Turns
out PHR barely got a glancing blow but just
a few days prior to the ride it did not
look so promising. So the ride was rescheduled
for January 10th and was back on track.
I
arrived in Killeen just after lunchtime
on Friday and got parked and set up camp
and registered and settled in. One of the
things I love about PHR is the nice pipe
corral pens for the horses...much more relaxing
for them then being on the trailer.
Late
Friday afternoon, Teresa Musgrave and I
headed out on the trails for about a 4-5
mile ride. We took it slow and easy and
just chatted and it was a nice ride. As
we were returning to camp the sun was setting
and what better way to witness a Texas Hillcountry
Sunset than from horseback...WOW!
Once
back in camp we tended to our ponies and
then went and had a wonderful chicken tortilla
soup provided by ride management....it was
getting colder by the minute outside and
soup really HIT THE SPOT!!!
A
cold front was moving in and it was supposed
to be MUCH colder and windier on Saturday
but Friday evening was actually fairly mild.
After dinner and the ride briefing I got
Amira all settled for the night and headed
in to the trailer for a little reading and
then off to sleep. I was VERY tired apparently
as the next thing I knew my alarm was going
off to get up! I stepped out of the trailer
into a MUCH colder world then on Friday
and it took some real motivation to get
going!
My
goal for riding the TTC'S this year is to
work on really advancing and polishing Amira
and my obstacle skills. We've got the aerobic
conditioning down pretty well by now but
I want to really take our obstacle skills
up a few notches so I entered this TTC at
the Horseman level (toughest of the 3 TTC
levels). But for this ride I also wanted
to show Amira that we could do a competitive
ride and not have to go as fast as we can
so we deliberately timed out near the back
of the pack and actually ended up staying
there all day!
It
was nice to do a slower paced ride even
though we really enjoyed riding NATRC OPEN
at the Christmas ride it's nice to mix it
up a bit.
Our
first obstacle was a sidepass that took
us over a log and up a hill...it was blasting
windy and as we'd never tried sidepassing
over a log and up a hill before at the same
time Amira and I were not able to complete
it (mark that one on our "to work on
at home list") so we moved on down
the trail.
Obstacle
#2 was a little rock you had to step the
horses front feet up on, count to 5 and
then cross and go down a small, steepish
hill and on down the trail. We started out
well on this one, but just before (or maybe
right at 5) Amira stepped off the rock...grr....however
after replaying it in my mind I think I
shifted my weight back...therefore cueing
her. Oh well...another "homework item"
and on down the trail.
Please
remember if you are reading this that we
did the horseman level so the obstacles
were not necessarily as challenging for
all divisions.
One
of the things I like about the TTC, is you
also have plenty of time to chat and visit
with friends and fellow riders as you are
moving down the trail and Amira and I did
this...but also worked on riding in a pocket
alone where we could see the riders in front
of us...but where she was NOT allowed to
rush to catch them. This was a challenge
at first but Amira soon learned the easiest
way to catch them was a long strided, calm
and purposeful walk...she's a pretty smart
cookie!
Our
next obstacle was a creek crossing and this
was a pass through "observation"
where the judge was looking to see how the
horse negotiated a tricky combo of the creek
and some logs/brush and Amira did this nice
and calm and relaxed....woo hoo....got one
right...and moving on down the trail.
A
lot of mine and Amira's problem at this
ride was ME! I made some stupid mistakes,
but there were also some obstacles that
were just above our skill level at the time...so
we have some work to do, but that's part
of what I love about this sport.
The
next obstacle we really flubbed up...but
rest assured I will work until we can do
it perfect.
It
was a small pond (actually supposed to be
a creek bed, but most of creek was dried
up) where we had to step up a rock step
and then down another one and then from
there step into the little pond and cross
it. This one scared me from the start...even
though I saw a horse do it and knew it looked
safe. And unfortunately that fear affected
my confidence and while I got Amira to the
step right before stepping into the pond....I
could not get her into it.
She
does NOT have issuses with water and will
gladly cross or go into it any time. But
I was so focused on the step down into it
being "scarey" (which it really
wasn't) that I was looking straight down
into the water and NOT across the pond where
I wanted to go.
One
lesson I've learned by now, but ignored
at this obstacle is in situations like this
you need to look where you want the horse
to end up....not focus on the first step.
When Linda was covering this obstacle at
the awards she mentioned this and mentioned
one rider whose horse "would have done
it had the rider had more confidence"
and that was me....I just know it. Oh well...I
will get it right and I promise next time
I go to PHR we WILL DO THAT CROSSING just
so we can beat it!
Not
long after the water obstacle we had another
one. This time we had to dismount onto a
log and then go around and do an offside
re-mount. Offside mounts are NOT something
we are good at, but this one went pretty
well....we did lose a point as Amira took
a step back before I was settled in the
saddle...not sure if I cued that without
meaning to our what happened but we still
got 7 out of 10 possible points so it was
a success.
After
that we moved on down the trail for quite
a while before another obstacle and I reflected
on my "boo boos" but realized
that I was still having a great ride...beautiful
trails, great friends to chat with and just
an over all wonderful time.
We
soon came to a clearing where the judges
had two obstacles set up together. The first
was a rope gate which Amira and I have practiced
a little at home, but not too much. But
she's pretty decent at gates most of the
time and I have to say we did a very nice
job on the rope gate.
Then
we had a tarp obstacle. A tarp was staked
down on the trail and we had to move the
horses front feet on there and stand (cant
remember if we had to count or not) and
then back off and then ride on over it and
down the trail. This is one we'd NEVER done
at home but thankfully Amira and I were
in sync and got this one like it was nothing.
