Super star

I swear, it's another week, and I have another brag. We're closing in on three months of Project Fiona and I have yet another 'first' to knock off of the check list. Fiona went to her first hunter pace this weekend. I had enough experience with her outside of the ring to feel confident that she could handle it, but it was going to be a new experience for her. If nothing else, it would take care of her once-a-week requirement to do something off of the farm's property.

It was chilly and overcast, which is not a bad thing when spending the day out cantering and jumping on horses that are starting to get their winter coats in. In the case of at least one thoroughbred that was with us, his winter coat was completely in. He looked a bit like a Woolly Mammoth. Fiona was definitely up on her toes when I mounted (because that meant she had to stop eating, when she was eating she didn't care about the scenery at all). I had my customary moment of doubt when she jigged around on our way to warm up, but as soon as she realized the herd was not ditching her, it was right to work. She warmed up in the long, low frame that would place well in a hunter hack class. Everyone commented on how mellow she looked. I'm hopeful that the photographer got some pictures of her.

I went out with a friend and her big warmblood who was also on his first hunters pace. We're not sure how the two green beans ended up going out together, but it was a perfect pairing. They had gone out trail riding together and knew each other pretty well. My friend had taken her boy out at Beginner Novice, so most of the fences were perfectly doable for them. Some of the more inviting fences lured me and Fiona in, so she has hopped over Beginner Novice height fences as well as the baby stuff now. The only time she hesitated was for a bridge over the river. It was the noise of the water moving under the bridge that worried her. I thought I was on a dancing horse for a moment when she tried to look between the boards while following our brave warmblood friend. She tried to keep as few hooves on the bridge as possible, which was a bit alarming from the rider's perspective.

There were two highlights for the trip:

1. When we were trotting side by side with the 18h warmblood and she was able to match his trot. It was a big trot for her and some collection for him, but it was just kind of fun and she really had her motor going to pull that off. I wish the photographer was around for that. They're both liver chestnut and both have blazes. Not that they look a thing a like, but maybe as his mini-me?

2. Cantering over fence 20, a decent sized log, and turning back to fence 21. It was a bending line at a close distance through the trees, probably four strides, a real challenge, and Fiona ate it up. She wanted to know where the next one was. We came rocketing out of the trees and jumped the final hedge heading to the finish line and she felt like a super star. A tired one, but still very impressive.

She has another field trip planned for Friday with an all day trail ride. We also move to the winter barn this weekend, putting us indoors for the winter. I'll have to buy a lot of winter gear and learn how to ride in the snow. I can't imagine the Princess allowing me to ride her in an arena for months on end. She's very good at making her irritation known. My hip is still aching from her comments in our last lesson over gymnastics. The princess does not do bounces, thank you very much.

A hunting we will go

Foxhunting. It always brings up images of men in red coats chasing after their hounds in the early morning. When I was growing up, it was described as dangerous and insane. But then again, so was eventing.



Fiona gets ring sour at the drop of a hat. I don't really blame her, going in circles is boring. The same mare that will happily go out on the trails and trot or canter behind someone can be a handful in the ring. It's hard to get nice jumps out of her at home, but she doesn't seem to have a lot of issue when jumping away from home. Particularly not when she's out in the open. She lights up like it's Christmas and her birthday all at once. She's still not an easy ride, prone to bouncing and shaking her head if she doesn't like what's going on, but she seems happier and more relaxed.

This Friday we're going on a group trail ride out to the land that the Myopia Hunt uses out here near Boston. It got me thinking, what would best suit the princess? Anything that does not involve being in a ring a lot. Of course it's far too late in the season to do anything at this point, and she's still looking about going out and competing in eventing come spring, but next fall . . .

Of course, this is what comes to mind of me in the field. I think I will resemble Hammond, the young man on the paint that is up for sainthood.






There's a reason my mare has a car name.

