I've had better trips, better rounds. I like the principle that I'm right where I'm supposed to be.
Banner, Cash and I left for Ogden (Golden Spike) on Friday morning July 17 and arrived fresh enough to partake in a practice Show Jumping round. Banner jumped very well and willingly.
Saturday featured the dressage and show jumping events. We got a 30.9 in dressage at Prelim. That's a personal best for us. The weather was good, footing good due to rain at night and we were confident going into jumping. Fence 4A was a one stride oxer to vertical combo off a turn. I don't know what happened but he stopped at the very last minute, piled into rails and his neck or head hit me in my ribs hard, knocking out my wind and injuring my rib cage.
I stayed on and continued only to stop again at 9A because I was not in the game. No one was willing to comment on my riding but I'd bet that I jumped ahead slightly and was not waiting enough which caused him to stop when he looked at 4A.
That evening I begged the President of the Ground Jury and organizer to let me go xc. Off we went and had a wonderful round until a double up bank at 13 which I wimped out at. When one is an eliminated rider they must leave the course after one stop. I was thrilled with our ride up til then however. The bank caused problems. An Intermediate horse struggled up it and one young rider doing her first Prelim fell there. I don't think it's a good jump.
So back home we went and stayed for 2 days to depart for Inavale Event in Philomath, ORE. on Wed.
I had a student with me, Janine Jaro. We loaded up and had a smooth trip until Hood River where I heard a noise from clutch. I suspected my clutch needed to be replaced so was acutely interested in the sound. We made it to the event and Janine took the truck to town to stay in a motel. I camp in my modest living quarter's trailer on grounds. I love doing that. Janine found a good shop in Corvallis called "Phil's Clutch and Transmission Repair" close to her hotel. It was the perfect shop and they had it done by Friday no sweat. It felt great and I was excited and relieved to have gotten it done without breaking down.
Inavale Event had 385 entries. The weather and grounds were stunning. The courses were huge. It's a destination event.
Our dressage was tense. My rib was injured and I didn't ride well. I decided to demo a Hit Air Vest for xc.
I rode in a Devoceux saddle too so I was all geared up. Matt Brown warmed me up and it's funny to say that Banner won the warm up! He always does by showing off, fast, clean, forward and brilliant.
The first 3 fences on xc were great and then we got to 4A (same number as Ogden). A 3 stride bending line of narrow roll tops. He stopped and piled again. Air Vest deployed and it's mandatory retirement. My first thought was ...Gee I didn't get far. Anyway, we are ok none the worse for wear and the vest came in handy. I bought one.
Janine got around her first event in 30 years and is on the path with a very willing TB mare named Legacy. She plans to go Novice at Rebecca.
Monday we stayed over so Matt could school Banner around the course. He is an excellent rider and horseman and they both enjoyed Inavale's big prelim jumps. Having Matt ride him was fun to watch and gave Banner confidence. They made a good pair.
After my demise on xc, some of my old friends told me "Stop going prelim. you are so good at bringing up green horses Novice, Training, you could be doing that". So, I have switched Banner's entry down a level toTraining 3 Day at Rebbeca Farms. It will be a blast.
We packed up and left next morning. The new clutch failed in a construction zone outside Hood River. A one lane consruction zone is a scary place to be stuck. AAA came and towed the truck and trailer. The horses were transported to Marie and Don Hansen's place in Lyle, WA. I enjoyed visiting my buddy Marie, riding with her and spending time with my brother Jay who was very helpful. Hood River is a good place for me to hang. I hung quite a while because the first mechanic it went to was clue less and it had to be re towed to the Dalles to another transmission specialist. Phil, remember Phil from Corvallis shop? He backed up his work and paid for it all. Wow, what a trip. I'm still recovering. I'm wondering why I event and whether I should sell my lovely, scopey horse, Banner. I have a lovely 15.3 hh mare now too and she is coming along well. I take it one day at a time and today am concentrating on "First Things First." One first thing was to write this blog. Happy Summer everyone.
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