Saddlebred Versatility, Jumpers

Adventures in Saddle Seatbreds

 

This post is straight-up digital stalking. I wasn’t there. I don’t know anything more than what I’ve seen online. If you know more about ASB-over-fences showing, please correct me. If you were there to watch or ride, wanna do a guest post and tell us all about it?

This year, the St. Louis Charity Horse Show had a Saddlebred jumper class, ASB .90m Jumper Stake. Ten horses showed up. As far as I know (??) this is the first time jumpers have competed at a Saddlebred show, at least in the modern era. St. Louis has offered a hunter course for many years. It is the only show (??) to do so. A handful of other shows offer a Hunter Hack-style class with 1 or 2 jumps at the end of the rail work.

HorseShowsOnline
 
The class was .9 meters. For this those of us who predate the conversion to metric jumper classes, that is 2′ 11+”, aka three feet. That takes some real jump training. Not the sort of go out & goof over that Milton and I did this spring. Six of the ten horses have Kris Wallace listed as their trainer. Google says someone of that name with similar habits is at Columbia Equestrian Center.

The show also offered a jumper warm-up, which five horses went in. I don’t understand why everyone didn’t avail themselves of the opportunity to school the course. Either way, it didn’t appear to effect the placings. Competitors who rode in the warm-up class placed 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th in the jumper class.

Jump! All! The! Things!

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Where Are We Now? Lesson Recap

Training Journal

 

 

For Lesson # 2 with Brian Tweed [Steady On, first lesson], I deliberately chose not to go back to the place Rodney knew. Instead we went to a new place, Inanda Stables at Shoal Creek. If Rodney is going to be a show horse, he needs to learn to ship in and work at strange places. We can’t spend weeks repeatedly acclimating to every showgrounds. If it was as problem, that would become part of the lesson.

I had a mini meltdown when I saw the ring. Not in the indoor dressage ring, as I thought, see photo. Instead we were in the jump ring. No fence around the ring and riding past jump standards, neither of which are on Rodney’s list of happy-making activities.

I was steadied by the thought that if loaded up and went home right then, if I never got on, we were still farther ahead than I thought we would ever get. We shipped somewhere. We set up a lesson. Both victories.

Of course, it went better than I thought it would. Partly because things generally do. Partly, while the ring did not have a fence, it was within a small paddock that did. That kinda counted. Partly, we are learning to manage Rodney. He walked around in hand. He walked around tacked up and in-hand. He stood. He walked around under saddle. Partly, Coach Brian has a hard-working but low-key approach.

I wasn’t completely ready to trot when the lesson started. Fortunately, we began at a walk. Okay, I’m ready to do that. The exercises were challenging enough to get Rodney thinking but easy enough that he felt capable. “This is hard. I want to be upset, but we are walking slowly on long rein.” Simple, quiet exercises helped the rider feel successful as well.

Take-aways
Small, bendy circles and turns to get his neck and back limber.
Turn on the forehand
Turn on the haunches
Do any of the above, then trot a circle, then go back

We cantered, but not enough to speak of. Rodney was actually a little pissy at the second canter fragment, the way he used to be about the second trot [Evil Twin]. Truthfully, he was a little bit of a pill the entire time. Do you really need to monitor every car that goes up the driveway? Did someone elect you traffic warden when I wasn’t looking? It is nice to know that we can still do good work even when everything is not perfect.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Providing Milton With Incentive

Training Journal

 

 
I signed Milton up for the Thoroughbred Incentive Program run by the Jockey Club. “Created to encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding.”

Turns out I had already opened an account, back in Sept 2014, back when I thought there was hope. I had suppressed that memory. Currently, Milton and I are still in a cool phase of our relationship, so I’m not feeling much hope at the moment. OTOH, he’s qualified. It’s free. Why not.


 

The number is blanked out of an overabundance of caution. What you are going to do with his T.I.P. number I have no idea. Saw a number. Blanked it. Automatic.

I need to write down his first show. I don’t know if that means first show ever, which would be July 2018 [The Canadian Horse & The Red Queen Take Second], or first show offering T.I.P. awards. Either way, he does not qualify for “Young TB” awards.