Goin' on adventures

Part of the fun with getting a new horse is figuring out all of the little quirks that makes every horse unique. Fiona is a sweet horse, but she's aloof until she actually knows someone. I didn't really notice that, since I see her so much and she adopted me as 'her' person pretty quickly, but someone she didn't know was holding her at the show and she was pretty distant with him. Then her favorite man from the barn came over to see her and she was right back to being a pocket pony. She tried to take his hat off and checked out his pockets. And even with me she's getting more trusting. She would love to groom me back if I would let her, and she steals my gloves or my sunglasses whenever she gets a chance. My dressage whip is her personal toy. The handle is rubber and she will sit and mouth it for ages. Sometimes I think she's more pony than thoroughbred with that little mischievous streak and being so very food motivated.

I'm handling her like she has no history before she showed up with me. Nothing I was told about her is panning out, so I consider her a blank slate. Running with that paradigm, I try to get her off the property and seeing the world as much as possible. I'm sure some people question my sanity when I ship my green TB off to go play (and I don't pack anything but her snaffle), but she seems to like it. She's better behaved away from home where she's not so distracted. This time her favorite man at the barn invited us to go on a trail ride with him and some of his friends.

Context for this:

1. This particular rider does cowboy mounted shooting.
2. So do the friends we were going to go riding with.
3. Fiona was the only one that was not a stock breed, was the only one in English tack, and was about a hand taller than the other horses.

She certainly did her part to disprove the image of thoroughbreds as not being able to handle new situations and being hard to manage. She straight tied at the trailer (hey, that's where the food was), walked into a smaller indoor arena with a huge white tarp along one side, stared at the goats, and bravely followed the two paints in front of her wherever they wanted to go. There were water crossings and rough terrain. At one point there wasn't even a trail, and she just put her head down and plowed through. I got some branches to the face, but it's not her fault she was considerably taller than the rest of the horses.

Of course her favorite was when we jumped or galloped. She did well, galloping in a field with the group and still stopping. She really, really wanted to pass the two in the lead (they were galloping, she was cantering), but she was willing to stay on their tails. Someone had been schooling cross country on these trails, since there was a clearing with a couple logs clearly set up. Fiona gave the Western broke horses a lead over them, since they didn't understand. Trotted the first log, beautifully cantered the second, then powered up the hill looking for the next obstacle and not at all concerned about the other horses. Looks like the herd bound issue won't be a problem cross country.

I'm sure the others at the barn are tired of the glowing reviews. I can't quit babbling about how proud I am that she's handling everything so well. I definitely wouldn't call her a beginner friendly horse, or even amateur friendly with some of her more interesting quirks, but she's certainly versatile. The same horse that's willing to drag me at the canter to jump will walk on a loose rein down a dirt road with her new buddies, so long as we are out and doing something. I think the really challenge with her will be to keep her from getting bored and sour.

Winning Ways

Today was day 64 of Project Fiona.

First things first. I completely understand that horse shows need to start early in order to get done while the sun is still up, I really do, but I had the overwhelming urge to fling my alarm clock when it went off at 4am this morning. I think I got a total of one hour of sleep. I spent several hours staring at the ceiling and thinking of everything that could go wrong at our first three phase, dozed off, got woken up by my husband coming home, dozed off again, and the alarm went off. These early mornings are ridiculous, I don't know how my trainer does it nearly every weekend.

If not for 24 hour Burger King, horse showing would not be possible.



Yes, I'm still psyching myself out a bit for showing Fiona, but it's getting better. I didn't stress to the point of feeling sick this time. She, of course, was a good girl and got a 36.7 on her BN Test B. We got knocked for her overly-enthusiastic canter (and one rather explosive canter depart), but got some good marks in her trot work. That got us into first place after dressage. We had a little over an hour to swap tack for the stadium and cross country. I should have eaten, I know I should have eaten, but jumping is still a bit spotty with her and I was nervous. I just pulled on my jumping vest and headed back to the rings.



