We had a very good Waterloo show this weekend, despite a bit of a rocky start. Thursday night I was pretty stressed out about work and the possibility that our (long awaited) vacation in Montana might not happen due to a meeting in France at the same time.
First ride Friday felt good but the judge didn't share my feelings. We got dinged all the way through because Saumur had his mouth open at times. Sandy recommended we go back to the old curb bit. Uh, here I thought I was doing Saumur a favor, buying an expensive Hermann Sprenger bit because I didn't want to subject him to cheap Chinese metal. Guess what - we switched the bits and he was fine. There goes the vote for the fine German quality. Second ride went really well, we got 7s on the changes with the comment "straight" - a true first for us!
Yesterdays rides were good, too, but I managed to bungle the last ride a bit with not enough collection before the 'V' changes. Oh, well, it still netted us a 63%. After the first ride the official USEF vet came up to us "Congratulations - and you have been selected for drug testing". That was a first for us. The vet explained that Saumur had to pee in a cup and give blood. Oh, great. Well, Saumur handled it like true athlete (at least the ones not doped). As soon as he went his stall he peed and the vet tech collected with a cup. Then the female vet did a really wonderful job drawing the vials of blood from " Mr. Do-Not-Poke-Me-With-A-Needle'.
As I had only entered Friday and Saturday the plan was that JP drives Saumur to Sandy's, picks up Chambord and brings the boys home. So far, so good. I stayed for a bit to load the equipment and catch the freestyle exhibitions, when JP called to tell me he wouldn't make it to Sandy's due to a horrible Thunderstorm. I was barely off the phone with him the show canceled the rides, issued a severe storm warning, and the sirens went off. I was REALLY worried about JP and Saumur on the freeway in this torrential weather. The horses at the showgrounds were all very calm. As soon as the weather let up a bit I drove home. Saumur was clearly worried about being alone, but settled in for the night. Unfortunately, this morning he woke the entire neighborhood, better than any rooster could have done. JP set off to pick up Chambord and as I write this I look out the window and see the boys grazing. Life is complete again!
The big revelation I had this weekend was that what I feel and what the judges see are two different pair of shoes. I used to wonder why I got good scores for something that felt "sticky" to me, and not so good scores for movements I thought went well. It started during the George clinic, where I consistently had the feeling that Saumur was not 'forward' enough but George liked it. Then this weekend it happened again. Sandy explained what felt "sticky" to me was collection, what felt "forward" was running. Big lightbulb moment: "Sticky" is good!
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