Classic Eventing Nation

We receive wonderful stories and photos in the Eventing Nation inbox each week. This week’s roundup features snapshots from NAJYRC, a video of a 9-year-old girl enjoying her first cross-country school, photos from Roebke’s Run and an idyllic place called Dennyville. Have a photo you’d like to submit to EN? Send it to [email protected].

Marissa Ashton at NAJYRC

From Mikki Kuchta: “Area I CCI* eventing competitors Marissa Ashton and Isabella Carrara both rode the bull Tuesday night at the opening party at NAJYRC. They have teamed up with Area IV for the team competition.”

Isabelle Carrara

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From Laura Rencher: “This is my 9-year-old daughter, Isabelle Smith, on her first cross-country schooling with her trainer, Candee Niss, at Poplar Place. I think her delight describes how much fun cross country is! She showed successfully in her first three phase the next day at Poplar Place. Be sure to turn the volume up for best viewing!”

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Photo by Derith Vogt, D&G Photography

From Pat Schmidt: “It takes a lot of talented and hardworking people to put on a successful horse trial. A few of the riders and volunteers pictured here received Roebke’s Run caps and made up that contingent during the Roebke’s Run summer horse trials held in Hector, Minn. A total of 153 riders competed in the two-day event held July 13 and 14. Roebke’s Run will be hosting its first FEI One Star trials the first week in October on its newly designed cross-country course.”

Photo by Derith Vogt, D&G Photography

“At the conclusion of the summer horse trials held at Roebke’s Run on Sunday, July 14, winners of the MSHEA in their respective divisions were awarded medals/ribbons. They include, from left, Annika Markovich, Emily Shirley, Gabi Geraci, Paradis Vandeputte, Mia Geraci, Gen Faith, Catharina Ardankani, Olivia Shirley, Sam Kelly, Tessa Doubek and Shannon Schlee.”

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From Steve Joyce: “On the way to ‘Dennyville’ … where all riders have an independent seat, know their mounts pedigree and muck 20 stalls a day! (Apologies to those above average folks from Lake Wobegon.)”

After the lunch break, an intense storm rolled in over downtown Lexington.  Thankfully, it managed to stay south of the Horse Park.  I was only able to catch the afternoon rides, but that included the day’s leader, Lauren Clark and Yosche Bosche who used their beautiful canter work to earn a top score of 47.7.  Yosche Bosche is a classic event-type horse, very racy and athletic-looking.  They should be fun to watch on cross-country.

Another standout test for the day was  Nicole Doolittle and Tops, currently in second.  The pair had a flashy test with good impulsion to score a 48.1 for Area III.

Area V currently leads in the team standings.  [Scores]

Tamie Smith sent in this lovely tribute piece to her working student Ashlynn Meuchel, who is competing in her first NAJYRC this week at the Kentucky Horse Park. Ashlynn believed in her horse Tyson when no one else did, and now they are representing their area on the biggest stage in America. Best of luck to Ashlynn and Tyson!

Ashlynn and Tyson at Herron Park. Photo by Hope Carlin.

From Tamie:

Boy how time flies! It seems like yesterday that I was nervous and unable to sleep wondering if I would make my area’s Young Rider team, and now I’m headed off to Kentucky to coach Ashlynn Meuchel from Area VII at her first NAYRC. It’s such a great time in life watching and mentoring these kids. For some, this might be their career highlight, and for others, just a stepping stone of riding accomplishments. It is the start to having our youth “think” and “dream” big!

I met Ashlynn a few years ago when she and her father drove down from Washington State determined to find the next “superstar” for her to pursue her upper-level riding career. They rode several horses at different farms in the area but would decide on the purchase of a talented and quirky Irish horse by the name of Morning Star, or “Tyson.” I was a bit skeptical of the partnership, as Tyson had a shady past — one that some would easily compare to the fighter Mike Tyson, and we cautiously joked about this several times. A common criminal with a lot of talent. But something happened between a girl and her horse.

