Fun at Maui Jim :)

Just a quick report on the 1st Annual Maui Jim Eventing Derby that took place last weekend at Lamplight. I have nothing but good things to say about it! Everything was extremely well run, organized and put on. The courses were just lovely, and included 4 solid XC type fences that were adjustable by level. The courses also included a "berm", where you jumped a fence going out of the arena and went up a small hill to another fence, then back into the main arena. I had a nice school on Thursday evening in and around the dressage arenas, so that was great practice for us!

Friday morning we got to school in the actual arena with Cathy, and Rox jumped everything quite well. The XC fences were set at Training height and she jumped them very enthusiastically, but never backed off. Cathy commented that she really likes the new bit and I felt like I could soften the rein a lot more and just let her jump without micromanaging.

Our ride-a-test went well, the bugs were really eating her alive so I don't feel like she was as focused as she could have been. For some reason she was stiff on the RH and didn't want to step under in the canter, so I lost her haunches on the downward. Other than that, I thought it was a good steady test but not as sharp as it could have been. Judge Cindy DePorter's comments were that Rox and I are a good match for each other and we seem to get along well. She encouraged me to post the trot instead of sit to cover more ground and send her more forward (just like our last test's comments...). She also said that we had great connection compared to a lot of Novice rides she sees, and to work on getting her to relax her back and step forward with swing. She gave us a 35.0, which included mostly 6's and 7's with 2 5's and 2 8's. I was not happy to see the 5's because we have managed to avoid those so far...

Our actual jump round on Friday felt like a million bucks! I was just thrilled with how Rox jumped; she was really taking me to the fences in a rhythm and just attacking them! I have never felt her looking for the next fence and staying quiet at the same time like she was for that round. Cathy's only comment was to stay a bit taller after the fences to slow her down instead of staying bent over. We ended up having our first clear round together, although we picked up 3 time penalties (1 per second) since the course was wheeled a bit tighter than we expected and we spent a little too much time in the turns getting organized.

The dressage test on Saturday went OK, although Rox felt a bit dull and cranky in the warmup. I think she was tired from being ridden 3 times the day before...I didn't warm up with Cathy but as we were walking to the ring she commented that Rox looked really nice. I posted the trot for the test per Cindy's suggestion, and felt like I could get her more in front of my leg although not as much as I would have liked. Rox definitely lit up more once we were in the ring and felt a little touchy so I didn't push as much as I would have liked to for fear of her having a temper tantrum. I was not happy with her free walk because I couldn't get her to stretch down as much as she usually will, it was just kind of dull. The left canter went well but I felt like I had to push quite a bit, which made me worried for what the right would be like. I was correct, because the right was a little resistant and she almost threw in a buck towards the end of the circle, I had to open my outside rein and carefully push her to the rail for the downward. She lost her haunches again, so I knew we'd get another 5 for that. She ended the test well with a nice turn up centerline and an almost square halt. I didn't know what to make of the test afterward since she was crankier than I've felt her in the past. Cindy appreciated the changes we made, giving us a 33.5, good for 2nd behind Jenna Brown on a 20 something. We just ended up with the one 5, but three 8's this time and gaits and rider scores changed to 7's, which I was thrilled with.

The 2nd jump course on Sunday was somewhat longer than the first, and this time when we walked it we made sure to notice where to save time in corners, etc. We did not have a rail in hand to stay in 2nd, so I knew we would have to be really careful. Rox warmed up really "on" and felt great. She felt pretty good in the ring, but not as good as the first round. We had an awkward distance to the 1st one and I was sure it would come down but somehow she got her legs out of the way. Everything else rode pretty well besides getting a little quick to the one stride and having an awkward jump into the bending line 3 stride. Every fence was set off a turn, except for the grey stone wall vertical which we did not jump on Friday. It had a long straight approach and was the 2nd to last fence on the course. She was just a little disorganized from the bending line before it and I didn't bring her canter back enough so she jumped it flat and brought the rail down. We didn't have any time penalties this time, but I was pretty disappointed about the rail since it was mostly my mistake for not thinking about the straight approach more and doing something about it. Live and learn! We ended up in 3rd place overall, which was good for $50 and a nice show saddle pad.

Plans from here are to do the August derby (goals: 2 clean rounds, staying taller with my body, and getting better than 33.5 in dressage) and then Novice at Silverwood the first weekend of September (goals: sub 30 dressage, clean and organized XC, clean SJ).

Lots to work on :)