Baby Boomer Dreams - Dandy's Story - The Warm Up

Part 1


Fortunately, the Arabian horse had been so fit before his stint with stall rest after Canada and Region 17 that he still was in very good condition. Even though my very first rides after he was back had been really good, I had counted on having so many rides to make the improvements we needed so we might have a shot at this thing at Nationals. Now, getting to Nationals and spending more time just standing around I was beginning to worry. The number of actual rides I was getting seemed to be nowhere near those I was thinking we needed. I was worried about getting back to work.

There was another thing that really concerned me. Kelly had decided that the horse needed to be in the western bridle even though he was only five. She said that at Nationals the year before, all of the serious contenders in Bonanza were wearing curb bits. Since the horse had been shown in a curb bit at the Red Deer show, the rules required he must stay in a curb. So even though it would have been my preference to show in the snaffle, I was stuck with Kelly's decision about the bridle. The horse didn't have nearly enough time in the bridle for me to be comfortable about trail at this level. Steering was definitely something we needed to be working on, instead the horse was standing in a stall with hives all over his body.

Fortunately we had arrived at Nationals early to give the horses time to settle in and get accustomed to the altitude before they needed to show. While it would have been best to be riding my horse during this time, it did give us some time for him to heal those hives of his. By day 5, the hives had diminished enough I could finally ride my horse but Dandy was still on regular injections to keep things under control.

I clearly remember my first ride in the warm-up arena. There's something about the air at Nationals. While you can't see the electricity running through it, you can feel it everywhere. Tensions are higher than the stakes, I swear and the warm-up arenas reflected all that tension. Poor Dandy could feel it too.

Horses were travelling in every direction imaginable. There were english horses, western horses, hunter horses and even driving horses all doing their thing will little regard for anyone. Grooms and owners running tack or other things in and out of the center of the ring added to the confusion. If you're at all intimidated by busy warm-ups, the arenas at the Arabian Nationals aren't for you.

My first class was the hunter pleasure aspect of the Bonanza class so to start off with, I was schooling my horse in hunter pleasure. While at home, I mostly school in the western saddle, at Nationals I was using the proper hunt tack like everyone else. Have I mentioned how insecure I feel riding hunt?

When we rode into that arena Dandy didn't know what to think. The horse was an absolute wreck. I could feel the tension in his body. Flexing and bending him trying to get him to relax just wasn't working.

I don't remember feeling particularly tense myself. Usually once I get into the saddle, all I think about is riding. Granted I have to pay attention to traffic so I don't run into anything or anyone but I'm usually ok with that. I do remember feeling some frustration to the fact there was no rhyme or reason to the traffic patterns. Trying to figure out where to put my horse was a challenge.

I kept at it, working the horse off my inside rein and then my outside rein. I tried to find a place in that huge arena to ride a few circles but that didn't work out. It was something like the experience of being dive bombed by a mother bird protecting her nest. Mostly those professional trainers were grabbing their patch of ground and plowing through chasing off all challengers. Dandy and I didn't have much chance.

The way things were going all I wanted to do was have a clean pass. Not a great ride, not a perfect canter transition, just one clean pass at any gait would have been enough for me. But Dandy was bobbing in and out of the bridle like a bobber with a fish on. The horse was sure that someone or something was going to try and eat him and he was hyper vigilant.

The couple of attempts I made to canter were nothing but a major wreck. The horse tipped his head upside down and took off for parts known only to him. I managed to get him stopped without causing wrecks to anyone else but my confidence was taking a real hit.

I finally baled on schooling in the main arena and instead headed for the big warm-up arena right in front of the stalls of Bobby Hart Jr. While there didn't seem to be as many horses in this arena, the electricity in the air was still the same. Poor Dandy wasn't buying that this ring was any different from the one he had just left.

I tried more flexing and bending. We actually did manage to ride a circle or two. But mostly it was Dandy pushing through the bit. Sometimes it was a little and sometimes it was a lot. I saw more of his head upside down than I'd seen the whole time since I'd started the horse under saddle. I'd even hung from his throat latch a time or two. It was not a fun time.

By this time we left that arena it was dark outside. The floodlights on the arena gave it almost an ethereal look but there was nothing heavenly about my connection to my horse. We seemed to be riding on two different planes and it didn't seem like there was much hope they were going to cross paths anytime soon.

To be continued...................

The Warm Up continues

Dandy is still improving but has a ways to go. My guess is he is out of the woods but he won't be turned out anytime soon. He still has a slight distention to his belly but he appears happy and comfortable.



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