Ups and Downs...

Scratch Galway :( I was on a wait list and that event is PACKED!!!! No luck for me and Regal Beagle. Thats ok. Sights set on the January Galway at the start of next season; hopefully we will get our act together over winter and come back ready to rock in spring!!

Other than that, Regal is growing a fuzzy winter coat and enjoying his turn out times very much :)

Just Going Along...

Just finished getting my trainer packed and sent down to Temecula early for Galway. She went down early to clinic with Buck Davidson, and man I wish I could have managed a way to be part of that!! What an opportunity. Oh well, next time!! Regal and I have just been truckin' along in our training, improving I think. I'm really excited for Galway in 2 weeks, I'm slowly expecting more and more from us every time we go out, and I would love three things from Galway, our last event of the season.

I would love to improve, even just a tiny bit more, on our dressage score.
I would love to have little to no time faults cross country.
And I would love to not crash through a stadium fence.

I mean really I would love a 20 in dressage and double clears all weekend...but I'm being realistic haha :D one of these days those will be our goals, but for now we're both still greenies.

I'm basically just going along and enjoying the journy right now, fingers crossed for Galway!!!

Regal and I Stadium at Twin Rivers

Exhaustion is a Way of Life...

Time is flying!! Ok so we got back from Woodside late Sunday night, our second recognized Training complete!! I feel like I can hardly remember the details, but I'll do my best.

Our dressage warm up was terrible. Seriously...terrible. I was borderline embarressed in the warm up ring, but once we got to the court we somehow pulled it together for a pretty nice test! We shaved a point off from our last score for a 36.3...which is still way higher than I know we can do. We're just going through a transitional time right now; when it's good its great but when it doesn't work it's pretty ugly haha. His trot work and transitions were better, but our trot lengthening killed us. We broke twice in the movement...eep. At least its all fixable ;)

We rode stadium the next day, and I don't know what has happened to us. It used to be our best phase, but once again, we are going through a pretty transitional time in our training. Ugh no excuses though. We knocked a rail on our first fence (always depressing) and crashed through the third fence :/ SO MAD AT MYSELF!!!! The rest of the course was fabulous. After about an hour I managed to look at the bright side...in the process of crashing through the fence (after smashing my face on Regal's neck) I landed in front of the saddle and almost slid up poor Reg's neck. Usually in the situation where he feels me falling off he accelerates the fall by spinning, bucking, etc. He did kind of jump to the side and out of the fence, but I pulled him up and he stood like a champ while I scurried back into the saddle. At least I didn't fall!!

Sunday was cross country, and for some reason I was pretty nervous!! More nervous than I was for Twin, and I think Twin should have intimidated me more. Long story short; I have an amazing horse :D He was a superstar!! I still chose to school through the first water, and he was awesome, no hesitation through either water, or at any fence. We still had some time but I can tell we're improving.

Overall a step forward. I am constantly reminded of how far we still have to go, but there are little moments I can now appreciate how far we've come :)

This weekend wouldn't have been possible without my amazing sponsor, amazing trainer, and amazing boyfriend, who took off work to help out and support me. I am so greatfull!!

Woo!!

Wow, so Twin Rivers flew past and I can't believe its over!! I went into this event with a different mind set than I usually do; I am usually a pretty competitive person, but I forced myself to tone it down and made my goal just to finish and get around safely. Mission accomplished!!

Regal is going to turn into such a little professional!! He already has the hang of everything and he surprised me at this event. His usually quiet personality goes up quite a few notches at events, and he's been known to be a firecracker in warm ups. But at Twin he didn't do a single thing. I was shocked haha. He was an angel for dressage warm up, and it was the most I've ever had his attention in the court before, I was SO happy with him. I could have ridden the test better, and accidentily slacked off a little near the end for a 37.3...not too bad. Definitely going to work to make it better though.

