Hunter pony did his first combine test with my then 7 year old at Hoosier Horse Park. They have 4(?) dressage arenas next to each other, separated by cavalletis.
He was a tad raunchy schooling and in his test proceeded to jump down the rows through the arenas into the arena by the gate. (He was much better this year)
a friend and young daughter came to watch, armed with carrots for after the ride…mid trot work the daughter starts hurling carrots in to the middle of the arena!
Here’s one from the judge’s side. I was judging a schooling show and the box was an open platform–no sides/back/front–with table and chairs on it.
It was cold and I was wearing a full length coat.
Rider enters the ring, halts, salutes. I return the salute and also rise up a bit off the chair. In doing so, my long coat somehow catches on the front of the chair seat, tips the chair backwards behind me, off the platform, and (silently) into the dirt behind us. I, innocent of this, sit down. On the platform. Surprise!
Later the rider told me from her end, I just disappeared!
(Scribe retrieved the chair very quickly and I really missed only a few steps off the halt. Horse didn’t even react actually.)
[QUOTE=arlosmine;8638269]
This happened to my coach on her “quirky” Appaloosa, decades ago, at Bloomfield Open Hunt.
Second level test is proceeding well, with a deep corner having been ridden in preparation for the medium trot across diagonal.
As the pair pass the corner letter, which is festively decorated with a large clay pot of the country club’s signature flower, the geranium, horse snakes head sideways and snatches geranium. Horse proceeds across diagonal doing a really GOOD medium with plant firmly in mouth. The clay pot dislodge and bangs into his knees, shattering into little bits. This bothers him not one iota: he simply shakes the dirt off of the root ball as he proceeds in the medium…and he does NOT let loose of geranium.
The test calls for a halt at C, at which point the rider (whose whites are now covered with geranium-red slobber/dirt) reaches up and yanks the carcass out of the horse’s mouth, resists clonking him over the head with the remains, and turns to the judge to be told what to do next, since she can’t come up with anything
This presents a brief new problem because Judge and scribe both have flattened themselves on the table with heads in arms. Unable to speak.
Test is retrieved with a score of 7 on the medium, and the previous movement (where the flower was grabbed): “movement not called for at this level”.[/QUOTE]
Oh my goodness this exact same thing is one of my biggest fears! Mine is also an Appaloosa… If there are plants of any kind anywhere near him, he will have a go. Once, during a lesson, I had to jump a line of small crosses. Before the first one, he snatched at a tree branch, tore it off, and munched it while jumping the line.
Appaloosas must have a different perception of “nose protocol” than other horses… By coincidence, yesterday after writing the first “Appy post” I was giving a lesson on our big Appy school horse. Mid lesson he developed an itch, and while he was trotting down the long side he carefully edged his itchy nose over towards the wall and HELD it against the board while trotting for at least twenty feet. The kid riding him didn’t even notice it.
This horse is a pro, can give a lesson with his eyes closed and apparently can multitask.
First show ever with my new mare held at OUR barn. Thank GOD it was a “mock” schooling show. Friend from the barn decided to prop her GoPro on a big twist mounting stick and clip it to a chair pushed right up to the top of the arena next to the judges box so she could film her ride. Before we even went in, my horse was snorting and huffing at it.
The ride was a disaster. We came up center line like a drunk trying to pass a DUI test. Her eyes were glued on the chair and trotted the entire way like she was debating on whether to run or keep going. She was certain the GoPro chair was going to eat us, so every maneuver on that side of the arena was a disaster. I tried to quit and leave the arena 3 times, but the judge refused to let us go. I could never quite pull her back together and the judge made us redo several parts of the test 3-4 times till she got it right, while everyone stood around waiting for us to finish.
This was a few months ago and though its gotten better, I still can’t ride her in the arena without spooking at those same chairs that are still there. :no:
[QUOTE=belgianWBLuver;8638234]
Not quite as crazy as your experiences :eek: But decades ago my Lusitano stallion at his 3rd show ever, comes up center line, halts, salutes, stretches out, pees “FOR LIKE EVER” while grunting and shaking his head. Then he stands back up straight and we proceed at working trot towards C. Judge is loosing it in her box :lol::lol:[/QUOTE]
OMG, that is interesting - we ran into a similar situation. Trainer was riding my stallion, and he had to pee - he did the whole test flapping in the wind, and at the final halt and salute, he camped out and peed. And peed. And peed. So trainer asked the judge at the lunch break “what would happen if horse stopped to pee DURING the test”. And the judge said “if it was over 20 seconds, I’d ring him out for disobedience”! I was appalled - that isn’t disobedience, that is nature calling:eek:
Guess I should have added a comment at the beginning - if you are going to your first show, do NOT read this thread :lol:
The monsters at E. That was a rodeo…
Also, mare jumping over her own poop while riding around the perimeter before our test. She is a Princess!
[QUOTE=beowulf;8638354]
Pro-tip for the future: it takes more than 45 minutes (!!!) for equine eyes to fully adjust to light-to-dark conversions… At venues when I know I am going to be indoors, I always try to warm up a little outside and then hang around for a bit in the shade or the indoor (if available) for at least 20 minutes.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the tip! At this venue, the warmup is also in an attached indoor, but the lighting is TOTALLY different. I completely underestimated the impact the change would have. At least this little mare was a fairly keen jumper and actually seemed to enjoy the “bounces” set up for her on the long side, LOL!
