In the midst of the season finale!

I love October. And I really love this October.

Big news first - check out Katchi with his pretty red ribbon he won yesterday at Waredaca!



I feel kinda bad about this picture - Katchi's eye looks like he's in pain! I don't think he likes his winner's circle photos. He works so hard and then I hang some stupid thing off his halter, make him stop eating grass, and try to get him to look excited - he clearly hates it. So what can I do for photographic documentation of his big moments?? I'm open to suggestions!

Anyhow, Waredaca was a great day. I had a crazy early and fast schedule - dressage at 8:48 and entirely done by 10:15!! Thankfully my student Adrianne was able to come with me to help with the quick costume changes! There was still frost on the grass when we arrived. No wonder some eventers are already heading to Florida! Katchi was pretty wide-eyed when we arrived and in walking over to dressage - I have said for years that there is something about Waredaca that unsettles horses. Anyone know anything about Indian burial grounds?? Mercifully, Katchi settled down immediatley when we arrived at dressage warm-up and he was all business - and good business! He led our class of 17 after dressage with a 30.0, our lowest Training level score to date!

After dressage, I let Katchi take a few minutes to look (wide-eyed!) across the XC fields - the last time we competed there, he was so wide-eyed going XC, he nearly fell over his Novice jump that he never even saw. I was not looking for a repeat of that experience. And with barely a moment to think, it was time to jump. Trying not to hold myself accountable for a perfect repeat of our Marlborough perfect show jumping round, I went into the arena full of confidence that we were capable of repeat if we both did our job. And we almost did - well, Katchi did, I didn't quite. I lost my way TWICE on course! What the hell is that all about? After a lovely first 2 fences, I totally forgot I was supposed to make an inside turn to get to the 3rd fence - so I rushed around the wider turn and threw Katchi at the third fence for a rail. Stupid. AND THEN - after the in-and-out at #6 I came around the roll-back turn (wide and long, but still a roll-back) and the jump number wasn't where it had been when I walked the course Friday afternoon! I knew they were going to put up an option so you didn't have to jump the liverpool at #7, but they moved the jump number to the far right side where you could barely see it from the direct line. I always keep a running list in the back of my head of the fence numbers just so I don't stupidly miss one - it's not something I'm really conscious of, but it's there in my head. And when I couldn't find that number I panicked - within 2 seconds, I had panicked, madly looked all over 4 wing standards and poles, finally located the number, the red flag, the white flag, and decided I was okay - but by then Katchi was confused, trotting and lost! And then he proved how freaking wonderful he is! Just feet from the liverpool, I decided I DID want to jump it - so Katchi did. STUPID rider again. Really, I never ever do that kind of stuff. And I'm absolutely kicking myself for not taking one quick look at the course in the morning. Those 2 mistakes cost me 4 jumping faults and 3 time penalties - and I lost Katchi the win he so much deserved!

SJ video below. Still work to do - but we're really getting there now. As my friend, Erin, said yesterday about her own SJ round in the Training 3-day - I finally didn't feel like I was riding a bowling ball around SJ!





XC was brilliant. If you didn't know that Waredaca is a really tough Training level course, let me tell you that of the 17 starters in my division, only 10 finished. 4 riders fell off in XC, and 1 in SJ. Of the 10 that finished, 4 had XC stops. Only 2 went double clear. I was not one. Damn those time penalties - and there you have the second way I lost Katchi's win in one day! We came in 8 seconds over time. I'll spare you the details, but the meter wheel I bought at Fair Hill measured the course 950 meters shorter than it was. So much for that plan. The wheel has been returned. But time penalties aside, I couldn't have been more thrilled with the ride! There wasn't one particular fence I was worried about, but the course overall was a huge test in the horse's confidence and trust in his rider - lots of blind landings and leaps into space. And Katchi didn't blink an eye at a single one. We did have one mis-communication about 1/2 way around the course - after jumping 2 large logs at the top of a MOUNTAIN, landing running downhill (which he was SO cat like at) - you had to run down the hill to a slightly skinny "wedgie" with bright orange flowers all over the top. Katchi just didn't understand he was meant to jump it. We were rolling down the hill great, but I never felt him lock onto it. About 2 strides out, he 1/2 figured it out, and we did manage to jump it - but let me tell you that the pictures GRC captured of it look like I am in the middle of a horror film! Katchi coped pretty well - my face, not cute. It would scare small children.

I also have to extend a HUGE thank you to my student Kerry's mom - who graciously let me borrow her barely broken-in custom Vogel boots that have been living in the closet for over 15 years! Ariat is sorting out what to do about the defective boots I returned to them - but meanwhile, I was left bootless and literally without options! It's so wonderful to have such great people in your life that when a boot crisis hits - multiple people show up with boots in hand willing to let me put my feet in them, potentially tromp around in mud, and run cross country where who knows what might happen to them! Aren't horse people the best?!

I think that about covers Waredaca - so, moving backwards I have 2 other quick updates. On Monday, I had another fantastic lesson with Silva - Katchi is flourishing under her guidance and what fun we have with her! I was quite thankful to keep up a bit better this time - I was seriously sore for 3 days after our last lesson! There were some new folks auditing the clinic, and after my ride, one of them asked if Katchi was for sale! I said I kinda like him and I think I'll hang onto him a bit - the woman said she was looking for a good natured lower level packer. I almost choked! Katchi, a packer?! And then I smiled - because that's about the best compliment any rider/trainer can get. People used to say the same thing about my first event horse, Decker - the one in the videos in the last post. It's funny how people take a snapshot in time and label a horse a packer. Maybe there are some horses who are just born "packers". Others are not. And when you make one who (and let me assure you - several parts of my body can attest to the fact Katchi didn't come to me as some ol' packer!) - anyhow, when you make a horse who quite certainly ain't no born packer - when you make him give that snapshot appearance of being a packer - because he's that relaxed, happy, and confident in his work and his skill - that's what being a horse trainer is all about. Katchi, a packer?! wow.

And the final note of the day - FAIR HILL IN BEAUTIFUL WEATHER! My student, Debi, and I headed out for XC day last weekend - Debi had never been to something of this level before, and it was super fun to see her amazement as we figured out the lines and angles - something that looked pretty do-able from one direction, when you found the related line they would have to take - well, now Debi knows why I'm so relentless about pace and line!

Below is a picture of us at the 2* mushroom coming out of the sunken road. Debi and I decided that when I have my own XC course some day - I need a family of otters and a mushroom patch!