand calmly at the gate. Eventually he relaxed and did the gate beautifully so I hopped off and loved on him. It was important to give him so much comfort in the right moment because it was such a big challenge. 

Watch our show:

Gamblers Choice on Sunday

On Sunday I went to the Uxbridge Fall Fair for the Gamblers Choice. It was a bit of a drizzly cold day but Kathy and Larry Bonehill did an awesome job setting such a fun obstacle course. 

Because Kahleesi was still looking ouchy, I made a last minute swap and brought Dreamer (one of our lesson horses) instead. This meant I had Dreamer, Cupid, and Thetis. I brought Thetis because last year I competed with her and didn't place, so I wanted to do better this year. Cupid and Kahleesi were entered because they needed more exposure to obstacles before Kentucky.... so I had 3 horses to show. 

My round one was on Thetis. I carefully planned my route and executed it pretty well except our first obstacle she didn't want to let me get off onto the mounting block, and I dropped the ball on an obstacle soon after that (literally). After that we found our groove and aced all of the obstacles we attempted. 

Cupid was ride two. He entered the ring calmly but then the Merry Go Round started going and he had a bit of a melt down. I had to change my plan and avoid that corner of the ring because it was too big of a distraction that he was actually starting to go catatonic. We continued to other parts of the ring and he did awesome, once we were out of that corner he aced all of the obstacles we attempted. 

Lastly I rode Dreamer, final horse of the day. By now I had a strategy worked out and I rode a pretty efficient pattern. Dreamer was super awesome and aced everything except one water box he jumped over instead of stepped through. 

I was super happy and very thrilled with our progress. 

I was even more delighted when Cupid was announced as 8th place, Thetis as 2nd place and Dreamer as 1st place. Dreamer did pretty awesome as a back up horse and I definitely did better than last year!

Some tips I learnt from the weekend:

• Be ready to have a plan B, and C
• When plan B and C don't work, take a deep breathe and focus on what you can do
• Practice relaxation at the obstacles so your horse can approach with confidence
• The show ring is a place to show what you excel at, not what you are working on. If you don't think you can do an obstacle, don't try it during gamblers choice - do that during warm up, or after the course, or try it at home
• Make a plan and ride your plan
• In gamblers choice think about riding the obstacles that are close together rather than wasting time going all over the ring. For example do the 1 point jump that is just slightly out of the way between two bigger point obstacles. 

Watch the gamblers choice:

I had a super amount of fun and can't wait to do it again!

PHH Horse Show, Extreme Cowboy Race & a Wedding, could it get any better?

Last weekend was pretty intense, but I suppose that's the norm for this summer! On Saturday we had our second Partridge Horse Hill show and we had a fantastic turnout. Thank you to everyone who came out and we hope to see you on Saturday October 3rd for our final one.

Our horse shows includes walk/trot classes for novice riders or horses, hunter over fences, jumper classes, obstacle classes, and speed events to round out the day. Every first place got a bag of homemade molasses cookies to go along with their ribbon - thank you the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition! Thank you Alexandra for judging!

Champion and Reserve champions had a selection of prizes to choose from include a snazzy silver Western show halter, a bridle bag (thank you Greenhawk!), free saddle fitting (thank you Canterbury Outpost Saddlery!), earrings, polos, fly masks, leather halter, and more.

Showing Tips:

• Arrive early and take advantage of the fact that we let riders warm up in the show ring for the hour before the classes start
• Practice being calm and precise while in the warm up ring
• Focus on slow and right instead of fast and wrong
• Smile, breathe, and have fun!

Extreme Cowboy Racing on Sunday

On Sunday I went to the Marmora Extreme Cowboy Race. It was Cupid & Kahleesi's 2nd race and it was way different than our first one at Campbellford fair. There were a lot more people, so in my Pro division we had 14 very good riders and horses. Maya also came with Nillina to ride in the Youth division, she was 3rd in her first cowboy race, and then 5th in the finals.

It was really nice to see all of the excellent riders showing off their skills. This judge really valued correct bend and flexion. He was marking in a way that rewarded precision more than speed. 

Cupid was up first and he was so much more relaxed this race than last time. In Campbellford he was so panicked by the horses pulling carts in the show ring beside us that he couldn't concentrate at all. This race he actually did a lot of things really well and managed 11th in the tough competition. We still need to work on some things and find more relaxation in the ring, but he is definitely coming along. 

Kahleesi was her usual super awesome self and did most things really well, but overall we still need to work on better bend and flexion. She managed to get 8th in the first round so we just barely made it to finals (they take the top 8 to do a 2nd course). We improved in our 2nd round except for a big spook at the tractor, and managed a 6th place. 

I was very happy with both my horse's progress. 

