Small But Mighty – a Backyard Eventer’s 1st Recognized Horse Trials
“Do the dressage judges ever comment on him being too small?”
That’s not an uncommon question I hear, referring to my 14.3 hd. Morgan Horse gelding, Luka. I fully knew what I was in for when I started eventing with an “off-breed”, and at 5’8” my own height doesn’t help matters any. He had done some Pony Club and other crazy kid things in California before settling with me for good in the rainy Pacific Northwest.
Turns out, he’s not a very big fan of puddles… not exactly an auspicious trait for an eventer!
I found an amazing dressage trainer in 2015, who not only would work with my sewing-machine-trotting Morgan, but loves teaching all breeds of horses. Other than monthly sessions with her, the pocketbook dictated that we work mostly on our own, and a backyard eventer was born.
After a number of years attending schooling jumper shows and local DX events, this season I was finally in a place to (ahem) jump in and attend a few recognized horse trials.
Schooling Before The Big Weekend
Novice level at Inavale Horse Trials in Philomath, Oregon was to be our first recognized outing, and we did a schooling event there a few weeks prior to get the season started. While walking the cross country course I gave the water crossing and ditch a big concerned look (okay, the message to my BFF might have read “I MAY DIE!!!” with an appropriate panicked .gif).
I spent the evening playing mental videos in my mind of us sailing over the ditch and not hesitating through the water, blocking out all the crazy situations my mind tried to put us in (who does *TWO* somersaults before landing in the water??).
In the end, we had only one stop on cross country. Was is at the water? Or the ditch? Maybe the trakehner? Nope. Jump #2, a basic rolltop. I came away with 2 lessons: horses keep us humble, and positive visualization WORKS! It was a great confidence-booster to send us on our way to The Big Show.
Off To The Big Show!
Since eventers are THE best group of horse people around, I had made some friends in the area and managed to get enough information to show up to the horse trials and not get immediately eliminated. I knew my test but we hadn’t over-ridden it, we’d jumped the scariest things I could find around the farm (see Eventer Solutions!), and Luka was actually fitter than necessary. I felt ready, and off we went.
This goes out to all of us who can’t have the fanciest things. Maybe you also ride something other than a Warmblood. Maybe your boots could really use replacing. Perhaps your trailer looks like this:
So What Happened?
I’m here to tell you, all the money in the world can’t replace an amazing horse and quality training and hard work. Luka may show up to events in The Blueberry, which is third-hand but well-maintained and currently halfway through a new paint job, but he doesn’t care what his ride looks like as long as there’s hay in it. I don’t care that I’m pulling into the showgrounds with a portapotty hitched to my truck because it’s safe.
And the yellow ribbon (and championship qualification!) would look the same hanging off a $50,000 rig. Having a horse willing to work hard at something that doesn’t come naturally to him and who follows your heart over the scary stuff makes all the sacrifices worth it. My Pocket Rocket might look small but he is mighty, and he is mighty special to me.
