For those of you who follow my $900 fb pony facebook page, you already know how this weekend turned out. But before we can get to the conclusion, first we’ve got to take a journey, and that journey of course includes a soon-to-be-famous (surely?) Course Walk with Bobby. Brace yourselves.
We arrived at Texas Rose Horse Park on Friday around mid-day, unloaded the boys, set our stuff up, checked in, and then got on to ride around. It was quite warm and humid so we opted to mostly just hack around the grounds, enjoying the beauty and wide open spaces of TRHP. It truly is the most beautiful facility in Texas, hands down. I can’t wait for AEC there.
One of four dressage arenas in the foreground and stadium warm-up in the background
riding with Bobby and Halo in the front field
AND THEN… it was course walk time. Bobby was doing BN and I was doing Novice, so first we walked our courses separately, then walked each others together. You know what sucks in 90 degree heat and crazy humidity? 3 course walks. But we’ve got a reputation that we’ve got to live up to now with our jump photos, so we suffered for the sake of art. Unfortunately, because we were about to die, we only did fun pictures for my Novice course walk. As suggested by Sarah, we did a “Where’s Bobby?” theme to start with, then it kinda morphed out of control as we got delirious from heat stroke, which is of course where things got funny.
nice inviting little fence to start with, heading straight towards the highway in the background
fence 2, a stair step box next to the highway
Very simple vertical logs at 3
decent size table at 4, off of an uphill approach
little slanty log on the hillside at 5
little up bank on an uphill approach. There’s water right behind that Training rolltop, which wasn’t flagged for Novice but if you didn’t go through it your approach to 7 was not gonna work.
cabin set a couple strides out of the water
another decent sized table at 8, very square but not too wide
to the Trakehner at 9
then it was a slight downhill roll to 10, the open oxer, which I thought looked small
11 was the down bank, which wasn’t actually that big of a drop but because it was set on a big hill, it looked ginormous when you were cantering up to it. Plus the landing was on a very downhill slope, which meant it would ride bigger.
to get to 12 we had to take a hard left after the bank and canter back up the steep hill, with the chevron jump at the top. This was a serious question because of the terrain.
straight ahead to 13, the Weldon’s Wall
14ab was two rolltops set on a bending line. Another good question, but I loved how there were a couple different approaches you could take on how to ride this. I dig it.
dead Bobby on the b element
another little house thing at 15, set a couple of strides before the water (which is shaped like the state of Texas. Because Texas.)
Our pimp cups took a water break at 16.
Another table at 17, this one not super tall but very very wide. Like 4 1/2 feet wide at the base. Honestly I tried not to make eye contact with it when I walked by.
and a cute little brushy box to finish
After the course walk I actually felt pretty good about it. I got a few raised eyebrows from friends when I chose Texas Rose as our move-up, because it’s not known to be an easy course, but I actually walked off feeling like this could potentially be perfect for him. The course was open and gallopy, which suits him well, and he has zero water issues so having two water crossings was no biggie. I thought there were a couple of legitimate questions but nothing super hard or unfair… it’s really well designed and flowed nicely, and there was a little bit of everything. Water, tables, trakehner, related distance, weldon’s wall, etc – great variety. The only thing I wasn’t too sure about for Henry was the giant-looking down bank followed by the sharp turn back up the hill to the chevron. Otherwise I felt like as long as I rode him forward and positively, he’d handle all of it just fine. Nothing looked super big to me either (except the width of 17, mother effer that thing was as wide as a house), which I thought was a good sign.
After the course walk I put XC out of mind because first we had to get through Saturday – dressage and stadium!
Just a quick one today, I’m headed out the door for Texas Rose…
First, big thanks to Martin of MDC for replying to everyone’s questions and comments on my MDC stirrups review post the other day. It’s not often that we get to chat back and forth with a product’s creator in the comments section! He’s still reading and replying.
Second, don’t forget about Sadie’s baby contest! It’s easy to enter and the winner gets a $25 Riding Warehouse gift card. Sadie is getting bigger and bigger by the day.
