Equestrian

Critical Instant

Two weeks left in the term?! How did this happen!

I’ve been figuratively, and sometimes literally, smothered by projects, lab exams, and review that I’ve lost track of time. That being said, nothing is really new either. I’m almost nervous for December holidays to arrive because I’m not sure what I’ll do without the stress of having to finish a lab report, analyze a joint, calculate the probability in a two tailed hypothesis test, or finish case studies. What a crazy few months it’s been. I survived the 6 midterms in a week. I’m hoping I’ll make it through this big biomechanics project alive, and the finals. Oh the finals.

I never fully accomplished unpacking my room after moving in in September, so maybe that will get finished during break. I’ll definitely be working because not having income kind of sucks. I’ll hopefully be riding because I’m missing that part of my life like crazy. But, first I have to get through the next two weeks.

On the docket this week is the presentation of my Biomechanics research project. Which, if you’ll remember, I did on the posting trot as a unskilled vs skilled analysis. I had two awesome subjects who let me tape them up and make them trot around a ring until I got the shots I needed. Since then, my partner and I, have been breaking down their movements into phases, measuring the angles of their joints, and deciding what would be the best aspect to present to our class and professor. We are required to discuss one qualitative (what you can observe) and one quantitative (calculations and what they mean in relation to what you previously observed) aspect of the project (the paper itself will involve many more of these aspects, including many more calculations yay). Our qualitative aspect is simply showing the difference between the skilled and unskilled subject in the critical instant of the movement, i.e.. when the rider is up out of the saddle, mid-post, with a straight line from their shoulder, hip, to ankle joints. All riders know this as it’s drilled into our heads day in and day out by coaches, for good reason. We found that there was only a small difference between our riders, being a deviation in the placement of the ankle joint. The skilled rider had great alignment, while the unskilled’s ankle was just ahead of the vertical. This would suggest less stability in the lower leg. Our quantitative analysis was based on the velocity (speed) of the rider’s hip joint during the follow through phase, ie.. as they sink back into the saddle after critical instant. To calculate this we used the change in degrees of the hip joint, divided by the time it took them (calculated by the number of frames over the amount of frames per second the camera filmed at).

Why is this important?

Well, you know how coaches sometimes say to slow down the rhythm of your posting? This is exactly what we’re looking at. We found that the skilled rider had about 18degrees/second and our skilled rider had about 19degrees/second in their hip joint. Not a huge difference, but enough of one to prove our point. The slower velocity supports a controlled follow through phase, which in all sports is necessary for injury prevention- probably less of an issue in this case, but a controlled movement is pretty important to create balance, support the horse’s movement, remain stable in the saddle, and flow with the movement. Plus the more controlled and stable the rider is in their follow through, the less jarring on the horse’s back. In that slower velocity of the skilled rider we can show that she is able to control her body as it sinks down into the saddle, and maintain a better rhythm while being stable in the saddle- allowing her to follow the horse’s stride. Of course there is also the aesthetic portion to this part of the skill. The more balanced and stable you are in the saddle, the less you interfere with your horses natural movements and the better the entire picture looks.

Anyone asleep yet?

This is only a small part of the project. As I mentioned earlier the paper will include all that and more. We’ll be calculating almost everything there is to to calculate based on the information we have in the videos. Can’t wait. But for right now, our main focus is getting this presentation done. Probably the biggest challenge will be trying to get all of what I just wrote above across to a room full of people who have basically no understanding of the equestrian sport. Sometimes even my partner has to stop me when I’m talking through some of this stuff and ask me to explain in english. I have honestly never thought about the posting trot in such depth before. Who knew it 30% of my final mark in a University course would be riding on a movement I don’t, or never used to, really even give a second thought to? Education, gotta love it.

Wish me luck!

 

A Flash In Time

I’ve always held the belief that we learn from every experience. From every person we meet; coaches, friends, family, teachers, to every sight we see; a busy cross walk, a sunrise, rush hour. Sometimes it takes some tough love from the universe for things to sink in. Sometimes it takes years to find what we didn’t know we needed.

For athletes, there is always one coach they will say taught them the most- or a fellow teammate or opponent.  Something that stuck with them- good or bad, bad or worse- the experience leaves a mark that becomes a part of who we are. For equestrian athletes, there is lessons learnt from each horse we ride- and always the few extra special ones that stick with us.

