Crazy day at Lamplight! We woke at 6 am to thunder and lightening plus NW style heavy rain. Two minutes in my Seattle rain gear, though, and and I realized that appearances are deceiving and Id rather get soaked than wilt in my own steam. There was a break in the downpour for my mid morning class but i saw some very resilient riders and horses pull off beautiful tests through sheets of rain. We did an open PSG class that is not a part of the championship to give both of us a chance to get back into show mode after more than a month of not competing and to give Tano a chance to get used to the electric atmosphere. He felt a bit tired from the trip and I lost my focus in the heat. It was not our best test for sure but I was happy with how he handled everything. I continue to be amazed by his equanimity and his great attitude. Despite some mistakes (mine and his) we still ended up third in a decent sized class. I have been thinking today about the role of good help and the benefits of having input from someone on the ground. It is so important. Due to my recent life circumstances and priorities, I have had the benefit of periodic help from friends and the occasional clinic but have pretty much trained Tano to this point on my own without consistent instruction. Though there are times when it is nice to not have the distraction of someone elses voice in your head, the container that is created for the horse by rider AND trainer is invaluable. One of the things I enjoyed most today was watching these connections between rider, trainer and horse in the warmup arena. The relatively new introduction of headsets to our sport allows for a quiet, intimate trialog (that should be a word if it is not) between the three. There are usually several trainers sitting quietly on the sidelines with clear and almost tangible threads of energy linking each trainer to the horse and rider pair they are working with. Without consistent feedback, development is very difficult. This is one reason that I compete. (The main one, actually.) Even though I was not thrilled with my performance today, I know that every time I have a mirror held up for me by a judge or a trainer I respect, I am another step closer to understanding what I need to do to improve. Loved seeing the power of that mirror today in the warmup and in the public critiques of the young horses by the judges. Onward!
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 03:56:58 +0000
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