Cowpony
Well-Known Member
We did a dressage competition yesterday with 60mph winds and heavy rain. Luckily it was where my mare is on livery, so we didn't have to travel. It went something like this:
Warm up in the indoor school, trying to keep control while the wind sounds as if it is taking the roof off, and there are tarpaulins flapping wildly just outside. Mare takes a while to settle at the best of times so she spends longer than usual doing her impression of a giraffe trying to look over a wall. She starts to work nicely after about 20 minutes.
Another (quite big) horse spooks at the wind just as we are passing each other, and sets mine off. Spend another 10 minutes getting her back to where she was.
Other horses go off to do their tests and mine yells her head off as if they were her best mates, not some random strangers she only clapped eyes on 15 minutes ago from across the school. Spends the next 10 minutes looking out through the door every time we pass it, just to make sure she can still see some other horses. Works beautifully for the last 5 minutes. Start to feel more confident about this test.
Finally go to the outdoor arena for our turn. Mare does a lovely forward medium trot all round the outside. Feel quite positive about this test.
Judge rings bell and we turn down the centre line. Mare immediately backs off my leg and loses impulsion. Get a sinking feeling about this test. Head towards C, squinting against hail being blown into our faces. Circle at E, trying to keep a nice shape and uniform bend whilst being blown sideways by the gale. Wallow through foot-deep soggy patch at B. And E. And K. And.....well pretty much the rest of the arena. Give and retake the reins in canter, trying desperately to show enough strides whilst taking the reins back before we hit the next boggy patch and fall on our faces. Mare now so unbalanced by turning her head away from the storm that trying to get correct bend is impossible, and even steering a smooth line is difficult. Strike off into second canter on wrong leg, but hard to be sure as the ground is so uneven. Decide to carry on regardless. Get rubbish marks for the next 3 movements as a result (my own fault!). Ignore snot running down face from nose which is probably blue from cold, and give head a brisk shake to dislodge rain pouring down from peak of hat. Peer towards C through the deluge, hoping the judge can't see A because we've just overshot it. Halt, trying desperately to stop mare jogging around from side to side as she doesn't want to spend another second out in this weather either. Head for the exit, wondering whether to risk opening the gate myself and having it ripped out of my hand by the hurricane or wait for the steward to dash out from her sheltered spot to do it for me. Feel relief that it's over and don't care about the mark. We survived, that's all that matters!
Turn mare out afterwards. She drags me down the road and dances around while I unlock the gate. She can't wait to be out - she loves her field and the outdoors! Rain - what rain? Being out in the weather is the best thing ever! She does a beautiful balanced canter across all the huge, deep puddles, the ruts and the divots. Sigh. Maybe next time she'll do that under saddle.....Hope this wet weather stops soon or it's going to cost me a fortune in box hire getting to shows with indoor arenas.
Warm up in the indoor school, trying to keep control while the wind sounds as if it is taking the roof off, and there are tarpaulins flapping wildly just outside. Mare takes a while to settle at the best of times so she spends longer than usual doing her impression of a giraffe trying to look over a wall. She starts to work nicely after about 20 minutes.
Another (quite big) horse spooks at the wind just as we are passing each other, and sets mine off. Spend another 10 minutes getting her back to where she was.
Other horses go off to do their tests and mine yells her head off as if they were her best mates, not some random strangers she only clapped eyes on 15 minutes ago from across the school. Spends the next 10 minutes looking out through the door every time we pass it, just to make sure she can still see some other horses. Works beautifully for the last 5 minutes. Start to feel more confident about this test.
Finally go to the outdoor arena for our turn. Mare does a lovely forward medium trot all round the outside. Feel quite positive about this test.
Judge rings bell and we turn down the centre line. Mare immediately backs off my leg and loses impulsion. Get a sinking feeling about this test. Head towards C, squinting against hail being blown into our faces. Circle at E, trying to keep a nice shape and uniform bend whilst being blown sideways by the gale. Wallow through foot-deep soggy patch at B. And E. And K. And.....well pretty much the rest of the arena. Give and retake the reins in canter, trying desperately to show enough strides whilst taking the reins back before we hit the next boggy patch and fall on our faces. Mare now so unbalanced by turning her head away from the storm that trying to get correct bend is impossible, and even steering a smooth line is difficult. Strike off into second canter on wrong leg, but hard to be sure as the ground is so uneven. Decide to carry on regardless. Get rubbish marks for the next 3 movements as a result (my own fault!). Ignore snot running down face from nose which is probably blue from cold, and give head a brisk shake to dislodge rain pouring down from peak of hat. Peer towards C through the deluge, hoping the judge can't see A because we've just overshot it. Halt, trying desperately to stop mare jogging around from side to side as she doesn't want to spend another second out in this weather either. Head for the exit, wondering whether to risk opening the gate myself and having it ripped out of my hand by the hurricane or wait for the steward to dash out from her sheltered spot to do it for me. Feel relief that it's over and don't care about the mark. We survived, that's all that matters!
Turn mare out afterwards. She drags me down the road and dances around while I unlock the gate. She can't wait to be out - she loves her field and the outdoors! Rain - what rain? Being out in the weather is the best thing ever! She does a beautiful balanced canter across all the huge, deep puddles, the ruts and the divots. Sigh. Maybe next time she'll do that under saddle.....Hope this wet weather stops soon or it's going to cost me a fortune in box hire getting to shows with indoor arenas.
