Post CCI Update with an Awesome Stadium Picture!

Photo above taken by Kristen Bateman.

I would just like to say "THANKS KRISTEN" as the photo above just rocks!  The fences are 1.15 meters (3'9) and Farrah is just as happy to stay tucked and clear them....that pony sure loves the jumping phases.  If only we could convince the Redhead that agreeing more on the dressage phase is not the end of the world, her overall scores would greatly improve.  Our summer project....DRESSAGE.

Post CCI, Farrah had a bit of swelling midway down her left front leg...probably from a hind foot strike on the XC.  The vet suggested we wait 10 days and then ultrasound, so Dr. Richter ultrasounded Farrah this morning.  Great news!  While Farrah is still tender and a bit off, there is no tendon tear or any ligament problem.  She has some bruising and inflammation, which means we will continue with the icing 2x a day and stall rest, hand grazing and limited "small paddock" turnout and then re-ultrasound in 4 weeks.  Farrah was due for her R&R anyway, I just hoped more of it would be outside grazing!  Oh well.  Farrah is still pretty fit, looks fantastic and continually tried to nip at the vet tech assistant during the vet work up.  In true Redhead fashion, Farrah played up the evil pony routine a bit.  Now to occupy that pony brain for a month without 24/7 turnout!

Show Jumping at the CCI* and some Cross Country Pics

Soraya (JD) got a lovely sequence of the water complex and Farrah at the CCI*.  Lauren said Farrah was fantastic through the water.  I will include the sequence for you, it was really fun to look at the sequence of pictures!

Another good friend and a fantastic groom for the CCI*, Kristen, has some really fantastic Stadium pics on her camera, so I will make sure they make it in the next blog update.  Farrah was really good in the SJ, bold and very rideable.  Lauren and Farrah had one rail, but Lauren said it is hard to be clean in the combinations when Farrah lands so far on the backside of a fence that a normal horse stride ends up TOO SHORT for the pony!  It's a good problem to have.  The announcer introduced Farrah as the "Pony XC Machine" :)  Farrah got her completion ribbon and finished 40th.

And now for your viewing pleasure:

The remainder of the horses competing for Black Dog Farm and DeNeve eventing finished like this: 

Cindy One and Lauren DeNeve, 5th in the Ocala CCI*!!!

Random Chance and Kelly Schutz, 1st in the Training Rider

Black Dog's Top of the Morning and Beth Davidson, 2nd in the YEH 4-year old test.

It was a great weekend!

When It Doesn't All Come Together

Sometimes it just doesn't all work out, even with the best preparation.  After a great show jumping school with Debbie Stephens and a xc school with Leslie Law, Farrah appeared surprised by the fence at 5b and did a fly by.  The remainder of the course rode really well for them and they tackled the water complex fantastically in stride.

Now we pull on our big girl panties and tackle the show jumping with a look to the future.  Farrah will have her planned time off and spend the summer focusing on dressage while we map out a fall strategy.

Dressage Down, XC Saturday in the CCI*

Farrah's Pretty Braids for the Jog.

Unfortunately Farrah was a real redhead for dressage.  We knew it was a distinct possibility as this phase remains her least favorite aspect of eventing.  Farrah started by breaking to a canter in the trot lengthening.  Farrah also broke in one of the counter canters.  She is currently tied for 21st (her barn mate Cindy who loves dressage is currently 4th!).  

At least Farrah's favorite phases remain!  The weather has been hot but overcast and the cross country course looks tough but fun!  More updates on Saturday.  Go Eventing.

Final Countdown to the CCI*

Farrah's USEF National Passport

I applied for Farrah's passport in mid-January, after reading online at usef.org that you should plan on three months to get a national passport.  Sometimes I am not so good at the planning part, but I decided if we really were thinking of ending the spring season with a CCI*, I didn't want the lack of a national passport to be the deciding factor!  I applied, paid the fee, paid to upgrade Farrah to USEF Life and low and behold, I got a passport two weeks later.  Cool!  Then I sat down to read the accompanying material and it was a bit of OMG.  Series of shots, ok.  Proof of said shots with stamps, a microchip, markings to fill in, send it back for approval.........I called my friend Jody (owner of Cindy) and said you really do need to get on it, the USEF is not kidding when they say it might take awhile!

I called my vet, and he came for the first series of shots and to microchip.  First, he had the wrong brand of microchip, then the wrong stamp (no address, USEF needs vet address on stamp).  Fast forward a week, we got the right stamp!  Yay!  Then we wait until we have the right number of days between the shots, do round two of shots and have the proper microchip installed.....Good.  Stamp passport, sign everything, all set, right? 

Then the vet and I get to the markings we have to fill out on the passport.  My vet says to me I hope you have lots of practice paper :0  What an excercise that turned out to be!  And my friend Jody is asking what is so hard, Cindy has only her star?  Ahem, Jody, what about the small scar on her hock, the white hairs on her lower lip, the cyst on her shoulder!  Confering with vet/USEF and yes, all that has to be on Cindy's passport.  I made the judgement call with all of Farrah's markings to fax some attempts to the ever patient Emily at USEF.  Finally we were in agreement with the FEI language (no socks/stockings, you have to describe the white markings with correct anatomical placement) that the vet could mark up the official passport and send it in for approval.  That was last week (only 2 1/2 weeks prior to the CCI*!).  I got said passport in the mail today. 

I also forgot about the FEI number, until the show secretary sent me the nicest email reminder that she had not gotten an FEI number from my entry.  I logged on to USEF and presto, the one thing that was easy, fifteen minutes later Farrah has an FEI number.

So, are we ready?  Apparently not completely as far as Lauren is concerned.  Now, I know that Farrah's tail is a bit on the wild side.  I have so far resisted Lauren's efforts to have me conform to the eventing tradition of pulling the sides of Farrah's tail.  I am not sure why I resisted, but I loved her full wild tail.  Lauren was not keen on jogging down the path with "that tail".  Sigh.  I had Kat come over and try to pull Farrah's tail the proper way.  Can we say "Epic Fail"?  Since losing Kat's head to a hoof is not in the plan,  Kat resorted to clippers.  Below is the finished product:

Farrah's tail looks great from the back, but from the side, with the lighter flaxen hairs shaved off, the sides of her tail are an odd cream color.  It looks like we bleached her tail bone on the sides.  Who knows, maybe that will grow on me? 

Only one week left before we ship out to Ocala, and in between then and now we have a stadium school with Debbie Stephens, a XC school with Leslie Law and final dressage tune-up with Bill Woods.  Let the bleeding of the bank of Beth begin!