I’ve personally had many different coaches, teachers, horses, and experiences-good and bad- that have left their mark on me. I can’t honestly say one has shown me more than another, or that one holds more value, because that would be going against what I stated earlier. But certainly there are more experiences that come to mind at different points in life.

The phrase “tough love” definitely comes to mind when I think of many experiences I had with one of my most memorable equine teachers, Flash. I can’t count the amount of tears this horse made me cry. She was frustrating, and heart breakingly stubborn, all while being talented, beautiful, and full of heart. From day one she made it clear that if things were going to go well, it was because she decided they would. She was a complete jigsaw, until you figured her out- cracked her hard exterior- and knew how to read her. If you were patient, she’d give you clues. Weeks of frustration, and then she’d give you an inch. Any of you who have rode or worked with a “chestnut mare”, you’ll know exactly the feeling I’m trying to get across. She taught me how to be a better loser, and as a result a better winner. She showed me that things are probably not always going to work out exactly to plan, and that that’s okay, because sometimes what you really need is a step in another direction anyway. She taught me how to laugh at myself; horses keep you humble- afterall. She gave me a determination that has gotten me through things that could have easily brought me down. It wasn’t always a case of getting off in a better mood with her, but, I always ended up with a different perspective. Because of her I ended up on the path that brought me my current mount, Willard, who has turned out to be a wonderful partnership as well. And the right one for where I’m at.

With the year I’ve had, it would be easy to look back on the years Flash and I were abusing trail class patterns and say that was nothing compared to this. But it’s really just a statement of how much I’ve grown from those experiences, and been able to handle the new ones. There were competitions with her where she would have me in tears from the halter classes until the last class of the day. And yet we kept going into the ring, both stubborn enough to keep pushing each other, and at the end of the day our bond was even stronger then before.

It was through her that I proved to myself that even when things don’t work out, even when nothing goes right- pushing through that brings you strength to deal with anything. Through this horse I began using the phrase “If I can do this, I can do anything” when things got rough, as they have and as they will. Nothing easy is worth having. Sometimes the best memories are made during the toughest times. It does nothing to compare yourself to others, because even the best have bad days. Be humble, be determined, and open your heart to everything you can. Everybody, everything, everyday has something to teach you.

RIP Flash, and thanks for all the tough love you gave me.

One day

Today was short and sweet, and a lovely way to end the season.

The only class we had today was the hunter derby. Now I realize I’ve been talking about the derby on here and really haven’t explained it. Really it’s just a big hunter course, this one had 15 jumps set between 2’6 and 2’9 ish, with options having more points. So there were often two jumps beside each other, one higher- equalling more points. Both the hunter and jumper rings at BHP were used and natural obstacles such as the bank and others were involved in the course- with easier options. There was a brief chance to school many of the options before the class started. There are two rounds, top 8 advancing.
Here is my best effort at describing the course: we started on a single diagonal vertical with a higher option (I took all the height options), bending line to the problem oxer from the previous days- it was no problem today thankfully! Then a bend and gallop to jump number 3, a single oxer, to a outside vertical, bending line to a oxer. This oxer was causing some problems today because you ride the bending line to it around the judges booth- which was set in the middle of the ring- so jump number 5 really comes out of nowhere. We got over it just fine and galloped down to 6, a vertical at the bottom of the ring- I made the mistake of letting him be a little too cautious to this jump and getting ahead- which resulted in a rail for us. 7 was an option of the ditch or a vertical on the outside rail of the jumper ring- we did the vertical (quite nicely too), then a turn to a bending line across the middle of the ring, tight handy turn to jump number 10, a vertical with bales underneath, then up the hill to a 5 stride, down the hill balancing to the castle jump (so much fun), and then a turn to the final combo, a two stride. That makes sense in my head because I walked it, visualize it, and rode it today- but I’m sure it makes no sense to you reading it unless you were there.
I was SO impressed with my horse. Many of the jumps in there he hadn’t seen- and he has never had to ride up and down hills in a course, and he even did the bank first time in schooling- no questions asked. He galloped around that course like a pro, brave as could be. I think he was having about as much fun as I was! Our score after the first round was 53- unfortunately the rail was what brought it down and we didn’t make the first cut. Without that rail we definitely would have been in the top 8.
Mike and Charlene were both very happy with us- Mike even said that “we might make a rider out of you one day”. One day… One day. I was all smiles for the rest of the day. The trick to courses like this is to gallop around and pull out all the bravery you have. Sit up and keep your leg on and equal pressure in the reins. Don’t abandon your horse. And your horse won’t abandon you.
So with that, my 2012 season is over! I had so much fun this weekend, and at every show I was able to go to. My horse is really giving his all for me- and I am becoming a much better rider then I was even a short time ago- and we are a much better team because of that. It’s funny how quickly progress can happen sometimes, I believe it was last year I wrote around this time about everything “clicking”, and here it’s happened again, even more so. I wonder where we’ll be this time next year..

