Step One: Wear a neckstrap in warmup for Dressage. Photo by Carrie Meehan.
After experiencing a snow storm last week, an absurd ice storm this past week, and an earthquake Friday night that shook the entire house, Aiken has literally been ready for anything to happen this spring. Go ahead, laugh at us for trying to move south and avoid the cold weather, because it’s actually ridiculous. We are certainly getting our workouts in, lugging water buckets and tubs everywhere for days, and blundering around in the dark after 6pm to clean stalls without lights. I figured that if I could manage to stay sane through the fallen power lines, the frigid conditions and the power outages that I could definitely manage to get my giant dinosaur horse around his first Beginner Novice, right?
I know I’ve been quiet about Leo for quite some time now, as last time I updated you on his progress was in September, when I related that I was spending all fall piddling around with him. I probably could have hurried him and worked more in the arena on special skills like picking up the right lead on command, but instead I chose to take an alternate route with him and work on his general work ethic and his overall body strength and coordination through long hacks up mountains, over rivers and through the woods. It really helped his mind, and as an enormous horse, it was a long process to get him to understand all his body parts over varying terrain.
Step Two: give lots of pats for acceptable behavior. Photo by Carrie Meehan.
A few weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge and enter Leo in an event. I chose Paradise HT, and sent my entry in with some trepidation. The weather over the winter in Virginia was certainly not conducive to keeping the horses in work, and when it came down to it, Nyls got preferential treatment and when it was icy outside Leo time off. He came south after having about two or three weeks of irregular work that pretty much accomplished nothing. I had not cross country schooled him, and cantering jumps was not really a consistent thing that existed in his world. Sounds great, right?
Well, he has really loved his time down south, and has been training great. We cross country schooled a few times, and he seems to really love it! He is totally green to the fences, but willing as anything, and when in doubt just needs a few clucks to get over it. Granted, the fences barely come up to his knees, but he’s been very workmanlike and trying hard to learn everything that I throw at him.
Yesterday, he went to Paradise. Luckily, he has limited amounts of white on him, because as we haven’t had power in four days, and he definitely got a redneck bath with a wet towel and lots of scrubbing. Step one? Wear a neck strap into the dressage warm-up. No shame, you guys, no shame. He hasn’t been naughty in a long time, but you never know with a new environment, a little tension…anything is possible.
Step Three: look really intense while you jump tiny fences. Photo by Carrie Meehan.
We did, after all, experience a little bucking. I survived and earned a few admiring comments from various riders in the vicinity, who were impressed with my save. Leo was foiled in his attempt to make me stop asking for that pesky right lead, and had to immediately go back to work! He completed his dressage test in good style, although his marks aren’t what they will be because he was googly-eyed at everything around the arena and had two giraffe moments as well.
Cross country was next! I was a little ambivalent, as he’s never been out on a course before, and clearly was a little star struck with his environment. I decided early on that I would trot most of the fences (I know, I know) so that he would have a good confident round and his little brain would have time to contemplate all the environmental stimuli that go along with your first big competition. So, we cantered in between the fences, and trotted for a few strides before them! He was perfect! He spooked a little at a few jumps, but with a little encouragement and a few clucks, he popped right over everything. Ditches, banks up and down, water and a variety of tiny spooky jumps, he just hopped around. We had a few awkward moments, and even managed to have time penalties (how did I do that?!) but I had a huge grin crossing the finish line.
It’s not always about the height of the jump, or the difficulty of the movement. Leo’s problems in life are from a much more obscure place. He had a terrible work ethic when I got him, and his attitude was one of “NO WAY LADY!” more than “Ok, we can try that!”. For me, to have him try hard to behave under duress of confusion and excel over a bigger challenge than he’s ever faced was enough reward. Even if the fences come up to his knees, it’s the little things that make your heart sing at the end of the day.