[QUOTE=MysticOakRanch;8640011]
OMG, that is interesting - we ran into a similar situation. Trainer was riding my stallion, and he had to pee - he did the whole test flapping in the wind, and at the final halt and salute, he camped out and peed. And peed. And peed. So trainer asked the judge at the lunch break “what would happen if horse stopped to pee DURING the test”. And the judge said “if it was over 20 seconds, I’d ring him out for disobedience”! I was appalled - that isn’t disobedience, that is nature calling:eek:[/QUOTE]
Sometime I just love stallions (especially this one) They just have these “whateves” personalities.
Training Level 4. I was 14 or so, riding a 7 year old Egyptian Arab. He was a bit on the special side, but really a very fun little horse. He also had lightning quick reflexes.
We’re trotting around the outside of the ring. He spooks at who knows what in the direction of the arena right as we’re passing the judge. I boot him forward to avoid landing on top of the judge - but in the process, he hooks his hind leg around the pole holding up the judge’s tent, and brings the whole thing down on top of the judge and the scribe. He was cut badly enough to need stitches, so needless to say he did not make it in the ring at that show.
[QUOTE=joiedevie99;8640240]
Training Level 4. I was 14 or so, riding a 7 year old Egyptian Arab. He was a bit on the special side, but really a very fun little horse. He also had lightning quick reflexes.
We’re trotting around the outside of the ring. He spooks at who knows what in the direction of the arena right as we’re passing the judge. I boot him forward to avoid landing on top of the judge - but in the process, he hooks his hind leg around the pole holding up the judge’s tent, and brings the whole thing down on top of the judge and the scribe. He was cut badly enough to need stitches, so needless to say he did not make it in the ring at that show.[/QUOTE]
Ouch poor horsey 
I am really enjoying everyone’s stories. I never had anything terribly interesting happen with my older horse besides his naughty behavior. My young horse was a plant snatcher at the sport horse shows, so I’ll have to keep that in mind. He especially loves tumbleweeds.
There does appear to be a running theme here – TENTS!
[QUOTE=LarkspurCO;8640893]
There does appear to be a running theme here – TENTS![/QUOTE]
Tents and Wind - a fatal combination!
I have a wind show story, but it involved the porta potty not a tent. I had my reliable TB mare out at a schooling show just for fun, last ride of the day for entire show, 2nd level. Wind was howling!! Could hardly hear myself think, during the middle of the test, big gust came up and blew the porta potty over at the end of the arena, no one was in it thankfully and my saint of a mare never turned a hair, kept right on trucking.
Now first dressage show ever with this TB mare (four yr old at the time) in a show arena doing training level. Farm had guinea hens, they started up in the bushes fairly close to the arena, lets just say we stayed in the arena and that was about it! Test went by very fast that day!!
[QUOTE=belgianWBLuver;8638234]
Not quite as crazy as your experiences :eek: But decades ago my Lusitano stallion at his 3rd show ever, comes up center line, halts, salutes, stretches out, pees “FOR LIKE EVER” while grunting and shaking his head. Then he stands back up straight and we proceed at working trot towards C. Judge is loosing it in her box :lol::lol:[/QUOTE]
My husband says equestrian is the only sport where you can pee or poop in front of the judge and still win an Olympic gold medal. :lol:
Thanks for this thread, especially the wonderful image of the Appy and his geranium pot! I could so easily visualize that, and I was laughing with you to the end.
My one big moment, was “back in the day,” when I lived and showed in Albuquerque, home of a big hot air balloon festival that often coincided with our biggest fall dressage show. The pilots of the balloons at the festival were warned NOT to come near our show grounds, but, as you can imagine, steering a balloon is not always easy. Most of our horses were pretty much used to seeing (and hearing) balloons at a distance, but at one fall show, just after the bell had rung and I was getting ready to enter the ring, from behind me I could hear the distinct sound of a balloon’s burners approaching – and you could tell they were getting close.
As I made the turn to enter at A, yes, indeed they were close – the big colorful, noisy yellow balloon was coming down in the field just behind the judge’s stand at C! As we “passaged” up the center line (unfortunately, this was a third level test, so that was not our plan), we came to a big and very alert halt at X, but I knew that I was now sitting on a powder keg. Horses around the showgrounds were doing airs above the ground. My horse was a fairly trusting soul, but there was a limit even to his trust. He was determined to stay at X.
Not one step closer. We stood for a long time there in our best imitation of a statute; I knew I couldn’t push him or a spin was in the offing. Fortunately, the looooong pause finally woke up the steward and the judge to what was behind them, and they gave me a break… They offered to take a break and move my time to the end of the batch…
[QUOTE=carolprudm;8639054]
A few years later, same mare, minding our one business in the warmup at Foxcroft we were mounted by a warmblood stallion with professional rider.[/QUOTE]
I had this happen when I was a walk/trot rider on a HOT Morgan mare I’m just riding along, next thing I know there’s a hoof going by my head.
Many eons ago (about 35 yrs), I was showing first level on my lovely little Arab gelding. He was handsome and a very nice sport type.
I am to the last 1/4 of my test and turn across the diagonal to fire off on our last lengthening. About 1/3 of the way across I feel a sting in my right thigh. I glance down and my antique pin I had in my choker had come undone and stabbed me in the leg. Then I started worrying about losing it and boom, it fell to the ground.We finished the test then I reported the loss to the TD. As much as I was bummed about losing the pin that was my grandmother’s, I really didn’t want a horse to step on it and injure themselves. I don’t think it would have penetrated a hoof but could have punctured the back of the ankle which would not be good. Would you believe they found the 1 x 1 1/2 inch pin! A brown/beige agate in a sand arena. Freaking amazing.
I don’t remember but despite the distraction at the end of the test, I believe he won the class or was at least at the top.
Susan
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