Photo at right: Brianne Goutal and Maria Schaub sign "Horse Power: Road to the Maclay" posters. © 2006 Nancy Jaffer.This past weekend was the Garden State horse show, Whimsey's fourth show since 10/04. In order to prepare him for Devon, the plan has been to ride him in the Washington and the USET classes. I mentioned last week how Whimsey was a bit fresh, and his behavior was similar this weekend. It's great to see him feeling better, but it's time to remind him that bucking and playing in the ring are unacceptable. Whimsey absolutely adores his rubber bit; he shows in a rubber pelham and flats in a full cheek rubber snaffle. One of his favorite things to do is to chew on his rubber bit and make a squeaking noise with it. He can be a bit of a character sometimes but that's a big part of why I love him so much. Mostly, he has a very light mouth yet when he is fresh, he tends to get curled up, drag you past the distance, land from the jump with his head down, and then, buck. In the past and while in the groove, Whimsey was low maintenance when it came to his preparation for the show ring. He would to be either worked loose or be lunged for one to two minutes so he could get a few bucks out of his system. Lately, we have not allowed him to do either because he could potentially injure himself again if he was "wild." Since he tolerated the show routine well the last two weeks, the plan will be to let him work loose at home before going to Old Salem I. Additionally, I will ride him in a small port pelham until he has more respect for the bit. Whimsey's tentative show schedule will be Old Salem I, a week off and, then, off to Devon!
Garden State will be especially remembered because one of my good friends, Brianne Goutal, won her first Grand Prix on her horse, Onira (they also won the 2004 USET finals)! Like Brianne and Logan, they have been a pair for awhile, and a truly special union at that! Their superb performance was really exciting to watch, and I'm happy to see them reach a new level of success.
If anyone happens to have questions for me, please leave them in a comment and I will be happy to respond in my next entry.
posted by Maria Schaub @ 6:42 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Hey Maria,
I live near Devon, so every year my family and I go to the Devon Horse Show. It's so much fun and it's really the only major show that I get to see, but since I was also a big fan of Horse Power, I would love to know what classes you, Brianne, or Chelsea are doing at Devon (if you know). It would be really cool to see you all ride! Good luck with Whimsey and at Devon! :)
Hi Maria,
my sister and I live in Westchester, NY and have been riding since 4 years. We can only go to the barn once a week, so the show was a great way to stay connected to horses! Belive it or not I felt that I rode better when I watched you guys ride all the time since you are SOOO much better than me!
Have you ever been scared to jump something? How can I manage my fears cause I get terrified if I jump over 2 foot 9.
Could you post some pictures of you and the other riders if you have some?
Good Luck with Whimsey
Sincerly
Hi Maria--
This is so cool! I hate to sound dumb, but what do you mean by "work loose."
I really love your blog. I have been riding for about a year and I am trying to learn all I can. My dream is to show hunters in a year or two. I am 13.
Meredith
Hi Maria--
I loved Horse Power--it must be really fun to train with Frank Madden!!
Good luck at Devon!!
Jessica M.
How old are you and how do you handle going to horse shows at top level and going to school? Is it hard.
Hey Maria,
My name is Lauren, and I have a horse named Jiminy Cricket who I am currently jumping 3'3". I am working him up to 3'6-4ft, b/c I do want to compete in the Maclay, Hampton's Classic, etc. My dream is to win the Maclay, so I am working very hard!! I have been star-stuck about you, Chelsea, Brianne, Nikko, Maggie, Natalie, Sloane, etc.
Now, I have started with a new grand prix trainer, and he said my balence was pretty bad and of course I need balence to jump. Do you have any suggestions?? I also have trouble seeing my distances, b/c my horse has rather a strange, long, stride. He is very very good and does his best even though I make mistakes. He loves to jump, and I would love to go higher, but I need help b4 that. If you could let me know.....that would be great!! My e-mail is xcricketxbabex@aim.com (my temp. e-mail) or Lauren.Fisher@comcast.net!!! thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Lauren
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