Reflecting on 2012

2012 has been quite a year for the Spotted Duo! We trained hard all winter and then made our debut into the eventing world with lots of lessons, clinics and schooling shows spaced out between lots of trail riding.

Down the center line at Devonwood

In February we went to a local schooling dressage show at the prestigious Devonwood and even though Deuce was a fire breathing dragon in warm-up (and I nearly called it quits before we even got in front of the judge), we managed to get ourselves together to rock our Intro test earning a 67.5 and a pretty blue ribbon.

March took us to the Jump for Joy schooling jumper show where we flew around a few 2' and 2'3" basic courses and learned the need for practicing more half halts.

Once the ground got a little drier in the spring we were able to get out for some cross country schooling.

Splashing at Aspen!

Then in May, the Horsemasters (Adult Pony Clubbers) were fortunate enough to be invited  participate in a neighboring pony club's eventing camp at the beautiful Aspen Farms in Yelm. That's where the big spotted boy discovered the joy of jumping up and off banks and galloping through water. That was also when it became solidified in my mind that this big spotted horse is truly thrilled with his new career and a he is in fact the fine makings to be the honest, brave and talented event horse that I envisioned he could be.

Later in May we went to an  event clinic at Inavale for cross country and stadium jumping then competed and won in our first ever event derby. This is also when our diving left before a jump issue became very evident. June led us to to our very first horse trials - it was a one-day at Inavale and we went Hopeful (2') with tremendous success though we were still working through the dive left issues.




July took us to another dressage schooling show that was another great practice for being out and about and then 1-day horse trails at Caber Farm at the 2' level, where we proved that we had fixed our dive left issues and brought home a second place!

Then we went to Pony Club camp at Caber where we did lots of jump schooling and conquered all the beginner novice fences (including the scary brushy roll top!) and several novice lines and ditches. We even jumped up the and off the training bank line. (Deuce chose that line for us!) So I had to put on my big girl pants and decide I had an event horse that was ready to move up and I needed to get with him and move up too.

So on to beginner novice we went! The next 1-day in August was a huge success for our debut into the Beginner Novice division. My wonderful husband, and Mom and Dad were there to see us bring home our blue!!!


 In September we did lots of trail riding and ponying with Flash and we went BN at an event derby at Lake Oswego. I was super proud of our performance on that course as Deuce had never schooled any of those fences before and he not once balked at any of the cross country jumps. And the course took us through the bank complex multiple times!

 
The end of October turned rainy but we still had a blast at the final 1 day HT of the season - we went beginner novice again and placed second  on our dressage score despite the downpours during stadium and cross country.



In late October, we had a fun pony club lesson where we became a purple sparkle mess with wings and then repeated the costume at another soggy outing for a neighboring farm's jumper derby.


November dried out a little and we did some more trail riding and lots of lessons.. and we got a new jump saddle and bridle!!!! Gotta have the right equipment if we are going to be serious about this sport! In December we were off to another dressage schooling show at Lake Oswego and did very well in our Beginner Novice test with a score of 34.

I can't believe how much we have accomplished in one season nor how far we have come with our training in one year. From a nervous novice to a solid and confident  Beginner Novice competitor. Deuce truly is an event horse and I am so thankful that he was true to his Appy nature and did not take my "no" for an answer. What a great year we have had, and looking forward to many more!

SNOW!!!

This was a surprise and a rare occurrence here! There were flurries at the office. I left about noon to head to the barn for a ride.... the closer I got to the barn, the more snow was on the ground! The temps hovered around 32 degrees. Water troughs were not frozen. Just the right amount of wet air hit cold air for a few hours in the right places to make some snow. It won't stick around long.... but its fun to see. Deuce and Flash didn't seem to mind at all. Other than they had to push the snow aside with their muzzles to find the grass.
Since the roads were slightly slushy around the barn, snow still falling and I am a giant chicken when it comes to winter weather driving; I opted out of a ride today. I snapped some pictures, gave some pets and scratches, fed some carrots and headed towards home.

Ready for Santa

It's this look right here....

Always eager and ready for the next job or adventure. The mighty Deuce is such a wonderful horse!

I just love this boy! 

And the dressage work continues..

Even though I had a week off from riding while I was visiting Georgia, Deuce did not get much of a break. Erin rode him while I was gone to keep him tuned up and ready for work when I got back.

 I had a lesson with Erin again today to continue our work on dressage. My focus this week is to use my legs and softening reins in the right combinations to maintain the bend and suppleness.  If I get stiff for even an instant, Deuce will brace and lock in the base of his neck and drift out the circle or fall in. So with lots of practice and reminders from Erin, I am finally starting to get a better feel for when he starts to lock up and am able to put my leg on and send him forward and get him back to supple and round again. 

So we are making our way into more fine details and technicalities of dressage, and it's quite tough for me but I remind myself it will make me a better rider and will help make Deuce a better athlete .. so I'll keep working at it. 

Success at Lake Oswego

Deuce and I went to Lake Oswego for a Dressage Schooling show today. I figured it would be good for us to get out and apply some of the good work we have been doing this past week. We sigend up for the Eventing Test  - Beginer Novice B Since that is mostly what we have been doing.

Our warm up went great. The rain looked like it was going to hold off for the morning so we were able to spend some time in the out door arena getting forward and focused. I loved how responsive and concentrated he was from the start. Very relaxed and ready for work. What progress we have made from last year!!! Then we had about fifteen minutes in the indoor arena and dressage court to ride around too. Which was great, I could find the spots where Deuce would be distracted (going past the judges table and the door to the outside.) We worked through those minor issues and then it was time to clear the arena and ride our test.

When I entered at A; I had a clear mind and was able to remember half of what we worked on and recall my dressage test too. We ended up with some very lovely round and bendy moments mixed in with a few not so nice nose in the air while we pass the door moments too. But overall not bad. We ended up with a score of 32... which I'm pretty happy about. We've been improving all year. And that score put us in first in our division, so a blue ribbon makes it pretty rewarding too.

Gotta love that striking spotted rump.