Award Time again!

On January 8th, OHJA is having its awards banquet and I thought I'd just make note of some of our accomplishments ("our" meaning Triple Rise) from this year.

Open System
Lauren and Bella - 2nd 3' Pre Green Working Hunter
2nd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)
2nd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
3rd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Julie and Henry - 4th Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)
3rd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
4th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Debbie and Houdini - 3rd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (41 +)
7th Large Working Hunter
6th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Regional System
Kate and Titan - 1st 3'3" Pre Green Working Hunter
2nd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)

Anna and Patches - 8th Children's Working Hunter (13 & under)
2nd Modified Child/Adult Hunter
2nd Pre Child Hunter
4th Small Working Hunter
7th Pre Child Equitation, flat
7th Pre Child Equitation, over fences

Kristine and Q - 5th Children's Working Hunter (14-17)
1st Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter
2nd Open Working Hunter
1st Children's Equitation, over fences (14-17)
5th 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper
4th Low Child/Adult Jumper

Sophie and Jackson - 3rd Children's Working Hunter Pony
3rd Pre Child Hunter
5th Pre Child Equitation, flat
3rd Pre Child Equitation, over fences

Jessie and Honey - 4th Pony Working Hunter

Missy and Keenan - 1st Large Working Hunter
1st Pre Adult Hunter
2nd Pre Adult Equitation, flat
2nd Pre Adult Equitation, over fences

Holly and Lucky - 2nd Long Stirrup Hunter
1st Long Stirrup Equitation, flat
2nd Long Stirrup Equitation, over fences

Alison and Bijou - 4th Short Stirrup Hunter
4th Short Stirrup Equitation, over fences

Tamara, Jakob and Cloudy - 5th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
3rd 0.85-0.90 Meter Jumper
5th Low Child/Adult Jumper 3'

Jessie and Houdini - 6th Children's Equitation, over fences (13 & under)


We pretty much rock :)

Spectacular results

Fancy and Kate: Reserve Champion - Modified Child/Adult Hunter
Henry and Julie: Champion - Adult Equitation, Champion - OHJA Adult Medal
Lucky and Holly: Reserve Champion - Long Stirrup Hunter, Reserve Champion - Long Stirrup Equitation
Jackson and Sophie: Reserve Champion - Pre Child Hunter Pony
Patches and Anna: Reserve Champion - Pre Child Hunter Horse
Keenan and Missy: Champion - Pre Adult Hunter, Reserve Champion - Pre Adult Equitation, 5th - OHJA Mini Medal
Q and Kristine: 7th - OHJA Children's Medal
Keenan and Jessie: 3rd - OHJA Children's Medal
Bella and Lauren: 6th - OHJA Adult Medal

And major congrats to Tamara and Jakob who got 4th (out of 14) and 5th (out of 20) in two of their jumper classes; and to Allison and Bijou who competed in their first 'AA' rated show and did a phenomenal job!

baby steps and feeling good

I rode Keenan today!

Hooray, we're on our way back! Sarah told me yesterday that we can start lightly hacking Keenan this week and if all goes well, we can ease him back into working! I hopped on him today and it felt so good to be back on my boy. His stride is so smooth and it just feels so right to canter him around again. I can tell he's still stiff and he was rarin' to go, but I'm just glad to be together again!

Also:
Had a really great lesson with Bijou tonight. She had a week off last week while the gang was at Country Classic and the vacation really did her some good. She was a joy to ride tonight, and at a few points, I even had her moving in a nice hunter-y frame.

Last night during our flat lesson (I rode Tamara's Thoroughbred gelding Cloudy), Sarah said something that made me feel like a million bucks. We were doing pretty uncomplicated flatwork, but Sarah was really critiquing our equitation. She tends to do that after shows because she's had a chance to see her clients put into practice what they've been learning and also what they need to work on. So we were trotting around, creating a connection with our horses and getting them into a nice working frame. Sarah was talking about basic points of equitation and how important it is to make that connection - when a horse is moving properly and using himself correctly, it tells a judge that the rider is doing his or her job. Sarah said that it's not a coincidence that the riders who win equitation on the flat are the riders whose horses are moving in that round, working frame. "That's why Missy wins all her eq on the flat classes [she forgot that I came in 4th in the last one]. She knows how to get her horse to use himself correctly. That's why she's at the top of her division and that's why she'll be moving up next year." It meant the world to me that she would say that. My mom has told me about the nice things Sarah has said to her and I have overheard Sarah's comments to people like the horse show vet about how well Keenan and I go together, but to say that out loud in a lesson made me glow inside. I so look up to her and it makes me feel so good to hear her praise.

humility, courtesy of Bijou

Bijou and Anna at last year's Northwest Spectacular, where they finished 2nd in the Hillcrest Starter Medal Finals.

