I mentioned in the last post about Kat and I having a run-in with the irrigation ditch. Something has been on my mind since then.
At the last ADT I was talking to one of the club members who offers lessons in our area. I had mentioned to her about one of our previous outings when we encountered the garbage truck 3 times and how each time I stopped Kat, hopped out of the cart and stood by his head. When the truck went by, I hopped back on and we went on our way. Kat doesn't often spook and doesn't often bolt & run like a twit but I felt better, safer, standing by his head and making sure he was calm and relaxed, seeing me there calm and relaxed.
I was told I should Never dismount the cart in a situation like that. If he were to spook and bolt, he would be running away and there is no way to stop him or bring things back under control. It is better to sit in the cart and wait it out. You have more chances of preventing an accident that way then to step off the cart and head the horse.
Ok, that makes sense and I understand the reasoning behind it, but I also know that sometimes there is a time to just get off the horse and let them kill themselves too. In cases like that, have at it horse. Take yourself out, but you aren't taking me with you. Sometmes they handle things better seeing us on the ground, standing safe and calm while crazy shit happens around us. They see and feel us blowing it off, looking but not scared and do the same. You aren't freaked out, why should I be? is their reaction.
Knowing this, when things started to go south and the ditch was right there, I went with my instincts and stepped off the cart. I didn't let go of the reins, never got excited or lost my mind, but instead, stood there and waited for Kat to get his mind back and stop reacting to everything like he was. Sure it could have gone seriously wrong, but I did what I knew to do and waited for Kat to slow down and figure it out.
I know every horse is different, we are all different, every situation is different and how things turn out in the end vs. the could have, would have, should haves is all going to be different too. But do we all know what our own 'breaking point' is? Do you know when to get off and when to stay on and ride it out? What is it for you that defines it? Sometimes it is a gut feeling, reaction, instinct or you just know... but when do you hang on and when do you bail?
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Whew!
There's a couple of reasons for the title of this post. One because I need to catch up and two because of how things went over the weekend.
Kat has been getting time off lately. It is getting hot, but also I am trying to finally get Mondo going. In the process I am also getting some of the carts fixed up, cleaned up and will be listing them for sale to get them out of here. Why hang onto things that you don't use, can't use and don't fit so you won't use? If it is gone there is now more free space, you no longer have to care for it and maintain it and the bonus here is- you can sell it and put the money towards things you need!
Last weekend I pulled Mondo out and tried the nylon harness on him to see how (if) it would fit him. So far so good. It will fit him well enough and work long enough to get him going. I fastened up the traces and the breeching/hold back straps and took him out to lunge him and then work on ground driving. There were a couple of bouts of bucking on the lunge line, but he kept his head and most of all, kept moving. When he had settled down and was ready to work I put the bridle on him and the lines on him and got behind him.
Now Mondo has been saddled plenty and I have been on him a few times, but he hasn't been ground driven yet. Hubby asked if I had ever done this before with him and said he hadn't either, so off we went. Sort of. Mondo wasn't so sure what I wanted, but when he started to walk off and I praised him with plenty of "Good Boy" mentions, he got the idea. His turns were not so good, but he eventually got the idea to follow his nose. Circles were very egg shaped and oval, but we managed and I didn't expect perfection on our first shot. Stop? He did that a few times on his own too. Asking for it though, he didn't act like he understood the concept.
Hubby took the lines and worked him a little so I could watch. A lot more walking, more turns both left and right, a few stops and wait, then walk off. Stop and wait wasn't so much his strong point, but ok, we can work on that. As things were finishing up Mondo came around the long side of the arena, he wasn't so much responding to the reins (right rein on the inside) and signal to turn and then.... He responded all right, spun around and was facing hubby. From there he put it in reverse and started backing up. At least until he got to the fence and bumped into it.
In all the excitement he had busted loose the D-ring the crupper attaches to the surcingle with. The crupper and breeching had to come off and work resumed a bit since we can't end on that note. They finished up and Hubby said we need to put a 'whoa' on him and we are a ways off from putting him to a cart.
Tuesday night I put him in long lines again and ground drove him some more. On the lunge line though we worked on what 'whoa' means. I like how my mare walks off on the lunge line, then works up to jogging and trotting and maybe pushes into a relaxed canter. Mondo learned there is no reason to blast out to the end of the line and pull on it while tearing around like a freak. Any time he sped up or got a bit excited, he had to stop and start off again. When he was going around nice and relaxed, I left him alone.
When we moved on to ground driving, he didn't start out all that great, but about mid work, he learned that a couple of gentle tugs on the rein menat to turn that direction and follow your nose. I kept my hands low and used the rein to push his butt over if he didn't respond after the first couple of attempts. Tug, tug, tug, step over to the outside and tug the rein but also pull towards the outside a little to move his butt. As the butt shifts to the outside, the head is aimed into the turn in the direction you want. Kind of a cheater method of getting it, but also makes the cue for turning a bit bigger and clearer if not overly exaggerated for the horse. We'll get there and he is showing progress. He stopped and waited patiently and I told him that driving work is a long, low, slow process, but when we get there- he will be a Rock Star for sure.
Fast forward to this weekend. I finally got the chance to put the new bit on Kat and try it out. In moving carts around in the shop, I looked at our cart and thought I needed to get Kat out and going again. I did ground drive him with the new bit before putting him to the cart and getting in. Let us both get a feel for the gentleness required and the feel for how much pressure it will take to get a response. We drove around the arena with the cart too. And Kat acted like he was bored the whole time. Even though I asked him to and let him canter, he kept it to a few strides and came back down to a trot, so we headed out.
We managed to get out the driveway and down the street past one of the neighbors houses before he spotted the next neighbors horses in their field and got goofy on me. We were trotting down the side of the road on the easement and he was showing off and looking at the horses. He wasn't so much paying attention and next thing I knew he was bolting to the right away from the horses that were on the other side of the street. Only problem with his plan of this being a good idea was the cement irrigation ditch on our right. As he was headed right at it, I was telling him 'whoa' and stepping off the cart.
Next thing I knew he was in the damn ditch. At least his front end was. I was still telling him 'whoa' and holding the reins as he tried to get out of the ditch. Then in went the back end. He was up, he was down, up, part way out, then down and back in. I kept telling him whoa the whole time and waiting for him to stop. He kept getting up, slipping, falling back in and all the way down on his belly, his side and lather, rinse, repeat.
Then as quick as he was in the ditch, he was out of it. Problem was he was on one side, I was on the other. The cart? Still attached only it had one wheel on each side of the ditch. This was not what I had in mind for the day. I held the reins and stepped across the ditch. Now to deal with the cart. But my leg started to shake. The neighbor had come over to see if I was all right and if I needed any help. Another neighbor had come over too after seeing/hearing the comotion.