Finally, I have a few things for sale if anyone might be interested:
Animo light blue long sleeve polo shirt, size I-42 (fits like a 34-36). Also worn very little and in great shape. $50
Annie’s Tardis blue full seat breeches, size 30. Worn maybe 10 times, in great shape. $50
5.25 or 5.5 (need to measure) Nathe loose ring. $50
Full set of Tekna fancy stitched boots, open front and hind ankle in brown. Size cob – they run big, these fit Henry with some room to spare. $45
Tailored Sportsman Trophy Hunter tan full seat breeches size 30. Small light stain on the rear seat area. Good schooling condition. $45
Barn friend Bobby is also selling his Point Two Air Vest:
Brand new, never used Point Two ProAir Riding Vest – Adult Large/Red (4 cartridges included)
This air vest provides inflatable protection in the event of a fall. It clips across the chest and lays flat on the body, much like a garment, for a comfortable non intrusive feel. In the event of a fall, the CO2 cartridge is activated to instantly inflate the vest for full upper body protection including the neck area. The inflated vest will stay inflated for 10-20 seconds when it will then slowly deflate. While the vest is inflated, the rider will have full movement of arm and legs. Can be worn over a traditional body protector for extra protection. Includes saddle attachment and lanyard. Asking $500
Nothing like trying to cram all your prep for a move-up into the last week before show time! I’m not complaining one single bit, because I’m just beyond thrilled that it’s stopped raining and things are drying up. Henry’s been able to go out all week and the arenas no longer resemble lakes.
He’s equally thrilled to be back to work
Because it’s supposed to be hot and humid this weekend, I opted to cram more of my serious prep work into the beginning of the week and lighten his workload the last few days before show time. We had a dressage lesson Saturday, did conditioning work Sunday, jumped on Monday, then he had Tuesday off, an easier dressage ride last night, and gets today off, then we leave for the show tomorrow morning. For our jump school on Monday only half of the arena was dry, but it’s amazing how half of an arena feels like a gloriously huge space after a month of being surrounded by swamp. I set up a square oxer and a bigger vertical and made the best of our little area.
We were a little crooked, and it was hard to keep a consistent pace in the space, but Henry felt good considering we haven’t jumped in a while. I feel a little rusty, but hopefully he’s ready to go!
Last night’s dressage ride was really just to get him loosened up and thinking forward. At this point we’ve got whatever we’ve got, so there’s no point in trying to drill him now. I’ll be thrilled if he can continue being as relaxed for dressage at Texas Rose as he was at Greenwood and Corona. He was basically comatose last night!
They also posted ride times yesterday, and I’m very relieved to see that we’re running XC early on Sunday morning. Henry doesn’t handle heat very well and I was a bit concerned about having to do XC in the heat of the day on Saturday, so bullet dodged there. Of course, we have dressage and stadium in the heat of the day, but I can get him through those two phases a lot more easily. I spent the week sewing him an ice pack thingy that he can wear on his neck – a process that involved much cursing, blood, whining, and a burned finger. I figured if I made it I wouldn’t need it… obviously a sound strategy. I’m taking it anyway though because dammit I bled for that thing and he’s gonna use it.
I hope you’re prepared for more epic course walk debauchery, because Bobby is coming along to this event too. And here’s a gross picture of his face, because he thought he was being funny by putting this on my phone. I get the last laugh by putting this on the internet.
I think just about everyone who has competed in horse shows is familiar with nervous energy that comes along with it. If you’re one of those rare souls with ice running through your veins, count your blessings. I am not one of those people. To what degree those butterflies really affect us varies from person to person… some of us just feel a little bit of heart-pounding at the in gate, while others might be in the porta-potty barfing up their breakfast all morning.
I’ve always been the type of person that feels anxiety and nervousness at shows. I’m lucky enough that it’s never been super severe (no hyperventilating, no puking, no hysterical bawling in the warm-up ring) but it has definitely varied from almost none to feeling queasy. For a long time I tried really hard to conquer those nerves and force myself to relax. Eventually I realized how ridiculously futile that was, and it dawned on me that maybe I was looking at it from the wrong perspective. I have never succeeded in getting rid of my butterflies, but what if I could tame them and turn that nervous energy into an advantage rather than a detriment? It took time and a lot of introspection, but this is what has really helped me a lot and I’m hoping that by sharing it here it might help someone else too.
