Day 168

Today was a sad day.

Not because of riding. Brie was so good today. I think it's because I gave her a banana before we rode =]

But today was a sad day because I don't think we're going to Nationals anymore. I'm gonna take a break from same old training talk and go on a mini rant about my organization, just to be warned.

I sent in the entry forms this past Monday for Nationals. I only authorized paying for the classes right now and my mom would pay the stalls when we got there. Seemed normal. Shows usually let you do this. We thought we were good to go.

But then tonight my mom gets a phone call from the show secretary. They said my credit card was declined. That's odd because I had enough money in there to cover double entry fees. She calls them up to find out they were trying to charge it for the classes AND the stalls, which is NOT what I authorized for. What was I supposed to do if I somehow had enough in my account to cover this?! The secretary said that we had to pay everything in full up front, but no where on the rules did it say this.

She then proceeded to try and charge us for USEF memberships, which we don't have because the shows we went to weren't USEF sponsored. I was going to get my membership sometime closer to nationals because I need it for the USHJA and IHSA membership for the team as well, but they were trying to clear that. My brother was going to get his closer to the show too, but they said that since he's a minor he can't do that anyways.

Then, on top of all of it, we found out that we aren't guaranteed any of our money back if we can't make it. Only if there's a vet emergency, we might get 50% back from the classes, nothing from the stalls or shavings (the stalls and shavings are outrageous, btw). We've been to that venue before and they're 3x the amount as before, but whatever, it's Nationals, we were going to do it. They wouldn't give us money back if there was something wrong with US, only the HORSE. How is that right?! The horse wouldn't have a rider, so how could he/she possibly be in the class. What if there was a family emergency? Nope, no money back either. Get there and break your leg getting out of your car? Nope, tough for you. Die upon arrival? Sorry, you might get a little bit of money back.

It's just outrageous. I mean, the cost is one thing. We could handle that. But the fact that they won't give you any portion of money back if YOU, the rider, had an emergency is really stupid (for lack of a better word). Plus, it's in September, the month when most children in the United States go back to school. If they're always harping on about getting the kids involved, how about not making them choose between academics and their passions? And then they wonder why people are leaving the organization.

This whole thing makes me not want to show at all. What's the point if you can't go to Nationals? What's the point of spending your small amounts of money on weekend shows if you can't make Nationals your goal? If that's the case, to hell with my horses' gaits,  I'd rather have them be atomic bombproof on a trail.

I'm just really upset and really disappointed with the organization right now. If it were up to me, I would leave it for good. But we'll see how the rest of my family feels about it.

Day 15 & Nationals Comments

I didn't make it down to Nationals. =[ The flights coming home weren't looking so good, so we decided not to risk being stranded in Georgia. We did watch the ending of Nationals on Galopando TV though, which is the stream-network for all things Paso Fino. I feel like I'll get my commentary on Nationals out of the way right now.

I was amused by the largo race, but disappointed at the same time that there were only three entries. Come on people, lighten up and have some fun with your horses! Don't just work them all the time! Secondly, I was SO MAD when I saw the costume class! Backstory, I qualified on Brie to go to Nationals this year and last year for costume class but we figured it was too long of a ride to bring here there for just one class. This is what my costume looks like.
Well, I don't have a screenshot of it, but there was a girl in the costume class who had pretty much the EXACT same dress, the same black horse, the same roses, same ribbons, same veil, but this is the killer part: She had the same speech as me. How low can you get? Thankfully she was punished (by karma) for the copycat-ism and received 5th place out of 5.
Lastly, I'd like to congratulate the Fino Stallion Champion, Halago! He is truly amazing. If the clip isn't on Galopando TV, then I'm sure if you're really curious and search it on YouTube you'll find it. Maybe I'll even link these two classes tomorrow or something for you to watch.

Went to the stables today. Instead of doing the same old routine, I decided today would be a great day to teach Brie a little bit about jumping (and learn myself, with help from mi madre). At first she was kind of freaking out that the jump was made up of a 2x4 and plastic traffic cones, but then she got used to it and then she loved it! She kept going around and jump jump jumping! We both enjoyed it, and I love that she's getting used to doing all sorts of different things now.

