Lily McCabe is 11 years old from upstate New York. She started riding when she was 4. Sally Swift’s Centered Riding is the foundation of her earliest years. She is in North Chatham Pony Club in New York. Her debut season to eventing was the summer of 2011. Lily also competed at Dressage for Kids, Lendon Gray’s fantastic dressage show. She was 6th overall in the training level division. Her goals this season are to continue to gain experience on her priceless connemara pony, Tower Hill’s Michan. He’s safe, athletic and well educated, with a crazy mane to boot! She hopes to finish on her dressage score at each event entered. Wouldn’t we all!
My Move Up from Intro to Beginner Novice at Rocking Horse
by Lily McCabe
Preparation
Training with Marcia Kulak for a month was a great experience. My pony Michan was down with her for the month of December and we came down in January. By that time I arrived I was so eager to hop on his back and ride him for the first time in a month. My first ride felt like a different pony. That shows what a month in Marcia Kulak’s training can do for a horse, or pony! For three weeks I had been working hard but a week before the event at Rocking Horse Marcia had begun fine tuning the training for the horse show. That included course work and an occasional novice level fence, a fence in the shadows, too. The day before the horse show I worked on practicing my dressage test and doing cavalletti work. My mom, Susan Cipolla, watched me do my dressage test with Allen White. After I did my dressage test twice I walked out of the large arena that Marcia has at the barn. Allen gave me a pointer. Do not ride the corners in the twenty meter circle. He also gave me and Michan a compliment. My transitions were precise and judges liked to see that. I really listened when he gave me the pointer because he is a very good dressage rider.
Dressage
The day of dressage I was so nervous. I walked the cross country course and found it looked bigger than I had expected. When I got back to the trailer Marcia told me to get dressed in my show clothes because I was in my black riding pants and a T-shirt. While I was getting dressed I went over the dressage test in my mind, Beginner Novice Test A. When I got on Michan I got him on the bit and walked over to the warm up area. I was in ring 1 and the second person to go. I warmed up with Marcia mainly focusing on transitions, trot to walk, walk to trot, and trot to canter. I always had to have him on the bit, always. Finally, it was my turn to go around the arena. I do some transitions and when I hear the bell I go into the arena and start my test. I do pretty well until Michan broke into trot on a twenty meter circle canter right lead, but that was my fault because I didn’t keep him balanced and supported with my leg. After the little break into the trot we recovered and went on with the circle. We went to trot between M and B and went up the center line X halt salute. I went out of the arena after saying thank you to the judge feeling to proud of myself and Michan.
Cross-Country
Cross country day was the most nerve wrecking day for me because when we walked the course some of the jumps look about novice level. I had only done intro on my pony so I was really nervous. My cross country time was about 3:25 so I had a lot of time on my hands, first my mom and I watched some people do the course and after that it looked pretty easy. Then my mom and I went to get a yummy crepe. After we ate my mom told me to get ready. When I got dressed I went over the course just as I did with the dressage test. My mom was going to groom Michan but she said I was going too slow and just tacked him up as well! I was pumped when we were walking down to the warm up! I had made a plan with Marcia yesterday so I knew what to do in the warm up.
My mom told me to trot around the area once in both directions, then canter in both directions while she was seeing what time I had to go. Then she told me to jump the tiny cross rail twice, then the vertical, then the oxer. When we walked over to the logs my mom told me to make a circle and jump over the logs, we jumped over that about four times. Michan’s ears were forward to the logs. He was ready. My mom asked if I was ready, and of course I answered YES! We went over to the guy that told you when to go and he said I could go after number 390 so we waited and I went over the course again in my mind. After 390 went it was my turn! One minute to go, 30,15,10,5,4,3,2,1 GO!!!!!!!!!! Michan and I zoomed over the first jump and went around a set of trees to get to the second. I felt Michan bulge so I sat behind the motion and kept him going(I also tapped him on the neck with my crop),YES we made it! The rest of the jumps all the way to the last one Michan told me not to worry, he had this down pat. After the last jump I did a circle to train him then went to trot, then walk. I was so happy about my first time out on a beginner novice cross country course I couldn’t stop smiling. When we got back to the trailer I didn’t care what place I got, all I cared about was having a good time and trying my hardest, and I did. Then I heard this on the loudspeaker,
“In First place for beginner novice rider is Tower Hills Michan and Lily McCabe!”
I couldn’t believe what I just heard!!! My name and my pony’s in first! WOW. So I went over to get my ribbon and when I got it about 15 people said “Contratz!” of course I said thanks but then the women giving out the ribbons gave me a saddle pad and said nice job! I felt so happy.
After the horse show my mom told me that tons of professional riders were there and still learning everytime they competed. When I heard that I think my mouth dropped open because an 11 year old girl was just at a horse show with professional riders!!!!!!!! I definitely learned a lot from moving up to beginner novice. I will still have my nerves when I go to a horse show but it won’t be the scared nerves. It’ll be the “I’m not afraid but excited” nerves. And that was my first beginner novice event.