Tyson hadn’t quite found what made him happy before he met Ashlynn. In fact, his current owner and I conferred that a lengthy trial period to determine if the horse was suitable was required. Several wonderful riders would see the talent he exuded; however, his personality would just deter them from pursuing a career with him — until Ashlynn. I would describe Ashlynn as a mellow, witty, intelligent girl who has a very natural gift of riding — a bit of a tomboy, but a “girl” when you get to know her. She loves her family, her friends and animals, and is strong minded. Secretly she is stubborn, which makes her a fierce competitor, and she will be able to pursue whatever her heart desires. Whatever Ashlynn decides to do, she will be great at it.

Ashlynn has reluctantly been separated from her family at age 18 to become a working student for me the last five months in preparation for the biggest competition of her life — North American Young Rider Championships! She has ridden several horses a day, worked endless hours and all with a smile; whether it was fabricated or real, she was taught well by her parents to grin and bare it. Having multiple lessons a day and riding hours without stirrups, Ashlynn rarely complained even when she was at her all time low of home sick.

She learned to be more attentive about turning out horses, the care and first aid that is required on a farm of 30-plus horses and to treat ever horse as if it were her own. She learned how to get her horse fit for a three day; to successfully compete at the intermediate level; and improve on her seat and technique in dressage, cross country and show jumping. From saddle fitting, when to ice, building a nutritional program to treating scratches, Ashlynn will take home with her an experience that has helped shape her riding career.

I’m not certain if the sweet marshmallow (Tyson) will show up to Young Riders and cooperate with Ashlynn’s desires. He just might be the gangster we’ve seen him be in the past; but what I do know is Ashlynn deserves a huge congratulations for preparing herself and her horse to the best of her ability. She took a tough horse and learned to ride him. She has sacrificed being away from home and missing some of her senior year activities to commit herself to her championship. It’s a rare trait to find in our youth these days the commitment and dedication it takes to be the best, and I just wanted to share with the rest of the world that there are riders out there who still have that “true grit” — as Denny Emerson would say — and dedication it takes to compete and be great.

So whatever the outcome of Ashlynn’s first North American Young Rider Championships, she has prepared the best she can. She’s a fierce competitor, and now it’s all up to the criminal or the marshmallow and that thing called luck to how it all turns out. Regardless, Ashlynn has already won in my eyes!

I actually managed to stump most of you know-it-alls with my first clue this month, but you were all hot on my trail as soon as I posted the second clue. In all, 87 of you correctly guessed the Piper Knee Patch Breeches by SmartPak as this month’s SmartPak Mystery Product. I used random.org to determine the winner, and Kerstin Dickerson is the lucky winner of the breeches!

The Piper Knee Patch Breeches from SmartPak are too fun to buy just one! In addition to durable materials and fantastic fit, the Piper Knee Patch Breeches by SmartPak come in a variety of fun colors with all the fashionable details you’vebeen looking for in a pair of schooling breeches.

• Comfortable, soft and flattering fabric mix (63% polyester, 32% viscose, 5% spandex) performs well in the saddle and has great long term shape retention
• Contoured 2″ wide waistband helps eliminate gapping
• Stylish low rise cut gives you the modern look you crave
• Ergonomic shaped panel at the calf eliminates bulky velcro and annoying seams for a streamlined fit
• Stretch synthetic knee patch fabric offers fantastic grip and great durability
• Contrast stitching and pocket trim on front pockets add some fun flair to your riding ensemble
• Fashionable Euro seat and front zip

It’s time once again to play SmartPak Mystery Product, the monthly feature here on EN that sends you on a scavenger hunt through the SmartPak website. SmartPak has generously donated a variety of fantastic prizes that one EN reader will be lucky enough to take home each month. Here’s how SmartPak Mystery Product works: Keep checking back on this post throughout the week — we’ll bump it up each day — for additional clues that will lead you closer to guessing the product. Once you think you’ve discovered the SmartPak Mystery Product, email [email protected] with a link to the product. Everyone who correctly guesses the SmartPak Mystery Product will be entered to win it, and we’ll randomly draw a winner on Thursday morning. Only one guess per day, please!

Let’s play SmartPak Mystery Product! Here are your clues:

Clue #1: This product is perfect to wear whether you’re in the saddle or mucking stalls. Click here to search the SmartPak website.

