This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Everyone-
I am just glowing with pride (or maybe it's sunburn!) after watching Dagrun Aarsten and Bo-Fjords Cloudy aka Quinn compete today. For those of you who don't know Dagrun, she is one dedicated hardworking gal. She goes to the barn every night after a long day at work, usually at 7 or 8 PM. She trains her 3 horses, making sure they all get attention and schooling. She achieves amazing results using only positive reinforcement. The result is 3 horses who can't wait to "come out and play." Now I'm a morning person, so I usually see Dagrun on weekends when she, well, goes to the barn! Good thing we have each other for friends because as you can see, we don't spend a lot of time socializing ;-) Quinn has been in training for a combined schooling show in Woodside, CA at The Horse Park. Thanks to Dagrun, he has become a soft, supple, obedient yet spunky horse. He will jump anything and do dressage too! Last night I hauled Quinn and his barn mate Bob the huge Thoroughbred to The Horse Park. Dagrun planned to ride Bob in a beginner class for his owner. This morning, they got off to a rocky start. Bob, who has been doing well in dressage training, flipped his lid. Thanks to a misunderstanding between Dagrun and Bob's groom Barbara (I slept in and arrived later for the Fjord part!), they had all of 5 minutes to warm up. Bob entered the arena sideways, lifted his head up in the air, and ran backwards. They blundered through the test, barely completing it. Not one to feel defeated, Dagrun then warmed up Bob for the jumping class and proceeded to do a great-looking clear round! Then it was Quinn's turn to shine. I sat with Fjord owners Cindy & Cesar Vallecillo and Tinn's potential new owner Robert. You could have heard a pin drop as the dressage test began. As I watched them flow through the movements, I thought of the many nights of practice -- getting leads right, getting cadence at the trot, suppling, transitions -- all that work leading up to these few minutes of performance. It was near perfect. Quinn was 100% obedient, even halting perfectly square, something which did not usually happen at home. We cheered and cheered. Many people approached us and said they were awed, that (if they had seen a Fjord before) they had never seen such a well trained animal. We were in heaven. Imagine our surprise when the score was posted -- it was quite low, the many comments all negative. They were ranked 12 out of 16. I was hopping mad. How could Quinn score 10% less than he did 6 months ago with a different judge, when he was not nearly as well schooled? Dagrun, being a better sport than I, said that most of the comments were true to some extent. However, we did agree that the scoring was unusually harsh, especially for a beginner-novice class at a schooling show. I felt that breedism was in effect, and this theory was supported by the unbelievable fact that Bob the Thoroughbred's dressage test, an embarrassing disaster, was scored only 3 points lower than Quinn's flawless performance. After a long wait in the hot sun, it was time for jumping. It was stadium and cross country in one, including logs and a ditch. We watched with interest as, one by one, the big fancy horses with their high dressage scores fell apart. They resisted, refused, ran out, spooked, and galloped out of control. Four riders fell and were eliminated. Two scratched. The remaining ten lost many points. Then it was Dagrun's turn. The good thing about not going first is the ability to plan for trouble spots. There were two big ones, a solid green wood jump where virtually every horse refused, and a sandy area in the cross-country part where horses slipped if they were going too fast or turned too sharply. As Quinn cantered out to the course, Barbara said, "I hope she'll be OK with that green jump." Without hesitating I replied, "She won't have any problems." I finished the sentence in my mind, "Because Dagrun never fails. Dagrun never says I can't." Sure enough, they sailed over the monster jump like they did it every day. Quinn stayed in a balanced canter throughout, clearing all the jumps. Dagrun slowed him to a trot and carefully negotiated the slippery area before returning to canter. We cheered even louder than before -- clear round, shortest time, no penalties! Strangers who, minutes before, had said, "He's cuuuute! Can they jump?" were clapping and cheering. The great thing about this type of class is its objectivity. Any child who knows the rules can keep score. Quinn's was the best. Thanks to that, he ended up placing 3rd overall!! / )_~ /L/L Brigid Wasson SF Bay Area, CA www.Brigid.Clickryder.com
