My working student, Sarah, said something to me that I loved: “You don’t lose. You learn. So instead of thinking if that if you’re not winning, then you’re losing, think that if you’re not winning, you’re learning.”
So I did some learning over the weekend of regionals. And win, learn or draw, it was still a resounding success.
Ella and I continue to develop our partnership, and the hardest thing for me is to not panic when she starts to get away from me. I’ve been riding nothing but young and developing FEI horses for the last three-or-so-years, which makes me a very good fixer, and not such a good shut-up-and-stay-out-of-your-horse’s-way rider. And in my freestyle in particular, I have to juggle management of Ella’s body and uphill balance, the pattern of the test, AND staying on point with the music.
Saturday’s ride was the best run through of it I’ve had. I didn’t panic; I stayed out of Ella’s way. I kept her energy level up through most of the test, and then didn’t lose my cool when she started to get tired at the end. It was also good practice—our 9:16 p.m. ride time was not the time of day I normally ride Ella, but it won’t be our last night performance together, and so I learned some strategies on keeping her peppy past her bedtime.
She scored above 70 percent, my goal for the weekend, and we just missed the win, instead taking reserve to a wonderful combination retiring from sport. They announced the horse’s retirement as they left the arena together, and it was lovely and emotional for all.
Fender and I rode in the Intermediaire I final on Sunday, and bless Fender’s heart—he just didn’t have anything left to give me. The ride was steady but uninspiring, and I was shocked and thrilled to still place fourth in a very competitive class on a whopper 68 percent. He’s now qualified for both levels at the National Finals, and I get one more show on my boy before the keys get handed to his owner.
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Ella and I rode the Grand Prix in the afternoon, and it was a little frustrating. Michael has always told me that the my job is to keep her hind legs quick and her poll up. And boy, did I ever. The ride felt amazing: no mistakes, crisp and energetic. There were a few moments where I thought to myself, “Huh, it seems like her neck is awfully high, but she’s so light and quick to my aids that it must be right, right?”
Yeah. Not right. She was pretty much off the bit through all my trot, piaffe and passage work, and hollow and braced in her back as a result. She’s not the swingiest creature on the planet, and so I honestly didn’t really notice. The judges did though, and my score was not what I was hoping for. On the plus side, compared to my Grand Prix at the CDI, where the judges all felt I had her too low in the neck, I’m making new mistakes!
I still placed third, still qualified for Nationals next week. And I’m going to go.
I’m going to make sure I have help in the warm-up (I did for my freestyle—THANK YOU, Ali Brock!—but Ali had a student riding at the same time as me for my Grand Prix, so I had to fly solo). I’m getting a ton of help between now and then, with Michael’s wonderfully flexible attitude towards my insanely inflexible upcoming travel schedule. And if I can have her as quick and snappy as I did in the Grand Prix this weekend but with a better topline, it’ll be a sight to see. And if not, I’ll learn something new.
