BlindHills,andaHorseShow

When I was a weird little kid growing up, I distinctly remember having a terrible fear of blind hills. As in, if I couldn't see ahead, and knew only that I was going up even a tiny incline, I was petrified. This was in those newfangled things called cars, of course. A strange experience for any creature new to them.

I couldn't have been more than 3 or 4. Nothing my parents said could convince me that the other side of what I couldn't see wasn't threatening. I thought the earth was just a giant hole, on the other side of that hill. Huge fusses were made. Sorry, Mom:(

I also remember having a hearty dislike/distrust for red lights and green lights. I didn't BELIEVE that people going the red way would stop. Of course, driving today, my apprehensions are often justified.

I hate blind hills, and I'm very wary/aware of blind turns, to this day. It just is, and I've learned over many years to compensate for it. I still don't trust people to always stop at a red. I see that a bit, driving in Toronto. Not very beneficial for my heart rate.

In most situations, I am always trying to "see" ahead. It gets annoying for my friends:)
All three of them.
That's the horse part of me, I figure. I want to KnoW what's coming. Horses are always on the look. It's how they live. Look, listen, live.

So, when you put horses into an environment with very little "look" to it, like an arena or a familiarly closed in area, they can and do get bored pretty quickly. This is when the ghosts and goblins start appearing. They start making up ideas of what "could" be happening:)

Did you SEE that cougar? EEEEEEEEK. Total phobias and terrible disobediences can ensue, without gentle, patient, firm handling. I tire of hearing how the horse is....

Yeah, yeah, ride the darn thing. Show him a blind hill or two. He'll wake up.
They want to go forward, looking. Let them!

Mild rant completed. Scanning for more interesting blather..

OH, I did this, for fun..
My Show with GoLightly.
I told you I'd found my old journals, detailing the life and rather monotonous tribulations of one GoLightly rider/school barn teacher/resident nutbar. These are scans from those journal entries, about the one and only show I took my master horse to. What a marvelous day it was!

My nerves the (day and) night before the show, were mostly assuaged by my father's idea of going to bed late, so I'd sleep deeply, if briefly. Then, I'd be tired enough the next day to HavE to relax. It worked perfectly, for the first class. Here's the excerpt..

"My nerves clutched just a little, as we were driving to the show, and then a calm feeling just settled over me. I warmed GoLightly up before my first round, rubbing shoulders with the big guys, and felt as if I belonged. I whistled away quietly, humming occasionally, enjoying myself thoroughly. GoLightly was alert and super-responsive, faster on his feet, as his adrenaline was up. He felt super-charged! One fairly insane looking horse kept spooking and leaping, and at one point would have landed on us, if GoLightly hadn't listened & responded and figured it out so well.

I borrowed C's new paddock boots, but they were not comfortable like my old ratty ones. My left foot kept slipping out of my stirrup, which was a reflection of the fact that I rode a hole too long. I should have shortened them, but I wanted to be comfortable.

The first class was huge, 106 entries, and I didn't show until around 10:30am. We walked the course, Peter, another student and I. It looked low and easy. My warm-up was very relaxed (except for the annoying stirrup).

I had a long wait in the chute after our warm-up, which I spent reviewing the course and relaxing. Horses ahead of us were having problems. Peter was mildly surprised by my lack of nerves, and snapped a few questions at me, which I answered quickly and correctly.

(Fence #6 is at the top end of the ring, #3 is to the right of the 7th jump, sorry for the scribbling!)

Peter had cautioned against riding too passively to the first fence, and GoLightly agreed, 'cause he didn't see the quieter spot, and left a little earlier than I'd planned. Clever boy. Throughout the whole course, we felt.. beautiful, perfect, in tune, in-sync and we finished clean. GoLightly was supreme. As we started the Immediate jump-off round followed with these types of classes, I almost forgot to go through the finish line!

(continued on the second picture, sorry for the confusion. The second picture is of the second class's course.)

I had four faults in the jump-off, rode too easy to the number 8, a narrow vertical wall. I saw an easy distance, and GoLightly happily knocked it down, as I'd assumed he'd see it as easy, too.

(I should have held him together more. I often softened too much, when I saw a good distance coming. I'd "throw the horse away", instead of staying with him/supporting him.)



"The second course was a little different! The wait between the two classes was about 3 hours, and I was starting to get tired by the time it was my turn to warm-up again. I was STILL losing the one stirrup in the second warm-up, but even more often than in the first. This worried me a little. We jumped well in the warm-up though, and Peter tried to get GoLightly to catch a rub, but he was just too sharp.

Unfortunately, I wasn't. I expected a chance to relax in the chute again, but the class was moving more quickly, and there was no-one on deck, so I had to go straight in, without even a parting question to Peter. I felt a little unprepared. We picked up a canter, did half a flying change, and generally looked dumb while I tried to get organized. Poor GoLightly was a little confused, too.

I finally got my shite together, and found the exact same "easy" spot to the narrow wall #8 fence from the first jump-off. It was now fence number one. GoLightly happily knocked it down again, 'cause I let him get loose and lazy. We jumped the second fence, a big oxer, perfectly, then I lost my left stirrup again, and didn't regain it until I pulled up in the corner, before fence 6.

(It's the * mark, in the second picture.) (* mark in the first picture is where I had the four faults in the jump-off.)
Confused? Sorry. I was there, y'see, and I still remember that course. One of those unforgettable, great days in my life, to that point.

The rest of the course rode like a dream. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with the second round, and Peter gave me a mercifully brief scolding for being so stupid in the opening circle.

GoLightly has been cranky the week following the show. The usual "let-down", or anti-climax, after a show. I have had a really hard time staying awake this week."

Cool, huh? 1984, and the learning experiences are still the same.
Wear clothes you are comfy with, stay focused, ride the horse over every fence.

Have fun, and look/think ahead!

Everyone Who Owns/Breeds Horses should have to Watch This, oh, and get what they're saying. Great points are made, education being the key.