Young Rider Freestyle and Junior Individual - Saturday, July 25th 2009

This morning the Juniors ride their individual test. Sylvie had some very good moments to her test and she rode amazingly, but unfortunately Magic had some issues with his changes today and they ended with just over 60%. That didn`t put them in the top 15 though, so she will not be riding her freestyle :( Awesome riding though Sylvie!!!
Everything got backed up by an hour this morning due to a huge thunderstorm first thing in the morning. It was pouring rain along with thundering and lightning. Consequently, my ride time changed to 3:09. I was the second rider to go, after Annie-Pier and right before Jaimie Holland. Three Canadians right in a row!!!
Oslo was super hot today. The ring was spooky and the wind was blowing like crazy - all the trees had blowen over around the ring and the judges tents were in jeopardy! I was very impressed with Olso though, he maintained his composure in the ring and was mostly rideable. We had great trot work and an amazing left pirouette!!! We also got all of our changes, even though we had to put our three tempis in the corner since Oslo and I were having commmunication issues across the diagonal. We got them all in and clean at the end of the day though! That means all of our lines of changes were clean this week!!! =)
Once again we felt the judges scores were a bit weird, but overall I finished ninth. TOP 10!!!!!!!! I am SUPER happy with Olso, especially considering how crazy he was when we first got here. We actually suspect that he was dealing with an ulcer which can cause drastic temperment changes in a horse. So, I cannot be more grateful for Oslo letting me ride him in all three of our tests even with the change in frame, heat, and spooky atmosphere!
We are headed home tomorrow after the Junior Freestyles and closing cermonies. I know that both Oslo and I are very excited to return home after such an amazing experience! See you all soon =)

Individual Young Rider Test - Friday, July 24th 2009

Today was the Individual test for the Young Riders. The order of go was determined by the reverse results of the team test so I was 18th to go. Oslo was much more relaxed today and he was very close to normal!!! Albrecht got me to ride him really high in the ring today in order to make sure his pole stays up. It was quite difficult and actually scary in the warm-up: "We are going to try something new today" Albrecht said at the beginning of warm-up! Wasn't quite sure if today was the day to be trying new things, but miswell go for it!
Our test was very good and I was super happy with Oslo. He was way more rideable today and we didn't have any major errors like in the Team test. Unfortunately, we ended up with only a slightly higher score though. So I was definitely frustrated and dissapointed with my score, but overall I was happy with Oslo and our performance. A number of people also commented on how they thought I should have gotten a better score and maybe even be in the top 10. I greatly appreciated this and it was nice to be acknowledged, especially after we felt a little robbed. At the end of the day Oslo and I ended up 14th, so it was all good since that meant we got to ride our freestyle!!! Woohoo!!!
The Juniors ride their individual test tomorrow morning and then the Young riders start the freestyles at 2:30 in the afternoon! It could be smokin' hot! Our ride time is at 2:39 - the hottest part of the day. It will be a short warm-up tomorrow!

Junior Team Test - Thursday, July 23rd 2009

Today the Juniors rode their Team test. We were lucky with the weather today and that it wasn't raining! It was cloudy and overcast for most of the morning also making it not too hot for the riders. It is good it wasn't as hot as it has been since the combination with the heat can be brutal for riding. Sylvie and Magic had a very good test - nice and flowing and error free! Unfortunately the judges did not reward them (possible suspicions of the judges being racist to Magic for his Friesenness) and she ended up with a 60.5% and in 19th place. A number of people made the comment that she should have been scored much higher, including Albrecht saying she "was robbed" - sometimes this sport is so frustrating because it is a judged event. Overall, the Canada West team, consisting of Monica from B.C., Devon from B.C., Sylvie, and Arianna from Manitoba, received fifth place and the team from Ontario won the gold medal! Megan Lane actually won the class and Maura placed third. It looks like Canada has a very strong chance of medaling individually for the Juniors! Go Canada!!!
Tomorrow I ride at 10:36 am - Young Rider Individual Test. Oslo seems to be a bit more calm in his stall today, but he still gets very looky and energetic when you take him on walks. We don't walk him outside the barn area without a chain on now, because he just gets to freaked out and excited, making him impossible to lead. I just wish he had a bit more self confidence! You can do it Oslo!

