He almost dropped his pants, she dropped her whip in Ocala, Florida

    Mr. Bruce Davidson took action! Off came his leathered bungee belt. Stealthfully calm, the man roped and bonded this unrestrained  horse, real nifty to watch.  Check out this ladies smile when she realizes who actually caught her instantly polite pony!  POWERFUL!                
 

                                          
WAKE UP call!
 It is NOW time to get SERIOUS about EVENTING!~ "Leg UP" those HORSES as they say. Which means, get some MUSCLE going. DO IT NOW!  Typically, the Northern "Ultimate Horse Sporters" which means ALL BALLS OUT EVENTERS north of Florida migrate south, mostly to Ocala. So, No surprise......t h e y y y y'Re here. HERE WE GO again! Weather was wonderful, warming to the 70*'s for The Ocala Horse Properties Winter 1 Horse Trials  which happened in Florida over the weekend.
     Day one found us clear and warm focused. Nothing much mattered, zip-O-not-ah!  Not even, that her taped sprained ankled ached, woman cramps cramped or we didn't eat breakfast. Problems were simply not allowed to auger in and cause trouble, not this show ....It was: suck it up time... DRESSAGE DUTY CALL! Ta~dah! They start out in the brave rider "open class" at the very top of the bottom half of the list.
     Time went by, but  not without their cross~country run. This pair was just coming off of a "Retired On Course" from her most recent last show, so OF COURSE the horse was going to dare and face off. Right out of the starting box her horse blasted spunky stuff. There was bucking with cheekiness, hopping chutzpah then came the cream streaming in a line. My rider ignored ALL OF her squeal and proceeded onward thrashing with speed. Sticky over the the first. I could see them gain momentum as they poured through to the back field. Standing on my tippy toes I could see the ruffled dirt which usually blows up from some kind of a commotion. Evidently, she went for a wake-up WACK but dropped the crop instead. OH NO!! My rider bellowed "DROPPED MY WHIP!" hustled she dismounted, then POP back in the saddle. She came around for a second attempt, more BRAKES! Another stop. Complete nonsense now, is what went through her head. My jockey circled back the other way, this time,  nicely they sailed over... and over went their problems. No more attitude or distrust, only fun, their run in the sun.  Through the water and every jump was like a smooth swirling milkshake melting, dripping to perfection... perfect to the bitter end.
     Together we felt happy. Then the owner seeing the live scores, txted to ask what a TE means? Huh, was that for me? YES! You have got to be kidding me, we questioned the rules. Off to the office we went. My eventer told a brief description of what had happened. The official lady with the killer smile retracted those letters "no problem, we will change that" BUT added sixty points instead. We'll take it, since all she really really wanted then, was to jump in the stadium round.
     CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS:  Nora Battig held it togeher with Borneo Royale. Buck Davidson put his foot down with Case Closed II. Lexi Scovil was heard with Laugh Out Loud. Andrea Leatherman gained blue with Mystic My. Michael Pollard never waivered from first showing Schoensgreen Hanni. Wonderful "Webster" made Susan Gray's Day. Corinthian Spirit lifted Alexander O'Neal. Karen O'Connor beamed with Amber Eyes. Nicole Doolittle climbed to the top with Utopia III. The "Power of Intention" gave Kennedy Z. Cross the win. Lauren Kieffer kicked it with Phoebe. Leslie Law went all the way with Tout de Suite. Right on for Heather Jans and Rickoshea. And last but not least was Amanda Wilson, who won with a Two Carrot Diamond. :)
    
    
    
    

A Memory Stuck like Glue...

