October 22, 2013

Last weekend, the really rainy one, was the big season finally games competition on the east coast.  We all traveled to Upper Marlboro, Maryland to the PG Equestrian Center, for the Mid-Atlantic #5 Competition.

I arrived Friday afternoon, in a heavy downpour, that continued for the rest of the day and into the night.  I attempted to set up my portable paddock but the paddock quickly filled with inches of standing water.  Simon’s rider, Stephanie from Antiques Roadshow, had reserved Simon a stall, but I was planning on saving the expense by keeping Poe in a paddock for the weekend.  But really, I just couldn’t leave him in standing water all weekend.  So I moved him into the barn and bedded him down in a nice dry stall.

It continued to rain and rain and rain and by the time we had the ponies settled in, Linda, Kim and I were soaked through and just wanted to go somewhere dry for dinner.  Shortly after dinner we returned to the grounds in time for Carol Ann’s arrival followed by the Lockyers and not long after that it was time for bed.  I decided to move into an empty stall for the night, where i could move around easily, and remain dry all night.  Daisy seemed pleased with the idea.

It continued to downpour all night, and into the morning, until just before it was time to enter the competition ring, when it luckily let up to a drizzle.  The ring was still a mess, although the amazing drainage and footing at this facility, made it useable even in the extreme conditions we were under.  It was not slick, just wet.  very wet.

All the ponies were keeping their pace down, not willing to move out.  It almost looked like the whole arena had been put on slightly slow motion.

Poe started out the session trying me a little, refusing to go out initially, but with a little firmness he gave in and kicked into gear.  He has such a perfect attitude for this sport.  He is aggressive and competitive.  He is also super smart and attentive.  I think he likes to work together, although he does try me quite frequently, making sure I mean business.

We spent the two weeks between MA4 and this competition working on our breaks and it paid off.  He was much more attentive and ready to stop quickly.  I think he just needs the full idea and he will have awesome breaks.  I also think I need to sort out a better bit for him.  I tried him in a kimberwick and he hated it.  It was not a pleasant ride at all.

Side note: I am going to try a mullen happy mouth and see what he thinks, and Simon’s old combination bit and maybe a hackamore.

There were a few bumpy races, and a simple mistake, or a dropped handoff would put a team at the end of the pack.

This is the first competition where we have had two heats of Fossil teams, which made for a whole new ride for team Old School.  We won both of our prelim heats, but we tend to ride our worst in the final session, which was going to be our most difficult.  It also seems like our main competitor teams improve with each session.  So we were certainly a wound up going into the A final.

Poe also held himself together, and kept up the awesomeness, improving continuously.  He did give me a weird one in the very last race though.  It was Flag Fliers and we were starting the race.  He was very attentive and ready, and just as the referee dropped the flag he let out a buck before taking off, very odd and putting us about two strides behind, but we managed to hold and then make up our position, coming home with a clean pull, and easy hand off.  And I am proud to say my team held it together, riding much better than normal during the final, and took the win by about 10 points, winning 8 of the 12 races in the session (a few races were cut from the final since it was still raining and sloppy).  Go Old School!

The win at this competition and the win at the last one bumped us up to second in the series overall finish, behind the super competitive team in pink, Time Flies.

Back to the social part of the weekend, it was our friend Averi’s birthday, and we had a fun social dinner and birthday celebration with her Saturday night, with lots of laughs and fun.  It also continued to rain for the whole weekend, I don’t think my hair was dry until Monday!

The photos today are from a selection of amazing MGAA photographers including Genevieve of EquiStar Photography, Jill of Little Belle Photography, Shannon Thornton and Karen Hecker.  Thank you for sharing your amazing skills!

Me and Poe in step with Jenny and Captain in 3 Mug Race
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Genevieve in Sword Race
Photo: Linda of EquiStar Photography

Masters in Balloon Race
Photo: Linda of EquiStar Photography

Claudia in Flag Race
Photo: Linda of EquiStar Photography

Carol Ann and Emily in Joust Race
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Kim in Flag 2 Flag Race
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Claudia in Speed Weavers
Photo: Linda of EquiStar Photography

Me and Poe in Two Flag Race
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Krista G up-righting a Pole
Photo: Linda of EquiStar Photography

Stephanie and Simon in Association Race
Photo: Jill of Little Belle Photography

Me and Poe in Litter Race
Photo: Jill of Little Belle Photography

Me and Poe
Photo: Jill of Little Belle Photography

Matt and Regan in Litter Race
Photo: Jill of Little Belle Photography

Mitchell in Ring Race
Photo: Jill of Little Belle Photography

Brea racing in the Mud
Photo: Jill of Little Belle Photography

Lindsey in 4 Flag Race
Photo: Karen Hecker

Carol Ann and Linda handing off in Bending Race
Photo: Shannon Thornton

Mackenzie in Toolbox Race
Photo: Shannon Thornton

And my iPhone pics.

October 21, 2013

Its been nearly a month, and more than enough time for me to have posted about Mid-Atlantic #4 Competition.  It was held in Centre Hall, PA the last weekend in September.  It was Poe’s first team competition, his first two day competition, it was basically his first real competition.

I arrived on Friday afternoon, after a fun stop at the Hagerstown ribbon factory and lunch with my parents in Maryland, and got my ponies settled in and my camp set up.  The Lockyer family showed up and Emma and Sophie helped me take the ponies for a short hack, and then we headed out to dinner.  This was the Lockyers first US games competition since their recent move from England.  Emma was riding with Whiplash in intermediate and Rob was riding with my team!

When we got back to the grounds everyone else was arriving, there was a lot of socializing and before long it twas time for bed.  Saturday morning comes early when your ride at 8am.

I got tacked up early, and was in the ring with Poe before most of the other competitors in my division.  This was going to be his first time in an arena with around 30 other ponies at the same time so I wanted to give him time to adjust.

The first session went well.  Poe improved his handoffs from race to race, moving out more and more when he was taking them.  He is fearless.  Our end turns were still a little slow, but I was not asking for more.  He continued to improve from session to session.  I eventually asked him to move out more, and move out he did.  I hung my mouth open at one point, in excitement at him picking up his pace.  It had been a while since I went that fast! I never actually got to the point of kicking for more speed, but he was certainly getting the idea.

The other thing I noticed, we needed to put some work into was our whoa.  Poe stops and checks, but he did not quite have the “games whoa” yet.  So when I had a skill that required me to pull up, I had to prepare more in advance than I would have liked.

All in all, Poe was fantastic.  Even better than I expected.  He really loves this job.

I honestly cannot remember all the details of our ride, which is why I need to be more on top of these posts!  But we did end up winning our division by about 20 points with lots of hard competition from our fellow teams.

Simon got to be part of team Antiques Roadshow, ridden by the lovely Stephanie, and they looked great together.  I was so happy for him to be there and for someone getting to have fun with him.

This was also my first time as chief referee of the Masters division at a regional competition.  I started a little bumpy with a rough start or two, but I think I got my timing and technique worked out.  I hope the riders agree.  I really enjoyed the job, and hope I get to do it again.

So, great weekend all around.  And here are some photos, from Genevieve of EquiStar Photography.  Sorry, its all Poe on this post.