TAKING A LOAD OFF

Sometimes you see something that really matters...  It could be a life moment where you think, "Wow, I could be like that!"   It might be the life changer that makes you a better person and achieve what was meant to be.   Most of the time I see Upper Level Eventers almost fall and miraculously, determinedly, recover gracefully and I think, "MUST DO MORE SIT UPS!!!!"

Yesterday, after a fun Hunter Pace with the NBG and the Donkey, I hurried to put away Sugar, my tack and clean the trailer (notice I did not say clean my tack).  It was going to be a rush event, I had more things to do and places to go before sunset.  The urgency of completion and accomplishments owned my serenity.  Must get things done!


Nothin' bettah than a girl with her hoss!
('nother pinto pony, not Sug)

There on the hill, sitting comfortably in a chair with horse grazing nearby was the image of cool relaxation with just a hint of horse bonding.  It said...  "Come here... take a load off your mind...  enjoy the beauty of the day, the coolness of early fall and sit a spell... watch magic and dreams unfold at the City Barn... rest and be still..."

Life for the "workaholic" is always on the go.  And, stuff left undone just stimulates the lust for more time...  I went home determined to finish what was still to be done.  That image haunted me.  You see, Sugar was turned out in her paddock still a bit dirty from the Hunter Pace, Da Boys were growled at for their misbehavior earlier on and I was grumpy, tired and as dirty as Ms Sugar, but there was much more to be done.

That image haunted me...  What if?  What if I went home, showered, took a nap and made a nice dinner for myself?  Would the undone find it's way to harass me?  What if...  zzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

And Sugar was greeted at 8:30 that evening with Da Boys in tow.  She received a spa grooming, her evening treats and a good bit of cheer.  The tack is still dirty, the dishes undone and maybe the first section of the First Piece will not be clear cutted in time for the first hunt.  But, I ended my day smiling and cuddling with Da Boys...

Sometimes, you have to take the message...  "Rest and be still!"

WINNING WITH 85.77%

UNH Dressage 2012 - Photo used with permission
www.yokinaphoto.com

For the dressage enthusiast, this title says it all...  there was brilliance in movement, a suppleness that is liquid gold, a test with Rolex accuracy and the beauty of elegance and power.  It is a score that most dream about and few achieve.     And, you ask?  Did you achieve such a score?  Was there something about your day at Town Hill Horse Trials that radiated brilliance, beauty, elegance, and power?




Why yes we did have all of that but not necessarily exactly where you would expect to see it.  Yet, if I recall, the bar was set at low... COMPLETE!  Eventing Rule # 1 - Leave together and come back together!   No matter what, I was to cross that finish line...  And, I did!  I DID!

Our Dressage was nice - certainly not 85.77 quality but a 32 - one of our best!  Sugar was still my perky lil' pinto pony in the warm up with a few airs-above-the-ground as the Training Level XC course lay before her and excited her lil' engine.  She was obedient, supple but overall "needed more energy".  Personally, I have seen "more energy" and was happy with obedient and well, present.

For the next hour, I pondered thoroughly all the whys I put myself through this agony as I waited for the jumping phases.  I would share a few but really couldn't come up one reason.  So I flipped/flopped between quitting all together to how I could cleverly phrase withdrawing again without feeling humiliated.  Thank god, my Bestest Evening Buddy was taming the wild youngun' out on the Novice track or she might have had to put me out of my misery.

Wheatogue Stables - an Equi-Spa of immense proportions

There is nothing worse than that long walk to Stadium Jumping... alone, filled with nerves, the pressure to be perfect and the unrelenting fear of failure and embarrassment.  I so wanted a coach, a groom or any familiar face to remind me that this is fun and that I have the ability to do it!

A wise woman once told me that there is goodness and surprise everywhere if you look for it.  Angels and gifts come in all kinds of places.  These two, for me, were stabled with us in the most luxurious barn the night before and parked right next to the warm up ring.  Last night it was, "Is that Sugar?"   "Yes", I said.  "I read your Blog" was her reply.  Today, it was "Have fun!  You'll do fine!  Remember, you were ready for the move-up to Training!  This is easy for you both!"  

{{{{Special note to you both...  THANKS!  I needed that more than you can know!}}}} 

Sugar, in the jumping phases, seemed to be a bit shocked at finding herself in a maze of colorful poles, flowers and boxes as I guided her back to trailer parking.  It was as if it were her first time out.  We had a rail in SJ over a course of encouragement with a tad of "I think you can" struggle.  I believe we were fifth at this point.

Back of the Water Complex
First Course Walk needed a map

Town Hill's Cross Country course is a combination of busy-ness and long gallops.  The jumps are beautiful with some but not garish decoration.  The footing was perfect and the day gorgeous.  Sugar was filled with OTTB excitement.