I was a little nervous for cross country day, I'm not going to lie haha. This was a bigger, tougher course than Regal and I have ridden or schooled, and I was putting a lot of faith in my boy that his honest nature and my scrappy riding would see us through. Once again he shocked me with a wonderful warm up, left the box and cleared his first fence like a champ. I was most nervous for the water questions and the double down banks. We had a little trouble at the first water, I didn't ride it as well as I should have, and he probably would have gone in first time if I would have had him straighter at it, but we got one refusal there before he went straight through. I had decided to go slow on purpose and focus instead on getting through safely, but I didn't intend to go as slow as we did!! I looked down at my watch after a while, realizing I hadn't heard any beeping my whole course, only to notice that my watch had froze one second after leaving the start box!! I brushed it off and finished the course slowly but successfully. Regal dropped off the double down banks straight to a skinny like he does that every day of his life. I was ridiculously proud of my boy!!! Though we picked up a ton of time, I was still very happy with Regal's performance.

Stadium is where I really expect the most from us, mostly because I am so comfortable with it because of my background in jumpers, and also because I know Regal is a talented, honest, and handy jumper. We were on our way to a gorgeous round when I set us up terribly for our last line, an oxer in to a vertical. Regal was crossfiring around the turn to the combo, and instead of pushing him forward to it I half halted, hoping to get him to switch. I mad the wrong choice for sure. He half way tried to jump it, realized that wasn't the smart thing to do, stopped and knocked the whole thing down. Regal is so honest that I have to mess up pretty badly for him to stop. Which I actually like. I would rather have a smart horse who won't kill us by always going, even when they shouldn't. Anyways...oops. So mad at myself!! We turned and popped through the rest of course great. ARG!! I guess that's what this sport is all about though; anything can happen at any time and you just have to be so trained and prepared that your reflexes are the correct response to the situation.

All in all, I thought it was a very successful weekend!! We finished our first recognized Training level event, and I was happy to notice that nothing seemed big all weekend, and none of the questions were too hard. Challenging, yes. But scary and impossible, definitely not. We will stay at Training level knowing what needs improvement, and we're going out to Woodside next weekend. Once again I can't wait!! I am so proud of my Regal man, he steals hearts where ever he goes with his endearing personality. He is turning into one of the most honest and trustworthy horses I've had the pleasure to ride : )

Changes!!!

Wow, so much has happened!! Well I found an amazing opportunity to be a working student for an upper level rider who is definitly going places, and I found it right in my backyard!! I can't wait to see where this new turn takes us!! Regal is all settled at his new place, and I'm working away and loving it. We ended up getting in at the last minute for Twin again and I have a ride with my new trainer. Rushing around trying to get ready and crossing my fingers that it goes ok!! Regal's dressage is getting nice, I just have to watch it when he's amped up because he gets super tuned in and I don't want to give him any false signals. We're going to jump tomorrow so that should be a nice tune up. And I'm just gonna pray for our xcountry round haha! I can't wait : )

Up's and Down's...

Well, just when I thought the coast was clear from any problems with our event schedule, we lose our ride to Twin Rivers at the end of this month. Pretty depressed for a while. Getting over it now and pressing on to the Woodside two weeks after Twin Rivers. GAH I can just never seem to get it right; I get a sponser and can go to any and all events...but now my face is rubbed in it because I don't have a truck and trailer!! Oh well. I'm just really hoping we can get out for the last three we planned for this season.

Other than that, Regal and I have been doing great! Dressage is coming along, stadium has been a breeze. We put the fences up the other day and had a jump around...it was awesome!! I would like to get more xcountry schooling in, but we have loads of time. Regal continues to surprise me out on course with his grown-up approach to xcountry. His willingness to go through things he has never seen before, his adjustability; everything. But I don't want to rely on that, we definitly need to be prepared. We just keep chuggin' along, really reeealllyyy can't wait to get out again!!

Getting better is...hard!!

We had a great lesson yesterday. It was frustrating at the time, as my trainer and I are chipping away and fixing various elements of my riding and position that have been in place for over 17 years now...and those things are not easy to change. But luckily my trainer was patient with me, and I feel like we got some great work out of the session!! Trying really hard to improve our dressage and get some lengthenings from Regal is really requiring me to ride and work a lot harder! Which sounds obvious but actually takes you off guard when you have to consciously step it up. Yesterday's lesson was a very good mental and physical workout, and I can't wait to keep working on everything we learned!

