Puzzle Pieces

I was the Puzzle Child.  Not that I was particularly strange (well, depends who you ask), but I was the kid that was always getting puzzles.  Always.  Birthday – at least one puzzle.  Christmas, you could bet on two, at least.  Party favor at someone else’s birthday – puzzle.  Grab bags and door prizes – puzzles.  Who knows why, but puzzles had a knack of finding their way into my possession. 

Most of those puzzles went unopened.  I like them well enough, but I was much too active to sit and stare at another piece of sky or is that water or maybe a blue bed spread.  My family did complete several of the big 3D puzzles, but I’ll admit the motivation there was solely to build a mansion for my Polly Pockets.  I remember being terribly disappointed to discover we’d received a defective puzzle.  Polly just couldn’t live in a castle that was missing a piece.  After all, it would be way too easy for her to fall through and I’d have to disassemble the whole thing to rescue her.

That’s the funny thing about puzzles.  Everyone thinks you have to have all the pieces or it just isn’t any good.  Thank goodness I found Eventing!  Sure having all the pieces gives you a much better shot at winning, but even if a few pieces aren’t quite in place, it’s still a blast!

The first event on our calendar this year was Longview (Mill Creek Pony Club Horse Trials) and we were definitely missing pieces.  Actually, it was a bit more like craters and quick sand formed most of our puzzle.  We spent a little under a month trying to fill in the gaping holes then headed to Queeny Horse Trials in St. Louis. 

What a beautiful event!  I’ve got to give the organizing team props.  This was the first event I’ve been to where they had the Port-a-Johns cleaned and emptied everyday!  People could have complained because the venue is quite spread out (about a mile from stabling to cross country and show jumping), but they provided ample transportation to and from and the path was very horse and bike friendly, plus beautiful to boot.  I didn’t catch a cross word all weekend.

As for our puzzle pieces, we picked up a couple in dressage, Relaxation and Submission.  It was our best test to date.  It was a bit sloppy on my part.  I made the decision to sacrifice precision for relaxation and I’m okay with that.  We can work on precision next.  This time it was great just to have a happy horse. 

Show Jumping is still where our holes are glaring.  I’m not sure why, but I was missing some fundamentals in my riding.  I stuck out my elbows, curled my wrists, collapsed my spine and braced against poor Nutmeg.  With all that going on it’s no wonder she braced right back and got a wee bit strong and flat.  Next goal: bring the relaxation from our flatwork to our jumping.

Cross Country was awesome.  Nutmeg is such a rock star when it’s time to gallop.  After walking the course, I had some pretty big questions about how well we’d get around (see Queeny Course Walk Post), but she proved to me once again that the field is what she loves.  We still have some skills to work on.  Our balance over rolling terrain is getting better but when you factor in big changes in elevation we lose it a bit.  Thankfully my neighbors have graciously offered me their land on which to ride so major hill work is in our future.

I was quite concerned I would forget something for cross country, vest, pinny, number, arm band, helmet, whip, etc., etc.  With a half hour hack out, there would be no going back for forgotten items.  Well, I forgot my watch, realizing it only as I pulled up to cross country warm-up.  Fortunately that is NOT a required piece of equipment and I just shrugged it off and figured time would take care of itself whether I was “watching” it or not.  Three cheers for Pony Club teaching pace and a bit of good luck.  With no idea where we were time wise, Nutmeg and I loped across the finish line six seconds under optimum!

That’s what I love about eventing and horses in general.  It’s okay to be missing a piece of the puzzle.  You’ll find it along the way or find a way to make it work without it.  There are very few absolutes (gravity, forward motion, Murphy’s Law, you get the idea).  Every horse takes a different ride.  Every jump takes different considerations.  Every phase takes different skills.  Whether  you put all the puzzle pieces together in one weekend and do very well, pick up some missing pieces or find holes you didn’t know about you’ll still have a wonderful time. 

Life isn’t an unopened puzzle.  It’s been well used and well loved.  You might have to put tape over a hole so Polly doesn’t fall through.  The box top that shows the design might be worn well beyond recognition.  Take the pieces you’ve got and start making something of them.  You’ll start to see the design.  You’ll learn where the holes are so you can look for the missing pieces in the couch cushions and who knows, the dog may have eaten a piece or two.  You might have to do without, but it’s still worth piecing it together.  You’ll have a Fresh Perspective when you’re done.