DRESSAGE DERBY OF OHIO

Yet another new experience for Damon last weekend.  The Dressage Derby of Ohio is held at Lake Erie College where Damon's classes were held in the indoor arena.  In the past, that arena has proven to be intimidating for a lot of horses so I was very curious to see what his reaction would be.  We got to school there on Friday afternoon which was a big help. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to lunge up on the Hunt Field (which proved to be a little exciting) but I was pleasantly surprised at how settled he was in the indoor.
We had rain that night which the footing outside was a no go for lunging so I decided to school him lightly in the morning in the indoor warm up arena before his afternoon ride. To complicate matters, the warm up had about 6 horses in a 20 x 40 area but I quickly found out that Damon is very brave, even when horses crowd him.  But, I have to say it was a challenge to canter him in there with his big stride and all that traffic. He handled it like a pro, another feather in his cap!  Warming up for the afternoon ride was the opposite, he was the only one in there which made him mildly concerned but he persevered .  The greatest thing was that he marched right down to the judge's stand which sits about 6 feet from the dressage arena and never missed a beat. I have to say in the test itself, his nerves showed a bit on his entrance and he broke at one of the trot lengthenings, but otherwise obedient. We had the same judge that we had last week in Waterloo and she was still pretty hard on him about the amount of tension he showed but she had no way of knowing how inexperienced he really is so we took it with a grain of salt.
Sunday was the 4 yr old Qualifying test and he really did an excellent job.  He was much more relaxed and the test had a better flow to it and afterwards the judge gave him kudos for how much he had improved in only one week. Their overall impression was favorable but they want to see more self carriage, especially at the canter and more relaxation at the medium walk. He scored a 68.2 percent. All of those things will come with time and I must say that what he has accomplished since he came over from Germany  6 weeks ago is extremely admirable. He remains a happy, outgoing horse with a great head on his shoulders and I couldn't be more proud of him.

Now we have three weeks at home before the show at Waterloo, which will be the final chance to qualify for the Young Horse Finals.

WATERLOO DRESSAGE JUNE 2014

What a difference one week can make!  Damon went to his second horse show last weekend in Grass Lake Michigan. He was accompanied by his more seasoned friends, Boca and Royal Waltz. He already knows that the "fuzzy halter" means that we are taking a road trip, although one never knows if it is around the block or across the ocean......it is so hard to be a horse and not know where you are going, with whom and for how long!
We had the most beautiful weather ever, cool in the mornings and sunny and 72 in the afternoons.  This time we were there on Thursday and he didn't have to compete until Saturday and Sunday so he had more time to settle in.  The other big difference was that we got to school in the arena where he had to compete. Our first test came on arrival Thursday afternoon.  While I was schooling Royal, Mary Anne was hand walking Damon around the show rings.  The atmosphere was a lot more electric than his first show and after about 20 minutes of horses calling (including Royal), Damon had a whoopy attack, lept up in the air and kicked out, landing a blow right to Mary Anne's thigh.  All she could think of was that she was going to throw up but she couldn't let go of the lead line at any cost.  When someone ran to her assistance, she decided it was too embarrassing to throw up in front of everyone so she toughed it out.  Let's just say that you could even see the nail holes from his shoe on her breeches. Fortunately, nothing was broken and a couple of days later, she had forgiven him his indiscretion. After some lunging he schooled well the first day.

Friday and Saturday, Andrea and Boca rode in their first Intermediare 1 class and scored 65% and a first and second place.  Royal rode the Intermediare 2 again and had 65% and two second places. We had the chance to ride the 4 year old test on Saturday not to count for the qualification for the Young Horse Finals and I am happy to say that he was much more settled about being in the arena and the judges box.  He did a great job although there is still too much tension for him to show what he is really capable of.  The warm up on Sunday for the Qualifier class didn't do much for his tension factor since the Young Rider Freestyles were taking place with booming music during the entire warm up for us. He was like a sail fish on the end of the lunge line and I was wishing I had a few sandbags tied to my waist to help hold on to him.  About 4 minutes before my test, he slowed down enough for me to climb on and off we went. Once again, he did a wonderful job in the arena, huge improvement over just one week ago in a much more electric atmosphere.  He scored a 70% in the Qualifier with the remarks that he needs to stretch more to the bit and show a longer stride at the walk. Not easy for a horse that is built as uphill as he is but that is a quality that will serve him well at the upper levels, so we will take that comment with a smile and look forward to the higher levels! Off to our next Qualifier this weekend at the Dressage Derby at Lake Erie College.

Nothing like a horse show to help a horse grow up.  The first ride at home after the show was so matter of fact for Damon, he was so relaxed and fluid, one of our best overall rides to date. After his training session, he spent a lazy afternoon in the pasture. He was so relaxed after 4 hours of grass that we practically had to drag him back to the barn.
We are off to Grass Lake Michigan on Thursday for our next show. Damon will have Thursday and Friday to settle in and then he will compete in the USEF Four year old test on Saturday for practice and Sunday will be his first attempt to qualify for the Young Horse Finals. It will be interesting to see his reaction to the whole process the second time.  At least this time he will get the chance to practice in the arena that he has to compete in, which should be really helpful to take care of his show nerves. It is a nice feeling to know that he loads and ships well, stands well for braiding and enjoys doing new things. We have started building our trust and relationship and can't wait for our second try!

FIRST HORSE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!  We just got home from our first horse show with Damon in Jefferson, OH.  I had someone ask me tonight "when was the last time you did something for the first time?"  That's what we did ALL weekend.  First time loading him in the trailer, first time going to a horse show, first time riding in the outdoor schooling area with 20 other horses, first time in a dressage arena, first time braiding him, first time riding a dressage test. It takes a village.  If Mary Anne wasn't handwalking him around the show grounds, I was riding him.  Now I know how new parents feel when they hope the baby will finally let them get some rest.  I only hope that he is just a little more tired than we are after the weekend but I wouldn't bet on it.
Amazing to think that 4 weeks ago he was a horse in a video that was very impressive and now he is the horse that I am riding at a horse show that is breathtaking to watch.  Even more wonderful to ride, when he is in his groove it is like sitting on a cloud that is moving on ball bearings.  We had a practice run at the USEF 4 year old test which is the equivalent to a First Level Test.  He made a great effort in spite of being tense in the arena and a little worried at the judges box.  Let's just say that the stretch circle at C was a little dicey. In fairness to him, he didn't even get to school in the arena before the test so he really had no idea why he was in there and what was going on.  Judge's comments were favorable and she gave him a 66.4% with the proviso that his score would improve dramatically when he gains confidence and gets rid of some of his tension.  Not bad for a horse that had never been off the farm until he got on the plane to come to America.
He actually loved being at the show because he is a real attention monger.  He was described as stunning, breathtaking, the whole package and just plain sexy. Finally on Sunday morning, he had to lay down and take a nap, THANKYOU, there is a GOD.  Unfortunately his ride on Sunday was in the afternoon and we had a deluge of rain and decided discretion was the better part of valor so we scratched.  So after a day of rest (we need more than he does!) we will be back at it to prepare for our first Qualifyer in Michigan next weekend.