Back off, Peasant!Saturday was the last boot camp lesson before Nationals. I was assigned Lola. Back in the spring, Lola and I showed to good effect [Report & below]. However, that was a class of four horses in huge ring. Boot camp is twice as many horses in half the space. Lola does not appreciate crowds. She had made her feelings known the last time I rode her [Boot Camp Bucks].
Of course, bad behavior causes worry causes tension causes bad behavior. Lola hopped and fussed around the ring while I snarled hysterically at anyone who got too close. There were small children present, so I tried to keep my language clean. Instructors kept telling me to loosen my reins, loosen them even more, and ignore the fact that I was going Mach 2 at a trot.
Finally, I called her a bitch, dropped my hands, and rode like a hunter. We got along ever so much better. I have far more authority riding from nearly 50 years of hunter/jumper/eventing/dressage experience than I do riding from one year as a saddleseat student. Plus, we moved on to canter. I am less likely to fret about a horse running away at a canter than at a trot. Go figure.
I can ride effectively or elegantly. Pick one. While the ablity to fall back on being effective is good for my ego, it does not bode well for my future as an equitation star. Before I congratulate myself too much on my equestrian brilliance, we cannot overlook the possibility that
a) We changed directions. Horses have definite preferences from one side to the other.
b) She got tired. Exuberance tends to diminish as the work goes on.
c) I am deluded. I am simply telling myself a pretty story to cover up the fact that I made a hash out of the ride. Witness accounts may vary.
OR
If you wish a more concise summation, see Dana’s Doodles here.
I seem to have helmets on my mind lately. (Helmets -> mind -> head? No? Well, at least I amuse myself.)
Last Thursday, I made a point of getting my paws on our iPad2 for the day so I could stream the sidesaddle division from Penn National. Back when I showed, we wore top hats for the flat and helmets over fences. In retrospect, duh. In my flimsy defense, I was always at the forefront of what was considered safe at the time. We have just gotten collectively smarter over the years. When the ASTM certifications came out, huntcaps were listed in catalogs as “Item of apparel only.” I had already stopped wearing them. Riding an OTTB helped with that decision. But I digress.
The Ladies Hunter Sidesaddle Under Saddle (non-jumping) class had five entries. Four wore standard plastic hardshells. In the interest of maintaining my helmet evangelist street cred, I will will only say that the helmets looked … practical. One woman had a black velvet, low-profile helmet with a fitted brown leather harness. I thought it looked just as lovely and elegant as a top hat.
It’s all what we are used to seeing. In another class, a rider had black stirrup irons. I imagine the idea was to blend,to not have the silver color stand out. However, I am so used to seeing that bit of shiny silver at the end of the rider’s leg that I don’t even notice it. The black irons drew my eye by omission. Where were her stirrups? Oh, there. I spent more time staring at her leg than I would have had she used standard stirrups. Similar tricks have been used for helmet harnesses. Clear plastic is supposed to be invisible, but sparkles in the light. Black straps are too much of one color in one place. Nylon is too sporty for traditional turnout. Simple brown leather straps fade into the background of all the other tack draped around the horse. In addition, her harness fit. It didn’t hang under her chin like a third jowl.
Progress doesn’t have to be ugly.
As I have said before, I love awards ceremonies, watching as well as riding in. For the Penn National classes, a friend with whom I used to show sidesaddle was the presenter. Cool.
I have said this before but it bears repeating: the saddleseat world has been totally cool with my helmet.
Helmets are not traditional saddleseat wear. Performance classes wear derbies or top hats, academy riders wear nothing. I, OTOH, wear an ASTM helmet with harness. I am nigh-on always in the minority, for both lessons and shows. However, I have not heard a negative word, seen a raised eyebrow, nor imagined a whisper of criticism aimed in my direction.
Personally, I got more static from the hunter world when the first, and supremely ugly, ASTM helmets came out back in the 90s. The materials were less space age, so the profile was far larger. The helmets looked as if an old Styrofoam bike helmet had been covered in black velveteen. We called them mushroom hats.