She actually sat and chilled, watching the stadium rounds and letting everyone pet and fuss over her. Her jumping warm up was a bit interesting, with plenty of head shaking and skittering about, but she jumped everything without hesitation. Our fences were only 24" and didn't have a lot of decoration, so she was more than able to handle this. Our only dicey moment came when I heard that we had a loose horse on cross country, which was starting next to stadium, and I turned and looked away from my last fence to see if I needed to bail. Turned out that the horse was already caught. I looked back to my fence and realized I was practically on top of it and Fiona was wondering what I was looking at. At least she's honest and she popped over it despite the lousy ride I gave her.

From there, it was straight to cross country. Good, no time for nerves, but I was feeling a bit woozy from not eating since 4:45am. Off we went for our 9 fence introduction to cross country. Despite a slight loss of sanity on fence three when she realized she was all alone in the field, by fence four she was in the groove. By fence seven, she was cantering beautifully, light in the bridle and ears pricked.

Fiona got another pretty blue ribbon for her collection. I got a clear demonstration of just why I ride through her zany days and her little quirks. Some days I have to wonder why I do this. The sport is expensive, time consuming, and could get me killed. I have a hot little chestnut thoroughbred mare that can move ten feet laterally with little to no warning for almost any reason and is far from easy to manage when she's excited.

Then we went out for a nice little run in a field in beautiful weather, locked on to our next fence, and it started to make sense again.

Enthusiasm

I shouldn't complain about enthusiasm. I really shouldn't. But then again, enthusiasm usually lands me with a sore back. At least when it's coming from Fiona.

Fall weather continues, and Fiona continues to show me what a big girl she thinks she is. Yee. Haw. It's not dirty or scary most of the time, it's just head shaking and trying to grab the bit when she just feels like going for a run. I'd be more concerned if I couldn't stop her with that loose ring snaffle, but it can be a bit unnerving. Today was her first day jumping the cross country obstacles. The expression on her face when I asked her to jump out of the ring over the logs was pretty classic.

"Mom, are you drunk?! I can't jump out of a ring! Next time, I drive!"

But after she did it once, she decided that was fabulous fun. Cantering toward the barn where she just knew dinner was being served? Let's just say that turning away was a bit of a challenge, and the princess threw a temper tantrum. My trainer is more amused by her antics than anything, so she's clearly not that scary. At least not for spectators. She was a good girl, though. Jump all three of the logs that were set up and dropped off of the bank a couple times. We worked in the field until she settled and could handle cantering around without deciding to make a break for home. Height will not be an issue for the little girl come summer. Not at all.

It's very different for me. I've ridden green horses. I've ridden young horses. I've ridden athletic horses. I've never ridden a green, young, athletic horse. I've only owned one horse before Fiona, and that was Allen. I only had Allen as my partner for three years before he had to be retired (at the ripe old age of nineteen). Other than him, I've always been a catch rider. I would ride whatever other people didn't want to. It's good for giving someone a really strong foundation and getting them used to riding a wide variety of horses, but you don't build a lot of strong bonds that way.

I have to thank Allen for the fact I can handle Fiona's shenanigans. He was a big boy, 17 hands of TB that could get very big and hot when it was time to jump. He had a bit of a roar, so when he would enter a ring way up on his toes, tossing his head and sounding like a freight train, people got out of our way. His nickname was Hellbeast. He was a handful to jump at the best of times, but he taught me a lot. We did the 3'6" jumpers, adult equitation, and tore around the property bare back. He baby sat me through my first cross country fences and hauled my butt around the Coliseum for my first medal final. Of course, he didn't bother to bend his knees when jumping a four foot fence.



Sometimes Fiona reminds me of him. When she gets way up on her toes and starts snorting because she knows it's time for jumping, it makes me giggle. But there is a major difference. Fiona is seven with next to no experience. Allen was a school master that would take care of me if I made a mistake. He knew his job better than I did. We used to joke that we felt bad for whoever rode Allen in his prime, considering what a handful he was at eighteen.

I'm starting to think I know exactly how that person felt.

Pros and Cons

The rain has finally stopped. I was getting ready to build an ark. With Fiona, there would have been a fight to be the guy horse that got to be paired with her. All she has to do is arch her neck and geldings from across the ring will have their eyes on her. I don't know how she does it. It's bad when my horse is better at picking up men than I am.