I switched Brie for Nina with my mom and we rode outside. Nina is too funny, she has a shorter stride than Brie, so Brie covers ground faster and gets farther ahead. When Brie gets too far ahead of Nina, you just tell Nina, "Come on Nina, go get Brie!" without any other signal and she takes off at a cute little carousel pony gallop to catch up to Brie. It's adorable! I'm teaching Nina, too, how to jump outside, over little ditches, and she's kind of hesitant. Knowing this, I didn't think that she'd want to jump up and over a fairly steep little hill, but she did! I wasn't prepared for this and almost flew out of the saddle but caught it before I fell backwards over her butt. It was scary and fun at the same time. I'm also proud of Brie, she's getting more calmed down outside.

I still have my problem of trying to get Brie to come out of the stall by me. I haven't gotten around to watching Parelli to see if he has any suggestions for this, so in the meantime, if anyone has suggestions other than bribing her with carrots, please tell me!

P.S., I don't think I mentioned it before, but the two horses in the header are Brie and Nina! Brie's the black one, Nina's the brown one.

Days 11 & 12

Didn't get the chance to write this weekend due to personal issues. But here we go.

Day 11

Brie was really good today =] I got to ride her outside, and she didn't really like the outdoor arena, mainly because of the disassembled round pen in there. But I got her to calm down over it and we walked around out back. I'm teaching her to canter the right way outside and I think that she's getting the hang of it. I rode Nina outside. She is such the perfect trail horse, I love her to death. Brie is my stunning beauty of a horse while Nina is the lovable cuddly horse that you just want to hug to death. Don't get me wrong, Nina's beautiful too. It's just something about a black horse that's so breathtaking. And Brie's cuddly too, on occasion. But you get my point.

Oh and Taco? That horse that I was training before? I forgot to mention, Jane took him out of there for this month to just laze around in the pasture at her relative's farm.

Day 12

Brie was a bit more crazy today. Once again we rode outside in the arena and she was a bit more nervous. After a long while I got her to calm down, then we rode out back again. Continued teaching her to canter, but on my way into the stable my mom was coming out with Nina so we walked around the back together. I showed her how I'm teaching Brie to canter and I admit, I'm kind of scared because she goes so fast! I think that once I'm more confident about what my knee can hold up to I'll be more relaxed with teaching Brie to canter. We had more troubles outside. Brie kept freezing like in the show arena. I bought a crop but I forgot it inside. So I just tried to deal with her and I think I did so effectively.

Now I won't be writing for a while. I'm going to school and I don't know how often I can go see my two babies. I'm going to miss them so much, it makes me so sad.

But I might have a post in a week. I don't know if I'll be able to make it to Nationals next weekend, but I really hope I can. I'm sure I'll have something to say about the show. As a matter of fact, I do right now! How is it fair that once you earn 20 points you can waltz on into Nationals? You can earn 20 points with two blue ribbons, probably in one weekend show! I believe that this standard should be raised. And another thing I'm miffed about. I emailed the director of the editorials of the PFHA magazine and she never got back to me. I guess I'll keep spamming her inbox then.

Until the next post, wish me luck at school!

State Fair

What a bunch of favoritism.
Pardon my language.

On the subject of Brie: she did really well! She placed her first ever third place! And got a fifth too. And I won $150! I'm so proud of her. She got excused twice at night, I don't think she's a night person. She got caught in the middle of a traffic jam and was the unlucky one, she got scared and almost backed up over the judge. Oops. =]

Nina also did well. Anthony rode her and I forgot what she got. And my mom rode her as well and got a 6th, which is okay, it was her first time showing Nina.

On to the sabotage!
So Taco, as I've said, is a very good horse. He has the bloodline of probably the most famous horse in the Paso Fino world, Capuchino, and did nothing out-of-step, yet he got excused every class. Why, you ask?
Because the judge doesn't like Capuchino babies.
There are over 5000 Capuchino babies.
Yet this man does not like them. He doesn't like 5000 horses in the breed. Not only is this statement ignorant, but how the hell do you know who is a Capuchino baby when that horse enters the ring? Completely ridiculous.

And this is what makes people want to quit.
This is why when the Midwest goes to America's Nationals we lose.
This is why when America goes to the World Nationals we lose.
This is why other experts are pulling out of PFHA and are starting their own organizations that follow the rules they themselves write.

On an ethical note, let me leave you with this question.
Principe, a well-known performance horse, was put into retirement because of kidney damage.
Someone is leasing Principe in order to make a name for his granddaughter.
I'm not even asking if that's right. I'm asking, how could Principe's owner agree to leasing him when he's the one who sent him into retirement?