You can lease the BHB!

I decided it was time to start getting myself financially in a better position, so I’m going to be offering my awesome horse for partial lease (or possibly a shorter term full lease to the right person) after the National Finals in November. Since Mark loves to work almost every day, I don’t want to just cut down the training/lessons to save money. I’d rather find someone to share him with who wants to have the opportunity to ride a super fun horse—be it an adult amateur who wants to learn high level lateral work or an ambitious junior who wants a back-up FEI Junior horse.

Mark is currently the perfect lower level horse and is always fun to ride—he does dressage (is a master at the lateral work), easily jumps around 3' courses, and loves going out on trails or foxhunting. I think he would probably enjoy doing lower level eventing again since he's matured so much mentally and in jumping. His lead changes started getting a bit funky (mentally for him), so we threw them on the back burner since I'm showing at lower levels this winter and they were making him anxious in the counter canter. I'm sure they will be put right back into order once he starts working on them again. I could see Mark taking advantage of someone who lacks authority (he’s a very smart cookie with a little bit of a pony streak), so no timid beginners for this beastie. He really needs someone that isn't afraid to whack him when he deserves it. He prefers people who set very high standards for his behavior that can be mentally challenging for him to meet. 

He’s the perfect size for most women at just a hair under 16hh. He has had tiny people and not so tiny (me L) ride him, and everyone seems to fit him well. He’s like the adult version of a pony, so people who adore ponies but find them too small will adore him! He’s super safe and extremely laid back in any situation except meal time. He is a diehard lifetime cribber, but he wears a collar 24/7 to keep his destruction at a minimum.

The only terms of his partial lease would that it would be “free” as long as he was kept on-site in partial training with our current trainer--which would include one lesson/week. Showing privileges available since he’s such a great little show horse and traveler. Expenses that would be split include: board, training, farrier, and his insurance. You are more than welcome to use my tack—a Custom dressage saddle, 3 bridles with another handful of bits you can rotate, and a jump saddle that doesn’t fit him very well.

The BHB is up for any challenge!

Please contact me if interested! toni.rogers@gmail.com is the best way to reach me. 

Regional Championships are Approaching!

I saw the entry list for Regionals today, and WOW there are lots of entries! Just as I expected there would be. My first level Adult Amateur class has 68 entries!!! It’s going to be even bigger than the ~50 competitors I competed against in my classes last year.

The BHB better be amped up, because it looks like he’s one of two horses that are entered into 4 championship classes (based on my brief scan of the enormous entry list). Hopefully stuffing him full of alfalfa, carrots, sugar cubes, and cookies will help keep him energetic through the weekend. At least he's not going to be entered in any extra classes at this show. I’m sure the cooler weather there will help some too with energy levels.

We have the 2 freestyle classes on Friday (with 23 and 9 entries), Second level AA on Saturday (with 40 entries), and will finish off the weekend with the giant (68 entry) First level AA class on Sunday. 

Body clipping is on the schedule for 2 weeks before Regionals. The BHB would probably be a fluffy pony by Regionals if he wasn't clipped. He doesn't have much extra hair right now, but he can put on a Shetland-thick winter coat practically overnight! 

I'm a bit bummed about missing the IDHSNA annual breed show this year since it looks like it will be awesome. Mark could finally be able to compete in the hunter classes he dreams of doing with all the other chunky-built horses! It's the weekend before National Finals this year and in New Jersey, so I decided it would be way too much travelling for Mark to do. We'll go out and represent the breed in highly competitive dressage instead :). I'm still planning on having him attend breed inspections if they're close this year and on a weekend we're not off competing at a championship show. They're supposed to be in roughly a month, and last I heard they have yet to settle on a date or location for them.

Regional Championships Entered!

We're Ready for Championships!

The BHB's entry has been sent in for the Region 2 Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park in a month! It is going to be an enormous show as both of my regular classes (first and second level) have at least 50 people qualified to compete, my first level one has around 90! The qualification list for this show is astonishingly enormous, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were 500+ competitors at this show! It will definitely be the largest dressage show I've ever competed at... it may even be the largest horse show in any discipline! I entered him the the max number of classes possible to enter a horse at a Championship-- 4 classes! Two regular level classes (first and second level) and freestyles for those two level. 