I figured to let Kat settle down while we talked and I assured them I was fine. I led him forward and the cart found it's way across the ditch. Now the big question was how to get it all back on the other side... At the end of the field, the ditch goes under the road so we were fine, back on track and since he showed no signs of injuries- no blood and no lameness, we headed out like originally planned. Everything was good and as we came back the one neighbor was still out. As we came by I told him we made it and were headed home, no further incidents." He watched as we made our way past the porperty and the horses and said he hoped we didn't go in the ditch again. "Not like I planned it the first time, but yeah, I knew what he meant."
Hosing down Kat afterwards- he only had a couple of small scrapes on his left front leg where he lost a bit of hair and some skin. Nothing major that required a lot of attention as none of them were even as large as a dime. Sure he may be stiff the next couple of days, but as would be expected after something like that. The harness- not a single scratch on it. The cart? I haven't really looked, but I will be going over it again too before using it... Never hurts to be concerned about safety.
Kat has been getting time off lately. It is getting hot, but also I am trying to finally get Mondo going. In the process I am also getting some of the carts fixed up, cleaned up and will be listing them for sale to get them out of here. Why hang onto things that you don't use, can't use and don't fit so you won't use? If it is gone there is now more free space, you no longer have to care for it and maintain it and the bonus here is- you can sell it and put the money towards things you need!
Last weekend I pulled Mondo out and tried the nylon harness on him to see how (if) it would fit him. So far so good. It will fit him well enough and work long enough to get him going. I fastened up the traces and the breeching/hold back straps and took him out to lunge him and then work on ground driving. There were a couple of bouts of bucking on the lunge line, but he kept his head and most of all, kept moving. When he had settled down and was ready to work I put the bridle on him and the lines on him and got behind him.
Now Mondo has been saddled plenty and I have been on him a few times, but he hasn't been ground driven yet. Hubby asked if I had ever done this before with him and said he hadn't either, so off we went. Sort of. Mondo wasn't so sure what I wanted, but when he started to walk off and I praised him with plenty of "Good Boy" mentions, he got the idea. His turns were not so good, but he eventually got the idea to follow his nose. Circles were very egg shaped and oval, but we managed and I didn't expect perfection on our first shot. Stop? He did that a few times on his own too. Asking for it though, he didn't act like he understood the concept.
Hubby took the lines and worked him a little so I could watch. A lot more walking, more turns both left and right, a few stops and wait, then walk off. Stop and wait wasn't so much his strong point, but ok, we can work on that. As things were finishing up Mondo came around the long side of the arena, he wasn't so much responding to the reins (right rein on the inside) and signal to turn and then.... He responded all right, spun around and was facing hubby. From there he put it in reverse and started backing up. At least until he got to the fence and bumped into it.
In all the excitement he had busted loose the D-ring the crupper attaches to the surcingle with. The crupper and breeching had to come off and work resumed a bit since we can't end on that note. They finished up and Hubby said we need to put a 'whoa' on him and we are a ways off from putting him to a cart.
Tuesday night I put him in long lines again and ground drove him some more. On the lunge line though we worked on what 'whoa' means. I like how my mare walks off on the lunge line, then works up to jogging and trotting and maybe pushes into a relaxed canter. Mondo learned there is no reason to blast out to the end of the line and pull on it while tearing around like a freak. Any time he sped up or got a bit excited, he had to stop and start off again. When he was going around nice and relaxed, I left him alone.
When we moved on to ground driving, he didn't start out all that great, but about mid work, he learned that a couple of gentle tugs on the rein menat to turn that direction and follow your nose. I kept my hands low and used the rein to push his butt over if he didn't respond after the first couple of attempts. Tug, tug, tug, step over to the outside and tug the rein but also pull towards the outside a little to move his butt. As the butt shifts to the outside, the head is aimed into the turn in the direction you want. Kind of a cheater method of getting it, but also makes the cue for turning a bit bigger and clearer if not overly exaggerated for the horse. We'll get there and he is showing progress. He stopped and waited patiently and I told him that driving work is a long, low, slow process, but when we get there- he will be a Rock Star for sure.
Fast forward to this weekend. I finally got the chance to put the new bit on Kat and try it out. In moving carts around in the shop, I looked at our cart and thought I needed to get Kat out and going again. I did ground drive him with the new bit before putting him to the cart and getting in. Let us both get a feel for the gentleness required and the feel for how much pressure it will take to get a response. We drove around the arena with the cart too. And Kat acted like he was bored the whole time. Even though I asked him to and let him canter, he kept it to a few strides and came back down to a trot, so we headed out.
We managed to get out the driveway and down the street past one of the neighbors houses before he spotted the next neighbors horses in their field and got goofy on me. We were trotting down the side of the road on the easement and he was showing off and looking at the horses. He wasn't so much paying attention and next thing I knew he was bolting to the right away from the horses that were on the other side of the street. Only problem with his plan of this being a good idea was the cement irrigation ditch on our right. As he was headed right at it, I was telling him 'whoa' and stepping off the cart.
Next thing I knew he was in the damn ditch. At least his front end was. I was still telling him 'whoa' and holding the reins as he tried to get out of the ditch. Then in went the back end. He was up, he was down, up, part way out, then down and back in. I kept telling him whoa the whole time and waiting for him to stop. He kept getting up, slipping, falling back in and all the way down on his belly, his side and lather, rinse, repeat.
Then as quick as he was in the ditch, he was out of it. Problem was he was on one side, I was on the other. The cart? Still attached only it had one wheel on each side of the ditch. This was not what I had in mind for the day. I held the reins and stepped across the ditch. Now to deal with the cart. But my leg started to shake. The neighbor had come over to see if I was all right and if I needed any help. Another neighbor had come over too after seeing/hearing the comotion.
I figured to let Kat settle down while we talked and I assured them I was fine. I led him forward and the cart found it's way across the ditch. Now the big question was how to get it all back on the other side... At the end of the field, the ditch goes under the road so we were fine, back on track and since he showed no signs of injuries- no blood and no lameness, we headed out like originally planned. Everything was good and as we came back the one neighbor was still out. As we came by I told him we made it and were headed home, no further incidents." He watched as we made our way past the porperty and the horses and said he hoped we didn't go in the ditch again. "Not like I planned it the first time, but yeah, I knew what he meant."
Hosing down Kat afterwards- he only had a couple of small scrapes on his left front leg where he lost a bit of hair and some skin. Nothing major that required a lot of attention as none of them were even as large as a dime. Sure he may be stiff the next couple of days, but as would be expected after something like that. The harness- not a single scratch on it. The cart? I haven't really looked, but I will be going over it again too before using it... Never hurts to be concerned about safety.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Who knew?
On one of the driving forums I frequent, someone suggested using old milk containers as cones for practicing. Between us, my mom and my sister, I have amassed a large collection of milk containers. Almost 20 of them so far and I have been waiting to use them...