Tips for Extreme Cowboy that I picked up this past Sunday:

• Practice riding with one hand
• Practice with odd decorations such as a rope gate with scarecrows on either end
• Practice stopping on bridges and picking up things (don't be in a hurry to get across)
• Practice strange obstacles like putting your hooves into a kiddie pool filled with little balls, or a mattress wrapped in a tarp
• Make sure your horse stands still while getting on after a ground tie for the best marks
• Double check your tack before you ride - the hackamore or bit might not be allowed
• Find a nice cowgirl/cowboy to show you how to rope!

Watch our video of our races!

After the show I got cleaned up and enjoyed my friend's wedding - congratulations Allison and Keith! It was an amazingly beautiful wedding. 

Monday was an exciting day because Esther Johnson and I figured out a routine for Kahleesi for when we show in Kentucky (We are also luckily sponsored by Equine Choice products and Cavallo hoof boots!). I am looking forward to Kentucky, it's going to be here before I know it!

The Path to Kentucky Starts with New York

I was super excited heading into this past weekend – my first ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association - https://www.actha.us/) competition. This is the same type of competition being offered in Kentucky when we travel down in October for the Thoroughbred Makeover Competition – which is what I am planning to show Cupid & Kahleesi in.

The Planning

This all started with a long weekend trip to our family cabin in New York – a typical venture for James & I over the Civic long weekend. It became slightly more complicated when we realized that not all our Corgi puppies would be picked up by their owners yet, so two of them would be coming with us to New York along with our 3 dogs.

Then I was doing some reading about the trail competition that will be part of the Thoroughbred Makeover Contest – I have been preparing with Extreme Cowboy and Mountain Trail Clinics because we don't have ACTHA events here. Then I realized there was one in New York the same weekend we would be down there. I googled the address and it was only about 2.5hrs away from our cabin.

I okayed the idea with James, booked the appointment with the vet for the horse’s paperwork and then signed myself up for the competition. Then we confirmed our farm sitter and helpers (thank you so much!) and made the rest of our plans.

I didn’t stop there… days before we were set to leave, I found this adorable fluffy Corgi female that was available in Illinois. We’ve been looking for a fluffy female for a very long time, so I okayed the idea with James and put a deposit. The plan included a side trip for me to drive to Illinois for the puppy.

The Trip

We packed everything up Friday – our things and the things for the 2 horses, 3 dogs, and 2 puppies. We strolled into the Cracker Box Palace at around 10pm. I put Cupid & Kahleesi into a round pen with food and water, we let the dogs have a potty break, and slept in our trailer for the night. It’s so nice to have a trailer with a bed!

The Show

The Obstacle Class

I was so excited I woke up extra early. The first part of the show was the obstacle course in the outdoor ring. It looked very similar to obstacles we’ve had at the NHA horse shows – a tarp, pool noodle standard, a low bridge, mail box, and a few very similar things to what we’ve been practicing. 

The biggest difference with this type of competition was we had to stop and wait for the judge to be ready at each obstacle – also the idea was to keep the same pace for the course/obstacle. So when I trotted the pole/barrel pivot obstacle I actually lost marks because I changed my cadence.

I loved how it was similar to the NHA shows – a focus on calm horsemanship and riding the obstacles on a loose rein. People were English or Western just like at the NHA shows and I met a couple Parelli people there who were working on their Level 3!

There were 7 competitors at different levels, and I was the only person in my level (Pleasure Competitive), so I decided to bump up to the hardest level (Open) so that we wouldn’t be competing against ourselves.

We got to do the course twice – the second time was the ‘gamblers choice’ because if you chose to do the second round it would replace your first score… so you had to decide if you would do better the first or second time.

I did the course the second time with both horses because despite the obstacles being similar to home my horses hesitated at a few of them and I thought we’d do better the second time.

  

One of the obstacles was a real chicken we had to side pass to the chicken and then away from the chicken! Good thing we have lots of them roaming free on the farm at home!

We placed 2^nd and 3^rd in this class – 1^st place went to an awesome cowboy with a beautiful relationship with his horse. He told me they’d been doing these competitions for years and they definitely looked the part!

Tip for success: before you compete remember to read all the rules and ask the judge any questions before your pattern – make sure you know what you will gain points or lose points for

The Obstacle Trail Ride

This was the most fun competition ever!! There were 13 competitors on the ride and we left in groups of 3 or 4. My group was the first to go in a group of 3. I led my group onto the trail for the first mile. There were 6 obstacles on the trail. Each obstacle was a mile apart.

The obstacles we did at each mile were:

1.      A labyrinth of poles – we have to navigate through the poles, zigzagging our way through without hitting the poles.