After introducing some jumping back into the BHB's routine, I've had some wonderful forward rides on him. It ends up that he didn't need the vacation from riding as he was miserable and pacing the fence 4 of the 5 days he had off (I was told after I put him back into work), but I think he did need some more variety added back into his routine. I'm dying to take him out foxhunting, but after sending in a very large check with my Regional Championship entry, he's lucky he's not being bubble wrapped for the next two months! I told Heather yesterday that even if we qualify in all 4 classes for Nationals, we may have to eliminate at least one because of the cost to enter all classes (plus the $350 stabling and the likely $350 tack stall we will probably need-- or share if I'm lucky enough to find someone to split it with). For tack and feed for 4-5 days (and the bikes we take instead of a renting a golf cart), it's really almost necessary to get a tack stall to put it all in. Or else we're stacking around 3 bales of hay, a bucket of feed, all our tack, grooming tools, rider clothing, and more in the aisle way for that many days.

Second level freestyle

I forgot to share our second level freestyle now that the choreography and music timing is all worked out. This is a really exciting freestyle for me since it has so much potential to be awesome if we can really master the movements. The BHB gets a bit excited in the medium trot and doesn't always want to easily come back to do the travers right after, but we're working on it! There was originally a 3/4 turn on the haunches in the middle of the walk section, but I think eliminating it helps the BHB have a more relaxed walk. His amazing walk has not been so great in the show ring lately, so it might be a smart thing to do. The laziness shown in this video is why the BHB is currently on vacation and I'm crossing my fingers for cooler weather at Regionals!

Step 1 for Preparing for the Championship Season: Vacation

The BHB's current mental state

The last thing I expected to do six weeks out from Regional championships was give the BHB an entire week's vacation. Why did I feel it was necessary? Instead of his usual dragging me down centerline, the last two shows (two consecutive weekends) he's balked when I point him to go down centerline, even going so far as to spin around and try bolting once we made it to C. His freestyles this weekend were sluggish and I worked way harder than I should have. Why such a big change?! I went through all the possibilities and came up with 3 possible reasons why this was happening:

1. It was HOT at both shows! The temperatures during our rides ranged from around 85-103 degrees, with most ranging in the mid-upper 90s! Yet, I still couldn't rule out any other reasons on such a short timeline to Regionals.
2. Our cross-training routine has been overhauled since we moved to work with Heather. Instead of the 1-2 days of jumping and 1-2 days of hacking in a field weekly, the BHB has been doing 5 days of straight dressage in an arena. So maybe he's a bit bored getting drilled with dressage work. He's bred to be a cart-pulling, foxhunting, farming, jumping horse-- so I could see him getting bored with just one job to do! I'm planning on getting him out foxhunting some this winter after Nationals since I think we both miss it. We're working with Heather to implement more jumping and out of arena work into his regular schedule. I'm glad he's so solid in the dressage levels we're at, so drilling is not necessary. We just need to keep his fitness levels at least on par to his current state. Jumping should even benefit us in some of our weaker areas!
3. The BHB has been going 5+ days a week of dressage since March. He probably wants to spend some time focusing on ruling his jobless pony friends in the pasture ;). Everyone needs mental and physical vacations sometimes so they don't get burnt out on work. Heck, I need to go spend some time in the tropics this winter with the way my work schedule is looking! But that's not happening unless the BHB's budget is cut way down :(. 

So that's why the BHB has been on vacation since September 1st. I'm planning to jump and hack him outside the ring this weekend if it doesn't rain as much as predicted. Next week we'll add a couple intense dressage rides back in, interspersed with jumping and hacking sessions. After that, we'll do 3-4 days a week of dressage before Regionals, being careful to keep the BHB fresh and eager to show off his dressage skills. We've declared for Nationals in all 4 classes classes we're competing at Regionals, so hopefully that will be on our schedule too!