Sunday I got my chance. Sort of. I gathered my containers in a large tub to keep by the gate. I put water into each one- about halfway or so, to give them a bit more stability and keep them from blowing away. I measured my cart, (walked it, 2 steps. Really technical I know) and set out to design my course...
I set up a line of four as a serpentine to weave through, seven strides apart. Usually I can get through the first two without issue, the next one is a bit tricky. The half gallon jugs worked well for this. On the east end I had two sets of jugs as if a pair of in-and-out fences if jumping. They were slightly angled inward one this way \ , one / that way. There were another three sets of jugs/cones, one set as a straight pair, then the other two, staggered off to the side. On the far end I had one set of lone jugs. It sorta looked like this...
X X
X X
X
X
X X X
X X X
X
X
X
X
As it was set up, I could take them in either direction, use them in different order and alter the course as we went. I set them 3 steps apart, which turned out to be a bit wide, but it was all in fun so the good news is, I only wiped out 1 when we were driving the course. Knocked it over is probably more like it, because it will live to see more use. It was one of the jugs in the serpentine line. There was plenty of room to go wide, and use the rail, slip between each 'gate' and go on the the next as well as going through the two offset gates at an angle and straight line through them both.
The serpentine could be woven from either direction, starting on either side, making it in-out-in or out-in-out. I could also go in the first pair, skip the middle one and out the last pair in a bigger, sweeping turn, instead of weaving it tightly. The two on the angle- I could take them in order or by themselves. None of this I really had in mind when I set it all up. I did realize though, I need more milk jugs. I have 2 more to add to the collection already.
The beauty in all of this, I have some of the white plastic milk jugs. The shape of them lends easily to using a big, black marker and putting the dressage letters on them. Then I can set them out in the proper order and work on dressage too. I have also considered, draining the water out of them and using dirt instead. It wouldn't turn green and funky after a while so I will most likely do that.
It was almost dark when I finally got into the cart. What took me so long? Well, I had gone to pick up hay, pulled the truck around back and left the driveway gates open in the process. Stopped by the house to grab the harness and was intending to drive Kat. As I was lunging him, Betsy (the heifer we have) strolled over towards the shop where we keep the hay. I tried to pull Kat up and we walked back over in an attempt to ward her off, without getting her wound up... but it didn't work.
Betsy wandered over to the ope gates and lit up. He tail went up in the air as she took off! She bolted down the driveway towards the street as I clipped Kat to his lead rope and started walking after her. The neighbors cows have been moved to the other side of their property to let the grass grow and she was missing them. Betsy has been bawling her head off day and night the past few days calling to them. She has a beautiful moo, but not so much at 3 am. She ran over to their place to see them.
It took me a good hour to get her home. I had to get their cows into the barn aisle and contained, Betsy into their pasture and then headed back out into the pasture between us. From there it was another 20 minutes or so trying to herd her towards the front of the property and the gate going into the back. I have to say- she is a quick little heifer and will gladly run away from you rather than at you. I hope it stays that way.
Sunday I got my chance. Sort of. I gathered my containers in a large tub to keep by the gate. I put water into each one- about halfway or so, to give them a bit more stability and keep them from blowing away. I measured my cart, (walked it, 2 steps. Really technical I know) and set out to design my course...
I set up a line of four as a serpentine to weave through, seven strides apart. Usually I can get through the first two without issue, the next one is a bit tricky. The half gallon jugs worked well for this. On the east end I had two sets of jugs as if a pair of in-and-out fences if jumping. They were slightly angled inward one this way \ , one / that way. There were another three sets of jugs/cones, one set as a straight pair, then the other two, staggered off to the side. On the far end I had one set of lone jugs. It sorta looked like this...
X X
X X
X
X
X X X
X X X
X
X
X
X
As it was set up, I could take them in either direction, use them in different order and alter the course as we went. I set them 3 steps apart, which turned out to be a bit wide, but it was all in fun so the good news is, I only wiped out 1 when we were driving the course. Knocked it over is probably more like it, because it will live to see more use. It was one of the jugs in the serpentine line. There was plenty of room to go wide, and use the rail, slip between each 'gate' and go on the the next as well as going through the two offset gates at an angle and straight line through them both.
The serpentine could be woven from either direction, starting on either side, making it in-out-in or out-in-out. I could also go in the first pair, skip the middle one and out the last pair in a bigger, sweeping turn, instead of weaving it tightly. The two on the angle- I could take them in order or by themselves. None of this I really had in mind when I set it all up. I did realize though, I need more milk jugs. I have 2 more to add to the collection already.
The beauty in all of this, I have some of the white plastic milk jugs. The shape of them lends easily to using a big, black marker and putting the dressage letters on them. Then I can set them out in the proper order and work on dressage too. I have also considered, draining the water out of them and using dirt instead. It wouldn't turn green and funky after a while so I will most likely do that.
It was almost dark when I finally got into the cart. What took me so long? Well, I had gone to pick up hay, pulled the truck around back and left the driveway gates open in the process. Stopped by the house to grab the harness and was intending to drive Kat. As I was lunging him, Betsy (the heifer we have) strolled over towards the shop where we keep the hay. I tried to pull Kat up and we walked back over in an attempt to ward her off, without getting her wound up... but it didn't work.
Betsy wandered over to the ope gates and lit up. He tail went up in the air as she took off! She bolted down the driveway towards the street as I clipped Kat to his lead rope and started walking after her. The neighbors cows have been moved to the other side of their property to let the grass grow and she was missing them. Betsy has been bawling her head off day and night the past few days calling to them. She has a beautiful moo, but not so much at 3 am. She ran over to their place to see them.
It took me a good hour to get her home. I had to get their cows into the barn aisle and contained, Betsy into their pasture and then headed back out into the pasture between us. From there it was another 20 minutes or so trying to herd her towards the front of the property and the gate going into the back. I have to say- she is a quick little heifer and will gladly run away from you rather than at you. I hope it stays that way.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Afterwards...
Coming home from the CDE was not in any way a let down. Sure the fun was over, we had made our share of mistakes, learned a few things, but for the most part- we had a great time, met a lot of wonderful people and know what to expect at the next one. The next one is in October in southern Arizona.
Since buying the new bit, I have yet to try it out. I got in one drive between the CDE and the next ADT we attended last weekend. I am not one to just change things up without giving both Kat and I time to adjust. Seeing as how the new bit has a curb chain on it, it will have a bit of a different effect in use. I bought it from Gerrard of Ideal Harness, who is a very helpful and knowledgeable man when it comes to driving.
We now have a mullen mouth, loose cheek, butterfly bit as pictured below. Kat has never worn a bit without a broken or jointed mouthpiece and since has also never had a curb chain on either. It will be like driving a car without power steering or power brakes, then driving one with both. I am going to ground drive him first, before putting him to the cart, giving us both a feel for it with far less chance of an accident.
