Ram Tap November Horse Trials - Sat 11/19/11

A new day dawning

So very, very proud of both Sherry & Nahmi today!  They're both showing commando style -- no, not that kind of commando.  They're both wearing underwear, but are showing without the help of a professional trainer to coach them in warm up.  Relying on their own skills acquired from hard work all year (life?) long, experience from past shows, and helpful notes/suggestions from trainers Susan Friend, Gina Economou and the ever awesome Brian Sabo, they're doing it on their own and really shining.

It's really inspiring to see them showing "without a net" as it were, flying or falling on their own wits.  At the end of the day, isn't that what we all should be able to do? Not at every show, but if the point of showing is testing your own mettle (and for the kind of $$$ it better not be for the .98 ribbon) we all should consider doing this on our own from time to time.  Just a thought...

Hair club for geldings?

Anyway, back to the ladies: of course Sherry had to be an over achiever, scoring the lowest dressage score of the entire show with a 20.  (For non-eventers, our sport is like golf, the lowest score wins.)  Nahmi had a really great, relaxed, flowing ride on the folliclely challenged Simon - see braid pic) and scored one of their best tests at a 35.  I was really happy not just with her ride, but her terrific attitude of looking at this as a building kind of test.  She achieved what she set out to do - bring a relaxed partnership into the arena - and will continue to push from there.  Considering it was such a brisk, chilly day that even the judge commented on it, that was quite an accomplishment for Simon!

Fortunately, the dawn's arctic breeze blew the gray, overcast sky away to give us a brilliantly sunny late morning for show jumping.  Simon's round continued on the same theme of learning and growing.  They had a rail and some time faults, so I suppose on paper it doesn't look as successful as rounds from previous shows, but Nahmi was extremely happy with the outcome and rightfully so.  Simon wanted to be a pisser in the warm up, but as Brian says she choose to disagree with his choice to lengthen to the fence with her upper body, resisting the urge to pull or or lock up her elbows.  Guess what, it worked!  In the arena, they rode straight to the fences, Nahmi's form was awesome, she made choices to get Simon to particular spots and achieved those goals.  A few wide turns turned out to be costly time wise but she had goals and met them -- what else could you ask for?

Poznan proved to be interesting and entertaining to watch in the warm up.  Every time another horse would jump a jump towards him, he went leaping about the place putting poor Sherry's back to the test.  At one point he nearly went over a coffin combination that was next to the warm up arena in his exuberance to show his disdain of other horses & riders.  All the rails stayed in the cups - good Lord, he cantered over one or two instead of jumping them - but they did have time faults thanks to his laid back style.  If only he was the over achiever that his mummy is...  Since her one and only goal was to finish with no time faults, Sherry was disappointed, but it's kind of hard to feel sorry for someone sitting in first place! :)

Sorry, no pics of rides as I was busy with the video camera.  Maybe videos to follow if Carolyn will be kind enough to link them here?  

Have to say, once again Ram Tap's staff and the facility make the unpredictable weather worth enduring.  The jump course was challenging but not daunting, the footing in remarkably good shape and everything running pretty much on time and according to plan.  For those who know me well, you know that the thing nearest and dearest to my heart is the bathroom situation.  Happy to report after touring nearly every port-o-potty on the place that they were all clean, had paper, had hand sanitizer and all in all a pleasure to use.  Thank you Ram Tap!

We walked the cross-country courses with a new companion - the course walking app.  (Have I mentioned lately how much I hate the word "app"?  It sounds like a burp gone wrong, but I digress.)  More on that later in another blog entry but clearly we weren't the only ones out there with this handy new device that measures the course and gives you minute markers as you walk.  Hard to tell, however, it people were using the app or just texting while walking.... (if you zoom in on the pic, you can just barely see it at work.) 

On a very sad note, our dear friend Larry Sawyer lost his eventing partner Caboose today. More than just a successful Intermediate and one star competitor with Auburn Brady in the irons, he was a friend and will be missed. 

A Moment to Mark the Passage of a Friend

Normally, Eventing With A Twist is here to report our hopefully interesting adventures following the pursuit of eventing.  Today, I'm temporarily hi-jacking our blog to celebrate a life of an honorary e-Twister.

Last week, I had to say goodbye to my horse partner of nearly 19 years, Tequila.  At the age of 30 something, she died the way she lived - playing hard and giving it 100%.   Some people called her a rescue horse but in fact, I'm pretty sure it was she who rescued me. 