Only time will tell.

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First time for everything

Well today was interesting.

It started off with scrubbing stains out of my horses ear, and thoroughly upsetting him because clearly it was breakfast time- not face washing time. At least we know he slept well. After wandering the show grounds aimlessly for the better part of 7am- 11am trying to stay warm, we got on and had an awesome warm up for our 2’9 handy round. The course was simple enough, single vertical off the diagonal away, to a bending line coming home to an outside six, to a diagonal 5, finishing with a roll back from a outside single oxer to a vertical on the diagonal quarter line.

For any of you who read that and were lost.. Don’t worry- its something probably only other riders will be able to decipher as its what goes on in my head while learning and riding a course. Except this course apparently. I jumped into the first jump, got to the second (the in of the bending line) and had a great jump, galloped down to the out of that line, a perfect distance set up, legs on, eyes up- aannnnd he ran out the left side. This is the same jump that caused so many problems yesterday (myself included), and it did the same today. This time thankfully I stuck to the saddle and was able to get him over the second time. This is where my brain stopped using all reasonablelogic. From this jump I proceeded to head towards jump 8. The single oxer on the outside. Before I got there I heard someone yelling “other way! Other way!” and two strides out it clicked that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. None. Whatsoever. But taking the voice shouting in I decided to turn around and eventually figured out where to go. After this I had a great round. Even though I was disqualified for crossing my track and therefore going off course. This is, as far as I can recall, the first time I have ever gone off course. Ever. Silver lining, it was a great warm up round!

After that fiasco I had my 2’9 under saddle which we placed third in. And I had some time to catch my breath before I warmed up for my 3fts (again super warm up). My first 3ft course today was pretty simple. Diagonal coming home, outside 6, diagonal 5, outside oxer, to inside bending line. This course went much smoother, mostly because it didn’t have the apparently super scary oxer in it. We added in our outside 6, but everything else was grand. He was jumping so well! We placed 4th in this round. Our 3ft handy was the same course as the earlier handy. And I went in prepared for war. Crop in my left hand, good pace, leg on, supporting him with all I had, lots of left aides coming up to jump number 3, straight line to the jump, no surprises (and really- he has to know its there by now), aaaaand he ran out the right side. Thankfully this time I kept my conscious mind in place and he got a good thwack and off we went over the jump the second time and proceeded to have a fantastic ride rest of the course. Mike said he easily would have won if we had gotten that jump the first time. Seeing as almost everybody had problems with that line. Apparently it’s a scary jump. As it was we placed 5th in that class, and pinned third in our under saddle again. Not bad for what it was! Still pretty shocked at getting lost in the first course, but as they say there is a first time for everything. And based on how much everybody was struggling with that fence- I am really not too worried about it. Yes, its frustrating. Horribly frustrating. But looking at the bigger picture, he’s had a spectacular season. Even comparing this season with 2011’s season I see huge improvements in both me and my horse. I am stronger, and we are both more confident.
Tomorrow we are doing the hunter derby- which I am so excited for! Hopefully they choose to not include that one oxer though.. That would make a lot of lives easier, I think- based on the past two days! Either way it should be a fun class and a great way to end the season!

Stay Positive

Day 1 at Fall Harvest went about as well as I could have hoped! And we survived the extreme humidity. Thank you Gatorade!

The reason I have the title as “stay positive” is because it was a phrase tossed around a lot today by Mike and Charlene. When they say it, they mean it in a physical, biomechanical sense. As in, when you are riding on course- keep your body upright and your leg on with a feel on the horse’s mouth. Supporting your horse to every fence and waiting for the distance. Not letting yourself jump ahead or fall forward or get weak with your leg. It’s also a phrase I use a lot with myself when I get frustrated over insignificant things that shouldn’t bother me.