Wait a minute... didn't I mention another ADT? Oh yeah. That? It too was a blast. Held at the same facility as the CDE, a lot of the stuff, scenery and obstacles, were the same. Lucky for us, they skipped the one hazard where we overshot our entry point and rearranged the alphabet...
The dressage test was a bit different, Test 2 is a slight bit shorter than the other one, but the movements were much the same. The judge was incredibly generous in scoring, but her notes were dead on. Our score was 40.50 and although it was on the same field, it just didn't have the same feel as our test at the CDE three weeks prior. I did salute the judge correctly this time though!
The thing about the driving events, and in talking to several others this seems to be something felt across the board no matter what level you are competing at- the whole thing seems to go by way too fast. This was not just at the ADT either, but all three portions of the CDE as well. You harness up, go through the safety check, warm your horse up, hit the ring, the cones, the obstacles or marathon course and before you know it, you are finished. You hope for a clean round, good scores, no errors, no eliminations and find you want to do it all again because it happened so fast. The horses are also a bit amped up and could easily go again if we let them- I know Kat often is....
A few of us at the CDE were talking about this very thing. We came up with an alternative way of doing it all. This would be all about FUN and not much else... I changed the text to Italics because this is NOT how it is to be done, just something we came up with for the sake of fun.
Dressage- you get two chances at the test. Your scores are noted for each movement on both. The higher score for each movement is taken from both tries and that score is what you get. If you need to correct the horse, you can on one test, because the other one should have a better score and will be the one to count.
Marathon & Obstacles (CDE's & ADT's) again you get two chances to do it. One for time and one to make sure you went through the gates in the right order, the right direction and did things like you are supposed to. The faster time is the one to count, the right order & direction portion counts. If you can do both in one shot, you still get the second chance to improve your speed.
Cones- This one is a little different since you would get three chances to go around the course. The first time around would be based on precision. Leave all the balls UP!, go through everything in the right direction and make it look nice & Pretty... No time penalties to be incurred. The second chance at it would be based on time alone. Sure you have to go through everything the right direction, but time is all that counts here so GO! The third time around- how many balls can you knock down? That's right. Switch it around and knock them all down. Penalties for leaving them up. Now that would be FUN! Your horse is already jazzed- let them have fun too. Extra points for knocking down the balls on both sides- without using anything like your arm or whip- sticking out of the cart.
One of the driving forums I am on frequently, someone suggested using plastic milk containers for 'cones' in the arena at home. They are cheap, readily available, can be filled with sand or water to weight them down and easily replaced if you wreck one. If you do- toss it in the recycle bin and get another. So far I have 4 and counting...
I hope everyone has a safe and fun Easter and the kids find plenty of eggs to fill their basket.
Since buying the new bit, I have yet to try it out. I got in one drive between the CDE and the next ADT we attended last weekend. I am not one to just change things up without giving both Kat and I time to adjust. Seeing as how the new bit has a curb chain on it, it will have a bit of a different effect in use. I bought it from Gerrard of Ideal Harness, who is a very helpful and knowledgeable man when it comes to driving.
We now have a mullen mouth, loose cheek, butterfly bit as pictured below. Kat has never worn a bit without a broken or jointed mouthpiece and since has also never had a curb chain on either. It will be like driving a car without power steering or power brakes, then driving one with both. I am going to ground drive him first, before putting him to the cart, giving us both a feel for it with far less chance of an accident.
Wait a minute... didn't I mention another ADT? Oh yeah. That? It too was a blast. Held at the same facility as the CDE, a lot of the stuff, scenery and obstacles, were the same. Lucky for us, they skipped the one hazard where we overshot our entry point and rearranged the alphabet...
The dressage test was a bit different, Test 2 is a slight bit shorter than the other one, but the movements were much the same. The judge was incredibly generous in scoring, but her notes were dead on. Our score was 40.50 and although it was on the same field, it just didn't have the same feel as our test at the CDE three weeks prior. I did salute the judge correctly this time though!
The thing about the driving events, and in talking to several others this seems to be something felt across the board no matter what level you are competing at- the whole thing seems to go by way too fast. This was not just at the ADT either, but all three portions of the CDE as well. You harness up, go through the safety check, warm your horse up, hit the ring, the cones, the obstacles or marathon course and before you know it, you are finished. You hope for a clean round, good scores, no errors, no eliminations and find you want to do it all again because it happened so fast. The horses are also a bit amped up and could easily go again if we let them- I know Kat often is....
A few of us at the CDE were talking about this very thing. We came up with an alternative way of doing it all. This would be all about FUN and not much else... I changed the text to Italics because this is NOT how it is to be done, just something we came up with for the sake of fun.
Dressage- you get two chances at the test. Your scores are noted for each movement on both. The higher score for each movement is taken from both tries and that score is what you get. If you need to correct the horse, you can on one test, because the other one should have a better score and will be the one to count.
Marathon & Obstacles (CDE's & ADT's) again you get two chances to do it. One for time and one to make sure you went through the gates in the right order, the right direction and did things like you are supposed to. The faster time is the one to count, the right order & direction portion counts. If you can do both in one shot, you still get the second chance to improve your speed.
Cones- This one is a little different since you would get three chances to go around the course. The first time around would be based on precision. Leave all the balls UP!, go through everything in the right direction and make it look nice & Pretty... No time penalties to be incurred. The second chance at it would be based on time alone. Sure you have to go through everything the right direction, but time is all that counts here so GO! The third time around- how many balls can you knock down? That's right. Switch it around and knock them all down. Penalties for leaving them up. Now that would be FUN! Your horse is already jazzed- let them have fun too. Extra points for knocking down the balls on both sides- without using anything like your arm or whip- sticking out of the cart.
One of the driving forums I am on frequently, someone suggested using plastic milk containers for 'cones' in the arena at home. They are cheap, readily available, can be filled with sand or water to weight them down and easily replaced if you wreck one. If you do- toss it in the recycle bin and get another. So far I have 4 and counting...
I hope everyone has a safe and fun Easter and the kids find plenty of eggs to fill their basket.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Day 3- Cones
Heading into day 3 and the cones, because of the mistakes we had made the day before, we had slipped down into 4th place. The cones course was set up on Saturday and we all had a chance to walk it in the afternoon, before the banquet dinner that night. I had a brief talk with the course designer and he confirmed that cones #9 and #10 were across from each other, but both were to be taken heading into the box maze of straw bales, not just go in through #9 and out through #10 as would be tempting to do. The red cone is on the right to remind you not to go through things the wrong way, but on occasion it happens. Ask me, I have done it plenty.
One of the tips I had been given early on by Gary was to set the cones narrow at home when practicing. Don't give yourself much if any room to slip through them. One of the side effects of this however, is thinking about how much easier it is with so much extra space and getting caught up in that, losing track of where you are and going off your intended course. It happens to a lot of people though and we all live and learn...