The first thing I had to realize is that nervous energy doesn’t have to be a negative thing, it can be positive too. Research has actually shown that nervous energy, when properly channeled, can help you perform tasks more efficiently and can improve memory. The butterflies are not our enemy. For me, recognizing that fact and learning how to make it positive has been the key to a happier horse show experience. That’s not to say that I win the battle with nerves 100% of the time, but it’s gotten better and better, and substantially improved after I changed my perspective on nervousness.
yes I just used a Beyonce quote
When I start feeling those butterflies creeping up on me, I take a deep breath and think “Ok self, you’ve got two choices here. You can let the nerves overtake you, fill you with doubt, and defeat you. Or you can embrace the feeling, use it to energize yourself and sharpen your focus, and go out there ready to kick some ass. Your choice.”. It’s my own little pep talk to myself, so to speak.
One of the first things we start thinking about when we feel anxiety is how many things could go wrong, and in how many ways. What if, instead, we thought about all the things that we could do to make things go well. After all, things are going to happen no matter what. We can’t do anything about that, and worrying about all the things that could go wrong does absolutely nothing positive. What we can do is figure out how to plan accordingly, how to react, and how to move past it. That’s what we’ve spent so long training and preparing for… at horse show time it’s just a matter of implementation. By the time you’ve gotten to the show you theoretically have all the tools necessary for success, all you have to do is use them. Success isn’t something that happens to you, success is something you make happen. And you can’t make it happen if you allow yourself to become debilitated by nervousness.
Whether it’s deep breathing, visualizing success, giving yourself pep talks, or even simply just smiling, the first step to handling the nerves is to stop the cycle of negativity. If you can’t get rid of the butterflies you might as well learn how to tame them and use them to your advantage.
What do you do to help calm your show nerves and/or turn them into a benefit instead of a detriment?
As some of you may remember from a few months ago, curiosity drove me to perform a little experiment, pitting my beloved Royal Riders irons against the more traditional looking MDC irons. I also had a pair of regular fillis irons lying around, so I included them in the showdown as well, although they are not pictured below. The two MDC models I tried were the Sport Classic and the S Flex. For comparisons sake, my Royal Rider irons are the Flex model.
the MDC Sport Classic, Royal RIder Flex, and MDC S Flex
To provide a little background, I rode in fillis irons as a kid but always had problems with my legs burning and feet going numb. Come to find out (many years later), I have pretty significant compartment syndrome in my lower legs, so my blood flow is very easily compromised. From 1998-2007 I used Herm Sprenger 6 way irons, which helped tremendously with the pain but I also felt like they made my lower leg quite unstable. I didn’t realize exactly how unstable until I got my Royal Riders – it was an instant difference. I’ve ridden in the Royal Riders ever since and had very few complaints with them, functionally. I’ve never really been a big fan of the look though, and couldn’t ever decide how I felt about the lightweight composite. I also wasn’t sure if the wide footbed was what made such a big difference for my leg pain or if the flex contributed as well. I had always looked at the MDC irons and wondered how they would compare. After talking to Martin at MDC, he recommended that I try the Sport Classic and the S Flex.
To draw fair comparisons I used each pair of irons on each of my saddles, for both dressage rides and jumping rides. When I originally got the MDC’s I was pretty certain that I would like the Classics more than the Flex…. mostly because the physical appearance of the Flex irons reminds me of the Herm Sprenger, which I have such negative memories about. The Royal Rider irons, while they do have some flex to them, are not nearly as “bendy” as my old HS irons were, which is why they felt so much more stable. I was concerned that the MDC Flex irons would be too flexible as well, but in a side by side comparison the amount of flexion was very similar between the Royal Rider Flex and the MDC Flex. Enough to provide some “give”, but not enough to seem unstable. The MDC had perhaps a bit more flex, but not a significant amount. The other obvious difference between the irons is the top. The MDC Sport Classics have an adjustable top that allow you to change the angle at which the stirrup hangs – the traditional position, a 45 degree angle, or a 90 degree angle. The Royal Riders obviously hang in the traditional position, as do regular fillis irons. The MDC S Flex hang in a fixed 45 degree position.
Without further ado, here were my opinions of each iron, in reverse order of preference.