All my rounds today went very, very well. My 2’9 was smooth and put together, although I added on the seven stride- which was the right decision for what it was. I generally use this class as a warm up for my 3fts so adding is not a bad thing because it sets us up nicely for the bigger jumps later on. I had my Sr Low 3ft division today- and I honestly couldn’t be happier with my horse. He was a little picky in the warm up ring but once we got into the class he tried his heart out for me. And I felt so strong in the tack today. Our first round in 3ft included the 2 stride, which was so much fun! I jumped in a little tight, so initially I was worried about ending up with an add, but almost immediately I heard Mike’s voice in my ear saying “sit up, leg on, feel the reigns and trust him”. Guess what. It worked. He jumped out of there like he could do 2 strides all day every day, giving me a huge effort over the out oxer. We placed 5th in this round. Next was the handy round, the handy part being a tricky bending line from jumps 6-7- and -8. Six and seven were easy as they had been included in the previous courses. Eight was the tricky jump. A oxer facing the out gate off a bending turn. A lot of people had problems at this jump- including me. I’d had a great round up until this point. Perfect distances in both lines and he was jumping so nice. Up and over six and seven in good distance and as I made the turn for 8, we drifted slightly to the outside- as he thought we were done and I wasn’t quite “positive” enough. Now this drift wouldn’t have been a big problem if I had caught it in time- unfortunately I had been lulled into a trance by our great round so far and let down my guard a bit too much. Of course we didn’t find a great distance to eight and of course I didn’t support him through it which resulted in him skidding to a stop and me jumping out of the tack. I landed on my feet thankfully, and have a very sore foot as a result. He wasn’t being dirty, he was just a little unsure of the distance and didn’t have much support from me. Many other people on this course had the exact same issue- which means the course designer set a fair challenge. It was very frustrating to end up DQ’d after such a great round otherwise, but in all reality I have to “stay positive” and recognize exactly that. It was a great round otherwise and I have so much to take from the experience. It was a reminder to me why I have to be there for my horse- no matter how well he is going. It’s a team effort. As Charlene likes to say, “horses keep us humble”, and this was a perfect example of that. Mike and Charlene were both very happy with my riding today, especially since I’ve been on for only a week in prep for this show. So that’s encouraging, maybe some of their lessons are finally starting to sink in!

Tomorrow is a new day, and I hope we can recreate some of the rounds we had today! Such a good feeling!

Electrolytes and Insanity

What an exhausting week! And it’s not even over yet.

I’m sure the only reason I’m still going is my consumption of Gatorade, booster juice, and pizza. Okay maybe not the pizza. My days have been spent between work and organizing school stuff- and my evenings riding, coaching, a little gym time, and more riding. For all those concerned over the welfare of my butt, don’t worry- its surviving just fine!
Today was warm ups for Fall Harvest! I made it! Now I just have to survive the next 3 days. By Sunday it will be 7 straight days of intense riding, 5 of those days jumping days, and 3 of those 5 competition days. All that after 6 weeks of literal down time. One might consider this insanity. Needless to say I’m pretty tired, and sore. Feeling pretty out of riding shape, but so happy to be here and competing anyway. So far I’ve been pretty impressed with how my back/hip has been handling the sudden throw back into riding. Haven’t felt anymore then fatigue in my left hip, so far. This weekend will be a good test for it. This might be the result of any number of things- the surgery improving things was one theory, or the new treatment I’ve been trying is working (dry needling/active release), a month off has tricked it into behaving, perhaps- or any number of things. Whatever it is, I’m not complaining. But I am interested to see what comes of it after I compete for 3 days, as shows usually tend to bring out its worst. Fingers crossed!
This weekend I’m competing in my regular divisions, jr amateur 2’9 and both senior and open low 3 ft divisions- with the hope of doing the derby on Sunday. Our warm ups today went very smoothly, it was a very bendy course with a two stride! Which means the courses this weekend should be fun and provide a good challenge!
Tomorrow morning starts at 5:30 am, so I’ll leave it here for now and update when I have something more interesting to say!

Wish me luck!

Just in time

I’ve broken my record for length between posts, I think. Which must mean my life is finally getting back on track (insanely busy)!