In the ADS rulebook, you are to use the same cart for section A (dressage) and C (cones) and therefore be dressed accordingly. Although we were not required to braid for cones or wear our aprons, the apron was to be on the cart and that meant pretty much everybody wore them. We as competitors, were all to be 'properly dressed' an hour before the day started. Walking the cones, you were to be wearing your outfit you would be showing in. Frank Luetz was the only one properly dressed as Hardy Zantke pointed out and announced to the rest of us. I felt bad for not having put on at least the shirt and my hat, but as there were several seasoned competitors out there dressed in their everyday clothes, I didn't stand out from the crowd even though I wasn't properly dressed.
This time around I was able to lunge Kat for as long as he needed it. I didn't get to the day before and he was a bit wound but handled it well enough for being pulled out and put straight to the cart. I don't often do that at home. But then at home, I am usually not rushed or pinched on time either. Kat circled around on the line for quite a while before finally relaxing and slowing down to a comfortable jog. I turned him and he started off a little fast, but soon settled down to the same jog. I let him keep going and made sure he was relaxed, because I know how he lights up when he sees the cones.
When we checked in before the cones, we were asked if this was the same cart we used for dressage, our harness was given a once over glance and we were then pointed over to where we were to do our vet check OTM or 'On The Move'. The vet attendant would look the horse over on both sides, then we were to do a large figure eight where they could look for any soundness issues. Kat was fine and we were given the ok to go. I took him out to the warmup area and let him work a bit more to relax. I threw in a few tight circles, some serpentines and made sure he was responding like he should. Then we went over and found a place in the shade to stand and wait our turn.
It all went so quickly and we came in within the time allowed. We managed to only knock down 3 balls for a total of 9 penalty points, but again it was partially due to pilot error and another glitch I would find out about later on. In between the cones, if there was a long line from one to the next, I let Kat go. He would trot on handsome, badass and bold, really throwing his feet up there and out there in the way he can and does. When I would try to rein him in and bring him back down, a few times he resisted, we got a bit squirrelly and down went the ball as we didn't hit our line straight through the cone.
We did not get eliminated, but with the penalties, we locked in our position of 4th in Training Level, Single Pony. Had we taken our time, not letting Kat get loose in between the cones, we may not have had those penalties to add to the penalties from the day before. Without the penalties from both days, we would have been 2nd for the competition. The smallest mistakes can cost you big. In the cones, the order of go changes up a bit. Whoever is in last place, goes first and on up the rankings of placings.
After completing the cones course we were to wait in the holding area until all of the Training Level entries had completed the course. Scores were figured and placings were noted for the VSE Single, VSE Pairs, Single Pony and Pony Pairs. There were no entries for training level single or pairs horse. While waiting around for the Pony Pairs to go and placings to be figured, several people had begun gathering in the holding area.
As we were waiting around on the rest of the Single Pony entries, then the two Pony Pairs entries to go, Kat happened to be standing pretty close to Frank Luetz. It wasn't long before Frank took notice, kept looking at him and finally came over to pet him. He asked how long we had been driving, how old Kat is and how we did out there. When I told him that Kat has had 11 years to do nothing but eat, play and grow up, he commented how he wished he could find a life of leisure like that. (Don't we all?) Then he looked at Kat again, took a light hold of the right rein as Kat's head came up and turned towards him, as Frank said in his thick German accent, "He is a nice looking pony and you can see by how he is built, dat he can really elevate and has got da movement of a Big horse, ya?"
I stood there next to my pony, grinning and thinking about the picture above, that I had posted of him on my other blog, back when he was in long lines, where everyone was complimenting him and commenting on how he looked like a big horse until you seen something nearby to bring him back to scale. I nodded and said to Frank, "Yes, he has the movement of a big horse. In pictures you can easily forget his size until you see something next to him to scale."
Frank then went on to say it looks like Kat is getting his tongue over the bit and recommended something else. A mullen mouth bit with a slight port to it if possible, which would prevent him from doing that anymore. That one statement made a LOT of sense to me too. It would explain why he was resistant in coming back down under control in the cones, why he was such a brat on Friday headed off to the dressage arena and I ticked off a number of times in my head that his tongue over the bit, could have likely been the reason behind things happening the way they did. Yes I had one of these DUH! or maybe A-HA! moments... and now, thanks to Ideal Harness, whose giant orange semi was at the show, LOADED WITH STUFF! I have a loose cheek, mullen mouth, butterfly bit for Kat to wear as well as having punched another hole in the leather to bring the blinders up where they belong.
I have yet to try it on him as we only got to drive on Sunday of last weekend and I want to ground drive him first and see where we are both at. It is easier to take this route and be safe, than to jump in the cart, have an accident and then deal with the whole recovery process, IF the horse is not ruined for life afterwards. It is always better to be safe than sorry. I want to replace the curb chain on it and get one of those rubber covers for it too. We did drive on Sunday though and the neighbor came over to see the differences in her cart and mine, her harness and mine and get some more insight into driving. It was the last time I could slip a workout in before our next ADT on Saturday. Hopefully with the knowledge of slowing things down, we will do better this time.
One of the tips I had been given early on by Gary was to set the cones narrow at home when practicing. Don't give yourself much if any room to slip through them. One of the side effects of this however, is thinking about how much easier it is with so much extra space and getting caught up in that, losing track of where you are and going off your intended course. It happens to a lot of people though and we all live and learn...
In the ADS rulebook, you are to use the same cart for section A (dressage) and C (cones) and therefore be dressed accordingly. Although we were not required to braid for cones or wear our aprons, the apron was to be on the cart and that meant pretty much everybody wore them. We as competitors, were all to be 'properly dressed' an hour before the day started. Walking the cones, you were to be wearing your outfit you would be showing in. Frank Luetz was the only one properly dressed as Hardy Zantke pointed out and announced to the rest of us. I felt bad for not having put on at least the shirt and my hat, but as there were several seasoned competitors out there dressed in their everyday clothes, I didn't stand out from the crowd even though I wasn't properly dressed.
This time around I was able to lunge Kat for as long as he needed it. I didn't get to the day before and he was a bit wound but handled it well enough for being pulled out and put straight to the cart. I don't often do that at home. But then at home, I am usually not rushed or pinched on time either. Kat circled around on the line for quite a while before finally relaxing and slowing down to a comfortable jog. I turned him and he started off a little fast, but soon settled down to the same jog. I let him keep going and made sure he was relaxed, because I know how he lights up when he sees the cones.
When we checked in before the cones, we were asked if this was the same cart we used for dressage, our harness was given a once over glance and we were then pointed over to where we were to do our vet check OTM or 'On The Move'. The vet attendant would look the horse over on both sides, then we were to do a large figure eight where they could look for any soundness issues. Kat was fine and we were given the ok to go. I took him out to the warmup area and let him work a bit more to relax. I threw in a few tight circles, some serpentines and made sure he was responding like he should. Then we went over and found a place in the shade to stand and wait our turn.