NAJYRC Results at www.youngriders.org

Team Test/PSG - Wednesday, July 22nd

The 15 minute walk over to the warm-up ring from the barn was less eventful than we anticipated. We kept his attention for the duration, even past his favourite pond. The warm-up itself was a bit sketchy and he was not being very rideable. His nerves were getting to him again and I am sure mine were not helping either. Usually I don't get very nervous for shows, but since he had been acting so strange lately I was definitely feeling worried. Once we got in the 10 minute ring (a ring you get all to yourself 10 minutes before you ride) he started to concentrate and trust me a little bit more. Also, by that time my amazing coaches, mommy and Albrecht, had me more relaxed and loose. The combination allowed for us to obtain a 63.474% putting us in 13th place out of 30 riders. In our test we had two major errors, a change of lead in our left pirouette and a break to canter at the beginning of our one trot extension, along with a lot of tension. Overall, considering our mistakes, tension, and the pouring rain during our test, I was happy with our score and RELIEVED that he didn't explode! I still didn't have quite enough leg on in certain parts of the test, hence the mistakes, but I know for a fact that it is a lot easier to say "keep your leg on" on a hot and nervous horse than it actually is!
The Canada East Young Rider Team came fourth overall with Jaimie Holland scoring the highest of the Canadians with a 65.3%.
Tomorrow Oslo will have the day off and we will cheer on our Canadian Junior riders - GO SYLVIE and MAGIC!!! Hopefully Oslo continues to get used to his surroundings. The Horse Park is such a beautiful facility, it is just unfortunate there is so much stuff going on - construction (preparing for WEG next year, golf carts zipping around everywhere, nearby Interstate, horses runnning around in paddocks etc.). Oslo is just not used to this busy environment, but we are working on it.

The Jog - Tuesday, July 21st

The Canadian riders rode first thing this morning at 8:00 am in the competition ring. I was super nervous for this because yesterday he had been unrideable. He was definitely more calm today but was still definitely "on the edge". He still prefers jogging to walking right now and at any moment he feels like he could explode. Often he is distracted by the large pond near the stadium and horses in fields in the distance. But, all in all he was way better today and I am feeling a little bit better but still very nervous about having to put a test together.
At 4:00 pm was the jog. All the Canadians went down together and Oslo and I were the second last of all the riders to jog. That meant standing around (or in Oslo's case, running and jogging around) for about half an hour till our turn. By the time it was our turn to jog, Oslo was in a lather from spinning in circles under the blazing hot sun. He seemed terrified of the interstate in the distance and some other mystery things. We proceeded to the jog and Oslo would not stand for the vet inspection before hand, nor stop looking out towards the highway. Next came the actual jog part and instead of jogging Oslo decided running would be better and instead of going in a straight line he decided to head towards me running us both out of the fenced area. Somehow the vets were able to see him trot well enough to pass him, but overall the experience was not a great one!
So once again, I am not very faithful about how things will go tomorrow. I ride at 10:52 am - 20th out of 30 riders.

Moving to the Kentucky Horse Park - Monday, July 20th

Sylvie rode Magic early in the afternoon while I bathed Oslo before the 15 minute trip over to the park. We were moving the horses over today since we could walk around in the competition rings in the afternoon and the jog is tomorrow. Since we first arrived in Kentucky Oslo has been super calm and relaxed. Today things changed. He arrived at the horse park a different horse and was mentally very unstable. The plan was to hack him to the competition ring and walk him around a bit since today was supposed to be his day off, but Oslo was one big ball of nerves. He would not walk anywhere and was super hot in the ring - leaping, taking off outside the ring, and stopping and staring off into the nearby pond. Eventually we gave up and I jumped off and attempted to walk him back to his stall. He was so terrified of all his surroundings he was shaking once he got back to the stall. At this point we would never be able to make it through a test - hence my feeling of uneasiness now. I guess we will have to wait and see what the morning brings. All we can do at this point is hope he settles down.

Lexington - Saturday, July 18th

This morning we took a tour of the Kentucky Horse Park on our bikes. It is so huge. Currently there is a Breyer event going on (yes, Breyer is those plastic horses!!) so there are tons of people and not getting hit on our bikes was a challenge! We toured all the rings, including the amazing footing from New York, and the stabling. It really is an amazing place and is kind of similar to Spruce Meadows. Not quite as large but you get a similar feeling.

Around eleven we went to the barn and Oslo and I had a great workout. It hasn't been that warm, low 20s, but the humidity got to both of us and at the end of the ride we were both fairly sweaty!!

