Week "off" at Galway

So the first event of the year is past us.....  The first show of the season, no matter where the location or what level you compete at, is always a huge reality check.  You quickly learn what you have as a team of horse and rider and what you need to work on.

No problem, that's why we love the sport of Eventing. With 3 separate disciplines there is  always something to improve on!

First and foremost, our Canadian horses are  super FIT!! I guess there is something  to be said for running around in a snow bank... literally!  All the horses were ready to go! The length of the cross-country course was easily attainable for each horse and they all came to the finish feeling great and cooling out quickly. Yay!!!!

Stadium jumping was a great demonstration of the effectiveness of all the technical exercises we have been doing in the compact  space of our indoor arena. The horses were confident and ready for anything tricky that may show up.

Dressage day, however,  was a different story... dressage is often considered a necessary evil to eventers everywhere.  Lets face it the cross-country is where our hearts are at. We all make sure to do a few mins of flat work each day; go through the paces... was it good? It was great! Good enough!  

Sigh...not so much. ...our  incredibly fit horses were quite finished with the strictness of dressage by the time we finished warm up and had plenty of exuberant energy to release once in the "white fences".   The pressure of the dressage ring was very apparent in our performance - so what have we been doing in our week "off" in the scorching heat of California while waiting for the next event?  Dressage, every single day, without fail and for longer sessions each and every  day.

Stay tuned on startbox at the Fresno County Horse park to see if  all our dedication has paid off. Not quite the vacation we were picturing, but at least our farmers tan is well under way!

Fresno County Horse Park Horse Trials: eventingscores.com/eventsr/fresno/ht0216/
CIC2* on Sloan McQuick
Advanced on TF Kreisler
Open Intermediate on For Pleasure
Open Training on Tonlong Rubia