Today, I just had to get off the ground a bit. All this flatwork has been benificial...but my heart was needing some air time, and I think Regal agreed. I walked through the arena this morning raising the fences to at least 3'3-3'6' and we just flew around. SO HAPPY!!! I can tell we're improving, because Reg only had one rail and it was my fault because I put him in at an awful angle with a terrible distance. Other than that, he was mega clearing them, and we had a blast. I had a revelation during our jump around and let him have his head a little more and quit holding him back...which worked wonders :) I could tell Regal felt pretty good about himself too; we both needed some fun today!!

Grumpy!!

Haha...so anytime I can't ride as much as I need to, inevitably...grouchy Tosha always comes alive. I can't help it! Though riding is my life, as of now it is not the part of my life that makes me money, and the money-making part of life sometimes needs to take a priority. I know this but don't like it. So this past week Reg and I have had 3 DAYS OFF!!! Ugh it just kills me. This is the most days off we've had in a long time. Usually one suffices for us just fine, two if I have to. We function better on this schedule; with too much time off Regal gets stuck in a lazy funk. My trainer always has wise words for me, and saw my frustration in our lesson earlier this week. Her advice was just to take an easy week and hack around, since I would be no good to Regal all stressed out and with no consistancy this week. We coursed a little on Wednesday, worked on our turns and my hand/body position, but other than that Regal and I have been taking an easy week. I guess its not too bad, we have been working really hard lately. Just trying to be super prepared for Twin at the end of September, and starting to get antsy because I really want to get out and go somewhere. A truck and trailer are in the long term plans. It would be nice to be able to haul me and Regal wherever we wanted, even to go to the lake for a day and trail ride around. All I can think about it getting off work today so I can go see my baby Regal, because at the end of the day, though I put all these pressures and hopes and dreams on Regal and myself, I'm just a girl and he's my horse, and I would love him dearly no matter what :)

Routine

Regal and I have just been truckin along lately. Stuck at a plateu it seems. Everything has been great! I can just feel that we are now comfortable with what we're doing and its time to step it up once again. We had a really full week, and are both going to enjoy our only day off tomorrow...(well, Regal's day off. I still have to work 8 hours haha). Finally put the stirrups back on my dressage saddle after about three weeks, went for a condition ride during which I did not fall off- an improvment from a week ago, and jumped through a nice sized grid and got Regal to quit twisting as much over the fences. Successful week I think!! Today I got my entry ready for Twin, and I am so excited!! Feeling pretty good so far about going out at Training again. Bummed because tomorrow Don Sachey is coming out to clinic at the facility where I ride and I'm working all day!! Ahh oh well. Next time I guess!

Too Good For Words!!!

I have been too busy to write much lately, but have so much to say!! As of two days ago, I have a sponsor!! It is a personal sponsor who would like to remain as anonomous as possible, but I will just say that she is an amazing woman who is giving Regal and I a one in a life time chance. Our major goal has been just to make it to a CCI* to be able to gain a good record to find large sponsors; but the road even to a one star seems incredibly long and all uphill when your looking at it from where we were. Now, with the help of our sponsor we are shooting for our first CCI* in about a year. We'll see how it goes!! I would never do anything to endanger Regal or myself, so obviously if we are not ready to move up we won't, but with his talent just waiting to tapped into, I can't wait to see what we can do with this chance to get out on a regular competition calander!!

Next event: Twin Rivers Fall H.T. at the end of September. Going out Training again, and we are feeling pretty good but have a lot of work, like always. Our dressage is really shaping up, and I have been on a crazy no stirrups kick for about two weeks now. My stirrups are collecting dust in the tack room, and I might keep it that way for a while. My sitting work is getting exponentially better, and my leg feels better than it has in ages. Haven't really been jumping a ton, no need to. We know Regal can jump...though last time we did school over a nice sized grid we left his boots off, and surprise surprise...he didn't touch a thing ;) haha.

Today my team left for Woodside, and I am bummed I'm not there. But I know I have Twin to look forward to, and a ton more after that!! Its hard to be bummed out by anything lately with that at the back of my mind.

We went out for a nice change of pace today and schooled some banks, ditches, and water at our home course this morning. Of course it wasn't hard for Reg and didn't even phase him, but he looked happy to be out there splashing and cantering around. Happy days and hard work ahead!!