I chose to embody the inner Calder...  an intensity in achieving the goal, the quietness of body, sheer grit and determination... reins in one hand and a dangling but prepared stick in the other... no anger just guts.  I would complete.

XC was not Sugar's best... She appeared "surprised" that anyone would think to put small houses, hay bales and other such obstacles in a well mowed path through hay fields... And at each such obstacle I had to firmly ask her to greet them with a happy little jumping effort.... What joy!

Now, when you have 14 obstacles to clear and two of them were... um...  not immediately jumped...  the percentage of completion is actually a GREAT dressage score - 85.77%.  You see, at two jumps... the dreaded hay bales and the second house jump which was similar to the first house jump, the same to the third house jump and surprisingly similar to the house jump we warmed up over 3 times in the warm up ring, I was a bit slow on my encouragement.

Despite two ginormous spooks, I never stopped riding.  We crossed over the finish line immediately after a spook at the last Training fence.  I completed and could not have been happier.  Not our best performance by far but the best in over a year.  We did finish above two horses named Elimination, one named Retired and another cutely called Withdraw.   

So the bar is raised again. Next event, I want to complete and make it back to the trailers without falling off.  {{{SIGH}}}

Would prefer that my butt be in the
saddle as you watch the white buttocks
galloping away

Here's a Public Service Announcement...

Always wear your helmet and no matter how cool you look riding your pinto pony on the buckle... A big spook, dropped hips and a scoot will put all that coolness to bed as you find yourself toppling over her "how-do-you-get-her-white" buttocks landing HARD on your left hip and hitting your well helmeted head on the ground!

Sugar looked brilliant as I watched her ample white bottom gallop away.  Her capturers could not stop telling me how beautiful she looked as she galloped towards them mane and tail flying in the wind as my reins and stirrups flapped freely beside her - the brown enhancing the "how-do-you-get-her-so-white" body...

Like I said... an 85.77 is guaranteed to give you brilliance, beauty, elegance and power.  Next time I will be on her...  just sayin'!

Still happy and grateful!

COMPETE TO COMPLETE

Just once, only once...  I kind of hope that when I jokingly tell my family that I'm going on a date, no one seems surprised.  It should be the kind of announcement that is taken in stride, greeted with a yawn or perhaps, a mere nod of the head as the conversation continues on.  That would be nice...  

Not surprised, at all!

Instead, heads snap to attention, bodies lean forward and I can hear the sharp intake of breath...  {{{Here it comes!}}}  YOU'VE GOT A DATE!!!  Their eagerness and desperation does not match mine... at all.  But, alas this blog is not about THAT!

At the City Barn, horse girls will yap.  And, as the weekend approaches, the talk turns to who is doing what, and where... I say to my Barn Peeps...  This weekend we're going to Town Hill Horse Trials...  just Beginner Novice.  You know, we're just going to get out there and do it.  My only goal is to complete.

"Complete?", said Newbie, "Complete?  Shouldn't your only goal be to come home safely?  Completing is an aggressive goal!"

{{{{Really?  Thanks for the vote of confidence}}}}  Remember, I did come home safely from UNH in May...  that counts, right?   {{{SIGH}}}

"That's a good goal!  You go girlfriend!" said Bestie CB Buddy, "Completing would be a big accomplishment and I know you can do it!  Ribbons are over rated, you should be happy to complete!"

{{{{Ah, come on...  really?  Can't you just say, I know you can do it and win too...  SIGH}}}}

And my Bestest Eventing Buddy, "Right, no pressure...  Git er done!  And then worry about a ribbon..."

{{{Ok, not really a vote of confidence but no surprise...}}}

Back when I was feeling the grrrrr!

It is my goal.  And as odd as it sounds (and in the true sense of confession), no one knows us at Town Hill.  It shouldn't matter if they do but in some ways, I feel no pressure to perform.  I can just be and hopefully that will be one kick-a** competitor with a horse on fire, eager to jump and carry me across the finish line.  

I want this one...  And, without the desperation of the dateless, I need this one!  And, I can feel it in my heart, I will have this one...  Let the cowgirl roar! 

And maybe, just maybe the next time I leave the start box, it will be to win...  just sayin'!  Maybe, huh?

   

NORMAN ROCKWELL LIVES!

6:30am Orchard Hill Equestrian Center...  All for me!

Handwalking a horse confined to stall rest can be a rewarding experience.  Your Beauty is thrilled for the attention and is immediately grateful for the release into the open world.  She nickers enthusiastically as you enter the barn and your loving pooches dance by your side.

It's 6:00 am, the air is cool and you can feel the Fall creeping in... the sun has barely risen above the hill and the dew lies thick and glistening on the ragweed flowers.  Life can not get better than this...  A cool family walk out on the cross country course of your favorite City Barn....   Ahhh.... the perfect family moment... captured completely and totally in my imagination.