Clue #2: This product has great shape retention and stylish contrast piping. Click here to search the SmartPak website.

Clue #3: This product comes in four colors and features a fashionable Euro seat. Click here to search the SmartPak website.

Think you’ve guessed the SmartPak Mystery Product? Email [email protected] with a link to the product. Still stumped? Check back tomorrow morning for the next clue.

Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime. Photo by Conklin Photography.

Last week we met Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime, an 8-year-old off-track Thoroughbred she campaigned from beginner novice through the CIC2* level in less than two years. While AP has soared through the levels, Leah is now taking a step back at the two-star level to address his dressage and show jumping. Like many off-track Thoroughbreds, AP struggles with remaining relaxed and fluid throughout his dressage tests, and Leah hopes to rebuild his muscle memory to help him handle those tense moments. “The flatwork has always been a little challenging,” Leah said. “He tries so hard that sometimes he gets a little bit tense and too inward. That’s been a struggle from the beginning. But it’s a matter of me becoming a sophisticated enough rider for him. He has the ability and the movement. In the beginning, getting him to relax over his topline and really use himself was always a challenge, and now it’s getting him to relax in the ring.”

Leah trains for dressage with Kathryn Barry, who in turn trains with Olympic bronze medalist Christine Traurig. Kathryn’s training philosophy and focus on helping AP stay relaxed has helped immensely, Leah said. “My weakness is keeping my horses supple enough, so at home I’m trying to be diligent about that,” Leah said. “Kathryn really stays on top of me about that and understands AP and how sensitive he is. It’s really a matter of being disciplined about what AP needs at home.” To give herself as many opportunities as possible to work on AP’s relaxation in the ring, Leah is hauling to schooling shows this summer to ride her two-star test hors concours in front of different judges. “We’ve been working on dressage all summer and getting him in a lot of different rings for practice,” Leah said. “The collection has come a long way even since this spring.”

Leah and AP Prime at Red Hills. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

While AP hasn’t had a cross-country jump penalty since Richland last year, the show jumping at the intermediate level continues to present challenges, and they’re struggling to leave all the poles in the cups. But, as with the dressage, Leah knows exactly what she needs to do to keep fine-tuning their show jumping as a team. “I’m always working on classical equitation and being correct in my jumping position,” Leah said. “If I do that, he’s brilliant. He jumps once a week or once every two weeks depending on our competition schedule. I’ll set up exercises to keep him tuned up and sharp, but the big thing with him is staying in really correct classical equitation. If I focus on that and just ride the gaits to the jump instead of trying to pick a distance, he’s so good.”

With her summer homework in mind, Leah is diligently preparing for Fair Hill. “Right now, I’m just really focused on fall,” Leah said. “He’ll do the two-star at Richland and one or two more horse trials, and then the Fair Hill CCI2*.” Leah hopes to move AP up to Advanced in January at Rocking Horse. Then she’ll tackle the CIC3* at Red Hills, hit a CCI at either Jersey Fresh or Bromont, and then aim for the Fair Hill CCI3* in the fall of 2014. “Rolex in 2015 would be amazing, but who knows,” Leah said. “That’s the perfect world plan. He definitely has the ability. It will just come down to soundness and everything working out. The goal is always to get to that level no matter when it happens and to be as competitive as possible when we do.”

Editor’s note: Leah wanted to give a shoutout to EN’s sponsors Omega Alpha and FLAIR Nasal Strips, as both of these companies help keep AP in top form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3SCKWmlLPQ
Leah and AP Prime going intermediate at Richland 

Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll meet Courtney Cooper and R Star, a 7-year-old homebred Irish Sport Horse mare owned by Courtney and Neal Camens, her husband. A half-brother to Courtney’s Who’s A Star, who was third in the Jersey Fresh CCI3* in May, this exciting mare was ready to move up to intermediate before having an unexpected surgery last winter. Courtney is now moving “Hope” back to that point, and they most recently won their preliminary division at the Horse Park of New Jersey last month. Hope is by the Dutch Warmblood stallion R. Johnson, whose sire G. Ramiro Z has produced many successful horses,  including show jumper Ratina Z, gold medalist in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. Thanks to Margaret Rizzo McKelvy for the tip!

