I've not been really sure about just how to go about this post over the last few weeks. I'm still not really sure, but it needs to be done so if I seem to jump around a lot I apologize. I entered Midsouth at the last minute because I had some extra money and it seemed like the right thing to do with Snoopy at the time. It was his second novice, and although his first didn't go quite as planned, I was strangely optimistic. I've learned that the only plan you can have for a horse is to make sure that plan always has at least four back-up plans! Especially with Snoopy. I've had him for over 2 years and it's taken me that long to get him mentally and physically capable of competing. Many people have told me he's a lost cause, my husband included, but I wasn't giving up. I've given up on a lot of things in my life and he wasn't about to be one of them. He's difficult, nervous, eccentric, has back problems, etc.... He hated me when I was galloping him on the track and he hated me when I brought him home. Hell, he hated everybody and would just assume bite you as look at you, but I loved the little guy from day one! He also has a general disinterest in dressage-he can only take it seriously about twice a week. I have to mix things up for him and that has worked wonders. We still work on dressage in the gallop field he just hasn't figured that out yet! He's also decided I'm not so bad after all, and I even catch him nickering for me every now and then. He won't admit it, but he has turned into quite the momma's boy! Anyway, I finally felt he was ready to show this year so we've done a few BN combined tests and events, as well as his first novice at IEA in June. He was too low at the poll during most of his tests to get a decent score, and a little chicken on XC.
This brings us to Midsouth. Snoopy has serious separation anxiety and I had to drop two horses off at different locations on my way to the horse park, so needless to say he was a basket case by the time he got into his stall. I bedded him 2 feet deep in straw and went off to park the trailer. I got back to the stall just in time to see him spinning the stall so bad that he had pushed all the straw up against the wall and wiped out on the blacktop floor! Oh my, what a way to start this event off! He was fine and eventually calmed down about 3 hours later. Like I've said before, no trip with horses is ever without at least a little drama. I had a shorter dressage warm-up than usual (I got sidetracked watching the prelim XC!), but he felt great trotting around the outside of the arena and I was quite happy with my test. I figured it was at least good enough to put me in the ribbons. Turns out the judge thought even better of it than I did as he scored a 29 and tied for 2nd! I about died when I saw the scoreboard-maybe my hard work was finally paying off!
He went clean xc, although he was a little on the rank side. He was a run-off on the track and is having a hard time figuring out that it is possible to relax and gallop at the same time. We continue to address this issue. My clean xc ride kept me in 2nd and I spent all evening Saturday going over my warm-up plan for SJ and grazing Snoopy around the outside of the SJ arena. For once, things did go exactly as planned on Sunday and he easily jumped clean. I was only out of first by .5 and the first place horse had a rail, as did more than half of our division. We won!!! Winning any event on this horse at this point in his career was just incredible. I think it means more to me than my NAYRC CCI** medal because I worked so hard to get it, and so many people told me he was never going to be able to do this. I know we're still a long way from Rolex, but this silly little win has boosted my confidence with this horse ten-fold. I feel like anything is possible with him as long as we stay on the same side!
Wish us luck at Champagne Run, and if all goes well there, we're moving up to training at Penny Oaks!
Kick on , keep your head up, and GO EVENTING!
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