       It was a beautiful crisp spring morning, the snow had finally melted away and we were eager to ride outside for the first time that year. I was 12 years old at that instance, riding a 6 y.o. OTTB (off the track Thoroughbred) that was feeling fresh as the day itself. I was a little nervous about my lesson that A.M., the first one out of the barn was rarely pleasant with the wind and runoff streams everywhere. It was like entering a new planet for Image and the other horses. I took a few deep breathes before climbing on and thought to myself... I'll be alright, this crazy beast spooked and bolted all winter at the sound of snow falling off the tin roof more frequently than not, I have legs of steel. ;)
      The group consisted of 4 of us, all young, fearless "wannabe" eventers, ready to take on anything! (Except for dressage of course.) We walked as slowly and as cautiously as we possibly could down the long driveway to the jump ring. Everything was so astonishing to our mounts... birds 10 feet in the distance scattering, people talking, dogs barking, cars zooming.. things the horses were used to (or so we thought.)  All of us riders began whining and asserting "Are you serious right now?" to the hankered horses. We made it to the ring, still on board thankfully, and began warming up immediately. Image settled down pretty quickly and I was quite pleased with him. We slowly cantered around each direction a few times and then started jumping.
      Everything was going great and I was ready for this lesson to be over so that I could guarentee my safty and that satisfaction of accomplishing a difficult task. My instructor pointed out the last litte course to me and off we went, picture perfect! Yay! Now I can relax! I thought, dropping my reins to the horses neck. I sat back and "chilled" for a sec. Not thinking that Image could put his head down to scratch his face, if he wanted to (which he did) whoops! There went my reins right over his ears, I giggled a little. As he started to walk forward he stepped on the reins strapping his head to the ground. My poor OTTB startled himself, threw his head up into the air and got smacked in the eye by my now broken reins. (Not so funny anymore....) This all happened so quickly that the thought to jump off didn't occur to me until after Image had already taken off in a frenzy toward the stables. I held on to my (hornless) saddle the best I could trying not to scream (I didn't need to make things worse.) The galloping horse made it to the back of the paddocks where a small creek rambled along and found the need to jump over it, rather than go through it. This slowed him down tremendously just in time for me to hit the ground. Luckily the landing was soft with grass and mud. I was physically okay, but emotionally distraught.
      A few hours later my mother picked me up and my trainer had to explain to her what happened that day. After telling the story (mom in shock) she laughed and looked at me and said "bet you never want to ride him again, huh?" I thought for a moment, shrugged my shoulders and replyed "It wasn't his fault."






By: Katie Honeywell

Retired at the Ocala Horse Properties

 

   "You made the right decision" was the txt from the owner of the horse my eventer rides. There it was, just what she needed to hear...cannonball reload! It was a nice solid shot, BAM! she fought back all the emerging doubt, unwanted difficulties and screeching skepticism that comes with an "R" on their record. "R" means retired on course and when in uncertainty, probably is always the right thing to do.
     The Ocala Horse Properties (we all still call it the Florida Horse Park) Horse Trials scrunched all three phases into one jam packed day.  We arrived the day before giving us ample time to walk the course two times, clean tack and set up a tent. Yes, we assembled the 4 man, it's called eventing on a budget. "Can you sleep?" my rider asked. Oh crap, here we go tossing and turning all night. Shuteye was nowhere to be found. In the car, out of the car, in the tent, out of the tent, her search continued. She settled for the fetal position crammed on the back seat. Groggy and compressed however, happy without worry because there was plenty of time. I would have to say, that mare's perfectly weaved in button braids were proof, that everything was going well. Then there were the smiles from the breakfast sandwich, confirmation of wellness. Can you picture that toasted egg + bacon saying cheese?
     Her dressage score was respectable, laying them a foundation of a 37.7  which fastened them into seventh position. Braids were kept in, since show jumping was next. Considering what had happened at the last show, them getting through this was absolutely necessary! She rode with confidence clearing every jump, only dropped the final one. Lastly, they still needed to run across the country and clear twenty-two jumps. Looking ready, my pair rushed over to warm-up and at the first little coupe, she seemed to almost stop. Then the next jump... definitely a mother's "WHAT THE?"  Bunny hopped it. Yikes, I could see her slightly start to panic. A couple more unfavored jumps then the start box judge yelled "YOU'VE GOT 20 SECONDS!"  Off they went into the box, out towards their first jump. I could see the hesitation, they jumped it. Second question needed coaxing. They barely scraped over the third. Forth jump, the mare refused, with a cleared second attempt. Rider felt like, this quarter horse had run out of gas. She was sleep running! They came up to the fifth jump, pony acted squirrelly, rider pulled up while raising her hand. That was enough, it was all too rough.
     I was proud of my cautious rider, even though at that moment she wasn't feeling very proud. No need to risk anything if it didn't feel right.  Thank goodness for the text from the owner, she turned her frown upside down.

