Saturday, November 13, 2010

Seventh Heaven at Octoberfest

I know, I know, my timing is a bit off but I have been so busy with Heritage Farm's blogging and developing a new website for my husband that I have neglecting poor Farmtails.  Blue and I haven't competed for three years.  I am not myself and something seems lost when I don't ride on a regular basis and test ourselves in competitions.  But, with Daddy's passing in 2008 and with Blue's back issues it just didn't happen.  Ah, before I forget, did you notice something peculiar about my photo?  I never show my face in blogging but some of the pics were such fun to share so it was quite fitting to wear a few Photoshop masks since the competition was held over Halloween weekend!  Don't you love my masks? 
Blue was such a good boy during dressage but I was not.  I was concentrating on bending him to the right in a corner during one movement that my mind went blank and I forgot the next move.  He received extremely good scores prior but that is OK, we ended up on a 39 which is very good for a beginner horse with an error in the test! Most scores in the novice divisions are not lower than the upper twenties and thirties are a good average.  Jessie averaged around 32 or 33.
His stadium was so smooth and rhythmic which is how Jessie and I used to ride to the fences.  I was a bit concerned that he might be a little 'looky' but he went clean and didn't even rub a rail.  We only trotted the jumps to be on the safe side.  I want him to learn to be balanced and not strung out so this is the way to go before he canters them. Unfortunately I had to see a fall a few minutes before we went in which is never good for the psyche!  Faces were grim but thankfully the rider had no more problems afterwards.
Both stadium and cross country jumping were on Sunday (dressage was on Saturday) and I was a little worried that he might be worn out but oh, no, that was not the case.  We had only 40 minutes between the two and I thought he would be nice and calm. NOT!  He was wired.  Lovely, Blue (extreme sarcasm)...I don't need this right now since I purposely did not give a lot of time for warm up since you already were warm from stadium!~  So, we circled, transitioned, did bending exercises, and I finally got him listening instead of wanting to gallop away like a maniac.  There were several other horses cantering around, going over the practice  jumps which added to his exuberant behavior.  I am really glad he liked it out there and he wasn't being an idiot at all so I was very pleased with big boy Blue!
Again, our trainer advised trotting the fences and cantering in between so that is exactly what we did.  Our fences were only two foot but at that level it really isn't the height, it is what the jumps look like, where they are positioned, etc.  There were two more falls just in my division alone and there was a slight delay before Blue and I went in the start box which is never a good thing for the rider to hear over the loud speaker....sigh...my prayers for safety streamed up to the heavens!

I am glad I took pics of the course, as one tends to forget them with time.  Blue was so good and I was so happy with him and I give him an A+. 



We earned a purple ribbon which is 7th place and finished on our dressage score with no errors in either jumping phase.  Whoohoo Blue!  And purple is sooo in this year!
Luckily our chiro is local and paid us a visit which was unexpected so Blue got an adjustment that was sorely needed!  Aside from Jessie getting the hives and her upper legs swelled since she was at another farm before the show (ate a weird weed), getting a scary call Friday night from a friend that Jessie was lying down with her eyes and mouth open, locking my keys in my truck, running out of our prime timothy hay (for some reason the horses were hogs!) and hurting my back lifting an old leftover 120 pound bale up into the truck bed that my supplier had in his dark barn at 7 am, and worrying about a little yellow homeless kitty at the hotel, the weekend went well! 

18 comments:

Verde Farm said...

Great post!! Go ahead and make everyone think those are your masks---that's really her :) LOLOL My big boy Blue. He is so beautiful and I'm proud of him and you!
Amy

Country Gal said...

Wow thats great ! good for you. Your horse is beautiful ! I have always liked the painted ponies ! Wonderful photos ! Have a great day !

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

amy, for your sarcasm, expect that little yellow kitty to be on your doorstep sometime in the near future!!! hahahhaa!!

♥I am Holly♥ said...

I love your blog very much. Beautiful pictures!! Debbie

IsobelleGoLightly said...

Thank you for visiting my blog! I notice that you have no GOATS amongst your Kritters? Time to get some goats! Tee hee.

Heritage Farm Village said...

kritter keeper those animals heads are hilarious. you did a good job! the dog looks so natural!

Angela said...

Blue is so beautiful! Purple is my favorite color! Great pictures! You did a great job with yours!

Have a Great Week!
Angela

Paint Girl said...

Love the masks!
Sounds like a great weekend! Glad Blue did well!!

lisa said...

That is great! Blue sure is a beauty! Love the masks so funny!

lisa said...

Great pictures, the masks were so funny. Blue is a beauty! I love my paints! But I'm partial!

baystatebrumby said...

HEY!! Your Blue looks an awful lot like my mare!! you must visit my blog and have a look!!

My Farmhouse Kitchen said...

i was wondering if this was kritter keeper..and i see that it is...first off..oh my...Princess and Daddy Cat...what darling cats...i LOVE all the animals here..i see some of my blog buddies here too :-)

the acorn squash recipe is so simple...just cut it in half and seed it. butter the inside and place cut side down on a baking sheet. add about 1/4 inch water in the pan and bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. mix about 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup maple syrup...i use something from vermont.. brush the inside with the butter and maple syrup and and bake another 30 minutes cut side up. watch the water and add more if needed. test with a knife to make sure it is soft. sprinkle with pepper and serve.i usually cut the halves into smaller pieces to serve....

happy to see you at Farmhouse and am happy to follow...

i couldn't find your email but you can email me at : myfarmhousekitchen@yahoo.com anytime.

best,
kary and teddy and all my kittys
:-)

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

thank you kary! i sent you an email!

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

Love the masks! I'm going to share this with my friend who is a horse-rider! Have a great weekend!

Willard said...

I love the photoshop masks and the pictures of your horse.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your recent experiences with the deer. It seems that some people can't leave them alone and must still shoot at them on private property. I think the illegal shooting at "my" herd has stopped, but some of the people still drive past at night--I think they are afraid that I am there and do not shoot. At any rate I am not finding more dead deer, but rifle season comes in here on Monday and while the deer are safe on this property, if they stray from it they will be shot. The bucks in SNP are so massive because hunting isn't permitted there and they have a chance to reach maturity. That is almost impossible here, and I assume it is in your area as well.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Rainy Day Farm said...

What a fun post. Love the masks. The dog was my fav as it matched your hair.

Lori Skoog said...

Blue is gorgeous!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Love all the pics. Sounds like a great event. I haven't shown in over 10 years (I still ride though), and reading through your details almost makes me miss it. Beautiful horse, too :-)