Spring Bay 2017: Dressage and SJ

This weekend was spent in Lexington, KY at Spring Bay HT. This event was a bit of a brain jam for me as the last time I competed there was with Houston and we were eliminated on XC. I was determined to come away from the weekend with a number not a letter though!

jdpanicThe weekend got off to a not so great start when my TPM light came on. It turns out I ran over a screw and had to handle that mess before getting on the road. Shout out to my awesome barn owner who saved me like $350 by plugging my tire when the tire store said it wasn’t possible and that I would have to buy a new tire. pocgreat

Once I finally made it to the KHP my anxiety kicked in full force. I managed to convince myself to get on the dragon and we actually had a pretty decent school before calling it a night. I am not sure why I was so nervous because while our dressage is hideous it isn’t dangerous. She’s not stupid she’s just opinionated.  Saturday morning our ride time rolled around and Annie predictably was belligerent in the sand box. We secured our usual last place position and I felt pretty defeated about heading into stadium. pocworldend

Warm up arenas (for SJ and XC) might be the worst part about horse shows. The entire time I am in one I feel like I am in a war zone. Annie was a super star though and warmed up great. All I had to do was SIT  BACK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD and keep her stride compact. Guess what I didn’t do… Thankfully Annie was incredibly rideable in the hackamore and tried her heart out for me. Unfortunately I went into fetal position mode and picked at all of our distances which cost us 2 rails in stadium.  I was tired, frustrated, and honestly just poor company Saturday evening. pocstuKristen was kind enough to let Annie crash at her lovely little slice of Lexington on Saturday night. I am sure that Annie appreciated getting off the concrete at the KHP and getting to stretch her legs. I am saving the best for last and will talk about Annie’s XC beast mode/ my continuing inability to ride tomorrow.

7 comments

  1. Kelly says:

    Ahh I feel for you!! Nothing worse then when you go into the ring and don’t do a single thing you have practiced at home. Darn brain/body!! I’m sure it wasn’t as horrible as it felt though!

  2. Nicku says:

    YAY for a number vs, a letter! Sounds like a productive outing! I had a similar issue on Pongo with fetal position problems. My solution was 2 fold 1) Watching tons of other people ride (youtube/video worked for me). I paid attention to their seat which helped trained my mind about where mine needed to be 2) Practicing several times a week for weeks over tiny fences until I was comfortable with the feeling of my seat in the saddle until lift off. I used that time to work on his canter since the fences were nbd/teeny tiny while I worked on my position/mental block about creeping forward. All about that muscle memory.

  3. Emma says:

    Sounds like a solid effort eve with mistakes and nerves! She looks great in the pictures – like she has so much heart. Looking forward to reading about xc!

  4. Stacie Seidman says:

    It’s always a little extra nerve wracking at the beginning of the season. But look at Annie JUMP! Nice work getting through the first two phases. Can’t wait to read the rest!

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