Life Lessons

The prettiest train wreck.
Sometimes you work hard, and give it your all, and pour in gallons of blood, sweat, and tears, and due to circumstances outside your control, things still go horribly wrong.

That's life.

For a control freak like me, it's a good lesson to learn.

The past week has been a rough one for Dino and I. After getting my mental demons back in their cage, and jumping around successfully at home, we went for another cross country lesson last week to prepare for Plantation this past weekend.

Beginning with the warm-up stadium fences, Dino decided he did not want to play. He used his Jedi Mind Tricks for evil and read my every thought about imperfect distances instead of reacting to the forward aids I was giving him, and stopped. Hard. At everything. One trainer ride and a whole lot of frustration later, we were able to get him around over the stadium fences and all of the small logs and coops on the course, and made the decision to drop down to Starter for the horse trial, see how it went, and make a game plan from there.

I did some wonderful in-hand jumping work with Dino at home on Friday, and while it did lift my spirits and remind me that I DO love this pony more than anything in the world, I still had very low expectations for the show. Dino had a blast jumping in-hand, but it wouldn't necessarily translate to the show ring.

Our dressage test was actually quite good despite having only about 5 minutes to warm up. We snagged a 34.7, even with the judge completely nailing us with a 4.5 for our free walk because of two shuffly trot steps in the beginning. I thought that was rather harsh, but Dino really showed up and gave me some great work despite me feeling rushed throughout the test. We got a comment of "Nice test, good partnership!" at the end, which made me smile.



Dino did not show up for the jumping.

Our warm-up for stadium started out in a promising fashion, with Dino moving nicely forward off my leg and responding well to my "Go Forth And Conquer" half-halts. He jumped the crossrail and the vertical just fine, and then slammed on the brakes at the small oxer when we met it on a half-stride.

My awesome trainer was thankfully there coaching me, and encouraged me to leave the oxer be - now was not the time to address this problem. We jumped the other two fences a few more times and went in for our round.

I showed up, I rode, I did everything right, and Dino did not do his part. He stopped at the first fence. I got him over, but then he stopped twice at the second and we were eliminated.

Part of me was relieved that I didn't have to attempt the tricky, unfriendly, not-appropriate-for-beginners cross country course with its multiple blind 90 degree turns and nonsensical fence placement.

Thankfully Emma was on hand to shoot some video and console me with beer and jokes
Having had very low expectations to begin with, I am actually not very upset about the show itself. I'm quite pleased with the dressage, and I honestly was not expecting Dino to play in the jumping - if we had gotten around stadium, it would have been the icing on the cake. Going forward from here, I have a great team of pros to help me decide what our next steps will be. They most certainly will include some bodywork, saddle fitting, veterinary evaluation, getting this pony out foxhunting, and starting from ground zero with our jumping. I'm thankful for my great trainer and her understanding that trying to force Dino to do anything isn't going to help get him past his mental shut-down. She's got some great ideas to tackle this from a training standpoint, and I'm encouraged by her relentless attitude.

I've also had multiple offers to ride and show some very lovely horses and ponies, so even if Dino's issues are something that take a long time to overcome, I will be able to continue having fun doing the sport I love.

Character building. It's a bitch.




Comments

  1. Oh no, I'm so sorry to read this. :( I was there last August, it's not fun. I'm glad you're approaching it from the vet/saddlefit/etc approach. Fingers crossed for you two!

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  2. Sorry you didn't have a good weekend. I've never had an older horse that was still in heavy work but maybe Dinos lack of gusto is him telling you he needs to step back a bit as he's getting older? I hate that you are losing confidence and can relate to having the downs about a show though.

    I hope one way or another you're able to get out and have fun at some events this summer.

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  3. Ugh- sorry to hear about this. But it sounds like you are taking proactive steps to see what's going on a fix the issue, so good for you!

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  4. Grrrrr, Dino! I have to say that Plantation is a really a tough one if you're working on some demons. So much atmosphere there and even though they do offer starter now, the terrain makes it seriously tough! You'll get back in a groove soon I'm sure of it.

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  5. congrats on that lovely dressage test, and also kudos for riding your pants off even when ponykins didn't want to play nice. i'm sorry that things didn't go differently but have complete faith that you will figure out a good path forward with Dino. you guys DO have a great partnership! and in the meantime, go forth and show those other ponies and have a BLAST!!

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  6. It's really really hard to let go and let things be and happen. I can totally commiserate. Sometimes horses have bad days.

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  7. Ugh, I'm so sorry you're having so much trouble and disappointment right now. But I really loved your last paragraph. You have tons of options and so much support! You'll get through this <3

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  8. I'm so sorry! Lots of hugs, and totally take people up on showing other horses, will be a great confidence boost!

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  9. AS always, you do so well assessing the situation. I think a vet eval is in order. Something may be hurting, and if not, at least you can rule that out. I think you should definitely go ride some other horses, just for the experience it will give you. If you have offers, take advantage of that.

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  10. You two are a very resilient pair and your trainer sounds awesome. Hearing you describe her attitude as relentless-- encouraging indeed! You've got everything you need to slog through this rough patch!

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  11. Congrats on the dressage test! I'm sorry that the show didn't go as planned, but you are an extremely thoughtful rider and always put Dino's welfare first by taking proactive steps to ensure he stays comfortable and loves his job for as long as possible. You have a great team of pros in your corner and are getting ahead of any potential physical problems by making vet and saddle fitter appointments, so try not to get too down (easier said than done). You guys will figure this out :)

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  12. Ugh. I'm disappointed FOR you. You've been working so hard and things have all been coming into place and then POOF! Euro Pony brings the humble-the-human lesson hard. You have a great outlook though, and I hope you can get him straightened out quickly.

    www.amateuratlarge.blogspot.com

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  13. That's definitely a bummer, but it sounds like maybe some routine maintenance and confidence building after Dino's got some feel good juice might be all he needs. Fingers crossed that is the case, since that's a fairly easy fix!

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  14. Ugh, this is so frustrating. I know how hard you've been working. :(

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  15. I'm sorry. Am there myself right now, all the ups and downs are exhausting. It sounds like you have a great plan and I'm a believer in the pair of you!

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  16. Ponies! I'm glad dressage went fabulously, and so sorry to read that he didn't want to jump all the things. Super impressed by your positive attitude, though.

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  17. Character building is the worst. You have my sympathies.

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  18. Ugh...character building. I hear you. Sorry for the rough time.

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  19. Sounds like you have a great team and a great plan going forward. Hopefully you'll get your jump loving fun pony back in the ring in no time!

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  20. Dang. Glad you have your team thorough all of it. Hugs

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  21. Second the SB: Character building is SUCKY, as so many essential things are.

    I'm sorry Dino didn't show up for you. I would not have been able to handle that so well, even with low expectations. But if there's anything you've proven to me, it's that you're more than capable of working through it. And if you want to play with other ponies, Murray is always available too... just come to CA first.

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