Rocking Horse Fall Off HT's

     I started to brush off the dirt, then thought better about doing that. White footing fragments littered her newly dry cleaned show jumping jacket. It was as if an eight month old baby had just puked milk down her shoulder to the backside of her arm. Obviously she had taken a tumble, a fresh hit to the ground. Like any good mother, I began to smack away some of the impurities, some soil, the dirt together with sticky sand. My hand briskly slapped as well as dusted, really I just wanted to hit away her humiliation. Turn back time. Grant her a "do over".  Then I stopped, better not bring more attention to what had just happened.
     Rocking Horse Fall Horse Trials started off as well as ended in an unwanted disconnected kind of way. Right off the bat, we had a bobble, a bad car battery.  DRATS a three hour set back! A three hour tour! All I could do to calm myself down was keep the Gilligan's Island theme song repeating in my head. You know the one..Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny mare. We towed into the dropping sun, rolled into the showgrounds on Friday night at six. A prompt early morning dressage test overshadowed their straightaway ten forty-five cross~country start time. The daylight started getting dark, we had better find her mark. If not for the courage of our fearless walk the mare would be lost. THE MARE WOULD BE LOST! Sunshine waned, weakened her line, made it hard to find the jumps. We had to make the best of things, cause it's an uphill climb. Without further delay, she braided her mares' mane, went to bed without sleep, faced an early bird wake-up call, missed the free breakfast to start the show tied for fifth, after the flat. YIPPEE! My rider, not without the pony, was a "jockey for position".
     I set off to find some nourishment, can't have this pilot feeling like she could "eat a horse" or anything, not before they run across the country. DRATS once again, she solely wanted a bacon, egg and cheese on whole wheat breakfast sandwich, but for the most part all they had were crepes crunched in cups. Eager to please, I harpooned that food and brought it to her. Not happy while running out of time we walked the end again. Us being "out of time" ended up giving her time. Time penalties galore, almost enough to count as a refusal. Her fine fifth place position, plunged to nasty ninth.
     The chips were down, but her spirit was still up before going into the final showjumping phase. The course was walked, paced out to perfection. Warm up jumps were flawless, not a rattle, nailed every distance, she looked just like Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum but without the "Shutterfly".  The announcer introduced my equestrian along with the cremello quarter horse, the whistle blew, off they went. Every jump was off. The chips that were down earlier had found their way directly into how the horse ran it. Chipped in, popped up, every jump looked un-smooth, however, nothing had fallen down. Then, on the sixth jump the horse sprung straight up, leaped it big, everybody gasped, (by the way she heard that!) we thought the horse would land on top of the jump, they cleared it with surprise. That's when, the pair came around to the fateful seventh jump. Nope, that was enough....the mare stopped and my eventer popped over it alright, unfortunately without the horse. It was like, a ship set ground on the shore of some uncharted desert isle, and everybody fell off. Better luck next time.
    
    
    
    
    

Family Matters, this is what she wrote to Grandma:

      Eventers usually have a plan A, plan B and if necessary their plan C lays in there, dormant, ready to purge up from somewhere, most likely found down deep. Plan B seemed to jump in there ahead of plan A, and wreck everything. Plan B was to broach the subject of horse ownership to the sandwich shop owners, of where she works. Chatter mouth started talking to other worker bees, of her idea. SLAM, everyone thought it was crazy. Non horse people would think that. From there she assumed all plans were dismal. Believed she had lost her mind? All this concentrated plan A,B & C stuff came about because of super sweet young four year old mare named Maggie.
     Those people don't know anything about equestrian businesses, I told her. Plan A had to be attempted so she wrote an e-mail to grandma. Not my mother grandma, her dads mother.

Hi Grandma:

     If there was a way that you could invest a nominal amount of money and double it in 2 years, or so, you would probably want to know about it, right? I wanted to share this opportunity with you first, but if you don't want to that's okay, I might be able to get the restaurant that I work at to help sponsor me. Just think, Grandma you could be the owner of a horse! Imagine it, at all the rated shows your name would be mentioned as being the owner, then my name as the rider...lol

     There is a horse in Georgia that looks fantastic! She is a four and 1/2 yr old, Bay (color brown) Oldenburg/thoroughbred mix. Her name is Maggie, and she is 16.3 hh's tall. With this mix she should be really good at both dressage and jumping. The lady that is selling her wants a more trained horse, doesn't have the time to put into training. She said she was rescued as a yearling out of a barn in Florida and she has had her ever since. The horse supposedly is calm, sweet and has really good gates (walk,trot,canter) and is already under saddle. After being up at that Olympic riders' stables for 9 months, my riding has improved 100 %, I have loads more confidence and it would be nice to bring a young horse up, train and teach her, increase her value! Having this horse could also increase other horse owners awareness of me, as a professional rider. The lady in GA only wants $3,500 which is less than Image was. Depending on how quickly she picks up on everything and how well she responds we would try to make at least 18,000 to 20,000 in two years, more training and higher levels with rated shows could possibly generate even more than that.

     Since I've come back from Ocala, I am still riding the barn owners quarter horse mare,(the Vanilla Bean) because that horse loves "eventing"! Since she is only a quarter horse, her potential to reach the higher levels is slim, however she surely could be a lower level champion...which is my goal for her. The owners will never want to sell her and my time accomplishing that goal shouldn't take very long. When I first brought this horse up to the Olympic riders place, she wouldn't load in the trailer, or move forward at all, just bucked. We did very well at our last little schooling show, 2nd place!  

Love Katie     

P.S. I haven't mentioned this to dad yet. :D