2005 Season comes to a close... any thoughts?

[Erika]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Since it's October.. and well.. that just leads to snow, etc.  I thought to ask people to check in to share their hightlights of the past year.  In some ways to inspire us to continue on through the dark cold days of winter and emerge on the other side of Spring 2006.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#The hightlight of my year so far has been finding such a great horse to part-board. He is teaching me soo much and is just a joy to ride.  My coach is awesome, and we are looking to attend the March 2006 RCRA schooling dressage show.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Sooo.. come on people.. lets share away!  This forum needs a bit more activity!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Erika#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Patricia]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well I think just getting out there is an achievement.  It takes hard work to get your horse going well in training and not to mention the confidence for success.  I have not shown in 10 years.  Just putting myself out there was REALLY hard because I am OLDer....Even more difficult was my son's ambition.  He was only showing at competitions for disabled riders.  He made the big jump showing against able bodied riders with my help.  He had a VERY successful season showing pre-training at the Primary shows in Niagara.  He was champion in his division and didn't even have to make the last show he was so far ahead.  I started the season doing very well.  We did slip in the standings.  We share the horse and he was working hard and we discovered he had a sore back due to saddle fit.  I finished respectably in Reserve--being out of 1st place by .40 of a point.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Our horse is on a bit of a holiday now....trying to find a saddle.  I brought 2 home last night to try out from Bahr's.  Can't afford new so am trading in my very nice Stubben and trying a narrower tree for our high withered friend.  Enjoying the break but itching to get back at it.  We hope to move back to an indoor for winter.  That is when we do our best riding.  We tend to coast in the summer and just maintain our horse--especially with the VERY hot summer we had. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My son is already talking about next year....#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Trufflemaker]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#This was a big year for me even though it doesn't look like much on paper... I moved barns in late spring, a move that made it easier to focus totally on dressage. Since then I have taken 2 clinics with a European coach who comes to the barn, and have made a lot of progress with my horse and myself as a result. I entered 2 shows this summer--one on-site and one off-site. (This was a biggie for me!) Most important of all, I now have GOALS for myself and my horse, which we are slowly but surely working towards. I am looking forward to my 3rd clinic in November, and to training through the winter. I can't wait to see where we'll be next spring! I imagine we'll be working together a lot more effectively. That will give me more confidence for any shows we might enter next year. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[xena_n_joss]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#what kind did you bring home to try patricia? I was just thinking last night... hmm I wonder if shes found a saddle yet???#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I dont really have very many extravegant highlights as my horse was just brought back into work this summer. And we were having trouble finding a barn to keep her at. But its all sorted out now. Im at my aunts. We are planning on showing our horses at just dressage shows next summer... if she can keep her horse sound, this thing is so accident prone. My aunt is having trouble getting anywhere with her because she keeps getting hurt. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Chisholm]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well as most know I am very please with my season.  Considering at the beginning of the season I didn't think I was going to show at all due to a torn hamstring.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Being Trillium First Level Open Champion is something I have wait for a long time.  Finally have the right horse and a super coach and all the ducks in a row lead me to succes.   It's nice to know hard work pays off.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Really looking forward to next year now.  Already started preparations for next year.  Have goals I want to achieve and looking forward to the work ahead to achieve them.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[RioG]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#For me the big success was "discovering" dressage and watching how much it is helping my horse.  I just received a promotion and a transfer to a closer branch which will give me the money and the time to focus my efforts on my riding.  The barn I moved to in the spring is by far the BEST place I have ever boarded and I have other horses to work with whenever I want, which is wonderful because of Rio's soundness problems.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My goal is to make it to a show or two next year with Rio or with the other horse I am working with.  The fact that I will have the choice as to which one makes me feel as if someone has handed me the moon.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[chenders01]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well, this was an AWFUL year for me but I feel that I am finally back on track, and things are looking up.  I'm getting ongoing help with Tequila now, and am starting to look into taking some dressage lessons on a trained horse, to keep my skills up.  #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I took Tequila out last Sunday, for our first hack since the Spring, and it went really well, so I'm hoping to incorporate a weekly hack into our work schedule.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Things are only looking up #ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys//grin.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[LucasL]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My gelding is doing very well. We went to a clinic last week and did our first half passes, and really improved our counter canter. Since the clinic, I have been riding with much more consistent contact and connection. And last night my horse (who has discovered the joy of cantering and loves to go out at full speed) was cantering nice 10 meter circles (well, better in one direction than the other, but it's coming!) I am looking forward to my lesson today!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My young horse is only three, so I am giving him more time to grow before starting serious work (he is growing like a weed). However, he is quite the ham and has learned to pretend he is choking in order to get attention, and to give kisses. If he doesn't like dressage, maybe he will join the circus.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Like chenders, I would like to take some lessons on a schoolmaster so that I can feel how these movements should be ridden before doing them with my own horse. I am looking into options now - may end up having to travel pretty far, but I don't mind that for the learning experience.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We are planning a clinic with a well known rider at our barn in March, so I am looking forward to that as well. I wish I could make it back to a Walter Zettl clinic, but they are all too far and I can only take so many days off work, especially since I just changed jobs.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Congratulations to everyone on their achievements this year!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Accomplishments this year - I mentioned somewhere else that my horse now goes as well for me as he does for my coach. Our mediums have gone from 4's or 5's to consistent 6's and omg, the occasional 7. Mediums are our biggest weakness, but thanks to an accidental saddle epiphany, they are getting better. With any luck we'll have the extension that we need to show the difference between medium and extended at 3rd Level next year. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Showing wasn't the best, but not the worst either. We had some not great scores, but also some half decent ones as well. We never had a show where there wasn't some kind of weird problem, so that didn't help, but my horse is working better in the ring than he has in the past, we only had one bucking incident in 9 tests, and I was finding I could push him a little more.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#He is working better through his back consistently and has better self-carriage, but still is quite a bit of work to keep activated in the hind end.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#The goal for the winter is to improve collection and the aforementioned difference between medium and extension. Then we should be good to go 3rd Level next year if our bodies hold up! He has a decent half-pass and his changes are getting better, so I think they'll be good enough by the spring.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Erika]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Wow guys,#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#It's great to hear about everyone's highs and lows.  I think it encourages us in the fact that we don't feel like the only ones who have had these moments, but yet there are bright and good things to come.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My winter goals are to work on myself (perfecting sitting trot, etc) and would like to audit a couple of clinics this winter.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks for contributing.. and keep them coming! Our dressage section needs more activity!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Erika#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#