The inspiration to visit/revisit the program came from Saddlebred Addict and her OTTB Lacy placing 6th at Poplar Place & winning hi-point T.I.P. At least this time the ribbons were appropriately ornamental [Ribbon Rant]. Saddlebred Addict on the web: Show Horse, Sport Horse; Instagram; Facebook.

BTW, this ribbon-winning horse is looking for a new home, details below. No commission, no other arrangements. I figure including Lacy’s sale ad is a fair trade for supplying me with a blog post.


 
~~~
FOR SALE

“Lacy” is a 2010 thoroughbred mare standing 15.2 hands. She is ridden by a 5’8″ rider.

Lacy currently competes novice in area III, quickly moving up from her first starter test at the beginning of the 2019 season. Brave, scopey and honest with three solid gaits, Lacy is a forward ride and goes well in a snaffle in all three phases. Hacks out alone or in a group, no buck, bolt or rear. Lacy prefers a quiet hand and would be ideal for an experienced amateur or an older junior rider looking for a fun horse to take up through the levels.

Lacy is very low maintenance. She competes barefoot and stands beautifully for the farrier. She goes out well with both mares and geldings and is currently happily on 24/7 turnout. She is also content in a stall and has no stable vices. Loads and hauls excellent. Great ground manners.

Mid- to high four-figures.
Located in the Huntsville, AL area.

Videos:
BN Stadium at River Glen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NVfr-0HjG8&feature=youtu.be
BN XC at River Glen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ScC4MfFzMQ&feature=youtu.be
Ridden at home by a junior; a talented 11-year-old rider who has only been riding for one year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQq9Ka8BlTI&feature=youtu.be

Please email sheilamichellepalmer@gmail.com for additional information.
~~~
Saddlebred Addict on the blog
[Ribbon Rant]
[Dressage Is For Every Horse, Two New Horse Blogs For You To Love].


 
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Horse Art Found On My Kitchen Counter

Graphic Design

 


 
14 Hands Winery
Cynthia Sampson, artist

I’m ambivalent about featuring an alcoholic product on this blog. The cover art is pretty. I have issues with the contents. On one hand, there is an enormous social and personal cost to alcoholic misuse. On the other hand, I enjoy the occasional beer after a horse show and I heart fine bourbon. But that is a quandary to be pondered another day. For now, I wanted my reservations on the record.

I suspect my chef bought this to cook with.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

State of the Blog, The Song of Me

Blogging About Blogging

 
Recently, I found myself explaining my choice of subjects. Quoting myself from recent emails.

“I tend to write about myself & my horses, both out of self-interest & to avoid getting mired in privacy issues.”

That’s true.

It’s also hot air.

Fact is, I’m lazy.

“Mostly I talk about myself. If I talk about others, it’s generally positive. OTOH, I’ve said things that I thought were positive in articles only to have the person I interviewed come unhinged. So I stick with myself & my horses. Asking questions of other people & confirming details (is) too much like work. I’ll save that for when I get paid to worry about such things.”

I wanna talk about me and my horses? Rock on. Ain’t no one gonna stop me.

I wanna talk about you? Cue headache.

Do I need permission? Are you a public figure acting in a public place? Even if I don’t technically need permission, would it be prudent to get it? I’m not investigating Watergate. I’m having fun with my horse. Pissing people off in pursuit of truth is not my mandate.

Did I get the details right? Who owns the horse? What happened, in what order? Where are you from? Why …? When …? Gaaa, I’m tired just thinking about it.

I know what I did. I know what my horse did. I stick with that. And so the blog becomes all about meeeeeeeeee.
~~~
State of the Blog [Archives]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

And One More Thing, Alabama Obstacle Challenge Series, King’s Ranch, September 2019

Training Journal

 
Hey kids, let’s put on go to a show!
Paraphrasing Mickey Rooney, TV Tropes
 


 
Oh look, a sign. They’re having a show. Let’s go.

One of the more amazing parts of the obstacle show [Pink] was how we got there. We saw a road sign the weekend before the show. We knew about the AOCS [Because What I Need Right Now, Gotta Go Through It]. We wondered if the show would be having an in-hand class. Checked the event on Facebook. Yup, they were.

That was it. No months of planning. No multiple trips to acclimatize. We had a horse. We went to a show.

It was so … so … normal.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott