"Thoroughbreds For All" Event in KY

Oh, dear... I am sorry I've been absent from the blogging scene. I have been expending a lot of creative energy over on my Millcreek Spreaders Facebook Page (hope you'll pay it a visit!), so this poor blog has fallen by the wayside. However, I am ready to get back to telling you about my trip to Kentucky in April.

The first event I attended, held the Friday night I arrived, was "Thoroughbreds For All." Sponsored by New Vocations Racehorse Adoption, this featured evaluations both in-hand and under saddle of some of their current horses by internationally-renowned 4* eventer Philip Dutton, former top jockey Chris McCarron, a Lexington veterinarian and an eventing trainer. I drove (at a rapid rate; I always seem to wind up having to jet around Lexington because I spend too much time yapping with the friend I stay with) to the farm and thankfully my phone GPS got me there in good order, because as usual it was down a winding country road and very easily missable. This is the second year the event has been held and they had a huge turnout of people!

Here's the view down the barn aisle. Of course I made a beeline to see the horses, even foregoing the tasty-looking buffet until after they had been inspected:

Naturally I fell madly in love with one of them. This guy was such a character - you could tell he will be some lucky person's total pocket pony, as he wanted nothing more than to engage with humans:

His name was English Major and I really hoped he would be one of the featured horses of the evening. But even without seeing him move, believe me, I was ready to throw him on a trailer and take off! (Note: He wasn't even grey. I guess I'm partial to chestnut with chrome, too. :-)

After I'd visited with the barn inhabitants, I had the pleasure of meeting up with none other than Stacy K., author of the Behind the Bit blog. I've been reading there for at least three years and was quite excited to hang out with her in person! It's not often that I get to attend events like this with a fellow equine enthusiast who really knows what's going on. We enjoyed the dinner buffet and settled in on the bleachers in the arena.

The first demo was Chris McCarron riding a TB fairly new to the NV program. This horse was being extremely looky-loo, I'm sure because a crowd on bleachers did not normally accompany his lessons. No doubt he fancied himself right back in the paddock at the track. Chris unsurprisingly dealt with him quite admirably, though Stacey and I agreed that neither one of us would want to ride a recently off-track TB in similar conditions.

Next about six horses were brought out in hand and walked and trotted around for the "judges." I found their commentary absolutely fascinating; I know quite a bit about conformation, and have some knowledge of how function follows form, but these folks picked up on all kinds of stuff. Plus, they were quite interested in the horses's background. For example, check out this stunner:

What a GORGEOUS boy! Really nice confo, too. Unfortunately, Philip and the vet made it quite clear that they would have serious reservations about putting this guy into any kind of sporthorse training. Reason being, he never even made it to the track due to ongoing suspensory issues (unspecified) to both fronts. Really a shame... I hope he finds a wonderful home with somebody who just wants to trail ride or do very low-level stuff, and love on their "Black Stallion" eye candy.

This one had a perfectly stunning head:

I get a kick out of TBs with very Arabian-looking heads, as they seem to be throwbacks to the three TB ancestors. Of course you can't "ride a head," as the saying goes, but rest of this fella wasn't bad, either, and he was one of the horses they brought back out under saddle. I was disappointed that my pal English Major didn't come out either time (more about him at the end).

Here are some pretty poor photos of the horses being worked:

The riders were all pros and they had a good time putting three of the NV horses who we'd seen in hand through their paces. All W/T/C'd around for a bit and then were challenged with some jumping. I'm not certain if any of these horses had even been walked over a pole before. However, a pole started them out, then little crossrails, then a straight fence and believe it or not, these brave riders then asked the newbies to negotiate an oxer. You can see that in my photos. Not big but when a horse has never even jumped before the results can be interesting, to say the least!

Mr. Chestnut Arabian Head turned out to be a nice boy. He had a good trot and an iffy canter the judges said would improve with work, but he had no qualms about hopping over the jumps. A little bay mare whom the judges had been lukewarm about in-hand also did a great job, jumping in good form, and if I recall correctly actually wound up getting the best assessment overall for sporthorse potential. She was pretty nondescript-looking but again, you can't judge a book by its cover, especially a horse!

All in all this was a terrific event. I came away feeling like I had a much better handle on how to evaluate a TB for H/J/eventing potential (should I ever have the need, and let's hope I do). If you have the opportunity I highly recommend attending!

P.S. Regarding English Major: Sometime last month NV officially offered him for adoption on their website. He went quickly... color me unsurprised, if sad that he wasn't coming home with me. :-) Here's their cover photo of him - is it any wonder someone snapped him up?

Poor Unfortunate Soul

I spent some time today (of course when I should have been doing something else) surfing my favorite "horsey p*rn" site, as my friend Wendy over at Racehorse to Showhorse calls them (I'm not spelling that word out but I think you can guess). Here's where I was hanging out:

You know I love Thoroughbreds above all other horse breeds, and you probably know it's my dream to have an OTTB of my own someday. CANTER always has a great selection of soon-to-be-OTTBS, so when I want to torture myself, this is my favorite place to go. I even have photos I've printed out of some horses over the years to remind me of the "ones that got away."

Well, here's one that I won't be hanging up. God bless 'im, but this has to be the sorriest-looking TB I have ever laid eyes on. I gasped out loud. In fact, at first I thought that someone had made a huge mistake and accidentally posted a picture of a creature that resulted from the accidental breeding of a scrub Mustang and a goat (sorry, Mustang-lovers, I know there are pretty ones of those, too!).

You think I'm kidding/exaggerating?

I mean, What. Is. That.???

Okay, his front legs are not bad other than being short, but the rest looks like a textbook illustration for a  "Poor Conformation" photo. I realize that his main defect is a roached back, but upon careful consideration, I don't think things would be mightily improved if that suddenly went away. You would still have the posty hinds, the endless withers (saddle-fitting would be a breeze), the straight shoulder, that NECK (can he even reach the ground to graze???), the piggie eye in a cinder-block head, etc. etc. He even has a crappy-looking tail. And oh, let's not overlook the hay belly, quite a thing to achieve on a TB! (Hope it's not worms but it might well be)

You can call me mean if you want but I simply am aghast at this poor animal. He might be the sweetest horse on earth, but I think he is going to have a very hard time finding an owner (at least one who wants to ride him). Especially given that.... are you ready for this... they are asking the sum of  *drumroll please*

TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS
for this horse.

Here's his complete description:

I don't understand how they think he "might be a QB/TB mix" (which, by the way, I could easily believe), if  he has a tattoo. Do they tattoo Quarter Horses? The "raced in June" part, too, is a bit baffling since if that's true it sure didn't take him long to lose *koff, koff* condition. The video is very short and basically shows him being dragged at a walk at the end of a lead rope. Apparently he didn't feel like trotting.

I have to say, this photo makes me feel even sorrier for this poor beast:

You'd think they might have taken the time to remove the burdocks from his forelock before taking his picture. He looks pretty disgusted, and I don't blame him.

Now, don't get me wrong - I am a huge, huge fan of CANTER, don't know what our TBs would do without them, and greatly appreciate that someone cares enough to house and feed (!) Mr. Horse here off the racetrack. They also took the time to take the pictures and get them posted on the CANTER website. This boy could have (and Lord knows with his looks, it can't have been far from people's minds) been shipped straight to the auction. I'm truly glad these people who have him care that much. I just wish they would price him more realistically ($500 comes to mind) and maybe do something - ANYTHING - to make him look a wee bit better. Deworming and neck exercises, maybe?

Olympics, Here We Come!

What are your favorite Olympic equestrian memories?

My most favorite event that I've seen on TV* is the Grand Prix Show Jumping jumpoff in Los Angeles, 1984. It came down to Touch of Class, ridden by Joe Fargis, and Abdullah, piloted by Conrad Homfeld. I remember screaming myself hoarse watching this, beside myself with excitement.

I simply adored that little TB mare and her gangly rider whose feet nearly hung under her belly. Just seeing these photos is enough to bring tears to my eyes. What heart she had! I was thrilled beyond belief when they managed to win gold. She was inducted into the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2000 before passing away in 2001. I was sorry to learn recently that in her retirement she lived at a farm in Franklin, TN, right outside of Nashville. At the time I lived no more than a half hour away... if only I'd known. I would love to have met her.

I was also in awe of Joe and Touch of Class's main competition:

Let me point out the equitation Mr. Homfeld is demonstrating here. Unbelievable - most of us don't look this good over a 2' jump, never mind an Olympic-size GP fence. Dude could RIDE. And Joe Fargis isn't half-bad, either! 

Abdullah, a magnifient Trakehner stallion, was inducted into the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2009. He has left an outstanding legacy, having sired no fewer than seven USEF Horses of the Year in H/J. Thanks to frozen semen, it's still possible to breed to him even though he died of colic in 2000.

Here's a fun fact I just learned: at one point in her career, Touch of Class was ridden by Conrad, and at one point in his career, Abdullah was ridden by Joe. So both riders certainly were familiar with the competition!

The other Olympic moment I'll never forget occurred during the Show Jumping phase of 3-Day Eventing in Sydney, 2000. I wanted David O'Connor and Custom Made (Tailor) to win SO badly! They looked like they were going to do just that, and then... David momentarily forgot the course. I, along with the 3,000,000 other people watching, about had a heart attack. NOOOOOO, David, don't blow it just like some Adult Ammy on course at a schooling show! (Not that I would know anything about that sort of thing, haha) Thank God "something" kicked in and he remembered in the nick of time to turn towards the correct fence - maybe the crowd shouting helpfully at him?

I loved David all the more for his all-too-human boo-boo. And Tailor, well, that horse was something else. Rolex, Badminton, Fair Hill, the Olympics - he won 'em all. Truly a superstar in the eventing world!

I will be glued to the equestrian coverage on the various NBC channels, as much of it as I can find, and/or watching streaming coverage on my iPad (if I can come up with our cable provider "username, password and login." Huh?) Apparently some of the Olympics is supposed to show up on YouTube or Hulu, too. I'm hoping that due to the presence of Zara Phillips/the Royal connection they might show a little more Equestrian than usual.

(Though, I must say I don't particularly care for that young lady. My already somewhat negative impression of her was boosted by her snotty reply to a reporter who asked if her family has given her words of encouragement. "Do you think I would tell you that?" was her snippy answer. Excuse me? You can't just beam and say, "Oh, yes, Granny has always been very supportive, and of course my mum and dad have done all this before so their experience will come in handy." I hope the other Royals - Will, Kate and Harry are all going to watch equestrian competitions - are a bit more forthcoming.)

I'm headed home now to watch the Opening Ceremonies. I read there was supposed to be a kind of bucolic farm scene with lots of animals involved, so you know there is potential for humorous mayhem. No matter how well they've prepared, they're still animals, and we may have the opportunity to find out just how far you can push a "bomb-proof" horse before it kicks up its heels and departs the Olympic stadium post-haste!

*Next week I'll write about the one time I've been to the Olympics in person, which was Atlanta. 2006. It was awesome!

Thoroughbreds: Dying to Win

UPDATE: Thank you to the Fugly bloggers, who also just published a post on this very topic, with links to a number of recent articles. Thanks also to their readers who came up with these following extremely informative pieces:

First, my most favorite racing columnist of all time, Bill Nack, writing in 2009 about the reasons for the upswing in TB breakdowns. I'm sorry and surprised I missed this back then. I would cheerfully read every word the man has ever written, if only because he is the author of the preeminent biography of Secretariat, upon which the movie was based (Trivia: he also appears briefly in the movie, asking a question at a press conference alongside the actor playing his younger self. :-) I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Secretariat Festival in 2009 and he's delightful in person, too. This man knows racing inside-out and I believe this is the gospel truth.

Second, it appears the issue will once more be in front of the U.S. Congress, courtesy of a Senator from New Mexico. Huzzah!

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Anyone who has read this blog for a while already knows this, but in case you are not aware: I love and adore Thoroughbreds, beyond any other breed of horse. I grew up riding many of them in lesson programs, because that's all anyone had for H/J back in the day. Nobody was importing WBs when I was a kid, that's for sure; virtually all show hunters and most jumpers were TBs, often OTTB (ever heard of Idle Dice, my favorite childhood superstar?). My beloved Grey was at least part TB, as were my later best partners American Mare and Mom's Apple Pie. The latter was an OTTB who belonged to my trainer and her daughter, and I was very privileged to show her in 4-H. My most triumphant blue ribbon was earned on her back (a story I need to tell another time).

You have followed my adventures in Lexington, the heart of the US Thoroughbred breeding community. You know I'm a big fan of Old Friends equine retirement, home of many retired TB stallions and geldings. I hope to someday get my own OTTB from the Maker's Mark Secretariat Center or another OTTB retraining facility. A Thoroughbred is the only kind of horse I've ever wanted.

I'm telling you all this again so you understand why the following video and article just break my heart:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/death-and-disarray-at-americas-racetracks.html?_r=1

I saw a link to this several days ago on Facebook, via the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, but I have resisted reading it until now. I knew I was going to be upset. The situation on American racetracks is even more grim than I had realized; more and more horses are breaking down, and jockeys being injured.

One of the reasons is people are breeding lighter-boned, faster-maturing TBs. The main reason, however, can be summed up in this one sentence from the article.

"In England, where breakdown rates are half of what they are in the United States, horses may not race on any drugs."

Yup, there you have it. Especially in the lower levels of racing, trainers are pumping massive amounts of painkillers into the horses, masking injuries. They're also experimenting with "cocktails" of God-knows-what drugs to hopefully improve a horse's performance. It's a recipe for disaster.

Fortunately, the oven temperature is getting hotter. Back in 2009, after the Eight Belles incident, Congress actually called racing onto the carpet and the industry "promised" to clean up its act. What's happened? An even higher rate of horse deaths. Now, I think the increased media scrutiny, the greater awareness of the breakdown problem, and more public knowledge of what happens to TBs after they race (especially slaughter) are HOPEFULLY going to cause a major overhaul in the way we race Thoroughbreds in the United States. It probably won't be quick in coming, but I am praying that it will happen.

Sorry for the non-cheerful post today, but this is a topic very near and dear to me.

P.S. You may find it interesting to hear that my brothers went to high school with the president of the Jockey Club, John Gagliano. He appears briefly in the video. I haven't met him, but I have met his father, who used to be my parent's attorney. One of these days I plan on putting this connection to good use...

That's What We've ALWAYS Called Them...

I just finished reading this post on another blog with great interest. Read it through twice, in fact. See what you think:

http://useventing.com/blog/?p=20025

I guess I get this lady's point, namely that OTTB is supposed to be an adjective, but 99.9% of the equestrian world uses it as a noun.  Apparently she has an issue with that. What I still don't understand is why. Is she an English teacher in addition to being a highly successful Thoroughbreds-Who-Used-To-Run-Races re-trainer? Does she think we are defaming the great name of the Thoroughbred breed by using this term? If it's the former (which I highly doubt), well, I'll admit to being a bit of a grammar Nazi myself, and bad writing and spelling irritate me no end, but really... If we all went around correcting people's speech we would not be terribly popular (and we'd go berserk after five minutes in a Walmart).

If it's the latter, I really don't understand. Isn't the word Thoroughbred actually part of the term OTTB, with the letters T and B standing in for the breed? I believe that is *cough* another commonly-used acronym. It's not like we're dismissing the fact that they are a breed. Furthermore, I, for one, am careful to use the word Thoroughbred to describe a horse of that breed which is currently running on the track, or one that never ran on the track. I only use OTTB when the horse has had some kind of racing career. It can now be a pasture potato or out competing in 4**** events (yay, Courageous Comet!*), but by golly if it is an "Off (the) Track Thoroughbred" it's okay to call it that. I think so, anyway. And I can't wait to own one!

Love, love, love this logo. I will immediately purchase an embroidered saddle pad from http://www.ottbdesigns.com/ just as soon as I need one!

 Good news from Eventing Nation:
"When asked about having another great grey horse, Becky (Holder) mentioned that she hopes that Comet's time off is only temporary.  Becky said that Comet has had a "no setback" recovery and he might be out at a few dressage shows this autumn and that she hopes he will start back eventing in the spring.  We are all keeping our fingers crossed to see Becky with two great greys next spring."

The Derby (Not in KY!)

NOTE: I've been very frustrated, because I suddenly have about a dozen topics I'm itching to cover here, and the rest of my life temporarily took over. I have many volunteer commitments and unfortunately two of the biggest ones hit critical point in the last week and a half. But the 40-pg. directory/yearbook I had to create is at the printer's, and all the new Girl Scouts are placed in a troop, so I can finally get back to this post and the other two I also started! :-)

*  *  *

I have to say, without a doubt, that the USHJA Hunter Derby was one of my most favorite things I've ever gotten to see in the horse world. I wish they had them here every weekend. Even though it was threatening to rain, and they had to move the event indoors, watching those top-notch horses go was just a BLAST. Despite years and years of watching hunters show, I finally feel like I really know what makes a good hunter horse now.

I know I mentioned some of the rules and such about the Hunter Derby in a past blog, but I would like to refer you to this post by a fellow blogger, which explains things ever so much better. In fact, I really wish I'd read her post before watching the class! Jennifer also took some great photos, which she has graciously allowed me to borrow as needed. Needless to say, I didn't get any myself...

Anyway, I was simply amazed at what happened before the class even started. The show allowed schooling in the ring after all the jumps were set up; no jumping, but walking, trotting and cantering around. I couldn't believe my eyes when the horses and riders started streaming in. I have never, ever ever seen this allowed before any class before. The riders frequently cantered the horses right up to the jumps, literally until their noses were touching them, and then stopped. There were also grooms leading some of the horses around and they, too, were led right up to the jumps until their noses touched. All the horses were encouraged to sniff and look at the fences.

Obviously the horses were being shown the jumps; I knew what was happening. What I didn't get was why this was allowed. Not being one to stifle questions, I asked two fellow bystanders, one of whom was a rider wearing a shadbelly and thus planning to ride in the class, why on earth this was going on. "They want this to be a good class without refusals so the horses are allowed to see the jumps and get familiar with the course," was the answer. Well, okay, but considering I *think* that it's against the rules to do too much "showing of the jumps" to jumpers before they start, or to ride your warm-up circle three laps around a hunter ring, I found this pretty darn interesting. I also had to wonder if "showing" horses jumps actually works - what do you guys think?

Here are the course maps for both rounds of the Hunter Derby:

And here's two photos I took of a simply enormous oxer that was the last jump on course (upper left corner of both maps). At least, the "high" side was enormous; the other half was regular height:

They had to squeeze the far end standards together a bit to narrow the width for the lower side. This jump was sufficiently intimidating that very few of the riders actually attempted the high side, despite the increase in points. Those that did try looked from the rear (my view) like they were jumping the moon and it was clearly a great effort.

The horses in this class, needless to say, were gaw-jus. Here's one entrant prior to going in the ring (had to get one of the greys, of course):

I wish I could have gotten a little better conformation shot, because one of the most fascinating aspects of this class for me was checking out the way the horses were made and the way they went. I have a confession: I've ridden H/J practically my whole life. Since about 1975 I've been a manic reader of "Practical Horseman," especially "Conformation Clinic" (remember when Champ Hough used to write it?). I have really gotten a lot out of the past year's worth of Clinics, with the new judge. I usually do well with my placings and have a decent grasp of what makes good conformation. I know that a jumping horse is supposed to round its back in a bascule over fences. I've been in and watched literally hundreds and hundreds of hunter classes. But it really wasn't until watching this class that I started putting all the pieces together and figuring out what, exactly, is the proper construction and way of going for a truly good hunter. Something finally just clicked!

The way I saw it, the best horses "poured themselves" over the fences. The whole jump looked effortless, one smooth motion of beautiful, elastic horse. Like I said, I don't know what it was about this class but I swear I really, truly saw it for the very first time. It was great!

Whew, talk about round! I'd like to feel that just once - over a lower fence. (Photo by Jennifer Buxton)

Some other things I noticed about these horses were:
- Great extension of their front legs at all gaits (the Conf. Clinic lady is always going on about length and angle of humerus - I GET it now!)
- A walk with a very swinging back and a lot of overstep
- A croup that tended to be a bit more level
- A naturally low neck and head set, completing a level topline

This lovely horse illustrates ALL of the above points (Photo by Jennifer Buxton)

If any of you are thinking, well, DUH, RiderWriter, I'm sorry for my ignorance! I'm just excited that at the ripe old age of 48 I'm really connecting the dots. The more you learn, the less you find out you know...

Regarding way of going, I discovered the judges did not care for the horse that was big-striding, knee-lifting and went very fast. They also didn't like a small horse that went with its nose poked out and was also very fast. Oddly, the other horse I noticed that carried his head far in front of the vertical really split the judge's opinion: one scored him 83, the other 60! Normally the scores were five points apart at the most. I myself wasn't wild about that horse. But get this: he was 5th in the nation in the standings heading into the Derby finals this year, and finished 9th there! So that was a bit confusing.

In general, though, I agreed with the scoring. My very favorite horse, who I thought was just the epitome of class and beauty, finished third (he'd gotten 6th at the Derby finals), so I was good with that. His owner rode him, and another entrant that also belonged to her. What, two horses in this class? How lucky is she? Well, this is how lucky - there were three more ridden by a pro. Yes, this girl - a teenager - owned five horses in this class. FIVE! Horses of this caliber don't exactly come cheap, so we're talking, what, a half million dollars worth of horseflesh, all belonging to one kid??? Sheesh. Yes, she was a very decent rider, she'd actually been in the Maclay finals (riding one of her Derby horses) but finished well out of the ribbons. I was floored...
The second round of the Derby featured this trot in-and-out combo:

The second trot jump is the low double-log thing in the very middle of photo, on the left.

You can also see the rustic rail fences forming the "wings" of this complex (look on course map again). I believe there were a couple of stops here, but not because of any fright factor; it was pilot error. Nonetheless, it would certainly give me pause riding up to these. I'm pretty sure I jumped similar back in the day on the outside 4-H courses, but now a stiff post-and-rail would make my knees knock. And definitely not on one of these back-cracking beauties - no question of where I'd wind up! :-)

So that's my little roundup of the Hunter Derby. I personally found it super-exciting to watch - I actually had cold chills. If you have the opportunity to view one of these classes, I highly recommend it.

Horsemanship, Indeed - Part II

"Uh, I don't know." - Maclay Region 5 Finals competitor, when asked the breed of horse he was riding

To say I was disappointed in this young man's response is an understatement, and I have no doubt that Alfred B. Maclay would agree with me. Excuse me? This is supposed to be a Horsemanship class? Knowing the breed of horse you're sitting on, that you're supposed to have a partnership with, just might be something you ought to know? Now, I know a lot of these Big Eq horses are leased or borrowed. I suppose I could give the kid the benefit of the doubt and assume that maybe he'd just met the beast the day before. Maybe I'm being far too picky. However, I can tell you that I would want to know every single thing about a horse that was supposed to carry me to fame in short order, including what breed it is, but that's me...

I must have had a look on my face, because after that the boy did turn turn, mutter something to the groom who was busy cleaning his boots, and then reply to me, "Warmblood." Gee whiz, I never would have guessed! >.< (And for the record, yes Honey, I do know that Warmbloods come in specific breeds.) The reason I asked in the first place is that I was playing "spot the TB" during this class (and also during the Hunter Derby).

I'm afraid I came up blank... I could be wrong, but I doubt it. You already know Thoroughbreds are my favorite breed; back in the day, everyone in the H/J world rode them, including in the Big Eq. Here's some clips I found from the 1982 and 1984 Maclay Finals which illustrate this nicely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zjlZie0UDM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbX16dX8880

In contrast, here's last year's Maclay winning rider, Hayley Barnhill, on a Warmblood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um4DJZ5jEI0

Whoo-ee, look at those olden-days riders go (especially Peter Wylde - he was flying)! I was cracking up at some of the Comments posted on these videos by today's youth, particularly the ones that noted, "Those horses look really hot" (I'm sure the kid who wrote that had absolutely no idea they were TBs) and "It looks really jumpery." Yes, that's how we used to do it, there was none of this slow n' genteel Warmblood loping around the course business (what's ironic, though, is today's courses are so twisty and technical they practically are jumper courses). You'd be left in the dust far behind the hounds if you tried that look in the real world, and hello, HUNTERS are supposed to be able to actually hunt! I've read stuff that says "we need Warmbloods to get down the lines," but maybe the course designers started building them longer when everyone began showing up on Warmbloods? Seems to me it's the classic chicken/egg conundrum.

Anyway, I saw no Thoroughbreds, which saddened me, but I did see some very nice horses. Some of those parents shell out serious money for a special Big Eq horse and for the most part I'd say they got their money's worth. I've heard that some are BTDT babysitters and others are real firecrackers, guaranteed to give anyone you have to swap with fits - I think I saw the latter in person during that first Big Eq class I watched the week before!

Let me hasten to add that in general I also was impressed with the sportmanship and conduct of the young people in this Maclay class. Their poise, class and nerves of steel were very evident. When you have worked your tail off to qualify for an event like this, it would be extremely upsetting when Horsie suddenly decides to be a jerk and buck and kick out when you ask him for a lead change, something I would imagine he's done perfectly thousands of times in the past. Or slam on the brakes in front of a reasonably-sized, non-scary oxer to which you've found a great distance. Maybe they went back to the schooling ring afterwards and had a meltdown, but I didn't see it happen in the ring. I saw smiles. I saw focus. One rider fascinated me for her absolutely neutral expression; I don't think I've ever seen someone with such immobile features, especially someone less than 18 years old. She kind of scared me!

I had a nice conversation with the young lady who wound up finishing third, while she was watching earlier go's. She was sweet, friendly, and didn't mind answering my questions. No stuck-up attitude there. I went back into the barn area to congratulate afterwards, and tell her I'd be looking for her in Lexington, but it was like she'd vanished into thin air: I could not find her or the horse. Oh, well, I remember her name, so that gives me at least one person I've met to root for. What's that? YES, I am going to the National Horse Show! I'm terribly excited and of course I'll be writing all about it. First time in 30 years or so that I'll see the Maclay finals... no Victor H-V announcing, no MSG, but that's okay, I'm still delighted the big event is finally going to be within driving distance.

As far as the results of the class, I mostly agreed with the placements. I kept careful notes. Here are my score sheets:

Out of 35, I really only saw one or two riders that I thought were clearly outclassed by the competition. Most fell somewhere into the middle, earning a Very Good from me. A couple were absolutely, obviously superlative, none more so than the eventual winner. Literally from the second she stepped into the ring, I just knew that she was top-notch. Why? Beautiful position. Invisible aids. Horse balanced perfectly between hand and seat. Legs nailed to horse's sides. If you look on the first page of my notes, you'll see her about 3/4 of the way down, with her number (204) and the word EXC. circled, along with a *. She also rocked the flat phase, which included a request for trot lengthening that went on... and on.... and on. My legs would have been Jello!  I told my daughter, who was watching with me (she's a "horse-liker," not "horse-lover," to borrow a phrase from a fellow blogger), "If that girl doesn't win I'm hanging up my helmet. She. Is. AWESOME."

On the other hand, I sure was perplexed at the choice of a couple who finished in the top 10. For example, #206 earned a No Good from me for her jumping round. Yet she was called back in the top group and finished 8th. Huh? (Contrast that to poor #10, who'd gotten an EXC., and fell out of the top group after the flat. Didn't see her do anything awful but she was out, replaced by #39 who'd been brought back in the second group). The one that bugged me the most, though, was one of the boys. He got an OK after jumping, but I thought his position was horrible. Very hunched over with a swinging leg. He finished FIFTH, and the only other boy got 4th (he'd earned a Very Good for his jumping and truly hadn't impressed me all that much). This annoyance was only reinforced when #5 boy appeared the next day in the Hunter Derby, more hunched than ever. I don't just mean over fences, either, though he did roach his back there in a way that would have GM in fits. No, he rode like my old trainer who was 50ish and had back trouble. But apparently his dad is some big cheese trainer??? Makes you wonder... Do you think maybe they like to send the boys off to the Finals, no matter what they look like, since there are so few of them?

A note, regarding tack and apparel: I think that maybe, just maybe, I saw a bit more variety in show coat color this year. Generally these riders are indistinguishable from one another, all sporting the ubiquitous greige Tailored Sportsman breeches, navy show coat, Ariat Monaco or custom boots and Charles Owen GR8 helmets. In addition to the slight variations in coats, I also spotted some of the "bug head" looking GPA Speed Air helmets with lots of vents, which I was a bit surprised to see in any hunter ring, much less this one. I thought those were favored by jumper riders. Nothing different in saddles, bridles, martingales or fleece pads, but that's no surprise. (What's fun to look at is those perfectly flat zero knee-roll saddles the riders are using in the old Maclay clips. I used to ride in one myself, and boy, do I appreciate the return of the padded flap!)

I will wrap up this discussion of the Maclay Regional with this moment, my favorite of the whole competition. As I said, I headed back to the barn area after the class was over. The first thing I saw was the rider who had finished 11th, still mounted on her horse. She had tears streaming down her face and was hugging and petting the horse over and over. Her mother was crying and petting the horse. The trainer was crying and hugging the mom, hugging the rider and hugging the horse. I heard the mother say, "I'm just so proud of you and you worked so hard for this!" It was all very emotional, and I was so glad to see it! Just writing about this is making me sniffle again. It was wonderful to witness true appreciation of achievement, and of course appreciation of the horse; after all, they're the ones who "do all the work." Wink, wink! :-)