Training horses has always been like a puzzle to me.  I have an image in my head of what I want the final product to look like, and I work at putting the pieces together to get there.  Unlike a real puzzle, sometimes that final image can change, but I am always working with the pieces.  Sometimes, the pieces even change shape.

The puzzle consists of more than just the actual training.  When horses come off the track, they tend to go through a phase of readjusting to their new lives.  Many are kept in stalls at the track for years, so they have no clue how to go outside and be a “real” horse.  They are exposed to elements, other horses, grass, bugs, etc.  Also, the diet of most racehorses is so vastly different from what we feed sporthorses.  Our farrier work is even different.  Health concerns play a huge role in the puzzle.  A trainer must figure out what works best for each horse and realize that sometimes things look worse before they get better.

Since Sexy has arrived here, I have made a lot of changes in her life.  It took her awhile before she would eat my feed, as I feed non-molasses based feeds from ADM Alliance Nutrition.  Everything I feed is very high fat, but it is not like eating the candy from the track, I am sure.  Between changing her feed and turning her out 24/7, Sexy did lose some weight.  Again, this is part of the puzzle.  I have had many off the track horses drop weight before they put it back on.  Every time, I have a bit of a panic attack that I am doing something wrong.  However, after a few months, they start to pick weight back up and look healthy and glowing. Their bodies just need time to go through the shock of such a big change in their lives.  Some horses deal with it better than others.

I am excited to announce that Omega Alpha supplements has joined Sexy’s team, and I am eager to see how all of their supplements help get Sexy back on track nutritionally.

Another piece to the puzzle has been skin care.  We have been having a rain forest wet summer.  The mud is abounding and all of the horses are suffering from rain rot.  Constant baths with anti-fungals are a daily chore.  Sexy has been a victim of this annoying problem.  This is another puzzle piece that looks worse before it looks better.  I must say, she is looking a bit sad right now, but I think we are on the road to getting everything cleared up.

When Sexy arrived here, she was a sweet, laid back girl with a bit of a herd bound problem.  She was low mare on the totem pole in the field.  Over the past few months, Sexy has changed her attitude completely.  She was turned out in my back field with about 4 other mares.  She would come in to work and then go back out.  During this time, Sexy managed to completely take over the herd.  She is the smallest mare, but she turned into top dog.  My working students would joke that Sexy had become feral.

This was not a puzzle piece I had even planned to deal with!  Sexy has now been moved to a stall and is being turned out at night.  I was worried about her hurting herself or the other mares, as she really had found her mare ‘tude.  Also, I was concerned that her trainability would suffer.  Since moving to the barn, she has changed a lot.  She is back to her old, laid back self, and she is much less attached to the other horses.

Due to the excess of rain, I haven’t been able to do as much arena work with Sexy as I had hoped I would be doing by now.  However, she is getting more and more confident on her hacks, and she is understanding lunging in side reins more and more.  I did have a few days that I did some flatwork with her in the arena.  She was quite good.  On the last day in the arena, we did some trot poles and even a small crossrail, and she handled it all like a champ.

While some of the puzzle pieces have changed, I am confident that I am still on the right track to the final picture in my head.

Erin Critz is our recently-crowned winner of the 2013 EN Blogger Contest.  She is currently enjoying her cash and prizes on vacation in the Caribbean… no, actually, she’s busy cleaning chinchilla cages and bringing John another can of Mtn Dew with a Mickey Mouse curly straw.  In all seriousness, we are proud and very excited to have Erin as a member of the writing team and we look forward to the fun she will bring to the site.  

Patrick inspecting helmet cover installation to endure maximum fierce-factor.

Erin Critz is a former radio DJ, current IT professional and recovering Hunter/Jumper rider. Erin and her Morgan mare Akira Beijing compete in the Beginner Novice division on the West Coast. She aspires to tackle the N3D at Rebecca Farms in 2014 and finds writing 50-word bios challenging.

