We brought Herbie and she got to meet lots of people and dogs, including a bull mastiff puppy who was taller than her and outweighed her by twenty pounds at only four months old.
"Well," I told her, with the corners of my mouth twitching, "You may not think you like pit bulls, but congratulations, you own one."
"That changes everything!" she exclaimed. "I guess I like pit bulls after all!"
Seriously... shelters are not helping the breed by lying about what they are at the time of adoption. Sheeeeesh.
The showing itself was rather lackluster. It was one of the weeniest Grand Prix classes I've ever seen and there was some truly atrocious riding. I'm not one to critique people who ride at a much higher level than I will ever achieve, but some of it was really horrific. One guy slammed down on his horse's back and mouth so hard that the horse threw a rearing tantrum for several seconds before he could be convinced to go over the next jump. Another woman was hauling on her horse the entire time and leaning back so badly that I thought she'd topple right over his hindquarters. Not surprisingly, she plowed the poor horse right through one of the jumps.Thankfully there were some very nice riders, some of whom were local, and a few of whom were even riding in snaffle bits :)
When one of the riders in the finale was announced, I actually did a double take. It was one of my old riding instructors, who I watched grow as a rider back in my lesson days.
"I rode with him!" I exclaimed.
OTB replied, "That explains why he's been looking over here all night, trying to get your attention!"
The jump off was actually pretty exciting. There were only three horses, two of which were ridden by Laura Chapot. At the last jump, she pulled a ballsy turn around that knocked seconds off the clock. She repeated it on her second round, setting an impressive time to beat. The other rider, undaunted, threw in a roll back and galloped over the last jump for home. She came in between the two Chapot times, earning second for the night, and the crowd burst into hearty cheers. It was very cool to have something to cheer about.Over all I'm glad we went. Mike enjoyed seeing all the high end jumps up close, taking inspiration for future jump plans. I had a great time with good people and Herbie got to do!something.
I didn't take as many photos as I would have thought, but I have quite a few to share nonetheless.
This is the girl who kept hauling on her horse until the last possible second before throwing him at the jumps.
No surprise he knocked rails.
Poor horse was trying SO hard.
Nice to see some regular bits out there!
This guy totally deserved this.
My old instructor.
And his fancy stallion.
Wow. Just because someone owns an expensive horse doesn't mean they are a good rider. These are great photos and I love how you snuck Herbie in and Mike in. The story of the "American Bull Dog" was cute.
ReplyDeleteDom, I'm curious for your thoughts on bit converters. Should they be used at all? Is it okay for younger/beginner riders to use them? Should upper level riders use them?
ReplyDeleteI think beginners have no business using anything but a snaffle bit.
DeleteOn top of that, I'm huge on training instead of bitting up. There are horses who do well in more severe bits, but 99% of the time, it comes down to a training issue. The problem with that is that it takes longer and a lot of people won't take the time out to do it the slow way.
In general, I'm not a fan of pelhams or double bridles. I do, however, understand that they can be helpful at the upper levels, especially in dressage. I personally don't ride in them. I also think they're frequently used incorrectly and can cause a lot of issues in horses.
With that said, I think upper level riders are qualified to make their own decisions about bit choice and if they want to use Pelhams on their horses, that's their right.
As for the bit converters, I think they're sort of cheating. They kind of defeat the purpose of the double bit. I understand that people use them when they don't have the finesse to handle both sets of reins, but if you don't have the hands to ride in a double bridle, you probably don't have the hands to ride in a Pelham at all.
All I know is from what I hear from Grand Prix jumpers (the likes of Beezie Madden, et al) they all say those horses are freaks, like slightly uncontrollable, machines. Not saying the biting is okay for everyday work, but yea, it can be used well, or abused. The most recent example I can think of for this was Karen O'Connor and Mr. Medicott at the olympics, that horse is strong and need A LOT of bit, but it can be used really effectively and gently. It's interesting those, to see how the pressures of competition bring out the worst in some riders!
ReplyDeleteps. Your story about Herbie is aces.
I rode 'one of those horses' (granted it wasn't in competition and we only jump half this high). He was strong, but you just kind of went with it. Fighting a horse like that doesn't accomplish a damn thing and some of these people were just terrible. Comparing what I saw to Karen O'Connor is an insult to her. There's nothing wrong with bitting up in the right hands and circumstances, but what I saw at Devon that night was not that.
DeleteDom, I think something was lost in translation. I wasn't comparing Karen and Mr. M to them, I was making a comparison to someone using what looks like heavy metal in a very kind and sensitive way on a horse with a reputation for being extremely strong -- that's a good thing when used in the right hands... I have seen cringe-worthy uses of the same in the wrong hands, it's always disappointing when you see it at this level, in front of big crowds, and up close and personal!
DeleteI think we're probably talking about the same thing. The gag bit in these photos, for example, is being used correctly with soft hands and two sets of reins. Whereas it's normally abused and used instead of training, here it was used effectively and kindly, as intended.
DeleteWould have liked to see the ladies face when you told her "what" she did own! :-) I enjoy the shows, but do sometimes wonder how some of the "riders" came to ride...
ReplyDeleteP.S. Again - Great Photos! Your old instructor has a nice seat!
ReplyDeleteNice shots! Mike and here are adorable, and love that he' planning more jumps.
ReplyDeleteWOW! You got some great action shots. :)
ReplyDelete