It’s been just over a month now since “the surgery”, and I’m finally almost back to normal. I’m done dressing changes, and although there is still some healing needing to be done- I’m pretty much able to forget about it and just let it happen. Which is good, because that means I can ride! Yesterday was my first real ride back since surgery, and I haven’t been that happy in a long time! Willard has been moved to McMullans for the week as we’re planning on going to Fall Harvest this weekend. Yes, a show right after a month off- an excellent plan, isn’t it? Any other year I might not have felt comfortable doing this, but this year I have complete faith in my horse and our ability that this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. And here is where I need to say a HUGE thank you to my friend and fellow rider Laura Clark, who rides at Bluebear and also hails from Carman. She has been coming and hacking Willard for me over the past month and after riding him tonight in the ring I was so happy to find he was moving beautifully and so willing to do lateral work. Like I never got off! I knew he would be in good  hands with her. So, Laura if you read this, thank you thank you thank you!  It’s great to know my horse is in relative condition even when I’ve been unable to ride for a while.

I rode for about an hour and a half yesterday, and an hour today- I just couldn’t bring myself to get off. Even though my body has gotten a little too used to the easy life. I’ve been slowly trying to add things to my schedule, like work outs and now riding, plus work- and soon school again. 2 months ago it was easy to do all of those things in one day and still have energy at the end of the day. Now, it’s a little more challenging. I’m still trying to find the energy I used to have. I’m sure it will come back, I’m not really giving it a choice. Hopefully over the next couple weeks, as my schedule starts to pick up again I will feel back to normal. School is only a couple weeks away!!! I can’t believe how excited I am! Before I started this post I had my nose stuck in one of my texts already. Wonder how long this will last? Haha

My class schedule is pretty full. Actually, it is completely full. I have 10 courses, my 5 for the fall are: Nutrition, Biomechanics, Data Analysis, Anatomy and Physiology, and Scientific Principles of Fitness and Conditioning. Following those, with my AP running all year, are: Intro Kinesiology, Research Methods, Prevention and Care of Injuries, and Psych in Sport and Life. It’s definitely going to be a challenging year, to say the least. To add onto my school schedule, I plan on riding and working as well. Although fall has some of my tougher courses, I think it will be the easier term, schedule wise as most days all my classes are in the afternoons- so I’ll have most mornings and evenings free to work and ride and study. The winter term things get a little crazier with courses spanning from late morning to evening classes plus a Saturday class- which means I’ll be in school 6 days a week. Unfortunately this was the only way I could schedule things so I got into all my classes and labs, so it will have to do! The past week or so has been a flurry of me organizing text books, gym memberships, locker rentals, and everything in between. Thankfully most of that is done now and I can focus on Fall Harvest, and then finish moving things to the city and settle in there. As much as I’ve been pretty stressed lately, it’s all for the right reasons and I’m very excited to face the challenges that come up this year in school. I proved to myself in Anatomy this spring that I can get decent grades if I work hard at it, so I hope I can continue proving that to myself in the future. That B was definitely not easy for me, but it was such an accomplishment when I got it! I still stop and wonder sometimes why I chose this path. What is someone who has always drifted towards arts and never did well in sciences doing in a Bachelor of Science degree in one of the most challenging specialities?! At the same time, I can’t see myself doing anything else. And the more I talk to other people in the profession, the more I fall in love with it.

That’s all I’ve got for now, I’m exhausted! Here are a couple pictures from my ride on Sunday- and I hope I write again soon! There will definitely be a Fall Harvest update!

MS River Rouge cruise!

Roomies!

Beachy Keen

*insert usual line about being busy, time flying, etc..

Legit had to go back and read my last post to remember what it was I last wrote about! But here we are, two weeks have flown by. Last time I was writing about studying for exams while and a show and stressing over course schedules for fall, and fitting in as much physical activity as humanly possible before surgery. Exams are done, so are shows for the time being (not for long if I can help it), courses are planned, and ready for me to register- fingers crossed that I get into the sections I want, and surgery is less than 12 hours away.

Lets start with exams. Because it’s probably the most exciting part, for me anyway! I still don’t know my overall mark for the course- but I do know my exam marks, both bell ringer and written. As you may recall I was a bit worried about the bell ringer, and my instincts were right on that. I got a 35.5/60 which is a 59%. I was still above my class’ average, which was 32. The exciting part is the written. I scored a 138/170 (81%!!!), well above average, which was 108/170. I quadruple checked to make sure I was reading the right line of scores, because it’d be embarrassing if that wasn’t actually mine. But it is! Yay! We know where my test writing skills lie! I also did very well on the last quiz, which is how I felt afterwards. So hopefully between all that I get over a B in the course!