Our relationship wasn't always an easy one.  I think it was actually mutual disdain at first sight.  As a working student at a local riding school, I typically got to ride all the psychos in exchange for my working student hours.  I opened her stall door and she came lunging at me, ears back and teeth bared.  After recruiting a friend to hold her while I tacked, riding wasn't any easier.  We had the "run" and "run like hell" gaits down pat but anything else was questionable at best.  (And remained so for months on end.)  But this was a gymkhana class, not some hunter eq thing, and when I pointed her at the barrels it was pure magic.  A few days later, pole bending was even better.  Her manners were still atrocious, but I was undeniably hooked. 

She failed out of being a school horse since no one else wanted to ride her and was about to be sent back to an owner intent on dumping her at any cost.  Suddenly I was faced with the dilemma of owning a horse for the first time in my life or losing her.  Thankfully,  three other friends were willing to take the dive with me and "the Tequila moms" were born.

I think our rocky start quickly turned around when disdain became mutual bitchy respect.  Soon into our partnership she tried to dump my ass, but riding western at the time I merely got "weaned" on the horn (use your imagination, you'll figure out what it means).  Shouting, "I saved your life and I can send you back" like a maniac, she paused and behaved like a lady thereafter.  Well, for about 10 minutes but it was enough to teach me about this communication thing.  The bond grew until not that many years later, all I had to do was think about turning or changing gaits and she'd pretty much do it. It's a connection I fear I'll never share with another horse - can there ever be another quite like her?

About this time in a blog is where the writer is supposed to share some insight on coping with loss.  Sorry to say, I don't have much wisdom to share in that department.  After going to the barn to take care of her 5 days a week for 19 years, there hasn't been a day since she's been gone that I haven't started to schedule my day around those visits only to realize she isn't there anymore.  I drove down the road that I took to the barn the other day and was suddenly lost, having no idea where anything was if I didn't start the journey from the barn.  There's a whole community of people at the barn that I'll never be a part of again.  She was my anchor (and I mean that in a good way), she gave my life center and balance right from the start.  A friend commented that losing her horse was like losing a spouse.  I'm sure people who have lost spouses (ones they liked anyway) would disagree but I will say I feel completely adrift without her. 

I started writing this blog as a way of expressing that grief, a catharsis for me even if no one else read it.  In the process, I started thinking about all the things I remember about her and I woke up smiling this morning for the first time since she's been gone.  So if I do have any wisdom to offer maybe it's to focus on all the gifts these wonderful animals give us in the short time we're blessed to have them in our lives.  My favorite was her sense of humor.  For instance...

There was time I worked for an hour to get a flying lead change - something I knew she could do because she hit every change doing pole bending. I finally got it, only to have her swap it back a stride later.  Or in dressage class once when I asked for a shoulder in and did a piss poor job apparently.  After struggling with it, she gave it beautifully, as if to say "you mean this?" then promptly stopped.  The message was clear.  "Yeah, when you learn to ask for it correctly, then I'll give it to you." 
The times that all I had to do was give her a slight twitch of the rein and she make a ferocious shark face at an on-coming rider who was rudely riding too close in the arena, whip lazily cocked in our direction.  She quickly got the game and seemed to enjoy scaring off the hunters.

The time someone asked me if she was a Paso Fino when she was being an exasperating nut on the trail.  How that grew into her slowing herself down from the canter to the walk when passing other people, then picking up the canter again a polite distance away.  Somewhere between those two was the time she took off at a gallop on the trail before I'd quite gotten up in the saddle.  There I was, clinging to her side like Spiderman before finally getting all the way in the saddle and bringing her under control, only to be chastised by other riders for galloping at them.  Like it was my idea! 

The way she'd behave differently with each of the four moms, a feat that stunned animal communicator Lydia Hibby so much that she devoted an entire chapter to her in her book.  

How she helped me grow as a rider, putting up with my one-lesson-a-week beginner hands and seat with the patience of Job.  Looking back, it's a miracle that I survived it.  I doubt very many horses would have put up with the things she did, including riding in reindeer antlers. I know I would never have become an eventer if not for the courage and thrill-seeking she inspired in me.

The way she smelled.  And yes, I'm vain enough to say I think we both loved the attention of people commenting on how beautiful she was, the last time being just the day before she died. 

The "thumbprint of Allah" that  friend pointed out on her neck, a pretty rare thing for a horse that isn't an Arab.  Sadly, that friend has long since passed away too.  Maybe she's with Teq now, grooming her up for me.  It's a nice thought, but I'm kind of hoping for that reincarnation thing being true.  Because if there is another horse out there for me, I'm going to look for one with that same slightly wicked twinkle in their eye.

Mostly I remember how she loved to run and finally thinking about her makes me smile.  To steal from Bob Hope a little, thanks for the memories Tequila, you were the best.