Blue Moon brings New Moon to Day Creek

The year started off with a bang so far. Not only was there a (relatively) rare "Blue Moon" on New Year's Eve, Michelle brought her new horse, Moon, home to Day Creek Ranch.

A (nearly) 5-yr-old Irish TB, his official name is Race the Moon (I think). Michelle is open to any and all suggestions of show name that use "Moon" but haven't been done to death. Ideas?

Click here to see the whole Moon-shot album...

Ram Tap: Sunday, Nov. 15

Its late on Sunday and I'm happy to report that the day went spectacularly well overall.

Sara and Calvin were the first up. They took a rail or two but after the show was over the two of them schooled some cross-country fences and they looked AWESOME. Whatever imperfections showed up in the show jump arena they clearly worked it out in the field.

Reese was a superstar (she says modestly about her own horse) but his success didn't come without Michelle working her buttocks off to keep Captain Klutzy from stalling out completely. Oddly, he was pretty calm in the morning but after the show was over and people started schooling the cross-country ski-jump he could see, he went BERZERK just like yesterday. Either he's anxious to prove he can do the big boy jumps or he's thinking "are you freaking crazy?".

Still, I couldn't be happier that he finished on his dressage score to take a third place ribbon.

Next up was Carolyn and Ceilidh. To quote Carolyn, "I don't bounce as well as I used to." 'Nuff said.

Ok, not quite enough... Her one boot with the broken zipper was fashionably held together with black duct tape. It looked a little odd to have one shiny, almost patent leather boot and one normal one, but later we saw that her fashion statement is becoming all the rage. There was one other competitor following in her fashion statement today with the bold slash of silvery tape! It's the look that's sweeping the nation!

Nick and Buck pulled a rail and had some time faults but still managed to stay in second place to win Training Level Reserve Champion for Area VI. Way to go boys!

Breaking down was, as always, filled with a little sadness and a little relief. Sad that the fun was over but some relief that, after four days of 5am - 7pm days fighting the damp cold of Fresno, we were going home. It was great to be showing with Nick and Sara, who were super helpful every single step of the way. It was also great of Dusty and her friend Sherri to come up and cheer the riders on with food, drink and moral support. Their sometimes bawdy revelations kept the mood light, that's for sure!

Sorry there's no pictures; the one tragedy of the weekend is that I can't find my digital camera (yet) so no more pics until Carolyn can pull them off the videos or Dusty can forward to me what she took.

Off to bed now for me, it's been a long but fantastic weekend. Thanks to one and all for their help and support!

Ram Tap: Saturday, Nov 14

CROSS COUNTRY DAY -- better known as the day my four year old turned... three (no....more like the terrible twos! - cjb).

The day started off at a balmy 38 degrees as we left the hotel at 6:30. Brrr! A little coffee and we were off to walk Carolyn & Michelle's course one last time before the rounds started at 8am in the crystal clear frost covered grounds & jumps. After hoofing it around the tricky end of the year course that shared most of the fences (most? try only two additions..... whine..... - cjb) with the championship class we went back to the barn.

As much as Carolyn may have been suffering some show-day butterflies, Ceilidh was IN THE ZONE. Suddenly, the nutty persona was replaced by a cool, calm professional. She even deigned to nibble at her heretofore untouched breakfast to get enough calories to take on the task in store. She studied the back half of the cross-country course, plotting how she would tackle the ski jump-to-the-corner combination that was causing so much trouble for the division ahead of her.

Reese, on the other hand, became the four-year-old baby that he's never acted like before. He saw the first training horses galloping across the course and suddenly, he had a HUGE SPAZ ATTACK in his stall. Running and calling and stomping and kicking - it was like he was doing an immitation of Ceilidh. Once I took him out and walked him around, he calmed down almost immediately but every time you put him back in the stall, he went kooky all over again. Fortunately, once we got him tacked up and Michelle rode him up to the warm-up arena, he was back to his old, dependable self.

Then it came time to go into the start box. Or not. Later, Michelle confessed she could have really used a hand getting in there, although it looked ok from where I was standing. The first jump looked dramatically squirrely and according to Michelle the next five or so were just as weird from where she was sitting. Bottom line? They got around clean though a little fast - a huge surprise to those of us who thought she'd be getting off and pushing by the end!