Next up was Beach Party horse show. After a very rushed day of pre ops in Winkler, where I was told I was disgustingly healthy (by my own mother, lol), we headed straight for warm ups at the ex grounds. It was hot, and the ground was hard. But my horse mustered up enough energy to be a star- all weekend! Each one of our courses went great. Of course a few mistakes, horse and rider, here and there- but over all I could not have asked for a better show. Again it comes back to both our confidence, and therefore ability improving and things really starting to come together. The highlight for me would have to  be placing 2nd in my Medal class on Sunday. Medal classes are equitation classes and have one round over fences and a flat class judged mainly on the rider. I’m pretty sure this is the highest I’ve ever placed in a medal class, which was a huge boost for me and proof of how far I’ve come over the past couple years. It was so great to be able to go around courses this weekend and know that my horse was there with me, taking me to the jumps. Both our instincts have made leaps and bounds over the past year. He trusts mine, and I trust his. Of course my eye isn’t perfect yet, so we still find some awkward spots. But we’re consistently getting beautiful distances, and staying on a nice rhythm around the course. We’ve turned into a real team this year, and its great to finally be seeing some solid progress.

After the long hot weekend, you’d think the last thing I’d want to be doing is any sort of exercise. WRONG! I crammed in as much as I possibly could this week. Monday was kick boxing, Tuesday was one on one volleyball, and today was tennis. My shoulder and back aren’t quite pleased with this. But it was so worth it, even in the heat. Of course I rode yesterday and today as well, and I’ve found a wonderful young up and coming rider who has agreed to hack Willard for me during my time off. Which will make my goal of being ready for Fall Harvest in late August very plausible.

Tomorrow is surgery, and I opted for general anesthetic instead of the spinal option. Because frankly I don’t want anybody going near my spinal cord with any sort of needle and I hate the idea of A) being awake for the surgery, and B) not being able to feel half my body. Crossing my fingers they stitch it, because that makes recovery much quicker and easier. Overall just not thinking about it because it’s out of my control anyway. Not excited at all for t3’s, as I really do not like pain killers in any form- but I’m sure that will change once I want sleep. I’m well stocked up on books and work to entertain myself, and already have a busy month ahead of me. Looking at my calendar it would not appear that I’m having surgery the way it’s scheduled. But, that’s the way I like it, right?

Here is some video of my rounds over the weekend!

Intro to Summer

As usual the past few weeks have been a blur. Between studying for exams, showing, working, and finally writing exams- I’m now realizing I feel quite lost not having anything to study for.. until September anyway. I’ve filled that gap by trying to plan out my courses for next year. A task that is actually impossible, seeing as I’ve been given a VERY late registration date because somebody in the office screwed up and lost my paperwork along the way, so most of the sections I’m hoping to get into will most likely be full by the time I register, which means I’ll be rearranging this schedule a thousand times over no doubt. Luckily, I have a friend on the inside (my AT) who is always there to help pick the right courses and answer any questions! Can we say hero?

