There was so much leading up to this event, so much hard work and stress and nerves and excitement.  And now it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that it’s all over!  Just like that!  It was more than I hoped for and so much fun and it gives me so many reasons to be sure that this is what I love doing!

We woke this morning to scattered showers and cloudy skies, but the torrential rains held off long enough for the 3 Day to wrap up.  8am was the final inspection followed immediately by show jumping, so we were able to dress in our stadium dress instead of formal attire, which was nice, because I don’t know about anyone else, but it just seems really strange to dress up and look pretty and then handle horses!  The two just don’t seem to go hand in hand.     Anyway, it was considerably warmer than the first jog and Gemini wasn’t quite so insulted about being asked to walk around in a field.  We presented to the judge, had a great jog and passed the inspection and were able to continue to showjumping.

When I had walked the course it didn’t seem like too tough a course – the fences weren’t huge and nothing was too technical, and maybe some of the turns and lines were a little awkward but overall it looked like a nice course.  After watching a few rounds and seeing rails come down and refusals here and there, we soon realized it was not a course to be messed with!  Phyllis warmed us up and got us thinking in the right direction and soon enough it was our time to head in.  Gemini was confident and in front of the leg and jumping well (if you don’t take into consideration the lump on his back – my show jump equitation is considerably horrible – new winter goal for 2009 for sure!)  We came out of a bending line and came around a tight turn into the triple combination – I was focusing so much on keeping the impulsion and straightness coming out of the turn and I ended up just checking a little too much with my hand and we got a bit of a short spot on the oxer in and just rubbed the back rail.  Gemini, as he usually does, pulled it together and got himself through the rest of the triple and around the rest of the course nicely.  I was frustrated about having the rail, but I was happy with how I had ridden the course and encouraged when Phyllis said we looked good out there.     Besides, who can really complain about a rail in stadium when we just completed our first three day event!!  Woo!!!!

   Our rail bumped us down to a 4th place finish, which was just fine!  We still got a whole bag of goodies, huge kudos to all of the sponsers of the Training 3 Day at Waredaca and all of the volunteer efforts and donations that truly made this such a spectacular event.  I still can’t even believe I had such a great opportunity.  It seems almost surreal and if I hadn’t been there myself I’m not sure I’d believe everything I’m saying I went through!  It was so thrilling to see a different side of eventing, the “classic” format that is slowly disappearing from the eventing world.  Again, a big thanks to everyone involved in this event for keeping it alive and showing even just a few of us competitors how awesome the classic long format is and how fun eventing can be!!!

That just about sums up the day.  Steeplechase.  Is.  Amazing.  First of all, I don’t think I could have successfully and flawlessly gotten through this day without my amazing grooms and coaches.  Seriously, who is lucky enough to ride into the 10 minute box and have Phyllis Dawson take care of your horse and then send you on your way!  We had everything we needed thanks to Melissa, who got us out of the barn this morning well prepared and ready to go.  I was so nervous and focused on the phases and getting around I may have forgotten my horse by the end of it! 

  It seemed really strange to get tacked up and head to the start and then to, well, NOT warm up!  Nope, just off we go on Phase A, trotting a bit, walking here and there, having a little canter and then rolling into the finish right at the time I wanted to be at.  A quick check of the girth, a brief panic attack and then no time to think because here we go on Phase B… which, I have to admit, tops the list of all time fun things an equestrian should do in their life!  It took Gemini about 30 seconds to figure out what was going on, but when he realized I was asking him to gallop, and then JUMP AND GALLOP TOGETHER….. well, he went around that course like a kid after way too much candy!  We ran and we jumped, took some extremely long spots and just went FLYING over the brush and all in pretty close to the right time, coming in 15 seconds or so under optimum. (Ok, we were a little fast… but come on it was SO MUCH FUN!!!)  We started out on Phase C, Melissa checked our shoes and gear, everything in tact so off we go to have a breather and think about the cross country course coming up next.  Actually, quite honestly, that was the last thing on my mind.  I didn’t think about that until the vet box – I was way too busy reliving that steeplechase moment over and over in my mind for about 20 minutes or so!