The only problem was he didn't go to sleep from exhaustion like he should have. Each rider he saw going on the course only revved him up even more. I'm writing this hoping that he's still in his stall tonight - you can only stay so long at the showgrounds before it becomes obsessive after all.

Carolyn had issues to deal with even before she got on her horse. Her inexpensive zip up field boots broke as she was getting dressed to ride!! This is why I HATE zippers on boots. She made quite the colorful picture with silver duct tape holding both boots together. However, Ceilidh was so in the zone and powering around the course all you saw was a silvery blur! The pair re-entered the eventing world after five years with a double clear round, finishing in the middle of the pack.

Sara and Nick both had excellent rides as well, ending the day the best way possible - with every horse and rider combo coming home safe and sound. Sorry, no pics today because my tired, gin soaked brain left the camera at the barn. Look for a retrospective next week sometime.

Tomorrow - show jump day!

Ram Tap: Friday, Nov. 13

Dressage day. Blch. Bottom line? Everyone did GREAT.

The day started off at, as Nahmi puts it, obnoxious o'clock in the morning. One free breakfast later (thank you La Quinta Inns & Suites!) we were on the road to the barn. The horses were fed by 7am and then we sat around and waited for the dressage to begin. Odd foot note: Ceilidh once again got her stall door open but stayed put with merely her lead rope as a stall guard. Buck got out entirely and wandered the aisle until some kind competitor figured out where he belonged and put him away. Perhaps his show name ought to be "Houdini"??

Good news? Everybody's braids stayed in. Yeah! Bad news? It's still dressage.

Reese and Michelle did FANTASTIC for his first event dressage ever. Ok, he fishtailed a bit like the Mac truck that he is but he is the cutest Mac truck ever. Maybe I'm a little biased, I'm not sure. They got a 32.4 to finish in the middle of the pack at 5th.

Ceilidh has found her show spirit and calmed down a bit. Carolyn had a great warm up and a test that she described as the test of extremes. There were some horrifyingly tragic moments and yet some moments of brilliance. The good thing was that Carolyn stuck to the plan and kept riding no matter what Ceilidh did. She also finished roughly in the middle of the pack with a 40- something score.

Nick and Sara both put in really excellent tests. I've never actually seen either do dressage at a show and they did really well with Janet biting her nails on the sideline both times.

Show statistic: Ceilidh is the oldest in her class while Reese is the youngest in his division. Talk about extremes. (Ceilidh isn't the oldest horse in the show - that honor belongs to a 19-year-old stalwart, God bless!)

A few gin & tonics later, Carolyn and Michelle (plus the dogs) walked their beginner novice course. To see their course, click here.

Stay tuned for the results!

Reese's first show: Part I

So Reese's first real recognized event is underway. As I sit here sipping my wine, Michelle is winging her way to Fresno with Reese and Ceilidh in the back... in the trailer, not the back seat. Although from her early reports Ceilidh is raising quite a ruckus just like a big sister. Or maybe a big sister from the south (since she is from Louisiana) as she is waaaaay too hot for her adopted brother. Four plus hours in the trailer won't helping the bonding issue. By the time the get to Fresno she'll be firmly in love and he'll be utterly confused. Sounds like the first boyfriend I had in college. Should make for just that much more exciting weekend for all!

Tomorrow... the day before show day and highlights of Reese's first haircut!

Michelle's Round at Galway March 9th

Click here to see Michelle's round on Dixie.

Thanks Nahmi for finding this video on YouTube...

Son of "Soul of the Matter" A Proven Winner

The first of Super Derby Winner, Soul of the Matter’s US foals to enter the show ring came out a winner in his dressage debut. Three-year-old Reese, shown as Top Gear, earned first place at the Intrepid Farm's Holiday Dressage Show. His rhythmic gaits, powerful hindquarters and unflappable personality contributed to his overall score of 67% and promise a successful career in his intended job as a three-day eventer.

Intrepid Farms Holiday Show

We had a great day last Saturday at Intrepid Farms Holiday Dressage show. The threat of rain disappeared, giving us fantastic sunny, crisp fall weather that’s perfect to ride in. This was our first trip to Intrepid Farms, which runs schooling dressage shows throughout the year. The show was small but super friendly, extremely efficient and well run. The folks at Intrepid put out their usual gi-normous food spread, including breakfast goodies and strong coffee for when you first arrive, a wide variety of sandwiches for lunch and snacks to keep you going throughout the day. (Anyone who knows eventers knows that we’re always up for free food!) Intrepid is generous with their prizes and fair but encouraging with their judging. If you live near Moopark, California, you have to check out their shows. If you don’t live nearby, it sucks to be you. We’ll definitely make plans to return in 2009. If you'd like to get more information about their shows, go to www.intrepid-farms.com.