Currently, the dressage and eventing dressage worlds are undergoing helmet realignment. I am not in either world to gauge what is being said in person, but I have heard haughty sniffing noises in the media.
Score one for the saddleseat folks.
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Gratuitous Sunset Picture
Taken from the top of our pasture during an evening dog walk.
Alvin was enjoying a well-deserved lunch, so I recruited stand-ins for the victory photo. LtoR: Instructor Courtney Huguley, me, Assistant Instructor Melissa Croxton. Photo by Julie Wamble.
After the accusations of being less than calm at the last show [Report], I spent a lot of time minutely examining the whys and wherefores of keeping myself still when I ride, particularly keeping my head still. I came up with a hatful of theories. I didn’t use a single one.
Bring It On
As I zinged into the ring for the first class, I thought, ‘Eeek, my horse is running away with me.’ With Trump, I have learned that I cannot stop his energy. The best I can do is contain it. I decide to try this with Alvin. To which this veteran show horse responded, ‘Ooooooh, are you ready to party? Let’s rock!’
To the extent that Academy Equitation and Academy Showmanship are judged differently, I was fortunate that Showmanship came first. They are usually the other way around. In the first class, we were jazzin’. On a scale of 1 = lesson horse and 5 = five gaited at Louisville, my instructor says I got it cranked up to a 2, or even a 3 on occasion. In the Equitation class, Alvin was a hair steadier, allowing me time to perform the equitation equivalent of sticking my pinkies out.
A close-up for the full impact.
At the end of our second victory pass, I finally lost positive control. I was trying for big, expressive trot. I got canter. I didn’t have the heart to haul him back down. I’ve always been a sucker for a victory gallop.
She looked around: the other horses were showing signs of stress as well … Corlath’s Fireheart was standing on his hind legs again; the king could bring him down as he chose, but Harry rather thought the horse was expressing the mood of both of them. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley [Greenwillow 1982/Ace 2007 p. 187]
My First Step Into a Larger World
Aside from the above, I have no words about events during my classes. As I came around the top of the ring, my instructor patted the ring wall in front of her, indicating that I should head for that point and do a diamond turn [Begins]. The analytic side of my brain registered, ‘Sharp turn. That means I need to keep my horse on the outside rein.’ To which the operational side of my brain replied, ‘Nope. Too busy riding to listen to you.’ I was assessing too much input too fast for my internal word generator to process the data into sentence form. I was riding instead of thinking about riding. People have been trying to get me to do this since I was 15.
Doug Shiflet Photography
View Proofs button or Horse Show Proofs icon > 2013 Alabama Charity > Saturday Morning > 124 – Aca Showmanship WT Adult, 126 – Aca Equitation WT Adult > black horse, blue vest, (only) helmet. Download rant, per usual [Photo Disclaimer Rant].
Photos of note. In the background of photo 124-022-AC13/first class/Showmanship, you can see a woman in a blue Stepping Stone t-shirt. This is Julie W., owner of Alvin. Clearly she is about to tell me, “Chin up” because in the next photo, 124-023-AC13, I have my head tilted so far back that it looks as if my eyes are closed. In the last photo of my day, 126-037-AC13/second class/Equitation, I have a rather happy if goofy expression, I have fallen backwards, and Alvin’s hindquarters have dropped about a foot. This is probably just before he cantered off. We are clearly go for launch.
Alvin sightings in three other classes: with his owner, Rachel, in 110 – 3 Gaited Country Pleas Novice Rider (pink coat) and with another Academy student in 129A/123A – Aca Equitation/Showmanship WT 9 and 10 – Section A (light green vest). Sam is also in the two 9-10 classes (chestnut horse, blue vest). In this show, all juniors in Academy were required to wear helmets. I heard a fair bit of squeaking on the subject. I took a deep breath and stayed silent. Words will not change minds. All I can do is wear my helmet and represent. Every ride, every time.
Final Note
Thanks once more to Rachel and Julie Wamble for sharing Alvin.
Virtual Brush Box 