Ouch.

Ok so starting my day with a nice reminder from gravity before 9:00 this morning was not what I had in mind. Maybe the cosmos thought I was forgetting their power or something. Just out for a condition ride with Regal, and there so happens to be a cow in one of the pastures off to the side near a hill we go up. Regal hates cows. He hates the sound, look, smell, and presence of a cow. Did I forget to mention that Reg has also perfected the art of the spin? I tried to keep his head locked down to his left side so he couldn't even see the cow or make a big deal about it. But no. I stayed on the first massive spin and marched him back up the hill to go past the cow again. The next time he got me, and not only did he look at me laying there on the ground, he then proceed to take off, leaving me to walk back to the barn. I found my innocent baby munching on some grass and making new friends with the horses in their stalls. He knew he was in trouble!! I worked his butt for the next hour up and down hills, and past that damn cow a million times. If he has the energy to spin me off and take off running and bucking, he can muster up the energy for a harder condition. Overall, it ended well. We had a great workout...and he went past the cow no problem :) The fall wasn't even that bad, though as the day goes on my neck continues to stiffen up...ugh. Hello icy hot, arnica cream, and a hot shower.

Just Another Day

Had a great lesson this morning. Just a nice little jump around with a grid thrown in. The grid was a vertical two strides to a vertical, one stride vertical, one stride oxer. Nothing seems big anymore. Regal just floats along over everything, and it was really nice because I could feel our dressage work paying off over fences today!! He was much more up and he wasn't close to any of the rails (could also be because I left his boots off today...hmmm haha.) It was incredible, he's come so far!! Went through and made an ideal event calander for the rest of this season and next season. Realized how much everything costs for the millionth time, but I'm determined to make it work it.

Busy!!

Things have been hectic lately, but I love being busy!! Hopefully exciting things are coming our way :)
Had a great little condition ride with my Regal man yesterday. We went next door to our facility where there is an awesome conditioning track, looping all around and up and down a giant hill. I didn't want to do a huge blow-out since it's only been a few days since the show, but I do know that we need work in this area. Regal acts very fit. But for some reason, his recoveries take a long time after hard work. He looks fit, acts fit, and doesn't tire out incredibly easy, but he takes a while to get his breathing back to normal. So I'm really trying to step it up and work on our recovery times. What I really wish is that I had a truck and trailer and could take Reg out to the trails I know from when I used to ride endurance. The way we conditioned those horses was something else!! Heart rate moniters and the whole gig. I might invest in one someday. I would ideally love to cross train eventing with a little endurance, because I feel that if my horse is fit to do a 25 or 50 mile ride in good time, a cross country course would pose no threat to their stanima. I don't think I'd every put Reg up to a 100...those rides are so dang hard!! But anyways, one of these days!!
This morning was another dressage ride (you can probably tell by now where we spend most of our training time...) and we actually had a really good ride!! It was less of a fight for a more through and forward frame, and about halfway through the ride Reg started getting so forward it was almost too much. I had to slow him down!! If you knew anything about how Regal usually goes, you would find this amazing. haha. But it was great and we're starting to get the hang of how this grown-up stuff is supposed to feel.

I am EXTREMELY excited because I might have a glimmer of hope at having someone help me find a sponser!!! I don't even want to talk about it much because I'm afraid I'll jinx it or something!! I have been giddy for days. More to come on this as we figure everything out. FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Back to work

Today was one of those growing up lessons. Regal and I are now comfortable with the baby stuff, and ready to move on to more grown-up work. Our trainer Chris really wants to get us going well so we can come out even more prepared for Twin at the end of September.

Today was spent in the dressage saddle, bringing Regal up into my hands and more accepting of the bit...more of a first level frame instead of a long and low. Oh he was shocked!! All this time he's been feeling pretty cocky about how good he's doing, and now this, something he has to work at!! Well after a "few baby Regal fits" as we call them, he began to get the idea. It felt amazing! I began to get the feeling of power coming up from behind and into my hands, the feeling I'm going to need and perfect as we continue to move up. Regal wasn't the only one working hard...I had some major tweaking of my body mechanics to do. Coming from a hunter/jumper background I tend to let my lower back arch instead of keeping it solid, and because Regal makes you work for any impulsion he gives you, my legs and butt were getting quite the workout...especially when we started trying to improve the clarity in our lengthenings :/ I sense sit-ups, squats, and longer jogs in my future, Regal isn't the only one who has to be in good condition!! haha.