  We came into the 10 minute box right on time, I handed my horse off to Phyllis who cooled him down, walked him and took care of him like the pro she is.  The vets checked him over on entry and then again after some cool down, I jogged him out and they said he was excellent and cleared to go on to Phase D!  And that’s when I forgot about how fun steeplechase was and realized I still had a cross country course to get through! 

  But after heading out on Phase D I don’t think I’d gone even 200 meters when I realized everything was probably going to be just fine.  Gemini was, well, somehow he morphed into Super Gemini and he was scoping out those fences, figuring it out quickly and confidently and we just clocked around that course.  Everything just fell into place – I half halted and transitioned when I wanted, he listened and came back and took the fences boldly and accurately.  Hardly a look at the ditch, jumped right off the huge bank down, over the trakehner without a glance and then nicely through the half coffin.  After walking the course I really felt it was one of the toughest training courses I’ve had to do in my life, and so having it ride so well was just a thrill.  Coming across the finish line, telling Gemmy what a rock star he is, I just couldn’t get the smile off my face.  That had to be one of THE funnest rides of my life!  Clean and clear in all 4 phases and we moved up to 3rd place in the standings, with one more day of show jumping coming up…….

Wow!  As similar as it is to a regular horse trial, it just totally isn’t!!  There’s so much more added stress and excitement and nerves to control!!  This morning was cold and frigid and somehow I managed to get all dressed up with a clean horse and walk around in the frost covered grass and prepare him for the first inspection.  You wouldn’t think it would be that hard to present your horse, jog him in hand a few feet, turn around and jog back.  But it is!  AND on top of that you get nervous about it!  But fortunately we had good preparation, Gemini was awake and excited and we trotted out like a pro and were “accepted”, which is a good thing!  We came all this way – thank goodness we actually get IN to the event now!

  So back to the stable, me to the truck to de-thaw myself and a little while later back out to warm up for dressage.  I was freezing cold and couldn’t feel my reins in my hands or the stirrup irons in my feet and was considering starting to panic when Jineen came in the door and made everything alright again!  She gave us some warm up, got us ready to go in the ring and so in we went.  The test went very smoothly, I tried not to think about the fact that we had TWO judges watching us instead of one, but part way through I thought it was going quite nicely and by the end I KNEW it was nice and was very happy coming out of the ring.  We managed to pull off a 32.6 leaving us in 4th place.  I’m really happy with that because I know how far we’ve come in our dressage over the season and I feel like things have really come together.  There are some things that still need some ironing out but really, I can’t complain too much!  (And as you can see from the picture, Gemini was completely *exhausted* after his day of dressage work!!! haha)

We then went and metered out steeplechase, which is looking like just a blast to ride!  Then Phyllis came over and gave us our own course walk for cross country, followed by a walk with Karen O’Connor.  What an amazing experience, to walk our cross country course with 2 Olympians in the same day!  The course looks tough, and Gemini is definitely going to need his Big Boy Jumping shoes on tomorrow… but here’s hoping to us NOT getting lost of Roads and Tracks, having a blast on steeplechase and surviving cross country tomorrow!!!

Well, the horses are braided and clean.  We’ve practiced the jog up and had a lecture on what the dressage judge is looking for in the test.  We learned about how to calculate times and the proper way to ride Roads & Tracks and Steeplechase and we went out on horseback and hacked phases A and C and only got lost once.  (Ok, I lied… twice…..)  We had a nice school on the flat early this morning – Jineen came out and gave us lessons and I feel like we’ll be ready to go in the ring tomorrow and do our best!  It really feels like such a great way to end the season, as it is so evident how far we’ve come throughout the year and how much we have learned and improved!

  Tomorrow morning bright and early is the first inspection and then dressage shortly after – in which we will be riding in front of TWO judges, which should be a really neat opportunity to see the scores and read the comments from two different perspectives.  Very cool!

