Virtual Brush Box

Spectator Burnout

A funny thing happened while I was watching show jumping. I got bored. In the middle of watching some fabulous horse or another, I found my mind wandering. I didn’t have this problem during the Dressage Grand Prix.

It could be my latent Dressage Queen emerging. While I have been told by more than one person that dressage is actually interesting to ride once one climbs out of the swamps of the lower levels, I remain dubious. The explanation of closet DQ rates as technically possible but unlikely.

It could be that I have spent far too much of my life watching showjumping. Way back in the pre-Internet dark ages, we lived near a showgrounds from which I covered hunter/jumper shows for the Chronicle of the Horse. My notes of the big class were so thorough that a competitor once used them to protest her score. In contrast, upper level dressage is a novelty.

Mainly, I think it is the camera angle. Since horse and rider rocket back and forth across the ring, cameras are confined to the edges. You get a quick close-up as the horse zooms past then back to the view from the wrong end of the telescope. For Dressage, the cameras can get close enough to see what the horse is thinking.

What have you been watching?

Red Saddlepad
Highest penalties w/o elimination: Ahmad Saber Hamcho on Wonderboy.
Last of the top 45 pass on to Day 3: A 16-way tie among the 8-faulters.
(I’m still undecided on which way to award this.[Poop])

Poop Happens

Using quasi-compost on the washed-out, rocky areas to create a comfy path for her Ladyship to reach the water trough. I think it looks lovely. And surprisingly warm!

Olympics
Red Saddlepad not awarded for Show Jumping Day 1 due to the nature of the results. For the round, Reiko Takeda on Ari had the highest number of penalties to pass thru the finish flags. However, the highest score and qualified ride again on Day 2 was a 4-way tie: Samuel Parot on Al Calypso, Tiffany Foster on Victor, Luciana Diniz on Lennox, Pius Schwizer on Carlina IV. One could argue it either way.

New Tank Syndrome

Sixteen years ago, I was fortunate to spend a month volunteering in Conyers, Georgia, the Equestrian site of the Atlanta Olympics. For the blog, it was my intention to spend the London Olympics, from Opening to Closing Ceremonies, on a sentimental journey much as I did during the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event [Peregrinatio to Aftermath]. However, spectating the Games, surviving the storm [Blustery], & having a faint vestige of a life (zoo volunteer, LEGO Volunteer) has gotten in the way of organizing a proper retrospective.

Plus, I find I am not as sentimental about the Olympics as I am about Rolex. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be in Greenwich, running around keyboarding my fingers off. But I don’t drown in overwrought, emotional mistiness at the thought of the Games carrying on without me.

The problem is that the Games by definition are at a new place, with a new look, organized by new people.

The take-home message is that because of this the Games will never be as well run as Rolex, or the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, or Dressage at Devon, or any show that’s been in place for eons. The judges know how to judge. The volunteers know how to volunteer. But never together in this place.

I spent a lot of time before and in Conyers hearing of all the dire things that would go wrong. I heard the same about London. Yet, come the day, the judges and volunteers and company all seem to remember how to put on a horse show.

The Red Saddlepad for the Dressage Grand Prix: Yassine Rahmouni riding Floresco.

Foto Friday: Reflection

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Olympics
Earning the Red Saddlepad for Dressage Grand Prix, 1/2 way: Yassine Rahmouni riding Floresco. From Morocco, the 1st African representative in Olympic dressage. I caught his test. He was thrilled.
&
I tawt I taw a helmet! Go Canada!
With regrets to their team. Why does eventing get 2 drop scores & dressage none?

New Horse, New Rules

At what point will I get it through my head that Rodney is not Previous Horse?

Previous Horse was grouchy old coot who had moments of supreme ill-temper. On the night before he died, one of his last acts on earth was to kick me. Therefore, it had always been made extremely clear to him that when the halter was on, he must behave. Stand where he was put. No biting. No kicking. He could bite the air. He could pin his ears. But any illegal action would would result in swift justice. Halter off, all bets off.

That didn’t necessarily mean that no halter = hostile horse. If I took the halter off & he wanted to stand around & be fussed on, cool. If he wanted to leave, also cool. Halterless time was his time. Mathilda has a similar routine but the difference is less dramatic in her case.

Rodney doesn’t see it that way. When I catch him for his daily shower, I usually don’t bother with a halter. Just grab him around the nose & lead him up to the water trough. This is the only time I do this with him. We do this every day. Some days he say, ‘Oh goody!’ and saunters along. Other days, he resists as if I am asking him to work. Then he stands quietly and won’t leave until I’m done. He doesn’t interpret no halter as permission to walk off.

I think I am being consistent. He thinks I am being confusing. The lines he draws to categorize the world are 90 degrees to the lines I draw. He thinks he is being consistent. I think he is being confusing.

Olympics
No competition, therefore no Red Saddlepad. Instead, I recommend a post by the USDF‘s Olympic blogger about the Dressage jog. She has a USDF Silver Medal, so she’s allowed to call dressage horses fat. Also, note the look on the face of the rider whose horse is acting up. She looks annoyed, but not at all surprised.

How long is your new horse adjustment period?

Blustery Day

Speaking of mare attitude [HHPR#5], I have a question for mare owners. Big storm yesterday morning. When we went out to check, Mathilda was frantic. Either she wanted to be let out of the barn or to be with Rodney. Since the former wasn’t going to happen, we caught him & brought him into her pen. Turns out she wanted to BE with him. As in, the world is ending, we must have sex now! Is this a normal mare response to stress or is Mathilda a horndog?

No Olympic thoughts. Caught a few rounds of the Eventing show jumping via the NBC live feed on the iPad while babysitting. Most of the day was horse hysteria, flood control, & clean up. Life on a farm.

Earning the Red Saddlepad for Eventing: Andrei Korshunov riding Fabiy.

Spectating in the 21st Century

(Monthly pontification on blogging postponed until after the Games.)

Despite the daylight, the autoflash went off. Mathilda was NOT pleased. After this was taken, she stomped away. At one point, she spun so fast that I dropped the iPad, freezing the feed. It took us 10 minutes of fiddling to kill the app and restart the machine. Hard not to see that as revenge.

Snaps to Horse & Hound for live blogging during the competition. Great way to stay updated without running up the data plan. Of course, I could have used a third screen to show MSNBC, the NBC’s Live Stream and Horse & Hound. The ever increasing spiral of electronic toy obsession.

Anyone else notice the vet team member wearing a helmet?
Anyone else notice the sirens in the background during Dirk Schrade’s ride, or is that a firefighter thing?
Earning the Red Saddlepad for Eventing after Cross-Country: Samantha Albert riding Carraig Dubh.

How did you spent Monday morning?
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