Wow. Championships went by so fast, it was like, what do you mean, it's over? We just got here! It was an amazing experience. I think I speak for all of us when I say we learned a lot, we made some friends, and we have a lot to be proud of. Competing with the best of the best was great, and I can totally say that everyone who is serious about Pony Club needs to go to Champs at least once, if you can. Photos are up online at grcphoto.com, under USPC Champs 200, Dressage 2008, Rider numbers, 36-39, with 40 being Ariel, our awesome SM.
To Rebecca, Jessica, Katey and Ariel:
I love you guys so much. As it turned out, Katey was partially accurate in saying we'd all hate each other by the fourth day, but really that was more exhausted grumpiness, because now I can't imagine life without you all. It's killing me, way up here in the middle of nowhere. Me and my champs gang, we're tight. Don't mess with us. Unless you want us to kick your butt in Horse Management, seeing as we are currently the national champions in that respect.
As a team, we'd like to thank our sponsor, Adam's Horse Supplies. You guys were so great to give us the white gloves or, in Katey's case, saddle pad. They definitely helped give us that polished look that says professionalism like no other. Your support meant a lot to us personally, too.
Me, I have a lot of people to thank. Mostly, Elizabeth, for the freestyle. It was amazing to ride it in public, and it was a lot of fun working with you. Also Kelly, for encouraging me to ask Elizabeth about my kur. And Kelsey Kelso Haggan, for reassuring me that this Elizabeth person was as amazing as she seemed. Pat, for the grain can, and the support through all of this, and for helping me find R. Chuck, Vicki, Abby, and Upland Acres, for letting me invade your barn and arena, and the HUGE amount of help you guys were. My fellow riders, for talking me into doing this (I don't actually remember how it happened. Ironically, I do recall that it took place at a Horse Management seminar). Amy, for the last minute lessons, and all your help. Diane, for getting my horse there and back alive, and the stall on the way home. Mom and Dad, self explanatory. And of course, Allegro, who would probably do anything I asked her to until the day she dies. I love my horse.
So that's championships, folks. Your last daily update.
You know you'll miss me......
It's a wrap.
Love always,
Marina and Spare Me the Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
Questions or comments at: event4life@hotmail.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28
We left at 6 this morning, stripped our stalls, and put the horses on the trailer. Obviously not in that order.
Then we drove, and drove and drove.
Really, though, I can't complain that much, because I was sleeping pretty much the whole way, except when we stopped to check the horses and water them, and when we stopped to eat. Order of meals for the day: Cracker Barrel, Subway, another Cracker Barrel about 1,000 miles away from the first one.
We arrived safely in Scarborough about 11:30 and decided we'll drive the rest of the way in the morning, so Aly will be a guest of Kane Kountry Farm tonight. Seriously, she got off the trailer and was like, "LAND!" :)
Nothing too exciting happened today. I learned that Pennsylvania goes on forever, at least when one is driving through it.
-Marina and Spare Me the Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
Then we drove, and drove and drove.
Really, though, I can't complain that much, because I was sleeping pretty much the whole way, except when we stopped to check the horses and water them, and when we stopped to eat. Order of meals for the day: Cracker Barrel, Subway, another Cracker Barrel about 1,000 miles away from the first one.
We arrived safely in Scarborough about 11:30 and decided we'll drive the rest of the way in the morning, so Aly will be a guest of Kane Kountry Farm tonight. Seriously, she got off the trailer and was like, "LAND!" :)
Nothing too exciting happened today. I learned that Pennsylvania goes on forever, at least when one is driving through it.
-Marina and Spare Me the Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
Sunday, July 27
Weeeeell, actually today isn't Sunday, July 27, but it's the update for Sunday, anyway. I kind of crashed Sunday night and left my faithful readers wondering where I disappeared to (right, guys?). Whatever.
So today, we all had our very last rides (awwww, sad face). I will definitely miss riding at the horse park. Starting, as usual, with Katey, everyone rode Training 2 again. Jess and Katey especially had stellar tests, which I did not get to see, being stuck in the barn with too much time to get ready but not enough time to see anything. Grrr. This time, in my test, Aly didn't just buck in the warmup. We bucked an entire 20 meter circle. But, hey, I didn't fall off, and the rest of the test was great. The professionals got some really sweet photos of her- she's like almost straight up and down, I swear.
From that point on, we really had to start packing up. They didn't even do turnbacks, which really surprised me, but I didn't complain. Just in case there was some kind of sick tie and they had to break it by doing a "pop turnback", we all took really extra good care of our horses and tack, anyway. Besides, kissing up to a Horse Management judge never hurt anyone :) Sadly, our beautiful tackroom came apart a lot faster than it went up: lattice, astro-turf, curtains, pretty shelves, custom saddle racks courtesy of Katey and her 4 years of construction class, and a whole lot of stuff. We went around trying to give away our family sized can of party peanuts (what were our mothers thinking???), but no takers. They ended up coming home in the backseat of our car. Heaven knows when we'll end up using them.
Finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for: awards!!! We marched in with our Northeast Region banner (the pretty one, not the ugly one) wearing our matching tie-dyed shirts that we decorated in Northeast Region colors. They started with Horse Management, which....WE WON!!!!!!!! We were pretty psyched, having earned only 3 points all 3 days, all of which were from formals. Then they announced overall, and we got 5th out of 13 teams, which certainly was nothing to be ashamed of. Last, but not at all least, they announced the musical freestyle category. With the 70.35 I scored on my freestyle ( I heart Elizabeth Feltmate), I got sixth individually!!! Everyone was really happy at the end of the day, and we owe so much to our AMAZING Stable Manager from Tri-State, Ariel, whom I am going to kidnap and bring back to Maine with me.
Sadly, the Champagne family had to leave, like, five minutes after awards. They were driving through the night, unlike Katey and I, who are leaving tomorrow morning. The vet "oiled" Aly for the ride home: that is, pumped her stomach full of mineral oil, water and electrolytes, via a nasal gastrointestinal tube (stomach tube that went in through her nose. When he pulled it out, it seemed to go on FOREVER), so she shouldn't be colicky tomorrow, which will be one less thing for me to worry about. He was really nice, and Aly behaved, but the barn seemed so empty without all of those horses. And people. We met so many people. Geeze.
-Marina DiMarco and Spare Me the Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
So today, we all had our very last rides (awwww, sad face). I will definitely miss riding at the horse park. Starting, as usual, with Katey, everyone rode Training 2 again. Jess and Katey especially had stellar tests, which I did not get to see, being stuck in the barn with too much time to get ready but not enough time to see anything. Grrr. This time, in my test, Aly didn't just buck in the warmup. We bucked an entire 20 meter circle. But, hey, I didn't fall off, and the rest of the test was great. The professionals got some really sweet photos of her- she's like almost straight up and down, I swear.
From that point on, we really had to start packing up. They didn't even do turnbacks, which really surprised me, but I didn't complain. Just in case there was some kind of sick tie and they had to break it by doing a "pop turnback", we all took really extra good care of our horses and tack, anyway. Besides, kissing up to a Horse Management judge never hurt anyone :) Sadly, our beautiful tackroom came apart a lot faster than it went up: lattice, astro-turf, curtains, pretty shelves, custom saddle racks courtesy of Katey and her 4 years of construction class, and a whole lot of stuff. We went around trying to give away our family sized can of party peanuts (what were our mothers thinking???), but no takers. They ended up coming home in the backseat of our car. Heaven knows when we'll end up using them.
Finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for: awards!!! We marched in with our Northeast Region banner (the pretty one, not the ugly one) wearing our matching tie-dyed shirts that we decorated in Northeast Region colors. They started with Horse Management, which....WE WON!!!!!!!! We were pretty psyched, having earned only 3 points all 3 days, all of which were from formals. Then they announced overall, and we got 5th out of 13 teams, which certainly was nothing to be ashamed of. Last, but not at all least, they announced the musical freestyle category. With the 70.35 I scored on my freestyle ( I heart Elizabeth Feltmate), I got sixth individually!!! Everyone was really happy at the end of the day, and we owe so much to our AMAZING Stable Manager from Tri-State, Ariel, whom I am going to kidnap and bring back to Maine with me.
Sadly, the Champagne family had to leave, like, five minutes after awards. They were driving through the night, unlike Katey and I, who are leaving tomorrow morning. The vet "oiled" Aly for the ride home: that is, pumped her stomach full of mineral oil, water and electrolytes, via a nasal gastrointestinal tube (stomach tube that went in through her nose. When he pulled it out, it seemed to go on FOREVER), so she shouldn't be colicky tomorrow, which will be one less thing for me to worry about. He was really nice, and Aly behaved, but the barn seemed so empty without all of those horses. And people. We met so many people. Geeze.
-Marina DiMarco and Spare Me the Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday, July 26
Once again, Katey rode first. She did a great job on her freestyle! Then Jess, but I missed her ride, because I had to go warm up for Training 2....yeah. Aly bucked every time I asked for right lead canter ( back pain? No signs or it or lameness, so maybe just I-haven't-been-turned-out-for-five-days bucking, but who knows). We made it through our test with no bucks, but it was still pretty awful. The judge was scoring everybody pretty tough..anyway. Rebecca and Jess both reported good Training 2 tests, too. I got to watch Rebecca's freestyle- Pirates of the Carribean music! Her trot music was my favorite part :)
My freestyle warmup: Walk, free walk, trot each direction, canter left, canter 4 strides right without bucking, go back to walking.
