This Year so Far - July 2016

We’re already over half way through 2016, and Leo’s season is off to a steady start. Being 14 this year, Leo is starting to become an old veteran at horse shows.  He maintains his composure regardless of screaming children, barking dogs, or flapping umbrellas. It’s a treat to have a horse so chill about so many distractions!  Despite his age, and having a firm understanding of what his job is, Leo continues to improve and constantly makes an effort to be better.  He also seems to have made the shift from being a reactive horse to being a responsive horses. Anyone who’s experienced both sides of the coin knows exactly how much of a blessing this is! I always admire his ability to keep pushing through difficult exercises, whether it’s for my sake or his.

In April, I attended the Mane Event Expo, where I met a number of new and old faces from the Standardbred community. Leo didn’t tag along this year, but his influence was felt through the helmet cam footage from his previous events, as well as his photos and ribbons that helped decorate the booth. Thank you to everyone who stopped by even just to say hello!

June saw Leo and I both at an incredible Stollery Children’s Hospital Fundraiser hosted by Bedrock Training Centre and Nitza’s Pizza just outside of Beaumont, Alberta. Leo hung out in a stall in one of the main alleyways of the barn and spent the day meeting guests and happily taking carrots, cookies, and pats from all the visitors both young and old.  The fundraiser raised over $21,000 and was a super fun day for everyone who attended. Thank you to Kelly, Amy and their team at Bedrock for always including me in these opportunities!

Shortly after the Stollery Fundraiser, Leo and I headed south to Cochrane, Alberta for the Crowfoot Dodge Cochrane Horse Trials.  This was Leo’s third time competing at the Pre-training level. We finished on our dressage score for 8^th place in a field of 23 horse/rider pairs with very few stadium or cross country penalties to be found.  Leo was a start through slick footing, busy warm up rings, and random bursts downpour that haunted the entire weekend. He continues to bring his absolute best into the ring each time. The event at Cochrane saw Leo with his best adjustability and rideability to date. Thank you to my coach Noel Clark for his continued guidance and mentorship!

Early in July, to show their support for off the track Standardbreds in new careers, I was given a blanket by ASHA with "Team Standardbred" embroidered on it for me to use with Leo. I can't express how much the support of the harness industry means to me, both at home and at large, and will proudly take this cooler with me on any adventures the future holds for me and Leo. Thank you so much to the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association - ASHA for this gift, and especially to Colleen Haining for pulling it all together!

Frustrated with the lack of Standardbred related merchandise available in the market, fellow Go and PlayStable ambassador, Alexandria Tiffinger, and I design and launched some ‘Team Standardbred’ merchandise. To date we have two different caps to choose from, a polo – perfect for schooling or showing – and a long sleeve sport shirt. I’m happy we were able to come up with something simple and straight forward to show our love for Standardbreds!  

Most recently, Georgia Barry and I made the trip down to Montana to take in the Event at Rebecca Farm and cheer on our fellow Canadians! As always there was lots to learn, see and do. (I’ll be posting a separate blog about it!) My mom has always been such a huge supporter of whatever Leo and I have decided to do, and I was wonderful to get to share the experience with her without having to worry about competing. Thank you to Lindsay Stevenson for allowing me to help you throughout your first Training 3 Day, and to the rest of the Two Jack Farm team for having mom and I tag along, ask questions, and cheer you on!

The remainder of this year is set up to be a great one. With three events left for Leo, and few other opportunities for myself, and an incredible team of support behind me, I’m excited to see what we can accomplish before hitting the ground running into 2017!

 

When a bad day isn't just a bad day.

Horses, like people, sometimes have bad days.  Sometimes they just don’t feel like giving that 110% we so often celebrate as a marker of a true athlete or teammate. And that’s okay. People are allowed to have off days, and so are horses. And sometimes the best thing for both horse and rider is to write it off as a bad day and try again tomorrow.

But, when is a bad day not just a bad day?

Generally speaking, horses aren’t badly behaved for no reason. They tend to like to do what they’re asked. When they don’t, it’s often not just a bad day, something’s up, something’s off and they’re trying to tell you. Sometimes something hurts or pinches. Sometimes there’s a twist in a strap and it’s poking them. Sometimes they didn’t appreciate having their lunch interrupted. And sometimes they just don’t like your attitude and you really shouldn’t have skipped out on coffee that morning. Sometimes the only way they know how to get your attention is by throwing a total tantrum.

The point being, I think it’s important not to just write off misbehavior as a bad day, or a horse simply choosing to be a pain. For instance there was a harness horse, who trained here in Alberta, and boy oh boy he was a handful! He would lay down when they’d try to leave the barn to go train in the morning.  He’d buck and bend the shafts on the jog cart or race bike when he had decided he didn’t want to train anymore that day. And at one point, ditched his driver during post parade and ran back through the barns at the race track with his bike still attached and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the facility.  Just rotten and miserable right?

That was my horse. The same horse who has packed me on trail rides through creeks, has a high point gymkhana trophy, met hundreds of children, and charming old ladies, at Farm Fair last year, and currently tears it up on the cross country course at events across the province with me every summer. I honestly believe he just didn’t like harness racing, and that was the only way he knew how to say it.

This idea, listening to your horse, becomes really important when riding on your own, or even under the guidance of a coach. At the end of the day, you know your horse the best. Does you horse usually jump his heart out and take you to every fence? Or did you just move up a class and have an incredible last show? Then a few days later they’re suddenly stopping at fences, throwing their head at transitions and unwilling to take contact? Maybe it’s not just a bad day. Maybe they’ve been jumping too high, too often and they’re sore. But it’s up to you to recognize this and figure out if it’s their legs, their back, too heavy of a workload, outside the horse's capabilities, or maybe you changed your riding style or asked them to do something new without properly explaining it. 

There’s endless possibilities, including simply a bad day, but it’s up to the rider/trainer to figure that out.  Sometimes even under the guidance of a coach or trainer or other industry professionals, you may need trust your gut and know when to look further into why your horse is behaving the way he is, and when to call it a day and think about what you can do to help.

So when your horse has a bad day, or you have a tough ride, is it really just a bad day? 
Or is he trying to tell you something?