It was a great day overall. I'm really excited to have new things to work on and integrate into our routines. My boyfried actually came out to say hi to Regal and see our ride, and being a typical non-horsey boy he finds the jumping and cross country more exciting. But I think today, with all of our impulsion and almost airs above ground, Reg and I gave him a new respect for plain old flatwork, and how much work it actually takes to make it all seem so effortless.

...arg...

Frustration. Should be used to it by now. I don't know why I'm constantly surprised and hurt by the fact that what it all comes down to is money. How long have I been learning this the hard way? 16 or 17 years now...since I first started riding and realized it was a money sport. Sometimes its humiliating, but I just keep fighting for everything, trying to prove that talent still counts for something and determination actually can get you places. I have the best people around me who help me as much as they can; and it means the world to me :) I think somewhere in me I know I'll make it, thats what keeps me pushing forward day after day and let down after let down. I have a once in a life time horse, an incredible trainer, and the perfect facility to school everything I need.

If your wondering where all this is coming from, in retrospect it seems like a silly reason. Can't go to Woodside this next month. Not sure when our next outing will be. Irritated because there will be little to no advancement without getting me and Regal out. And he's so ready. It just kills me to have to sit out while him and I are both coming into our prime. I'm learning to grit my teeth pretty well, stay positive, and look to the future.

Step 1: Now that we've moved up, its officially time to register me and Regal with the USEA...$120.
Step 2: We're going to try for something else this year. Hopefully two events at roughly $400 an event if you include entry, stabling, and travel. Two events would make me a verrrryyyy happy Tosha. Next after Woodside will be Twin Rivers I think. We'll aim for that one maybe.
Step 3: Breathe and smile :)

Mission Accomplished!!

We made it through our first Training level!! Regal was a superstar :)

My team and I got to the event (Hiskens Summer Moon) on Friday afternoon and settled the horses in and set up our camp. Regal had an awesome hack that day, totally relaxed and happy. He always settles right in eating and drinking like a champ. My ride time for dressage Saturday morning was 7:42 am, so I was up by 5 so I could feed, clean, and braid. Regal is sure catching on!! He can now tell the difference between my regular clothes and show clothes. The instant I came out of the trailer changed into my whites he stopped eating, started watching me, and stood by his gate waiting to be tacked up. He did that before every phase once he saw me change!! I was hoping for a dressage warm up exactly like my hack the day before...but of course I got the opposite. Regal was pumped up and shooting around like a firecracker. To say the least it was a very forward warm up. My trainer and I made the best of it and I headed for my dressage court. I'm not sure what happened, but when Reg and I stepped into the court he was all business. He still felt like a ticking time bomb, but he was much more together. My major goals for our test this time was not to break gaits and to have a smoother ride, both accomplished!! He was a little tense into some of his upward transitions and his halt, but we ended up with a 36.4 on our first Training dressage test- not bad!! Me, being the competitive person I am, was bummed that our score still landed us in 8th after dressage. But my team mates and trainer cheered me up and I got my mind off of being too competitive.

Since this was a horse trial, we had show jumping in the afternoon; usually where Reg and I shine. I had the warm up I wished I could have gotten for my dressage, and I think our ride time must have been when Regal usually naps. The fences didn't look overly challenging, and the course was fun! We had two unfortunate rails, which was pretty upsetting to me only because I know we can do better. Between the heat, Regal being a little lazy, my eye being off, and me trying to over-correct, it wasn't exactly the ride I wanted. After a talk with my trainer I once again shrugged off my negative vibe. We ended Saturday in 9th place.

