I guess I need to go ahead and post about the show this past weekend. Here it goes...
Thursday:
I decided to give him the day off for several reasons. 1.) I was extremely pressed for time. 2.) If I didn't give him the day off he would have had 7 straight days of working from Sunday to Sunday. 3.) I didn't want to get in a fight. 4.) He usually does well after a day off.
Friday:
After hauling to the show and getting settled in we tacked up to ride. I figured out quickly that I should have screwed the four reasons listed above and worked his ass off the day before because he was a complete butthead. I was literally so upset that I was almost in tears. I know my horse is better than that and he was not giving me an inch.
Saturday:
Dressage: Got to the show super early so I could lunge him in side reins before a short warmup. The test was not one of our bests, but considering the schooling the day before, I was pleased. The first half went well - he was somewhat consistent, but I didnt' pick him up soon enough in our "stretchy circle" and I never really got him back - it is okay though because I know we are in the process of creating an awesome dressage horse, we just are in a transitional phase right now, so I was prepared for not a winning test.
Stadium: He was very forward in warm up - which is a great thing - and was jumping extremely well. The first fence on course he backed off a bit, but I fixed it immediately and we jumped a double clear. All in all I was happy.
Sunday:
Cross Country: Warmup was great. He drifted right horribly on jumps 1 -6 (they were all really close together), but I was able to get him galloping after 6 and he straightend out for the most part after that. We hit our first 3 minute markers early (my goal) and he was jumping great and responding perfectly to me. We fly through the water complex (jump 18) and over a max table (20) and pop up the bank (21). This is where it gets interesting. We were supposed to go straight across the top of the bank (no down bank though, just a hill) but Coaster decided he wanted to veer right - down the hill towards the warm up and the prelim jump B. This was going to work out okay, I was just going to go around a group of 3 intertwined trees, except there was this other big thorn tree. Long story short, Coaster wanted to go right around it and I wanted to go left. We both got our way.
The thorns grabbed me and literally ripped me off the top of him and into the trunk of the tree with my right shoulder. I hit so hard my trainer, who was about 100 yds away and out of sight, heard it and thought Coaster had flipped over a jump. I sat up, saw the big blob of gray and then laid back down. After about 10 minutes of the medics checking me over - on the ground - me crying and lying a little bit, they finally released me. My trainer took me to the ER where they doctored the cuts (it looks like I went through a pane glass window) on my left side and told me I had extensive soft tissue damage on my right shoulder. All in all this is a huge testimant to body vests and helmets. A doctor/medic who was at that jump as a spectator thought I had broken my neck. If I hadn't been wearing my helmet or vest I don't even want to think about the injuries I would have.
Coaster is fine - he galloped off a couple of yards and realized he lost something - namely me - and then stopped a little confused. I will be fine, just a week or two out of the saddle. The only part that really bugs me is that I was 2 fences away from the finish flags, it would have been a double clear and qualifying ride. Damn. At least it wasn't fence related so it goes on the record as "Retired" instead of "Eliminated."
I'll get a video up of show jumping and the water complex as soon as I can - I refuse to post the dressage video, sorry, but it isn't my proudest test!
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