As you may recall, I was at Summer Smiles horse show over the past weekend, and it was definitely summery and full of smiles! I got into Winnipeg from Regina at 8am (getting up at 3:30am was really fun), and made a fast transition from half asleep, grody commuter to semi-awake student and managed to get to the University by 9am to catch my last review lab. After that I had a quick study date at Olive Garden with my favourite study buddy Michelle, and then squeezed in a quick nap before heading out to BHP for warm ups. Because my mom is awesome, my horse was already there and all I had to do was check in at the show office, put numbers on tack, and head out to the ring. Will was a star, very concurrent to how he’s been all spring. So after going over a few jumps, having pizza with Mike and Charlene and a few others from the barn, braiding, and making sure everything was good to go for the morning- I made it back to my apartment, only almost falling asleep on the way back to the city a couple times. Back at the park for Day 1 by 7:30, I quickly realized that Mr. Willard had waaaaay too much energy for the hunter ring, or any ring. So, since I had hours to spare, I set about working his energy levels down. Generally I’ll hack for about half an hour on show mornings. I spent an hour and a half on him that morning, and believe me- one of us was worn out. Nevertheless, it was the right choice- as he was perfect for all our rounds that day! We won our 2’9″ Jr/Amateur class, and placed top 5 in all our Sr. Low rounds. Mike summed it up perfectly later that day by saying “you have to do what’s necessary to be successful”, so if that means spending almost two hours hacking- it’s worth it. My original plan for this weekend was to spend the extra time I always have at shows studying and reviewing for exams. I have no idea why I thought that was going to work. I really tried hard on Saturday to focus on studying, but when I’m in horse show mode- trying to memorize the origin, insertion, actions, and innervation of the pectineus muscle just doesn’t work out. Plus I was extremely tired. So I decided to give up on the day time studying, and focus on studying after the show day was over. Again, why would I think that would work? By the time I got back to my place at 7:30pm, I sat down to study and woke up an hour later with metal ring imprints across my cheek from passing out across my notebook. After that I decided I should maybe just go to bed, at 8pm. That 14 hrs of sleep was worth it though, Sunday was another great day, without excess energy thankfully. We pulled off a reserve champion in the Jr/Amateur Division, and again top 5 placings in the 3ft classes. I even had enough left in the tank to do a little studying that night.

Patti, Charlene, Alison, and I rushing to wait some more..

Monday morning began with the last quiz of the course, and it went very well! That gave me a little bit of confidence to roll with for the exams on Wednesday and Thursday. The bell ringer on Wednesday wasn’t my best work, I don’t think anyway, but Thursdays written portion felt really good. Either way, I’m done for a couple months! Now what?

On Tuesday this week, I had my second consult with a sports med regarding the old reoccurring back injury that never seems to leave and also opinions on if and how the cyst on my tailbone could be affecting it. A couple weeks ago I had a consult with a doctor at Pan Am, on the same thing, who x-rayed my back and found nothing and ordered a MRI which I’m booked for later in July. She was pretty unhelpful, in the sense that she couldn’t really give a definitive answer to anything I was asking other then saying that the pilonidal sinus could be related, but there were too many factors to be sure, and that SI joints are tricky and the best thing she could suggest is cortisone shots and discussing other invasive treatments outside of the therapy I’m already doing.  The doctor I saw this week, at Legacy, is also very interested in seeing the MRI and hopes to be able to give me a better answer after those results. Although his initial diagnosis, without the MRI results, isn’t the best (mechanical back pain, likely chronic), he seemed pretty proactive and willing to help me try out more treatment options such as acupuncture/dry needling to go along side therapy – seeing as I’ve tried everything else. My AT, who I trust more then anyone, is thinking that this upcoming surgery on the cyst is going to make a big difference. There is a structural problem that keeps reoccurring, and we can’t quite figure out why. Basically what happens is my SI joint slips out of place, causing the left part of my pelvis to rotate funny- in turn causing lower back muscles, hip, and thigh muscles to do really painful things. Bending over lots is usually what really sets it off, which is a good reason that I’m no longer working in the manual labour field- because that’s all I was doing. As much as I’m frustrated that nothing is fixing this problem long term, I’m very glad I have such a talented AT on my side- keeping me functioning and somewhat sane.

And so now I get to enjoy 2 weeks of summer before I go under the knife and spend most of July recovering. I’m loving my new job, although it’s quite a transition going from outdoor work to a office job. What’s on my list of things to do during the next two weeks?

1. Ride (duh), as much as possible! I had an awesome ride tonight, even though it was nothing more then a simple hack in the ring here at home. It was one of those rides where I felt completely ‘in the zone’ the whole time, and like my horse could read my thoughts, and I his. Every rider will know that feeling, and know how great (and addicting) it is. With the MHJA Beach Party show approaching this coming weekend- I’m grateful for every ride I have like this. There is no better feeling then feeling that focused in competition!

I’ve also been coaching a local girl for a few weeks now, and I’m loving watching her progress! It’s a great challenge for me trying to explain the simplest parts of riding to someone who doesn’t necessarily understand them yet. It’s not always easy to explain something that has become second nature to you. I’m getting better at it though, and by the improvements I see every week in my student- she is understanding at least some of what I say! I’m happy that at least if I can’t be riding most of the summer, I can be helping someone else build skills in the sport!

