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So after that nice down time with my sisters, the focus shifted towards showing again. At the moment, I only have one show horse on the roster, as the other 2 have minor injuries they are recovering from. Rosie is also on a fitness program so she isn't ready to go down centerline either!
So the last wknd in May was a CDI in Allentown, New Jersey at the horse park. I brought Fiji to do the Developing Horse Test. I needed 2 scores at 2 different shows in order to qualify for Nationals, at Lamplight. I was torn to do it because Kyra K was to be doing a developing rider clinic at Riveredge west (my home) so I would have loved to have ridden with her 3 days in a row!! But I really needed the score; so off to the show we went. Deb Dalseg, my student from Canada, brought her 2 horses as well. Rocky, is a juvenile delinquent 5 year old that despite being hard to handle on the ground and super behind the leg when ridden, is quite likeable! Cameo has been her steady partner for 7 years, and we have made it up the ladder of the levels since he was 4 years old, earning her medals along the way. Next on the list: Silver.
Fiji didn't feel quite as awesome as he had a couple of weeks before at Morven Park, but he did a super job in the PSG on Saturday. It had rained a lot so the footing got pretty deep, so I was not able to do my normal warm-up with him. I did just a little canter in the ring, and then as it felt unsafe, I moved to the driveway and did the rest of the warm-up at walk! He just needed to get another score for Regionals, and he did. He is a little bit of a fooler, in the way that he has an awesome attitude and great work ethic, but he does get a little nervous and tense if he has not had enough time to settle in the show ring. That is also why I felt like I needed to ride the test on Sat, so he could get settled in that main ring for a nice performance on Sunday.
On Sunday, we rode the Developing Horse test, and he won it. I was not thrilled with the ride, because I had to warm him up double his normal time. The CDI ring got 25 min behind schedule and the ring stewards were not aware of it, so I was on him over 50 min for a warm-up. Fiji is about a 25 minute warm up, so I felt bad for him that he had to work double time. He still made a great effort, but only got a 64%. Not what I know he is capable of. I also felt I had to over ride him as he got tired, so it was our worst performance thus far. I was disappointed, but I know he will get back to Nationals at some point, and if it isn't as a 7 year old, that is ok. In the big picture, he is an amazing horse who deserves to have time anyway.
Deb on the other hand, got her second 4th level score she needed for her Silver, so on to PSG for us! I was so proud, every time in the competition ring, she rode a part of the test better. Rocky on the other hand, was his clever self, and found a way to frustrate Deb beyond reason, so we scratched him. He can be so frustrating because he is a nice horse, good looking, and big strong nice horse, and he can be so belligerent. He makes Deb work so hard, she just has nothing left, and it is so hard to ride that horse with a light electric leg. Of course a lazy horse needs less leg and a hot horse needs more leg, but he is the biggest challenge. I got on him after we scratched, and got him going, and then we decided he needed a little Tate boot camp at the next show! J
I still have more to report on the shows, but I will blog about it in the next one! Hope you are all doing well! Remember you can become a Team Tate fan on Face Book and get the blow by blow of our fun team!
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