I am really impressed with the setup of the Training 3 Day here at Waredaca and the facility is amazing.  The thought of Roads and Tracks was really intimidating, but now, having gone out and ridden it and seen it, it actually seems quite simple and I definitely can’t wait to get out there and do steeplechase!  And what a cool opportunity to have lectures and demonstrations from some of the eventing worlds best riders – Jimmy Wofford tomorrow night, we get to walk the XC with Karen O’Connor, and I even get to walk the show jumping course on Friday evening with Phyllis Dawson!  (How about that!  lol)

We should have perfect weather for Endurance day – its been a bit chilly but sunny and clear so hopefully it will stay that way!  Gemini is loving his slumber party at the event.  After going to so many events back home where we had to stable and then competing in Area II all year where we didn’t stable a single time, I think he’s enjoying his little adventure and feels very important in his temporary stall.  He really likes the activity going on and knows he has to do his best!

Well.  We are here.  After months of saying ‘Hey, we’re going to do the 1/2 star this fall’, well, now it has become, ‘Hey, we’re doing the 1/2 star!! NOW!’

  We arrived this afternoon and settled the horses in their temporary stabling.  (“We” being myself, Gemini and Tizi and her horse Shandon.)  Everyone seems pretty happy and we are close by in some dormitory lodging for the week.  Tomorrow begins a day of lectures and briefings leading up to our first inspection on Thursday morning.  We’ll try to take lots of pictures and post daily updates!! Wish us luck!!!

On rare occasions, we do actually have a little bit of free time!  More often than not, it is individually, but once in a while we are able to do things together as a group and ‘get off the farm’ for a little while.

   Our favorite hangout is the local IHOP in Leesburg.  The Nutella crepes – they are *amazing*, as are the strawberry banana pancakes.  Strangely enough, we always end up at IHOP on Senior Night and I’m not sure they all appreciate our constant laughter about random funny events that have happened in the Windchase bubble.  And they still refuse to give us the Senior discount, even if we are over 80 years old cumulatively!

 

 

Phyllis let us all go on a field trip the other week to watch the Advanced cross country at Morven Park.  What a treat that was!  It was very cool to walk around and see infamous riders such as Amy Tryon, Phillip Dutton and Kim Severson riding right there in front of us!  Plus, it gave me an opportunity to take a lot of photos.  Some of the fences were absolutely amazing, such as the leaf pit.  It really puts things in perspective, when you see these riders make it look so easy, and I wonder why getting my own butt around training level seems so hard!!!

 

 For another fun evening on the town we headed to Charles Town racetrack to watch the ponies run.  Jenna had never been to a track so it was fun to pretend to bet on the horses and see them coming down the stretch.  That, and imagine some of the horses here at Windchase who were running on that very track not too long ago!  For our own sanity, sometimes we just have to get off the farm and do something normal people would do.  These times are few and far between – we are usually way too exhausted to do anything by the end of every day, but we do find time to hang out and have some fun!

 

 

 

 

Not only will attending the 1/2 star this month be what I am hoping an experience I won’t ever forget, but preparing and leading up to the event is going to be just as educational!  Throughout my years of eventing I have never really had to worry about any type of conditioning.  I’ve ridden very athletic thoroughbreds up to training level, for which their typical daily schooling had been sufficient conditioning for the demands at that level.  And although the 1/2 star won’t be extremely demanding, there are a lot of things me and Gemini need to learn and prepare for!

  Which… leads us to Day 1 of Conditioning for the 1/2 star!  Gemini is very fit, it’s not really him coming through the event that we are all too worried about, but we do need to practice galloping and going out for long trot sets!  So today we headed out to the gallop field and practiced some pacing at different speeds, getting a feel for the various speeds that will be expected of us. 

Next, we practiced steeplechase, which, I must admit, is absolutely the funnest thing ever!  We schooled over the steeplechase fence up to about 520 meters per minute, about where we will be expected to be at for the 1/2 star.  Gemini was a little surprised by the fence the first time, but then continually got better and better, flying through the brush and really enjoying himself!

To finish up our ride for the day, we hacked across the street to the big gallop hill, did about 1/4 mile at an easy gallop and then headed up the big hill at 500mpm or so – I think Gemini could have done it again he was enjoying himself so much!  It is such a great feeling to go out in a big field with wonderful footing and just go galloping, hearing the hoofbeats and feeling the wind in your face.  Gemini had a great time, although definitely earned a day off tomorrow – he is exhausted after the conditioning and a hard week of dressage and cross country schooling!!!