2. Run, bike, plank, push up, pull up, lunge, squat, lift, press, work out! I’m seriously going to miss the gym, almost as much as I’ll miss riding during recovery time. The changes I’ve seen in myself over the past 6-8 weeks of consistent training are amazing, and I am so excited to get back into it as soon as I can.

3. Work. Because my student life has taken a serious tole on my bank account. The fact that I’ve been in between pay cheques for quite a while now doesn’t help either. Luckily for me, my next pay cheque should come through.. right after surgery. So my two weeks of real summer will be spent doing the cheapest activities I can find. AKA, hanging out with my parents.. a lot đŸ™‚

All that makes for a very, very busy couple weeks. But, I usually function better when I’m kept busy- so I’m glad for that! There will certainly be some crazy days, where I’m not quite sure how the schedule is going to fit. Example being, next thursday when I have my pre-op/anesthesiologist appts all afternoon at Boundary Trails in Winkler, and then warmups at the RRX grounds in Winnipeg. Everything always works out though, in the end- so all I can do is keep right on going- one day at a time.

Somebody told them they could grow up, graduate, and make me feel old!

Progress

Again, time is flying. I think I need to clip it’s wings, this is getting out of control.

A LOT has happened in the past few weeks. I’ve been too busy to think, as usual. Cramming my schedule as full as I can, and paying for it. But some things have changed that I hope will make a few things a bit less stressful over the next while.

The biggest news I have is that I’ve changed jobs! Which makes me very happy, because, although Aubin’s was a friendly place to work- it was really effecting my back in ways that did not make me happy- and I’m relearning how touchy my back can be, unfortunately. I’ve been interviewing for a few different positions over the past month or so- all of which would have been good options for me. But then, as life always does, a option came out of the blue that was really too good to pass up. Due to a lucky series of events, I got offered a job at Farm Business Communications- the same company my mom works for- as they needed a position filled ASAP, and knew I was capable of the work (work being video previews/interviews on new and upcoming farm products). These events happened late last week, I accepted the job on Friday, and as of this morning I’ve been in Regina covering Canada’s Farm Progress Show. Talk about jumping right in. I didn’t really do much today, just helped some other FBC staff set up booths around the trade show- tomorrow I’ll start my project. I have about 45 new “innovations” to talk to, take video of, take pictures of over the next two days.

This is something that I feel pretty out of my league in. Not going to lie. Although just bumming around the show today I realized that I am pretty comfortable in this type of situation. It really is just RMWF.. times 10.. on steroids. And the fact that I don’t have a hot clue what half of these products are for will probably be okay, seeing as I’m supposed to put together video explaining them. I won’t have to play dumb, let’s put it that way. No acting necessary. I think my biggest challenge will be keeping the technology on my side. I’ve already realized that the memory cards that came with my video camera don’t work with it, so I’ll be relying on the internal memory, which severely limits my space. So there will be a lot of downloading breaks. Sounds quality will also be a challenge, as the crowds will be spectacular. Another great thing about this new job, I will be able to keep working even during recovery from surgery (July 12th). Something I definitely wouldn’t be doing if I stayed at Aubin’s. Which is a relief. I never thought I’d be grateful for all those times I spent following my mom around at events like this. But I realized today that none of this is new to me- except now I’m the one interviewing and taking notes.. instead of being bored watching Mom do it. And it is SO weird to be at something like this, with my mom’s colleagues, without her here too. I have to say though, even though this is probably the last thing I would have seen myself doing this summer- I’m liking the challenge it brings so far. It’s taking me out of my comfort zones and will help me build new skills that can only help me later on.

I’m here in Regina until Friday, when I fly out bright and early at 6am back to the ‘Peg, getting back just in time to catch my final review class of my Anatomy class and then head to BHP for warm ups at the Summer Smiles Show. Seems like just yesterday I was just starting this course, and now I’m a week away from writing my finals. I was hoping to just be able to focus on studying this week, so I could ease a little stress off the weekend at Summer Smiles and just worry about competing, not cramming- but as my life keeps reminding me this is rarely an option. What fun would it be if things always went to plan right? And this is definitely a acceptable change. I’ve been flash carding myself in almost every possible spare second I have (except for right now, consider this my study break). And if any of you are at the show this weekend and see me sitting around not studying? Smack me, please. Unless I’m riding- then please don’t.

View from my room at U of R, 10th floor.