It all went so quickly and we came in within the time allowed. We managed to only knock down 3 balls for a total of 9 penalty points, but again it was partially due to pilot error and another glitch I would find out about later on. In between the cones, if there was a long line from one to the next, I let Kat go. He would trot on handsome, badass and bold, really throwing his feet up there and out there in the way he can and does. When I would try to rein him in and bring him back down, a few times he resisted, we got a bit squirrelly and down went the ball as we didn't hit our line straight through the cone.
We did not get eliminated, but with the penalties, we locked in our position of 4th in Training Level, Single Pony. Had we taken our time, not letting Kat get loose in between the cones, we may not have had those penalties to add to the penalties from the day before. Without the penalties from both days, we would have been 2nd for the competition. The smallest mistakes can cost you big. In the cones, the order of go changes up a bit. Whoever is in last place, goes first and on up the rankings of placings.
After completing the cones course we were to wait in the holding area until all of the Training Level entries had completed the course. Scores were figured and placings were noted for the VSE Single, VSE Pairs, Single Pony and Pony Pairs. There were no entries for training level single or pairs horse. While waiting around for the Pony Pairs to go and placings to be figured, several people had begun gathering in the holding area.
As we were waiting around on the rest of the Single Pony entries, then the two Pony Pairs entries to go, Kat happened to be standing pretty close to Frank Luetz. It wasn't long before Frank took notice, kept looking at him and finally came over to pet him. He asked how long we had been driving, how old Kat is and how we did out there. When I told him that Kat has had 11 years to do nothing but eat, play and grow up, he commented how he wished he could find a life of leisure like that. (Don't we all?) Then he looked at Kat again, took a light hold of the right rein as Kat's head came up and turned towards him, as Frank said in his thick German accent, "He is a nice looking pony and you can see by how he is built, dat he can really elevate and has got da movement of a Big horse, ya?"
I stood there next to my pony, grinning and thinking about the picture above, that I had posted of him on my other blog, back when he was in long lines, where everyone was complimenting him and commenting on how he looked like a big horse until you seen something nearby to bring him back to scale. I nodded and said to Frank, "Yes, he has the movement of a big horse. In pictures you can easily forget his size until you see something next to him to scale."
Frank then went on to say it looks like Kat is getting his tongue over the bit and recommended something else. A mullen mouth bit with a slight port to it if possible, which would prevent him from doing that anymore. That one statement made a LOT of sense to me too. It would explain why he was resistant in coming back down under control in the cones, why he was such a brat on Friday headed off to the dressage arena and I ticked off a number of times in my head that his tongue over the bit, could have likely been the reason behind things happening the way they did. Yes I had one of these DUH! or maybe A-HA! moments... and now, thanks to Ideal Harness, whose giant orange semi was at the show, LOADED WITH STUFF! I have a loose cheek, mullen mouth, butterfly bit for Kat to wear as well as having punched another hole in the leather to bring the blinders up where they belong.
I have yet to try it on him as we only got to drive on Sunday of last weekend and I want to ground drive him first and see where we are both at. It is easier to take this route and be safe, than to jump in the cart, have an accident and then deal with the whole recovery process, IF the horse is not ruined for life afterwards. It is always better to be safe than sorry. I want to replace the curb chain on it and get one of those rubber covers for it too. We did drive on Sunday though and the neighbor came over to see the differences in her cart and mine, her harness and mine and get some more insight into driving. It was the last time I could slip a workout in before our next ADT on Saturday. Hopefully with the knowledge of slowing things down, we will do better this time.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Day 2, Part 2
Part 1
Section E is to be no less than 6,000m, no more than 9,000m. This includes the obstacles. When we were heading out we had our choice to go or wait another minute and a half. We chose to go and the countdown began. In what seemed like nothing we were already heading to obstacle 1. Through the In/Out gate, find gate A, then B, followed by C and back through the In/Out gate. We were headed in to Obstacle 3 since training level skipped Obstacle 2. Again, through gates A, B & C, out the In/Out gate, thank the volunteer for timing and stop grinning so you didn't get bugs in your teeth. Yes, this could be a problem...
Obstacle 4 was the water hazard. Since the new ADS rules require an alternate dry route for training level and this one is not set up for that, again training level skipped it and turned right where everyone else went left and went to find their way into the water. From there you wound around in the south 40 and found your way back to the last obstacles. 5, 6, & 7. Obstacle 5 was the Single Tree. It is literally a tree in the center of posts and boards that make up a wagon wheel of sorts.
Going into this one we were rockin' it and really blasting along. Which ended up costing us dearly. I had planned to go in at one spot and we overshot it. Kat was just going too fast and there was no way to hit our mark and go into the obstacle without literally hitting something- in this case a large pole. So I adjusted and we went in the next opening we found (which happened to be gate C and cost us 20 penalty points. Damn!) We reconfigured the alphabet to our taste, blasted through C, then A, B, C and out the In/Out gate without realizing what I had done. We headed over to Obstacle 6 & 7, zipped around an through them and headed off to the finish line and end of Section E.
Kat was feeling good and really trotting along nicely. I let him go and as we approached the end of the line I figured Why not finish strong? So we did! Making another costly mistake... Right after the end of Section E, the TD Hardy Zantke met us with a big smile. He shook my hand, congratulated me for finishing and asked if I had fun? Did the HUGE grin on my face give it away?
Me- "Oh yeah! It was a blast!"
TD- "Did you have a great time, that no matter what anyone says, they can never take Anything from this day away from you?"
Me- "You had better believe it!"
TD- "Did you have any breaks of pace longer than 5 seconds, miss any gates or markers that you would like to admit to now?"
Me- "Nope, I counted them all out loud as we went through them and my pony knows he is not allowed to canter with the cart yet."
TD- "All right then, let's look at how you did..."
For some reason whenever a judge, in this case Hardy, points out somewhere that I messed up, it takes a minute or two for things to sink in and I realize the error of my ways. Even staring at the cones in the My route/your route class last November, hearing I went through them the wrong way, looking at the cones, I just didn't see that right off. I knew I overshot the one opening on obstacle 5, but I didn't think I had gone through C to get to A. Looking at the map of the obstacle, then later the obstacle itself, Yes, yes I did rearrange the alphabet that day....
Then we looked at the time on the course. Section A was fine, no penalties, Section D was fine, no penalties, Section E... pause while Hardy was figuring it out... We finished strong all right. A bit too strong in fact. We came in 34 seconds under the minimum time allowed. Aw Crap! More penalty points. You are allowed and also encouraged to WALK the last 500 meters of Section E. But when you are having so much fun, blasting along and your pony feels great- you get caught up in the moment and everything sensible can go right out the window on you. It sure did for me! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Looking back at the score cards as posted, had we slowed down and NOT overshot the one entrance into Obstacle 5, Not gathering the penalty points there, slowed down and WALKED the last 500 meters of Section E, we may have come in within the time allowed and NOT gathered those penalty points either. Had we slowed down and done things RIGHT like we should have and were supposed to- We would have been in 2nd place going into Day 3 and the cones.