My dad was an awesome guy.  If you ever asked me to summarize his persona, I would tell you he was a Yellow Lab...  Happy, exhuberant, thrilled when people came over - the more the merrier and a very hard worker.  He believed in dreams and in the ultimate perfect story.   He taught me well!

Autumn creeps in...

And one of his dreams was having the perfect, family moment - the Family Tradition.  God, how he tried to orchestrate the Norman Rockwell Christmas.  Remember that family sitting around the table, fresh faces and smiling, the turkey beautifully cooked and everyone was full of family bliss?  That was his dream...

Well, we were eight, rambunctious kids with parents who worked odd uncoordinated hours assuring that that one of them was home with us at all times.  So, shift work killed the "traditions".  For how could you wake up every Christmas to a wonderfully cooked breakfast when schedules would change and a parent went missing?  What actually became a tradition was the lack of tradition and the attempts to make magic happen

My morning's "Perfect Family Moment" was as messy as our "traditional" Christmas...  Da Boy's ran wild and Mr Floppy refused to come when called and Sugar was most ungrateful as she displayed amazing athleticism in her attempts to return to the barn.  The cover of my serenity was blown as I spoke harshly to the dancing white horse, yelled at the matching hound and expressed a bit of salty language towards the Convict thus preventing his attempt to eat a boarder's coveted treats.

My Pop

Then it occured to me... that  one of my Pop's gifts is my own search for Norman Rockwell... that perfect moment, the dream come true...  rainbows and unicorns...

The perfect moment is often unexpected but the search for that moment really does bring rainbows and unicorns...  And, this morning in all it's glorious beauty and messiness really was that perfect...  It brought the memory of my dad back to me and that is good. 

Ironically, the last Christmas we had together was the Norman Rockwell Christmas of his dreams... All of us kids and his grandchildren stopped by Christmas Eve and laughed and loved like no other orchestrated moment.   God is good...

ABBY NORMAL...

Yada, yada, yada...  I've heard it all by now and don't know if I can continue to listen...  So, you hit a tree, got hurt, spent a bunch of months in pain, then got better, then horse fell on you while hunting, then you got really freaked out in kind of a PTSD way, then you sought help from some experts, went way back to cross rails, then got a bit better, then even more better... so much better that you competed and was winning til your pony spooked at a crappy little jump and you fell off, then you scratched your next event 'cause you knew you couldn't get it done and then everyone and their mother told you to sell your horse and get something easier... until you couldn't take it any more.

Beauty is everywhere (even if that's a stain on her neck)

Hey, that's my story and I believe that's my judgemental/impatient brain that's yada, yada, yada-ing itself.  Wait, isn't the story interesting anymore?  What?  You mean we're over it?  Are you saying we're normal again?

Well?  Let's just say I'm back to being totally and completely Abby Normal.  Truth be told, I was never a Take-no-prisoners and Let-me-at-um kind of Eventer.  I am the...  I-love-this-sport-and-when-I-leave-the-start-box-something-kicks-in-and-I-breathe-fire kind of Eventer.

I'm entered at Town Hill Horse Trials on Sept 2... just Beginner Novice.  My ego has healed and although my dreams/goals haven't changed, my trainer(s) finally made sense... "Drop the calendar and just ride!" 

Da Boys!

I have but one goal for Town Hill and that is to complete.  Four years ago, with Dressage Buddy in tow, I competed there without a trainer.  Sugar was spooking and spinning at scary stuff with me and winning with Eventing Trainer.  I didn't care... It was an adventure and I was game.  We ended that weekend with two stops on XC - one a spook and the other rider error.  We completed and that was enough.  

Completing will be enough and if I really want to spice it up...  I will have fun!  Just sayin'

There is much to be grateful for...  A galloping romp with the Pink Pony and her person, two amazing and fulfilling dressage lessons with the fabulous Niall Quirk (who thinks Sugar is pretty special in the unique talented way) and one incredible jumping lesson with the Eventing Trainer.  It was a week of friends - new and old...  even met one of the best horse bloggers out there...  

I may have judged others in my Lucky Lucky You! post, but for the record...  I consider myself most fortunate that I can enjoy all these wonders even if the path was painful sometimes.  I guess, the pleasures are just that much more intense because of it...  I am grateful for it all!     

I may not be particularly brave... but I do like to think of myself as "special", if you know what I mean...

ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES EVAH!

DRUG RESISTANT!!!

Rocking and Rolling SBS 2010
Photo by www.dexterpix.com

Just say no!  Simple as that!  Drugs are for the weak...  for the sick...  and, in my family... you had to be really sick...  like, diagnostic tests proving that your chills, aches and pains were worthy of the ever so costly prescription drugs - kind of sick.  In a family of 8 kids, everything was a competition even who could endure the most pain or discomfort before succumbing to medication.