My freestyle: Never thought I'd see the day I'd get an adrenaline rush out of dressage! Freestyle was definitely the highlight of the whole competition, and it just felt right (no bucking). I was so excited at the end!
No points off at turnbacks, safety checks or equipment kit checks, so we are good in HM. The Quiz kids got to catch some of our rides, and I hear they're doing really well!
-Marina and Spare Me The Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region :)
My freestyle warmup: Walk, free walk, trot each direction, canter left, canter 4 strides right without bucking, go back to walking.
My freestyle: Never thought I'd see the day I'd get an adrenaline rush out of dressage! Freestyle was definitely the highlight of the whole competition, and it just felt right (no bucking). I was so excited at the end!
No points off at turnbacks, safety checks or equipment kit checks, so we are good in HM. The Quiz kids got to catch some of our rides, and I hear they're doing really well!
-Marina and Spare Me The Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region :)
Friday, July 25
Today: Formals and Training 4.
Let's start with formals:
Kateys was so, so early! Like eight something, I can't remember exactly. And since braiding isn't allowed to take precedence over chores, she had like an hour to braid and get ready. Jessica was next (Scooter's running braid was ah-dorable, if I do say so myself). Then Rebecca, then me. Needless to say, we scrubbed so hard at our tack that there was barely any leather left! Not really, but it seemed like it. We only lost 3 points total on formals (actually, those are the only 3 horse management points we have so far, to my knowledge), and I even had a perfect formal! Ariel was a big help walking us to our formals and helping us get ready.
Training 4: Not what I would have chosen to start off with. I was pretty nervous, but we survived our test alright. Hey, nobody got bucked off, or reared on, and we're really doing pretty well in Hose Management. Aaaaaaand, it's been a long day. We're all pretty sleep deprived :) Looking forward to: Freestyles tomorrow! And Training 2, but come on. Everyone knows the freestyle is the best part!
-Marina and Spare Me The Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
Let's start with formals:
Kateys was so, so early! Like eight something, I can't remember exactly. And since braiding isn't allowed to take precedence over chores, she had like an hour to braid and get ready. Jessica was next (Scooter's running braid was ah-dorable, if I do say so myself). Then Rebecca, then me. Needless to say, we scrubbed so hard at our tack that there was barely any leather left! Not really, but it seemed like it. We only lost 3 points total on formals (actually, those are the only 3 horse management points we have so far, to my knowledge), and I even had a perfect formal! Ariel was a big help walking us to our formals and helping us get ready.
Training 4: Not what I would have chosen to start off with. I was pretty nervous, but we survived our test alright. Hey, nobody got bucked off, or reared on, and we're really doing pretty well in Hose Management. Aaaaaaand, it's been a long day. We're all pretty sleep deprived :) Looking forward to: Freestyles tomorrow! And Training 2, but come on. Everyone knows the freestyle is the best part!
-Marina and Spare Me The Details, TR Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thurday, July 24
Wow! Think this day went by fast enough? Barns open at 6, so we were there at 5:55 . Once the horses were fed and the stalls were done, Jess and I tacked up Aly and Tuff Stuff (Scooter), and went to ride in the schooling ring. There were A LOT of horses there, and let's just say they didn't all practice proper ring etiquette! It was really cool because the Dressage riders got to ride with Polocrosse and Eventing riders, too. In Dressage alone, there are horses from 12 hands to over 17 hands. Allegro settled in pretty fast and seemed relaxed through our ride, so I took her back to the barn after maybe half an hour.
For the rest of the day, we pretty much cleaned tack. Our briefing was at 1:30, and to be honest, it was kind of boring. Then we cleaned our tack...again... Our First Check was before the briefing, and it went fine. Jog out was at 3:00, and it was hilarious because the head judge, Trip Harding, was yelling "Hurry up!" while this poor girl's horse decided to lay down and roll, right there. Our whole team passed, obviously, and it was fine. So we got THAT out of the way.
Then we did baths! Baths in the big yellow wash stalls were fun . Aly got two bottles of prescription dandruff shampoo in her tail, so our formal had better be perfect. We have the last formal: 10:02, and everyone else's are earlier. Lucky us!
Opening Ceremony was incredible! The dressage team got to carry the banner in, and the Quiz kids marched with us, and also this girl from the Sr. D scramble team. She was the only person from her region, so they didn't even announce it, which personally I would have found a little insulting, but whatever. It was really cool- some regions, like Virginia, are HUGE HUGE HUGE! and they have teams for every sport. The showjumping courses we saw looked tempting...next year?