Sunday...cross country!! By this time I'd metered my course once, and walked it 4 times. I was excited. Like in stadium, I hadn't seen anything that looked overwhelming, always a good feeling. We had a good warm up, and I could tell Reg and I were on the same page. We left the start box, he picked up his ground eating gallop and flew over the first log like it was nothing. I was already smiling. I am still so excited about how he rode that course. Second log to the coop, easy. Jump four was a full coffin, which he had never seen before. Bounced on through. Big log to trakenner to log cabin, turn to down bank two stride to coop. Like a pro!! I am so glad we schooled those down banks, he dropped off exactly how he should, no more baby launches!! A friend came by and told me before I went to the start box that jump 17, the log down into water was getting a lot of people, so when I came to that one I sat Reg up and drove him forward. Without a second thought he leapt down, but I think he was surprised to see the water on the other side! He did a funny little bobble which made me lose my stirrup, I rode out over a log without it and was trying to get it back as we headed for another big coop. In my effort to grab my stirrup back Regal didn't get a clear look at the fence and breezed past it, so I circled him back and he jumped it easily. Last fence over a litte wooden truck, down through a ravine (where we almost ran a lady over who was standing right in the way. She somehow didn't hear my screaming at her and Regal galloping towards her!) We finished with just 7.5 time faults, which put us up to finish 6th place at our first Training!!!

My Regal was a proud boy, but I was an even more proud horse mommy :) As always, so many lessons learned. You can only be so competitive, because really your competing against yourself and doing the best you and your horse can do. And I was once again reminded of the simple goal to just finish. Though we had faults all weekend, we still ended up 6th because we made it through every question. Just goes to show the craziness of this sport.

We're going back home knowing exactly what we need to work on, and already trying to plan the next outing. Woodside is 2 weeks away, and I'm trying with all my might to scrape some money together for it. My camera decided to die this weekend, but I'll get some pictures up that my team and trainer took!! Everyone had a fun, safe weekend...couldn't ask for more!!

Off to the show we go!!

So tired I've given up on doing anything else tonight, and set my alarm early and on its loudest setting. I'll be MIA for a few days since we're camping out at the event and among many other things, there won't be internet. I'll have a ton to say when I get back though I'm sure!!
Regal and I had our last tune-up ride tonight. He warmed up SOOOO brilliantly on the flat!! My trainer and I were amazed. Maybe the dressage work is sinking in...haha. What we really wanted was to take him through a triple since that will be our big stadium question. Turns out he handles those like a pro, but the measly little verticals must not have been up to his standards. Some body adjustments on my part, and we were sailing around. The triple rode so smooth, and Regal popped out over the big oxer at the end with such little effort, it totally blows my mind. We're as schooled as we're gonna get for this show, now its just time to let all our hard work pay off : ) and hopefully luck will be on our side!!
I have a checklist a mile long that I don't want to think about until the morning...pictures and news when we get back!!!

Dressage, dressage,dressage...

I have learned it is the name of the game. Sets up your entire score for the event. Sad for me, it is not my stongest point. So that is where I usually work the hardest. Regal and I have been drilling upward transitions, downward transitions, collection, impulsion, throughness...and he is so bored. My trainer Chris and I had to shake things up in our lesson today when we realized, yet again, that our little superstar was so bored he was coming up with his own games. "Up the ante on him, Tosh," she shouts at me. And we launch into shoulder in, haunches in, leg yields, ten meter circles, lengthening, collection...its easy to just list these things but they were hard!! haha. FINALLY...Regal's ears perk up and start swivaling around, listening to me. His movement is brilliant, bit is light, hind end is coming through...all the best feelings in the world. Our canter work is a perfect tempo, and though my left arm is burning from fighting with him earlier, I can't help but smile. Oh if only our test can go like that this weekend. I think we have a pretty good shot. It just reminds me of something a coach told me a long time ago; practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Bear with me...

Hello! This is my first try at a blog, I'm not extremely computer literate for my generation I think.
Today was a frustrating ride. Incredibly hot. Dirt particles sticking everywhere, and my baby horse Regal did NOT want to work. Show four days away. Our first Training level HT and he tries to pull the "I'm just a baby horse" routine. It used to get me and I'd cave in and let him off easy, but I layed down the line and got a nice dressage terrain ride in. Little bit of heat stroke never hurt anyone....right?!
Regal's hair is growing back on his face where he rubbed it off. I consider today a good day.

P.S: I'm still at work on the layout of this thing, and pictures will be up soon!! Thanks for reading!!