In light of all of this, I was and still am, thrilled with how Kat had done. Hubby and the girls were there to see and cheer on Mommy and their Kat Man! They thought it was really cool. One of the other competitors, his father is a photographer and caught the action in the obstacles on digital and posted them online. Cal Photography We are photos #39, 40, 41, 43 & 44 in obstacle 6. If there is a picture of a team or single horse/pony that you like, email me or ask in the comments and I will probably know who it is/was and can tell you about them, their horse, etc.
There were people in from Northern California, New Mexico and Texas for the event. The four-in-hand of ponies is Frank Luetz, who competer at the CAI Live Oak International CDE in Ocala, FL this weekend. Everyone had a great time and I know I am sure looking forward to the next one. I have already been working on planning my outfit for it. It is in October...
Section E is to be no less than 6,000m, no more than 9,000m. This includes the obstacles. When we were heading out we had our choice to go or wait another minute and a half. We chose to go and the countdown began. In what seemed like nothing we were already heading to obstacle 1. Through the In/Out gate, find gate A, then B, followed by C and back through the In/Out gate. We were headed in to Obstacle 3 since training level skipped Obstacle 2. Again, through gates A, B & C, out the In/Out gate, thank the volunteer for timing and stop grinning so you didn't get bugs in your teeth. Yes, this could be a problem...
Obstacle 4 was the water hazard. Since the new ADS rules require an alternate dry route for training level and this one is not set up for that, again training level skipped it and turned right where everyone else went left and went to find their way into the water. From there you wound around in the south 40 and found your way back to the last obstacles. 5, 6, & 7. Obstacle 5 was the Single Tree. It is literally a tree in the center of posts and boards that make up a wagon wheel of sorts.
Going into this one we were rockin' it and really blasting along. Which ended up costing us dearly. I had planned to go in at one spot and we overshot it. Kat was just going too fast and there was no way to hit our mark and go into the obstacle without literally hitting something- in this case a large pole. So I adjusted and we went in the next opening we found (which happened to be gate C and cost us 20 penalty points. Damn!) We reconfigured the alphabet to our taste, blasted through C, then A, B, C and out the In/Out gate without realizing what I had done. We headed over to Obstacle 6 & 7, zipped around an through them and headed off to the finish line and end of Section E.
Kat was feeling good and really trotting along nicely. I let him go and as we approached the end of the line I figured Why not finish strong? So we did! Making another costly mistake... Right after the end of Section E, the TD Hardy Zantke met us with a big smile. He shook my hand, congratulated me for finishing and asked if I had fun? Did the HUGE grin on my face give it away?
Me- "Oh yeah! It was a blast!"
TD- "Did you have a great time, that no matter what anyone says, they can never take Anything from this day away from you?"
Me- "You had better believe it!"
TD- "Did you have any breaks of pace longer than 5 seconds, miss any gates or markers that you would like to admit to now?"
Me- "Nope, I counted them all out loud as we went through them and my pony knows he is not allowed to canter with the cart yet."
TD- "All right then, let's look at how you did..."
For some reason whenever a judge, in this case Hardy, points out somewhere that I messed up, it takes a minute or two for things to sink in and I realize the error of my ways. Even staring at the cones in the My route/your route class last November, hearing I went through them the wrong way, looking at the cones, I just didn't see that right off. I knew I overshot the one opening on obstacle 5, but I didn't think I had gone through C to get to A. Looking at the map of the obstacle, then later the obstacle itself, Yes, yes I did rearrange the alphabet that day....
Then we looked at the time on the course. Section A was fine, no penalties, Section D was fine, no penalties, Section E... pause while Hardy was figuring it out... We finished strong all right. A bit too strong in fact. We came in 34 seconds under the minimum time allowed. Aw Crap! More penalty points. You are allowed and also encouraged to WALK the last 500 meters of Section E. But when you are having so much fun, blasting along and your pony feels great- you get caught up in the moment and everything sensible can go right out the window on you. It sure did for me! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Looking back at the score cards as posted, had we slowed down and NOT overshot the one entrance into Obstacle 5, Not gathering the penalty points there, slowed down and WALKED the last 500 meters of Section E, we may have come in within the time allowed and NOT gathered those penalty points either. Had we slowed down and done things RIGHT like we should have and were supposed to- We would have been in 2nd place going into Day 3 and the cones.
In light of all of this, I was and still am, thrilled with how Kat had done. Hubby and the girls were there to see and cheer on Mommy and their Kat Man! They thought it was really cool. One of the other competitors, his father is a photographer and caught the action in the obstacles on digital and posted them online. Cal Photography We are photos #39, 40, 41, 43 & 44 in obstacle 6. If there is a picture of a team or single horse/pony that you like, email me or ask in the comments and I will probably know who it is/was and can tell you about them, their horse, etc.
There were people in from Northern California, New Mexico and Texas for the event. The four-in-hand of ponies is Frank Luetz, who competer at the CAI Live Oak International CDE in Ocala, FL this weekend. Everyone had a great time and I know I am sure looking forward to the next one. I have already been working on planning my outfit for it. It is in October...
Friday, March 23, 2012
Day 2, The Marathon
This one seemed to loom on my radar before we even entered. It seemed much tougher than it actually was. Last year when we went to watch this CDE, there was a horse pulled off the course just before the last couple of obstacles. Why? The horse was clearly spent. Watching from the sidelines, the horse was tripping here and there and displaying a few other noticeable signs that s/he was just wiped out. As the TD (Technical Delegate) pulled them off the course, they were told to walk the horse back to the vet check area, where water is available and cool the horse out. They were done. The groom dismounted the cart and off they went. I vowed to myself, I don't ever want to be 'that horse' in any competition. Ever.
In defense of the competitor, they may have been from out of state and just not acclimated to our weather. There have been years when the rain just pours down constantly, other years when it is already warming up and Hot out there. This year the wind blew constantly on Friday & Saturday, with big gusts and immense dust- to the point you couldn't see 5 feet in front of you at times... so anything is possible out there. I also don't know what level they were showing at, but for my first time out there, I can honestly say, it is VERY easy to get caught up in the moment, the heat of things and not notice the subtle things and ways your horse lets you know they have had enough.
For those who don't know, the marathon is set up in three sections. A, D & E. Each section has a minimum time allowed and a maximum time allowed. You go too fast, coming in under the minimum time allowed- you get penalized. You go too slow, going over the maximum time allowed- you get penalized. It is a pace, not a race. In section E when you go through the obstacles, you are timed at each one. Your time in the obstacles at training level do not count. The only thing that really counts is that you go through the gates in order and you get through and out of the obstacle in Under 5 minutes, which is really easy considering....