One day as I was hacking, coughing and sneezing, a wise woman tapped me on my shoulder and asked, "WHAT PART OF BEING MISERABLE DO YOU LIKE?"  After I wiped my nose, cleared my throat and caught my breath, I realized she was right!  What was holding me back from relief?  Was it some odd sense that I was stronger than those that knew the benefits of Advil Cold and Sinus medication?  And, I gave in...  My coworkers were most grateful...

Sugar has been on Depo for 7 weeks now and there is much rejoicing!  She is still my diva mare who, for example,  when disturbed by bugs will wreak havoc on her body as she tears up the paddock footing.  She still spooks at the same log she's walked by 100 times.  What's changed is the level of hysterical behavior surrounding the disturbance.  She seems "normal", no longer escalating from exuberance to chaos in 45 seconds.   And, that feels strangely odd...

And, her NON-hissy-fit-I-can't-take-it-anymore behavior is soothing, dare I say "Confidence Building"?  There is something about a horse that can walk into a familiar place (or a strange place) and just go to work that makes me say...  "Let's do this thing!"

Photo by www.dexterpix.com

"But Suzanne," you say, "If this Depo is so amazing, why didn't you do this way back when?"  Ahhh, we tried Regumate back in 2009 and it was a radical failure.  Instead of quieting her marishness, it threw her into full blown agitation...  You could not remove a horse from the barn without her going into a rather amazing display of loneliness, desire and absolute abandonment.  The vet said that it is a rare side affect of Regumate in that it enhances a mare's mothering instinct...  Well, that was an expensive experiment gone awry!

How confident do I feel?  Um, I am actually craving competition...  a horse trial ... an event!  I am looking for opportunities to jump.  And, when the Bestest Eventing Buddy said, during our Jump School Play Date, that I must jump the boxes.  I did,  with barely a whine....  And, we laughed liked hyenas at my inability to breath, ride and count strides...

Take that!  Drug resistant no more!

STALKING THE FOX

Chatting with "other" women..

Shhhh...  if you see Boyd Martin out and about, please tell him that uh, those girls at Millbrook Horse Trials are harmless.  I mean they ARE kind of enthusiastic, a bit boisterous and somewhat tenacious but safe in that ...  "we love you and think you're a hunky horse guy and well, you did just fly back from the Olympic Games and well, you're accent is absolutely fabulous but would never LOVE you too much in the Fatal Attraction/Misery... kind of way". 

Maybe it was the story of the fire and Neville's rescue at True Prospect Farm.  Or perhaps it was watching the 2012 Olympics just a few days before or maybe it was his blue eyes, wicked grin and fabulous accent.  This was their first trip to an Advanced Horse Trial and the last remaining one in Area 1 and they were on a quest. 

Ok, for those of you living in Area 2 and/or winter down in Area 3...  you're saying to yourself...  "What's the big deal?  Heck, I routinely (and by accident) cut off Olympians past and present in the warm up all the time.  So?  You saw Boyd Martin, took some pics with Philip Dutton and the Davidson's - Bruce and Bucky... whatevah!


Oh my!  Size does matter!



You see, us Noreasters, we don't get many celebrities riding our way.  We do have our local stars - Denny Emerson, Mark Weisbecker, Bobby Costello to name a few and I'm sure there are many of our folks whose stories haven't been told in a long time.  Way back when, we actually grew these stars and even pony clubbed with a few. 

Area 1 has one remaining Advanced Horse Trial...  Millbrook Horse Trials built it and gosh darn it...  THEY CAME.   What really amazed me is not only did we see the stars but the soon-to-be-stars came with them.  Shucks, we may have even seen the birth of some 2020 Olympian that weekend.

Ok, my two foxhunting peeps hunted Boyd with abandon. For the sake of anonomity, I won't post any of the 114 pictures we collected... Boyd talking, riding, turning around, laughing, riding, jumping, walking chatting etc...  nor will I be able to post the many great pics of PDutty smiling, of Bucky's bright whites or of Bruce scurring away from the odd papparazzi we became.  I will tell you that as we moved about the course, it always seemed to be in his direct line of sight...  hmmm who was stalking whom?  

Chandler cleaning the jump of pooh

The best Boyd moment was at the finish of his last ride.  We were sitting at Fence 17 and my peeps went to the fence to catch him jumping the last fence 100 yards away.  He finished with a settling gallop directly in front of them...  looked up and gave a big laugh, a wave and a quick hello.  {{{Seriously, I think he locked his door that night with ever lock possible.) 

My trainer asked me if I wanted to get a picture with him...  "Nah...  I'm going to wait until I'm next year when we're both waiting for the victory gallop...  then I'll turn to him and get him to sign my blue ribbon."  {{{just sayin a girl's gotta have a dream!}}}

h