Wish us luck :)
-Marina, Spare Me the Details, and TR DR team 8, Northeast Region.
Tomorrow: Formals, and everyone rides Training Level, Test 4.
For the rest of the day, we pretty much cleaned tack. Our briefing was at 1:30, and to be honest, it was kind of boring. Then we cleaned our tack...again... Our First Check was before the briefing, and it went fine. Jog out was at 3:00, and it was hilarious because the head judge, Trip Harding, was yelling "Hurry up!" while this poor girl's horse decided to lay down and roll, right there. Our whole team passed, obviously, and it was fine. So we got THAT out of the way.
Then we did baths! Baths in the big yellow wash stalls were fun . Aly got two bottles of prescription dandruff shampoo in her tail, so our formal had better be perfect. We have the last formal: 10:02, and everyone else's are earlier. Lucky us!
Opening Ceremony was incredible! The dressage team got to carry the banner in, and the Quiz kids marched with us, and also this girl from the Sr. D scramble team. She was the only person from her region, so they didn't even announce it, which personally I would have found a little insulting, but whatever. It was really cool- some regions, like Virginia, are HUGE HUGE HUGE! and they have teams for every sport. The showjumping courses we saw looked tempting...next year?
Wish us luck :)
-Marina, Spare Me the Details, and TR DR team 8, Northeast Region.
Tomorrow: Formals, and everyone rides Training Level, Test 4.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wed, July 23 :)
Okaaaaay peoples!
So today was our day to settle in, set up our tack and feed stall, and just generally take a look around. Monday, we left Upland Acres at about eleven. We arrived safely at Whispering Pines in Newburgh for a lesson with Elizabeth Feltmate to put the finishing touches on our freestyle, and then Aly stayed over there. Tuesday, after a bareback hack (did I mention that Whispering Pines recently built a REALLY nice cross-country course?), we headed to Kane Kountry Farms to get off one trailer and onto another. We left at 5, and at our first stop, Allegro and her travel buddy, Galimar, switched places! Don't ask, we don't know how they did it either. The popular theory is that Aly wanted to eat Galimar's hay, but whatever. They were fine the rest of the way down, and we got there at about 10:30.
Virginia Horse Center is HUGE!!!!! The barns are gorgeous, and thankfully our stalls are right next to water, too. Aly, Galimar, Ziggy and Scooter quickly settled in, and for the rest of the day, we organized ad set up our tack room. We met Ariel Wyatt, our Horse Manager from Tri-State region, and decorated team T-shirts :D Of course, everyone was a little tired after driving through the night, but so far it has definitely been worth it.
Tomorrow, we'll take them out pretty early to ride before the exercise ring fills up (barns open at 6 AM), then we have our first briefing at 1:30, and judging officially begins. Horse management, at least. jog outs are at 3, and then we have to get in line for a wash stall and hopefully squeeze in 4 baths before we have to go to Opening Ceremonies at 7 (formals are tomorrow morning).
Wish us luck!
-Marina, Spare Me The Details, and Training Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
So today was our day to settle in, set up our tack and feed stall, and just generally take a look around. Monday, we left Upland Acres at about eleven. We arrived safely at Whispering Pines in Newburgh for a lesson with Elizabeth Feltmate to put the finishing touches on our freestyle, and then Aly stayed over there. Tuesday, after a bareback hack (did I mention that Whispering Pines recently built a REALLY nice cross-country course?), we headed to Kane Kountry Farms to get off one trailer and onto another. We left at 5, and at our first stop, Allegro and her travel buddy, Galimar, switched places! Don't ask, we don't know how they did it either. The popular theory is that Aly wanted to eat Galimar's hay, but whatever. They were fine the rest of the way down, and we got there at about 10:30.
Virginia Horse Center is HUGE!!!!! The barns are gorgeous, and thankfully our stalls are right next to water, too. Aly, Galimar, Ziggy and Scooter quickly settled in, and for the rest of the day, we organized ad set up our tack room. We met Ariel Wyatt, our Horse Manager from Tri-State region, and decorated team T-shirts :D Of course, everyone was a little tired after driving through the night, but so far it has definitely been worth it.
Tomorrow, we'll take them out pretty early to ride before the exercise ring fills up (barns open at 6 AM), then we have our first briefing at 1:30, and judging officially begins. Horse management, at least. jog outs are at 3, and then we have to get in line for a wash stall and hopefully squeeze in 4 baths before we have to go to Opening Ceremonies at 7 (formals are tomorrow morning).
Wish us luck!
-Marina, Spare Me The Details, and Training Dressage Team 8, Northeast Region.
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