2.      A natural water crossing of about 60ft long with a steep bank on the opposite site.

3.      Backing through an L shape of poles.

4.      Taking a camera off of a stand and taking a selfie with a goat

5.      Riding through fake vines and halting right after them

6.      Riding around a scary pool noodle and balloon obstacle

I rode the course with Cupid and when we reached the water crossing he looked around and hesitated. I took a deep breath with him and then asked him to try - he walked right across and I was so proud.

The horse behind me was having trouble with the water so the judge told us to ride on ahead to the next obstacle without my group. This was my first solo trail ride ever with Cupid (I actually never ride solo on trail rides because its always safer in a group). I gave Cupid the cue and he marched on.

What an incredible high I was on – it was so rewarding for my horse to trust me and go. We rode walk, trot, and canter on a relaxed rein through the forest, apple orchards, peach fields (or is it a peach orchard?), open fields and across the road. It was amazing… knowing that all the time and effort I put into training my horse from the ground up… putting the right amount of love, language, and leadership in so that we could get to this moment and succeed. It felt amazing.

After I got back with Cupid I went out with Kahleesi to ride the trail course au concours. I had the same incredible experience of my trusting equine partner to carry me through the trail completely solo for the first time. It was so exciting and rewarding. She was super awesome with the obstacles and the scariest part of our ride was the mud which she figured out confidently by the end of the ride.

Cupid was super awesome and aced all the obstacles finishing with 1^st place in our level…. But it was only us in our level. I was still super proud because we did everything really well and at the more advanced level.

The Big Surprise

The best part of the competition was at the end when they were awarding the Judge’s Pick. This is where you actually get a hoof pick and it’s to represent the judge’s pick. The judge gets to pick their favourite horse & rider team that represents a great partnership. Cupid and I were chosen.

I was super thrilled that our partnership that we have been working so hard on was showing through to people who had never met us before. 

It was a fantastic experience and now I know what we have to work on for Kentucky, but also what we are doing well and that we are on the right track. 

Tip for Success: When you make a goal for yourself (and your horse), try making a plan to help you succeed. In your plan include when you are going to practice, what skills you need to accomplish and the steps needed to get there. Then you can budget your time wisely and work towards your goal. 

Whatever your goal, make a plan, write it down, and check off the steps along the way to measure your progress.

Tip for Success: Goals can be as simple as learning to master walk to halt transitions, or as complex as planning to compete at the Kentucky Makeover Competition.Pick a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and has a time line.  

Tip for Success: Remember that horses need Love, Language and Leadership to be trusting willing partners. Too much love without leadership will lead to a fearful horse that doesn't believe in you, too little appropriate language will lead to a confused horse, and no love will create a sour horse. The perfect combination creates the perfect partner. 

At the Cabin

After the show we went to our cabin in New York and settled in for the night just at dark. The next morning we woke up and went for a quick hour trail ride before I headed off to pick up our new fluffy puppy from Illinois while James took care of all the animals. 

Picking up Puppy

What an incredible drive - just over 1100km. After I got back I realized the GPS was set to no toll roads... so I probably didn't need to drive through Kentucky lol, but one look on our new little fluffy face and I knew it was worth the drive!

I stayed the night in Indiana at a hotel with puppy (now named Eevee) and headed back the next morning. The drive seemed faster on the way home. I got back around 7pm and we headed out for another trail ride.

Check out this hilarious video of when we introduced our new puppy to the other ones: https://youtu.be/pk7469ReOkc

Finally a Day of No Long Driving

On Tuesday we decided to call our bosses to ask for one more day of vacation - luckily they were okay with that. This meant I could have one day without any long driving trips... the only driving I did was into town for food. We were able to relax and do a lot of trail riding, playing with the dogs and a swim in the pond. 

We took turns riding Cupid and Kahleesi and explored some trails - there are thousands and thousands of acres of trails in the mountains at our cabin so we had lots of fun exploring :)

Heading Home

On our last day we went for another quick trail and then packed up the gang... which took a bit longer than I thought - I guess 3 puppies, 3 dogs, and 2 horses come with a lot of things! We headed home around noonish and didn't have trouble at the border... but we did hit Toronto traffic so we decided to stop at Pet Smart and got Eevee a new dog tag. Then made it back by 9ish. It feels nice to be home but it sure was a fun long weekend!!

Some Fun for You

If you're interested in trying out obstacles for yourself, be sure to come to our Saturday August 29th NHA Horse Agility and Obstacle show - there will be A LOT of obstacles (and some new ones!) - learn more here http://nhassociation.ca/horseagility.html

We also have our PHH schooling show that has some obstacle classes as well as hunter, jumper and western speed events classes . Learn more about the PHH show here http://partridgehorsehill.com/HorseShowClinic.html 

Video

Watch some fun from the weekend

https://youtu.be/ei1pUMBWYX4