Eliminated!

Leo and I have never been eliminated on cross country - but as the saying goes, there is a first time for everything. We went the Maryland Starter Horse Trials at Loch Moy today and scored our first "E". 

Dressage

Dressage was pretty good considering as we approached the ring, a woman came storming up in the direction of Leo. He decided he was going to be terrified by this woman and started to throw a hissy fit outside the ring. Jen strategically brought Sammy over and that calmed Leo down. I thought our test was pretty damn awesome considering how upset he was right before he was about to enter the ring. We scored one 8 on our left lead canter depart. It was pretty awesome. But the judge said I needed to "let my horse relax." Really? I create Leo's tension? Yes, me and every other rider that has ever sat on him. I don't know why but I was really turned off by her comments. We scored a 41.8. 

Stadium

Leo and I killed it in stadium! We did have one rail when I added a stride to a swedish oxer, but other than that, we had a great round. There was only 1 double, a 1-stride of verticals, 5 strides to an oxer. They didn't pull out the liverpool either. So I guess it was a little soft for a training course. 

Cross Country

Maryland never has a soft xc at their starter events - which is why they are such a good value! I think I got a little cocky because we've been clear at our last 6 events because we ran into a bunch of problems on course. 

The first complex was Fence 4/5AB/6: Fence 4 was four strides to a one-stride bank at 5AB and then 3 bending strides to a coop at 6. Leo didn't expect the turn, but we made the coop in 4 strides. Then we had a couple galloping fences. So we started off strong! 

The white flag to the right beyond the bank is the left side of Fence 6 - sharp bending line! 

Leo off the bank

The next complex was Fence 9/10AB: Fence 9 was the in for the water. There was an option here: a bank drop in or a beach into the water. The bank gave the most direct approach to the combination out of the water, but it had a blind approach. You galloped up a hill and had about 2 strides before the drop during which the horse sees the whole water complex for the first time. Fences 10A&B was the hardest question on course. You had to ride a left-hand curve/turn out of the water and the 2 fences were set 2 strides apart on a bending line. Riding the beach in meant you had to ride a "s" line to the combination at 10.

Bank in - the first of our problems, bending 2 stride combination beyond the water

Man, a lot can happen in 2 bending strides...

I decided to go for the bank option. Leo has been around 4 training courses this year, 3 last year. I thought it would be a good test to see where we're at; besides, if I want to move up to prelim, we need to be able to answer harder Training level questions. I gave little a tap with the crop coming up the hill to the water but he got to the top and was surprised. He ignored my leg and stopped at the bank. I took the beach option and approached Fence 10A. We got a big jump in and couldn't make the bending line to B. If there had been room for 3 strides we might have made it, but instead picked up a refusal. Bending lines are hard for us, so this was a legit stop in my mind. 

Fence 13A/B was the next combination. It was a log into water, followed by a bank out. I gave Leo an aggressive ride to the water and he stopped. Twice. Then I trotted him through the water and re-approached a third time. He went that time. Technically, 4 stops is elimination but I finished the course only to discover that he had ripped off a shoe somewhere along the way. 

The last of our problems...

So what does this all mean? 

It means I am really lucky to be able to blog about the fact that the worst thing in my life is that fact that I had a bad showing at a horse competition. :) It really is a First World problem only. 

It's certainly not the end of the world. The benefit of a bad showing is that it does highlight the holes in my training. For me and Leo, we managed to take a couple steps forward with our show jumping which is good. Now we need to spend a little time working on xc. We haven't seriously schooled xc since April. Leo is due for a good Sally xc lesson, or Jen and I could even spend some time setting up some combinations out in the field. 

• Banks into water: Leo used to have a bank into water issue. Now I just have to make sure I didn't give him a reason to re-create that issue. We don't have a bank into water at the farm so I'll have to find a place to go for that. I also plan on schooling the logs into water at the farm as soon as he gets his shoe back on so clear up that problem at Fence 13. 
• Bending lines: Leo and I have to be able to execute short bending lines - 2 and 3 strides. We aren't always going to have a nice leisurely 5-6 bending strides to get our shit together. 
• Communication: The bank into the water and our troubles with bending lines are really just symptoms of the fact that Leo still doesn't like a whole lot of rider input. When I tried to correct on line at Fence 10A, he first instinct is to fight the bridle. With 2 strides, he doesn't have enough time to fight me and then get his eye on the fence. At Fence 9, I tried to tell him there was something serious ahead but he wasn't listening to me / or he didn't know what I was trying to say. Then he didn't trust me or listen to my leg aide despite his surprise. He doesn't seem to understand what my role is - which is to tell him what is coming up. I need some hardcore Lucinda Green exercises to remind him that we are partners in this sport. 

Leo jumping well before the first water.