Why you should consider an Irish Draught for your next dressage horse!

Irish Draughts are safe, sensible, smart, sound, low maintenance, versatile, and full of personality! They are much less expensive than a typical warmblood too. Need I say more?

The BHB's registry

As an amateur I want to have fun when I go out to ride, and my Irish Draught makes that possible. I see other amateurs frequently battling (physically or mentally) with their horses, and I know just how frustrating that can be. My now-retired thoroughbred Blitz was the most amazingly athletic horse around... but there was no changing him no matter how much training I put in. If we made it one step forward in a ride, we'd have to start all over the next time. While it was a bit frustrating, in the end we could have quite a bit of fun out jumping as long as we had a strong bit and big fences to slow him down. He could have easily been an international level eventer in the right hands (those with money and strong arms) if he didn't frequently get carried away galloping at blinding speeds and forget he had a rider on him. Once he started having lingering suspensory issues, we tried to do real dressage, but I was always frustrated after lessons because we would work on the same basic things every single time without making any progress. 

On the other hand, with Mark I'm able to pick up exactly where we left off on the previous ride. He loves to work and learning new tricks is one of his favorite things. He definitely requires a rider that is going to give 100% and not let him cheat on certain things, but it's so refreshing to be constantly taking big steps of progression instead of being stuck in one place. He's quite a trainer favorite too since he's a safe, easy ride that rarely gets flustered. He has a high level of respect those who can teach him new things, and adapts to be a more forward and sensitive ride for them... while he enjoys being a kick-along ride for me. The only thing I hate about having an Irish Draught is that when I tell people his breed they always respond with "he doesn't look like a draft horse" (cue head smack). He may not be the fanciest horse, but some things are much more important to the average amateur rider-- safety and fun are at the top of my list! We do pretty well in the show ring too! And when we're not doing dressage, we can easily go off galloping with a foxhunt or jumping around the local jumper show. What more could you want from an amateur horse?

Here are a couple of my favorite Irish Draught stallions in the US that have competed successfully in dressage and have offspring available for sale:

Lionwood Kinsale's Lad-- Currently rocking the I1 level! Son of FEI dressage horse O'Leary's Irish Diamond!

KEC Double Diamond-- Competed at FEI levels!

And last but definitely not least-- The Pride of Gloster! The BHB's now-deceased sire. He sired some wonderful movers in smaller (~16hh) sizes.

The BHB is back to being a rock star!

The entries to our last two shows for the regular show season to try chasing qualifying scores for our (still in-progress) second level freestyle we'd like to compete with in the championship season. In 2 weeks we're heading to the August Aiken show to spend some time training with Amber, then the following weekend we're going to the GDCTA Labor Day weekend show. Busy times for the BHB!

The BHB has absolutely been rocking his training lately! Putting shoes on really did help him, despite his naturally gorgeous hooves. He's been able to really open up his shoulders and progress on his usual fast-track in his training with less resistance. He's working on muscling up a bit more too! He's finally understanding the concept of canter pirouettes with some exercises we've added in. I've been able to try them on him a couple times, and although it feels like I'm all over the place, evidently we've been getting some decent steps. My ability riding half passes in both trot and canter has been improving quite a bit too, and now my bronze medal doesn't look so far out of reach... although I'm still not ready to play with the lead changes much until we're done with this show season. He knows how to do them really well, he just currently ignores them when I ask him and has lots of anticipation when Heather tries for them. He puts a lot more effort into his work and is quite a bit more hot/sensitive when a pro rides him, so I'm hoping maybe the chill attitude he has with me will help with the anticipation.

My birthday present of new boots arrived this week and they fit perfectly! I ordered the DeNiro brushed leather dressage boots from Smartpak and they are gorgeously shiny! For a dressage boot, they are incredibly fitted through the ankle with softer leather, yet they still have all the other qualities a typical dressage boot would have. I think they will be easier to break in than most boots too!

So excited about my shiny new boots!