If I ever thought I'd become some hotshot rider and could win championships on anything with four legs I WAS WRONG.

With Keenan out for at least the rest of this week (aside: we think it might be cellulitis and are treating it as such - he is improving daily, yay!!!), Sarah has been gracious enough to give me lessons on her school horses. I got a flat lesson yesterday on Phoenix and today got a jumping lesson on Bijou.

And I hurt. Big time.

Phoenix and I did not click, plain and simple. I know that a good rider can ride any horse well, but I also know that doesn't mean it has to FEEL good. It sounds so spoiled of me, I know, but Phoenix is not my fancy hunter boy. I had to work very hard to ride him with anything resembling correct equitation - and of course, that was the theme of the lesson, no stirrups and all.

But that was nothing compared to Ms. Bijou tonight. Sarah told me several weeks ago that poor Bijou (the Queen B, as I like to call her) was suffering some kind of crisis - that being a go-to horse for all kinds of beginners and children was starting to wear on her. She couldn't figure out if pulling meant stop or go, if kicking meant go faster or slow down and if anyone tried to educate her or correct her, she'd throw a tantrum. Tonight I got to experience that first-hand.

While we warmed up, she didn't want to move forward off my leg. When we started jumping - cavaletti, mind you - she blasted off like a rocket. When she ran out on a jump and I disciplined her with the crop, she lost her head. It felt like she was having some kind of horsey rage blackout. She tried to tune me out completely. It was really weird...I wanted to be sympathetic to her, but in order to relax, I had to get through to her. At the ends of the arena, I managed to sink more around her and we had half a dozen really nice, round strides - but as soon as a jump came into the picture, forget about it.

To be honest, I don't know if Sarah had me ride B because it would be good for her or because it would be good for me. Probably a combination of both. I have a tendancy to jump ahead (come too far out of my tack too soon - basically, I try to "jump the fence for my horse") and if I'd done that tonight, I would have wound up on the ground. That, and I did need to be humbled. I think having such a wonderful horse has actually made me a poorer horsewoman. I've formed some bad habits that only a lesson like this one could make me aware of. This season, I have been equitation champion or reserve at every show. It's hard not to be proud. It's hard not to think I'm entitled to good rides every time. But being a horsewoman is not about ribbons or coolers. It's not right to wish for my horse to get better so we can go to the next show. It's about taking the extra time to give Bijou a full bath and a graze because she needs the TLC. It's about having tough lessons where you have to work every step of the way. It's 100% about the horses and my relationship with them. I'm glad I had Bijou to remind me of that tonight.

OHJA Points

So I've been waiting forEVER for the Oregon Hunter Jumper Association to update their points on the website - and they're up! I have to brag a bit - not just about Keenan and I, but all the riders from Triple Rise.

Lauren and Bella:
4th in 3' Pre-Green Working Hunter (Open System)
4th in Adult Amateur Working Hunter (Open System)
2nd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat (Open System)
9th in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences (Open System)

Debbie and Houdini:
3rd in Adult Amateur Working Hunter (Open System)
8th in Large Working Hunter (Open System)
3rd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences (Open System)

Tamera and Cloudy:
2nd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
3rd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)
4th in 0.85-0.90 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
5th in 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
2nd in Low Adult Jumper (Regional System)

Kate and Titan:
1st in 3'3" Pre-Green Working Hunter (Regional System)
1st in Adult Amateur Working Hunter (Regional System)

Kristine and Q:
1st in Children's Working Hunter (Regional System)
1st in Open Working Hunter (Regional System)
1st in Children's Equitation Over Fences, 14-17 (Regional System)
8th in Children's Equitation on the Flat, 14-17 (Regional System)
11th in 0.85-.90 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
4th in 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
1st in Beginning Jumper Rider (Regional System)
4th in Low Children's Jumper

Laura and Beau:
7th in Pre-Adult Hunter (Regional System)
3rd in Pre-Adult Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
2nd in Pre-Adult Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

Holly and Lucky:
1st in Long Stirrup Hunter (Regional System) - with 264 points!
1st in Long Stirrup Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
1st in Long Stirrup Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

Allison and Bijou:
3rd in Short Stirrup Hunter (Regional System)
2nd in Short Stirrup Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

Sophie and Jackson:
3rd in Pre-Children's Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)

Jessie:
1st in Children's Equitation Over Fences, 13 & Under (Regional System)
3rd in Children's Equitation on the Flat, 13 & Under (Regional System)

Honey:
1st in Pony Working Hunter (Regional System)

And, of course, my Keenan!!!:
1st in Large Working Hunter (Regional System) - with 225 points!
1st in Pre-Adult Hunter (Regional System) - with 213 points!
1st in Pre-Adult Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
1st in Pre-Adult Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)