The afternoon was filled with a quick shopping trip and lunch. Afterwards we got to watch the polo! Such an awesome game to watch in person. We learned so much about the rules with the help of Chelsea's blackberry. There are 6 Chukkas in a game, each 7 minutes long. Chukkas are like periods. At the end of each Chukkas they must switch ponies just because of the fitness demand of the game. And when they switch ponies, they just jump from one horse to another, no actual getting off and then getting onto the other. Also, there are four players on the field from each team at once and two refs who also ride ponies. It is a very physical sport with checking and hooking allowed! The ponies are usually a cross between quarter horses and thoroughbreds and the best ones usually come from Argentina. Oh, and at half time, the spectators all take to the field and fill in the divets made by the ponies ripping around! It was neat to see hundreds of people all stomping in the divets on the field!

Tomorrow I will ride Oslo again and then we will likely tour around Lexington for a while. In addition, the Ontario horses are supposed to be arriving tomorrow at the park so we will go greet them. Magic and Oslo don't move to the park until Monday though - they are enjoying there large field too much!

Lexington, KENTUCKY!

Finally we have arrived! We were stuck in traffic for about an hour on the interstate, so it took us a little longer than expected, but the horses are in a huge field with Kentucky blue grass now and they are lovin' it!!! Both Oslo and Magic were running up and down the hills for a good half hour! Frolicking like no tomorrow!!! =)
It was fairly warm here today as well. We did have a bunch of rain when we were sitting in traffic, but once we hit Lexington it was warm and humid, around 30 degrees.
Once we got the horses settled at the beautiful stable (pictures to come) we got ourselves settled into the Kentucky Horse Park campground where we will be staying for a few nights until the actually show starts. It is absolutely beautiful here!!!
After dinner we went back to the barn and I had my first ride on Oslo since the trip. He felt amazingly good and wasn't even that stiff. He was pretty hot though (temperment wise) and definitely eager to go! Eventually he settled into the work and we had a very good stretchy ride. Tomorrow we will have a real workout in the morning and then try and catch some polo at the Kentucky Horse Park in the afternoon!

Travel Day 3 - Shirley, Indiana

We successfully navigated the through Minneapolis this morning but had an extremely long day of driving to our destination on the east side of Indianapolis. We also had to travel around Indianapolis since we were coming from the west, but instead we decided to go through (and by decided I actually mean by accident!). It was neat though because we got to pass the big race track where they run the Indy 500!!! In addition, we passed through some "sketchy" areas of town, definitely on the wrong side of the tracks. Several houses were boarded up and people with their kids were riding in the boxes of their pick-up trucks! Anyways, eventually we made it to Cuttin-up Stables, our stop for the night, around 10:00 eastern time. It was a really long day, and the horses were very eager to get off the trailer. One more day of travel but it should be a short one - only about 3 hours to Lexington, Kentucky!

Travel Day 2 - Rogers, Minnesota

We crossed the Saskatchewan border into North Dakota first thing this morning. The horses, my parents, and I all crossed with no issues. Chelsea, Janine, and Sylvie were a different story though. Since Sylvie is a minor and is not travelling with any of her family (Chelsea being the owner of the horse and Janine being her coach) the officers at the border were sure that she was being kidnapped! Each one was questioned individually and their car was searched. Once only apples and Janine's stash of bananas (not supposed to take fruit across the border) were found, they were all clear to go! This delay made for a slightly longer day though and we didn't get into Rogers, Minnesota until after 8:00 central time. The horses travelled well though and we only have one more long day!

Travel Day 1 - Weyburn, Saskatchewan

We left first thing this morning and drove for about 12 hours. Both horses seem to be travelling well and they are now having a party at the Weyburn Agricultural Grounds where they have a nice large field to themselves. Magic was in a very playful mood and Oslo eventually joined him in some frolicking!
Unexpectedly, it has been quite cold and the horses are turned out with a cooler and their stable sheets since neither of us brought real blankets, thinking cold weather would NOT be an issue!

We will be crossing the border first thing tomorrow morning - hopefully we don't have too much of a delay.

We're back!

Lindsay & Oslo will compete at the 2009 North American Young Riders Championships in Lexington, Kentucky.

We will depart Bluffton, AB on Tuesday July 14th and a Junior rider from B.C. will also be traveling with us - Sylvie Fraser riding Magic. It will be nice for Oslo to have a buddy in the trailer for the 3500 km trip down to Lexington, Kentucky!

Oslo and Lindsay will be going as individuals representing Canada at the Championships. There were only 6 Canadian Young riders who qualified, four of them being from Ontario, causing Equine Canada to have to make an Ontario team, leaving Lindsay and Olso, along with Annie-Pier from Quebec as individuals. It will still be an amazing experience though and representing Canada is always an honour!