Holding horse shows in November is a dangerous business. We’ve had rain, sleet and frost, not to mention windchills in the high 20s—a sharp twist for us in Northern Virginia, for sure, but nothing like what the folks from Texas and Florida are going through.
But you can’t not love the USDF National Finals.
My team and I have attended both of the USDF Finals, last and this year, and we’ve got almost no complaints, at least not about anything that U.S. Dressage Federation can control. This year our group is five, and two didn’t get their entries in early enough to join the other three in the lovely heated indoor stabling, which is certainly annoying, though USDF doesn’t make that process a secret—indoor stalls are first come, first served.
Of course we’d prefer if it was 70 degrees and sunny, but I don’t think that’s reasonably under USDF’s purview.
And even though ride times for the championship classes are done by “random” draw, we’ve drawn early-in-the-class ride times in almost every championship class in which we’ve participated, which is so hard; often the scores in big classes improve from beginning to end. But them’s the breaks.
So instead we wear many layers, eat a lot (oh lord, the white pants), ride our best, and enjoy the hospitality that Kentucky has to offer. The Horse Park is meticulously maintained—nowhere I’ve ever showed, EVER, could have held up as well to the tremendous yuck that was Thursday’s weather. The horse show staff is the A team, pulled from the country’s best show management teams.
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And we’re holding our own in terrific company. I couldn’t be more proud of my students Kristin Hickey (fifth in the third level adult amateur final), Amanda Wille (third in the second level adult amateur final), and Kathleen Johnson (first level adult amateur final), as well as my working student Ferris Yanney (intermediate I open final).
I am also terribly, terribly proud of Beverley Thomas’s wonderful Fiero, who put in a terrific test in his third level open final. I wore my Horse Trainer hat instead of my Show Rider one; as a developing FEI horse I focus a lot on keeping Fiero’s hind legs quick and teaching him to compress his body, even if it sometimes means that the neck gets a little short, and I got dinged big time for it, as I should have. It doesn’t change my plan for him, and if anything, I’m even more excited about his future.
But it does remind me to back down just a little when I’m in the ring, to make sure I don’t lose his wonderful natural swing. So for tomorrow, his second level final, elastic is the name of the game.
The Finals is important for sure, and while of course I see the Big Picture when it comes to training my horses and my people, it’s also damn fun to play at this level. I love the atmosphere, the camaraderie; seeing my friends from all over the country, and making new ones. And getting to enjoy not only the winning rides, like Devon Kane’s Grand Prix, but also the Fynns and the North Forks Cardis of the show, reminds me of what we do, at all levels, and why.
We’re all done except for Fiero’s last class, which is, naturally, Sunday afternoon. But most of my team is hanging around just to support Fiero, Bev and I. How incredible is that?
