work me out, let's get physical
Eight days until Jump Start! Woo hoo!
Pancake's fitness regimen has definitely gone into event prep mode, greatly aided by my new friend Alayna, who's been riding her twice a week. Alayna's a KER research intern from Pennsylvania who was a hunter/jumper but now does endurance, if that gives you an indication of her bad assery. She is doing a stellar job of getting this pony moving and has been a huge help.
work me out, let's get physical
She usually rides on Sundays and Tuesdays. Then I ride Wednesday and Saturday. Her rides tend to be 45-ish minutes of mostly trot/canter. Mine are are alternating between conditioning rides, dressage schools, and jump lessons.
work me out, let's get physical
Conditioning rides, we're up to 8 minutes of canter! I'll warm up with a little trot and a brief canter each way, take a walk break, then set my phone timer for 9 minutes. Stuff it back in my pocket and pick up a canter. We do big loops around the pasture, three one way, switch leads, three the other way, switch leads, then usually get around once more before the dinger dings. Then trot a half lap, take a walk break. She is still very tired at the end of this, but her breathing is much better than when I started this regimen, and I don't have to push her along--she'll generally self-propel. The cooler weather's been a big help too. I've been doing this twice a week, logging these rides on my conditioning app so I can keep track.
work me out, let's get physical
So with eight days left to go, the plan is:
Saturday: Alayna ride
Sunday: Hunter pace (egads, not sure what to expect here! But I'll call it conditioning.)
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Jump lesson
Wednesday: Conditioning ride
Thursday: Off
Friday: Dressage school
... then it's show time!
Friday, September 19, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Operation Jump Start Jumpstart
Pancake's got hops. No doubt about that. The pony can jump. Which is good, because when you're 13.2, a 2'3" starter fence is the equivalent of--what? novice?--to a big horse. Here's an illustration of Pancake and our adorable Thoroughbred friend Rebel both jumping starter at the same show (photos shamelessly stolen from Emily Roepke #hopeshedontmind #betshedont #willdeleteandbuycookiesifshedo).
See what I mean? She's awesome.
Case in point: BN oxer.
And she's not afraid of anything that should be scary. Case in point: Chevron.
And she goes XC schooling like a pro. Case in point: Team CEO Eventing Weekend, July
(Tangent: How much do I appreciate my positive, supportive coach and teammates? Yes, I'm fully aware none of this is particularly impressive in the grand scheme of equestrian sport, but I have struggled a lot with confidence, so it's all a big deal for me. And they get that and cheer big for the small wins and I love them all for it.)
So considering all that, it seems like I should be able to pull this pony out of the field and go canter around starter. I mean, come on, it's max 2'3", 1400 meters at 250 mpm. Piece of cake, right?
But would you take a 16.2hh horse that looks like Pancake in build and fitness and try to go around novice on minimal conditioning? No. (At least, I hope not.)
So there's our Achilles heel: Stamina.
After our last experience showing over fences, when she was super fat and ran out of steam after six stadium jumps, I am very keen indeed to make sure she's fitted up for our next outing, Jump Start HT. The diet is keyed in, she looks good and is holding steady. But cardio fitness needs to improve.
So Pancake and I have homework: To canter for six minutes straight, at least once a week. (And because I really don't want to question whether we'll get around XC, I'm going to aim for eight minutes, twice a week.)
We did our first set today, trotting a couple big loops and then cantering in the field for six minutes (at 93 degrees!), on a timer. It went better than I expected--she was very tired at the end, but never tried to stop or got grumpy about it.
I have 21 days until the show. I've set calendar reminders for five conditioning rides, two jump schools, a dressage run-through, and a hunter pace before then. Am I overthinking starter? Yep. That's just how we roll.
See what I mean? She's awesome.
Case in point: BN oxer.
And she's not afraid of anything that should be scary. Case in point: Chevron.
And she goes XC schooling like a pro. Case in point: Team CEO Eventing Weekend, July
(Tangent: How much do I appreciate my positive, supportive coach and teammates? Yes, I'm fully aware none of this is particularly impressive in the grand scheme of equestrian sport, but I have struggled a lot with confidence, so it's all a big deal for me. And they get that and cheer big for the small wins and I love them all for it.)
So considering all that, it seems like I should be able to pull this pony out of the field and go canter around starter. I mean, come on, it's max 2'3", 1400 meters at 250 mpm. Piece of cake, right?
But would you take a 16.2hh horse that looks like Pancake in build and fitness and try to go around novice on minimal conditioning? No. (At least, I hope not.)
So there's our Achilles heel: Stamina.
After our last experience showing over fences, when she was super fat and ran out of steam after six stadium jumps, I am very keen indeed to make sure she's fitted up for our next outing, Jump Start HT. The diet is keyed in, she looks good and is holding steady. But cardio fitness needs to improve.
So Pancake and I have homework: To canter for six minutes straight, at least once a week. (And because I really don't want to question whether we'll get around XC, I'm going to aim for eight minutes, twice a week.)
We did our first set today, trotting a couple big loops and then cantering in the field for six minutes (at 93 degrees!), on a timer. It went better than I expected--she was very tired at the end, but never tried to stop or got grumpy about it.
I have 21 days until the show. I've set calendar reminders for five conditioning rides, two jump schools, a dressage run-through, and a hunter pace before then. Am I overthinking starter? Yep. That's just how we roll.
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