Traditional Fillis Irons
When I started this experiment, these were the irons I had on my dressage saddle. They were ok on that, although I did sometimes find myself losing a stirrup. I switched them to my jumping saddle for one ride just to make sure that my old opinion of them still stood, and boy did it ever. Within 5 minutes my ankles were on fire and within 10 minutes my toes were going numb. I also didn’t think they felt particularly supportive under my foot (when I sunk into my heel I felt like the irons wanted to “escape” toward my toe) nor did I have a particularly easy time keeping my feet in the irons, with standard rubber pads. I spent the entire ride focused on and fidgeting with my feet, instead of actually focusing on riding my horse. The verdict: I still hate fillis irons. There is a lot to be said for the traditional look, but for me the functionality is almost nill.
After we get past the fillis irons, which I hate with every fiber of my being, the other 3 are really closely matched.
MDC Sport Classic
It was hard for me to decide where to rank these, because I liked them the most for dressage but not as much for jumping. The Sport Classics just weren’t the right irons for me over fences, and in my world the needs for jumping trump the needs for dressage, so that’s ultimately how I decided to rank them. Although I liked these irons light years more than regular fillis irons, I just didn’t like them quite as much for jumping as my top two. I tried them in all 3 positions – traditional, 45 degree, and 90 degree (LOVE that feature, by the way) and on both saddles. I actually liked them a lot on my dressage saddle, especially in the 90 degree position. Coming from h/j land it’s difficult for me to let my leg drape in the correct dressage position, but these irons really seemed to hang well on their own and encourage my leg to do the same. I also liked the traditional look – from the side they look like fillis irons. The only reason these lost out for me a little bit was because on my jumping saddle I experienced the same feeling of the stirrup wanting to move a bit forward when I tried to sink down into my heels. Definitely not as much as the regular fillis iron, but a little bit. I’m guessing this is likely due the extreme lack of flexibility in my ankles, but a few times I found myself fishing to reposition them correctly while jumping. I did not experience any of the burning or numbness in my feet however, which now makes me think that the wide footbed is really the key for helping me with that issue. Ultimately I was sad that I could only afford to keep one pair of MDC’s, otherwise these would still be on my dressage saddle.
Royal Rider Flex
Honestly, I think that my physical issues just necessitate an iron with some flex. That’s the complete opposite of what I thought I would find from this experiment, but really good to know. When I have a little bit of “give” in my iron I seem to be able to keep my feet under me a little better, and the iron seems to stay more securely in place on my foot, so that’s why these got the nod over the Sport Classic’s. I still like my Royal Riders as far as comfort and function go, although I remain pretty “over” the cheap black plastic look and am still unsold on the lightweight composite. For safety reasons I really prefer something with a little more weight to it. Which leads me to…
MDC ‘S’ Flex
These are the irons that Martin predicted I would like when I spoke to him on the phone about my issues, but I have to admit I thought he was wrong, and I have to then subsequently admit that he was right. When I took these out of the box I immediately thought NOPE because they reminded me of my old Herm Sprengers, but it was a mistake to judge them purely on looks and past prejudice. I’ve had these on my jumping saddle for a couple months now and have tested them in every scenario – flatwork, hacking out, the jumping ring, and cross country. With the kind of spring we’ve had I’ve also used them a lot in the mud and the rain. The grip is superb (never would have thought these would be as grippy as the slice-your-finger-open cheesegrater pads on my Royal Riders, but they have managed to do that without being quite so… lethal) and they always stay where I put them, whether it’s the ball of my foot for stadium or a little more “home” for XC. I have yet to lose a stirrup while using these, even with some pretty impressive acrobatics from Henry on cross country. I don’t love the look of any flex iron as much as a traditional solid metal fillis iron, but since flexion seems to be my destiny, I have to learn to live with it. I do like that these are at least metal/gray instead of black plastic, and have a good solid feel to them. I’m unsure as to whether or not I get any benefit from the 45 degree S feature at the top, since typically I don’t have knee pain except for after long horse show days. Of course, now that I say that, I haven’t noticed much knee pain after shows so maybe it’s doing something after all.
Overall I learned a lot about stirrup features and personal preference from comparing all these irons. I would greatly encourage anyone else who is interested to take advantage of MDC’s Free Trial Ride and/or 100% money back guarantee policies, or contact Martin at 831-393-0588 (note: he’s on the West Coast) and speak to him yourself to see what he might suggest for you. He has also graciously offered to answer questions in the comments of this blog post, so feel free to blast away!