For the marathon you must have a SMV (Slow Moving Vehicle) sign on your cart. You must also have on your medical info armband, somewhere to put your green 'time card' and you absolutely must have a body protector ON for section E. My number holder pulled double duty that day and was strapped on the rein rail for the green time card to go in. I need to do something else, because the wind kept blowing it off either side and I found myself holding it in place with my boot as we trucked along. I also heard the small bar in the bottom of my SMV sign "ping" against the cart a few times. I was looking on the ground to see what we went over and Kat stepped on, hoping it wouldn't bruise his feet or anything and knock us out of competition... it took us 3 or 4 pings before I finally figured out what it was.
Section A is to be no less than 5,000m and no more than 8,000m. Ours was about 5 km and any pace was allowed for all levels. Kat was bouncing around and ready to go when we got over to the starting area. As with dressage, you have a set order of go and a start time. When we got going I checked my watch, but had no real idea of how long we had to complete this section. We had between 23 & 25 minutes. We did okay and did not get any penalty points. Kat was fresh, wound and ready to GO! If we were headed into the wind, he was blasting along like nobodies business. We were cruising. When we turned to where the wind was at our back however, he scaled it way back on the speed. A few times he tried to slow down and walk. I kept an eye on the horse ahead of us and tried to keep the distance between us steady and consistent. If they were on time, we would be too. At the end of section A you hand the attendees your green card and they write the time on it that you crossed the line.
At the beginning of section A, there was a white plastic bag in a tree that caught Kat's attention. It was on the left side of the road and he spooked hard to the right. We ended up in the plowed field and made a big right hand circle, lining up to face the bag again. I took him on the left hand side of the road past it this time. For whatever reason, he was ok with that, but still gave the bag a mean, hard look with the stink eye. Past that we started trucking along again and on the left side of the road was a small burrowing owl. As we went by that, it was screeching at us with its wings spread wide apart. I just hoped it stayed put and didn't fly up out of the hole. Thankfully the screeching was all it did.
Section D is to be no less than 800m, no more than 1,000m. In Section D, all levels- you are to walk the horse(s). Again there is a minimum and maximum time allowed. A few times Kat tried to trot when he seen other horses and also because we were headed back onto the property towards the barns. Again at the start and finish of Section D, you hand off your green time card for times to be written down on it.
After Section D, you head over to the vet check area for the mandatory 10 minute rest break. You check in and the time starts while your horses' heart rate and respiration are taken, they are given an all over glance to see if there is anything wrong and from there you head over to wherever you stashed your bucket of water. I stashed my vest with the water and while Kat was drinking and looking around I was putting it on for Section E. We were also given penny's to wear with our numbers on them. Getting the vest under the penny while holding the reins proved interesting, but I managed to get it done. Your horse can stand or you can walk them around. They can and should be offered a drink and you can also sponge them down if you'd like. If you are a small pony entry you do not need a groom, but if you have a header, someone has to be holding the reins at all times.
To be continued...
In defense of the competitor, they may have been from out of state and just not acclimated to our weather. There have been years when the rain just pours down constantly, other years when it is already warming up and Hot out there. This year the wind blew constantly on Friday & Saturday, with big gusts and immense dust- to the point you couldn't see 5 feet in front of you at times... so anything is possible out there. I also don't know what level they were showing at, but for my first time out there, I can honestly say, it is VERY easy to get caught up in the moment, the heat of things and not notice the subtle things and ways your horse lets you know they have had enough.
For those who don't know, the marathon is set up in three sections. A, D & E. Each section has a minimum time allowed and a maximum time allowed. You go too fast, coming in under the minimum time allowed- you get penalized. You go too slow, going over the maximum time allowed- you get penalized. It is a pace, not a race. In section E when you go through the obstacles, you are timed at each one. Your time in the obstacles at training level do not count. The only thing that really counts is that you go through the gates in order and you get through and out of the obstacle in Under 5 minutes, which is really easy considering....
For the marathon you must have a SMV (Slow Moving Vehicle) sign on your cart. You must also have on your medical info armband, somewhere to put your green 'time card' and you absolutely must have a body protector ON for section E. My number holder pulled double duty that day and was strapped on the rein rail for the green time card to go in. I need to do something else, because the wind kept blowing it off either side and I found myself holding it in place with my boot as we trucked along. I also heard the small bar in the bottom of my SMV sign "ping" against the cart a few times. I was looking on the ground to see what we went over and Kat stepped on, hoping it wouldn't bruise his feet or anything and knock us out of competition... it took us 3 or 4 pings before I finally figured out what it was.
Section A is to be no less than 5,000m and no more than 8,000m. Ours was about 5 km and any pace was allowed for all levels. Kat was bouncing around and ready to go when we got over to the starting area. As with dressage, you have a set order of go and a start time. When we got going I checked my watch, but had no real idea of how long we had to complete this section. We had between 23 & 25 minutes. We did okay and did not get any penalty points. Kat was fresh, wound and ready to GO! If we were headed into the wind, he was blasting along like nobodies business. We were cruising. When we turned to where the wind was at our back however, he scaled it way back on the speed. A few times he tried to slow down and walk. I kept an eye on the horse ahead of us and tried to keep the distance between us steady and consistent. If they were on time, we would be too. At the end of section A you hand the attendees your green card and they write the time on it that you crossed the line.
At the beginning of section A, there was a white plastic bag in a tree that caught Kat's attention. It was on the left side of the road and he spooked hard to the right. We ended up in the plowed field and made a big right hand circle, lining up to face the bag again. I took him on the left hand side of the road past it this time. For whatever reason, he was ok with that, but still gave the bag a mean, hard look with the stink eye. Past that we started trucking along again and on the left side of the road was a small burrowing owl. As we went by that, it was screeching at us with its wings spread wide apart. I just hoped it stayed put and didn't fly up out of the hole. Thankfully the screeching was all it did.
Section D is to be no less than 800m, no more than 1,000m. In Section D, all levels- you are to walk the horse(s). Again there is a minimum and maximum time allowed. A few times Kat tried to trot when he seen other horses and also because we were headed back onto the property towards the barns. Again at the start and finish of Section D, you hand off your green time card for times to be written down on it.
After Section D, you head over to the vet check area for the mandatory 10 minute rest break. You check in and the time starts while your horses' heart rate and respiration are taken, they are given an all over glance to see if there is anything wrong and from there you head over to wherever you stashed your bucket of water. I stashed my vest with the water and while Kat was drinking and looking around I was putting it on for Section E. We were also given penny's to wear with our numbers on them. Getting the vest under the penny while holding the reins proved interesting, but I managed to get it done. Your horse can stand or you can walk them around. They can and should be offered a drink and you can also sponge them down if you'd like. If you are a small pony entry you do not need a groom, but if you have a header, someone has to be holding the reins at all times.
To be continued...
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