“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but
in doing it.”
-
Greg Anderson
We had an incredible weekend. Maybe when your expectations are low it makes
every success even sweeter, or maybe I just am really, really pleased with the
way things went.
The forecast was for an eighty percent chance of showers and
thunderstorms all weekend long with a threat of severe weather on Sunday. I packed a tower of socks, two raincoats, and
enough spare pants to clothe an army.
Amazingly we made it through with only one rain delay and reasonably dry
feet. Even if it had stormed the whole
weekend, I’m not sure it would have dampened my spirits.
Mr. Ryder did some serious growing up over the weekend. I am so glad we did our dress rehearsal
dressage show the weekend before. From
that experience I learned that I needed to pack multiple toys for time in the
stall. I also learned that schooling
Friday night might be beneficial, so we tacked up and headed to the warm-up
ring. While the soup didn’t seem to faze
Ryder much, I apparently need to put “crossing an extension cord” on my
pre-event practice check list. It took
us a good five minutes to get across it.
I was beginning to have serious doubts about our foray into cross country
the following day.
After our splish splash in the warm-up, I cleaned up Ryder
and put him in his stall with lots of toys while I walked cross-country. I consider Longview my home event. I’ve been riding there since I was eight
years old. With eager anticipation I
looked down over the hill to the start box, straining to spot our first little
log. It was nowhere to be seen. With horror I realized they had replaced the
friendly little starter log with the old Baby Novice fence. Sure, it was still a log, but this one was up
on a platform and easily six inches taller and wider than anything I’d asked
Ryder to jump yet. From that point
forward my thought process was, “If we can get over that first log, we’ll be golden.” I knew the atmosphere would probably get to
him. I expected lawn chairs, people, and
red and white flags to cause much loss of focus. I did not expect to have to jump his biggest
jump yet, right out of the start box.
That’s one thing I love about eventing though, there is no time like the
present to learn.
We had a really good warm-up for Dressage on Saturday. He was relaxed, rhythmical and happy. Unfortunately we lost a little bit of that
when we went over to the main ring and in the heat of the moment, I didn’t ride
him as well as he needed. We put in a
fairly lack luster test, but amazingly my sister still managed to get some very
nice photos. Thank you!
Like a big boy, Ryder strode down to the cross country
warm-up and we made about one lap before he realized that this was terrifying,
overly stimulating, and so very much not what he wanted to be doing. At one point while I bucked, reared, and spun
my way past, the ring steward asked my coach if I was okay. Even while holding on for dear life I had to
laugh at her response, “Oh yeah, she’s fine.
The horse might not be, but she’s fine.”
Sure enough, when I finally got enough steering to choose the direction
and approximate speed we started jumping and he settled in pretty well. We still had baby moments, but eventually we
even stood still and watched others warm-up.
In trying to make cross country a fun, no pressure
situation, I didn’t ride aggressively to the first jump and we did have a stop,
but we came back to it and even with the distraction of a horse crossing the
finish line in front of us, Mr. Ryder went right over on try two. We had some green moments around the
course. Going through the ditch in the
woods was a little scary. We had a
hesitation followed by a standing jump over the little drop jump, but for the
most part Ryder marched right around his first cross country course like a
champ. I was just absolutely thrilled
with him.
Sunday Ryder did his first real show jumping course. We were all tacked up and ready when they had
to send everyone back to the barn for the rain delay. We stood sheltered under the barn eves for
about an hour and a half. Amazing the
wiggly, easily bored Ryder eventually went to sleep. Standing and waiting is a very important
skill for a horse and I was so pleased that he stepped up to that tall
challenge so well. The warm-up was once
again soup, kind of the consistency of cream of wheat. Any horse that didn’t like water either got
over it or had a very poor warm-up!
Ryder handled it all well. Once
again, we were presented with an oxer that was bigger than anything I’d
practiced. This time he made a valiant
but not very smooth effort the first time and jumped it like a pro on the
second try. In the rind he needed a
little coaxing over the first several jumps.
I rode with my stirrups longer than normal to help coax him around and
had some very ugly position moments, but by the last four fences Ryder was
really getting the hang of things. I’m
sure I left the ring with a face splitting grin.
 |
| Ribbon on boot so mouthy doesn't eat it. |
As proud as I am of how well Ryder managed all the
challenges of the weekend, it was an extra special weekend because we had an
amazing support crew. Normally at an
event my husband or one other friend comes along. Sometimes my coach is there, but otherwise we
are pretty well on our own. This time,
we had people! My mom, dad and sister
all showed up on Saturday to run video and take pictures of both our
rides. My mother and father-in-law both
made the trip to cheer us on, as did Ryder’s owner. I’m quite certain I heard a familiar rebel
yell of a foxhunting friend as we made it over fence one plus we had a barn
full of well-wishers. With nasty weather
and no certainty of even getting to ride, Ryder’s owner and another barn friend
made the trip again on Sunday. They even
had t-shirts!
It is so wonderful to
celebrate a young horse’s successes, but it is so much more exciting when you
can celebrate with friends and family.
So, a big heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out and to those of
you who cheered from your phones and social media. It may have just been a little starter
course, but Ryder and I felt like we were at Rolex. It was very cool and gave me a new
appreciation and a new perspective on an old sport.
“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not
for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it; friends make life a lot more
fun.” - Charles Swindoll
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