This past weekend, Stephanie and I jumped in my SUV and headed off to to the Bay Area. Jenny was riding with David O’Connor at Woodside and the rest of the Dragonfire crew was also headed that direction to slip in one last cross country school before Rebecca.

The plan started out simple – drop in at Woodside, say hi to my old friend John Robertson, and watch some of the session with David O’Connor. Watching others is often very helpful for me, so even just to squeeze in a few minutes was a great opportunity. There was also a tack-swap over at Stanford’s Red Barn that we’d heard about, so we figured we’d pop in and take a look around and maybe find some things we didn’t know we needed. Tack Swaps have recently become one of my obsessions. Who can say no to an Irish knit sheet for $20, or a new-to-you cross country vest for $75? I know I can’t – which is probably why I’m broke, but that’s another story for another time.

We arrived at Woodside in time to catch a little bit of the cross-country work. I got in some quality down-bank therapy watching folks work through a sunken road, then two strides to a skinny. David stressed that one of the goals is to get the horse to hunt for the fences and that schooling fences ought to be flagged as well, especially if they are skinnies. He also talked about jumping to the clear path being the better approach, because an optical illusion on the off side of a fence can often be the cause for a stop or an awkward fence. Stephanie and I watched a bit of the work at the water complex before the urge to shop over came us – either that or we were too overcome by the awesome and felt the need to depart before we dorked up the whole affair.

We headed over to Stanford’s Red Barn for the tack swap and were pleasantly surprised by the things we found. Normally tack swaps are very hit-or-miss. Occasionally you can find Very Nice Things and sometimes they’re a steal of a deal – a practically new triple stitched leather halter for $30, or a very gently used Herm Sprenger bit for $55. Very often the people with the Very Nice Things know exactly how nice those things are though, and in those cases you’re pretty much paying pretty close to retail which sort of takes the shine off of the experience.

There’s another kind of find at tack-swaps that I find even more exciting – the Under Appreciated Classic. The last tack swap I went to I managed to find two sets petal bell boots, in practically brand new condition, and a brand new set of Ulster boots. The folks selling them did not have the same appreciation I had for them and let me walk away with all four bell-boots for $4 and the Ulsters for $10. Being that I have a small cob-sized mare, this is really more like four bell-boots with enough spare petals to build a fifth one should I ever stumble upon a strap, and a set of pretty Ulster boots that I can admire.

My tack-swap obsession started with one of these finds – a pair of rust breeches by Harry Hall. Often I find myself daydreaming that I’ll find a magical trunk bursting with rust breeches at one of these tack swaps. It never happens, but on luckier trips I find a stray unloved pair that I take home and stuff in to my collection. One day when Marty McFly comes stumbling out of his Delorian I will bribe him with secrets from the future to bring me enough rust breeches to last a life time. That’s probably not a responsible use of access to a man with a time machine, but no one’s ever accused me of being responsible.

Predictably, there was no magical trunk full of rust breeches anywhere to be found – not even a single wayward pair. From what I understand Shaw’s donated a lot of items to the tack swap as it was a benefit for the Stanford Equestrian team so it was mostly Very Nice Things. Stephanie, who has the longest arms in the known universe, has been looking for a show coat with long enough sleeves since we were kids. She managed to find a brand new Pikeur coat for something like $60. I wasn’t quite as lucky, but I did manage to pick up something I had been coveting for a while. I scored a skull cap – new, in the box, all tags still on for dirt cheap, as well as a few helmet covers for a buck each – all in red and black.

I must confess that even if I didn’t find a single pair of rust breeches, I am stupidly excited about finally having a skull cap. After a vest, the skull cap really is the next piece of Eventer specific gear. Hunter Princesses and DQ’s wouldn’t be caught dead in something so peculiar, so you know when you see someone rocking one, odds are they’re an Eventer. It’s taken me a few years to get accustomed to the flipped up brim of a helmet cover, but there’s a certain appeal to it now and that appeal marks a transition in me. It is a bit like when you start to recognize a new place as “home” and think of the previous “home” as “the place where I grew up” or “the old place.” Eventing is home now and I’ve got the members only gear to prove it.

Go Team DF. Go Skull Caps and Shopping. Go Eventing.