My lesson yesterday was very exciting after that much time off. The wind was blowing, it was in the sixties, and she had plenty of time off to build up a head of steam. Even when I did ride her, there wasn't much we could do in the deluge. Monday she was a complete pistol with me, Tuesday she was good for my trainer. Wednesday she had off because of more rain, and then it was lesson time. I call it 'actin' a fool' when she does this. Everything is grounds for jumping about and bolting. It's all pretty straightforward at least, or I wouldn't be so laid back about it. She bounces around and props a couple times, then we go back to work.

Our jumping was . . . enthusiastic. Big trot, big jump over the little fence, huge canter away. I was trying to explain to her that the fences were 2' or 2'3", not nearly worth that big of a jump, but she was really enjoying herself. We did a course, and other than being confused about being asked to do lines instead of jumps one at a time she did very well. It was a demanding lesson, and she was pretty tired. She was a bit muscle sore behind today, so we kept things light. At least her brain is back on now that she's getting regular work again. That mare can turn on a dime when she thinks the chipmunk army has spotted her.



So, after a week of dealing with Fiona as a thoroughbred in fall, some pros and cons are in order. Aside from keeping friends and family abreast of the princess's progress, I'm using the blog to keep records on this little project. Time for a bit of a sanity check, now that I've seen the princess when she's not on her best behavior.

Pros: Smart Athletic Sweet and affectionate Good size Brave and honest Forward Scopey Willing

Cons: Sometimes too smart Frickin’ quick on her feet Serious treat hound Lots of ‘jewelery’ on her legs Exceedingly stubborn at times Holy hell, where are the brakes?! Getting jumped out of the tack Convinced the chipmunks will get her

Most of this is pretty much to be expected. You can't get one without the other. While Fiona was having a meltdown on Monday and bouncing all over the ring, I kept chanting to myself 'you bought the horse, now ride the horse'. I bought the whole thing. I bought good days and bad days, fabulous tail and goofy legs, a bright mind and all the things that go along with it. I think things are pretty well balanced out, and it's easy to forgive her when she gives me that look that says 'oops, I was being an idiot, sorry'. I just sigh, pet her neck, get her turned around from the 180 she pulled out of nowhere, and go back to trying to figure out what I did with those brakes. I'm sure I left them around here somewhere. Maybe the chipmunks got them.

Rain, rain, go away

Don't get me wrong, I know we needed the rain. Things have been exceedingly dry this summer, and the well at the barn was starting to get a bit low. That doesn't mean I have to like missing a lot of riding. Or riding in the rain.

Blame the hunter princess background, but I still stare out at the rain, Fiona standing next to me, and we both have the same expression. "Are. You. SERIOUS?!"

But my tack is nicely cleaned and oiled, since I'm not going to let it sit after riding in a downpour. So at least there's something. Yesterday was supposed to be my lesson, but between the high wind warning and the flood watch, I thought it might be a bit extreme. Today is not any better, with gusts over 40 mph and rain all day. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and in the 60's. Anyone want to guess how that ride is going to go, with it colder, breezy, and two days of no work? Yeah. I'm glad I got to work her on Tuesday, even if it was pretty much pouring. Fiona doesn't have an issue with water, it seems, since the gate had a growing water complex around it. She slopped through it just fine, even if she was a bit indignant about the mud and wet sand getting on her. Ever the princess.

Fortunately there's nothing planned until the 17th, so no disaster pending. I'm taking my free time and studying the WEG with frightening devotion. That course looks evil. Absolutely evil. I'll enjoying watching other people ride it. Alas, I don't have the stomach to watch the dressage competition after seeing the pictures from the warm up. Seriously, what's the point of banning a technique and then letting everyone use it in the warm up for the WEGs? And I usually love watching dressage, it's kind of a let down.

I got Fiona a purple plaid rain sheet. Trainer is not impressed, but I love it.