The day started out with our Friesian barn buddy, Haeke, blowing them away in the Intro class. Reese (aka Top Gear) with Michelle E. riding him took first place in Training Level 1 – not bad for his showing debut! But maybe the most fun of the day was when Carolyn on Ceilidh and Nahmi on Simon rode their classes with a (nearly) glimmering display of lights on their saddle pads. Ceilidh, despite being a little naughty before going in the ring for test #2 still came away with two red ribbons. Simon, billed as Simon the Likable sounded more like “Simon Says” as he whinnied and bellowed his way through his two tests – editorial comments about his lights perhaps? The last ride of the day was Nahmi on Sparky who was his usual stellar self and got first place as well.

The show was good practice for all of us who are used to the shorter eventing dressage court (40 meters) to have to deal with all the extra real estate that a regular dressage court (60 meters) gives you. If you think the free walk is long in an event, it’s merciless in a long court! Plus, as Nahmi found out, holding the extended canter all the way down the super-sized long side can take your breath away – literally.

Sorry, as Reese’s proud mummy I was so jazzed about his first show that I forgot to bring a camera but Carolyn did her magic and pulled a few still of every off the video. Check out the photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/marlaw825/IntrepidFarmsHolidayShow#

SAPPHIRE EVENTING GOES TO A SHOW!

When I'm Captain of the World, horse shows will be held at reasonable hours, like 10:30 in the morning. Until then, however, shows start at 8 which meant that we had to be at the barn at the ungodly hour of 6am to load horses and get to Flintridge in time for the show.

Other than having to consume vast amounts of caffeine to be able to stay upright and then using the port-o-potty about 103 times throughout the course of the day, a great time was had by all. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and neither could the horses.

To see the pics, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/marlaw825/FlintridgeDerby02#

“You know what dressage means, right?” asked guest clinician Germán Schneider, local dressage rider, trainer and judge. “It’s French for ‘too afraid to jump’ he quipped. (It’s actually French for training, in case you were dying to know). Germán’s sense of humor really set the tone for the mini-clinic we had at the ranch – a necessary ingredient since the first ride was at the ungodly hour of 7 am. (That's Reese, my horse, to the left by the way.) All kidding aside, as anal-retentive as it may seem dressage is the foundation for everything we do and the reason that even us crazy eventers work so hard at it. (We know it may not seem like it, DQ’s, but we really do.) As Germán pointed out to Michelle C. riding her horse Bailey, an unbalanced, unrateable canter might get you a “6” on your test but you'll be eating wood on a cross-country course.
It’s always good to attend clinics or occasional lessons from a different instructor just to get a fresh perspective on your riding. For instance, Germán focuses on the same issues of rhythm, tempo and suppleness that Michelle E. does but verbalizes it in a slightly different way. Combining the two approaches really clarified for me the importance of working my young horse in a lower frame with more flexion at the base of his neck until his back grows stronger. I wasn’t even riding in the clinic so even watching from the sidelines can be and educational experience. Just be sure to choose someone who isn’t at odds with your own trainer’s basic philosophy. Otherwise you won’t be able to incorporate what you’ve learned from the clinic in your day-to-day riding. Definitely talk to your trainer about what you learned at the clinic if they weren’t present to make sure that the ideas you took away from the experience are appropriate for what he or she is trying to work on with you at this point in your riding.

And where was Michelle during all this? Up in Fresno with dynamic duo Nick and Sarah competing at Ram Tap. Michelle took Dixie into her first event ever where she finished 4th with a double clear in cross-country. Nick finished 4th with Buck pulling a rail in show jump while Sarah and Eddie debuted at Training Level with a so-so dressage test but good solid jump rounds. According to Michelle, as well as the general feedback on the Chronicle of the Horse chat forum, Ram Tap’s courses have changed a bit for this show. The Training course in particular was tough but fair so kudos to both riders and horses for a job well done. They’ll both be up there again next month so fingers crossed that those rides will go even better.