Third Day at World Cup: Freestyle!

First, before I post any updates on the World Cup I need to brag about my girl for a minute. If you follow me on Instagram you've already seen this but I wanted to post it here too because I'm so proud.

I was going through some video footage from Monday that I got of Katai free lunging after our work outside and got this!

I think that she has her own pony World Cup dreams ;) The best part was that this wasn't just one isolated moment. She trotted like this for a bit and then cantered like this.

I am glad though that she practices this particular movement without me...

Katai's own version of a freestyle

Annnnyyywaaayy, back to the World Cup Freestyle!

I had a great time on Saturday for my third day of the event. I believe I got there around 11:00 or so. My mom and I had picked up some salads and brought them with us to eat there since they didn’t have many vegan friendly food options. We watched some of the warmups while we ate and then my mom brought her knitting to a coffee shop while I met up with a few people.

 First I went back to see Stephanie (Hand Gallop) at her booth! We had more of a chance to talk and I tried on some amazing breeches including the pink ones. I really liked the pink but ultimately it was just a little too bright for me :) I also realized later that I’m not sure if I ever really said goodbye to you Stephanie so I’m sorry if I didn’t!! It got a little chaotic since H came and found me while we were talking and then I found out that H and Stephanie know each other. Such a small world!!



via GIPHY

H was there with a few people from her barn and they had been doing a lot of shopping. She and I talked while some of her group did some shopping and then they separated to drop off their purchases at the car and I went to do some shopping of my own. I have to say that I’m really proud of myself because I only ended up with one purchase and it was something I needed. The one thing I really wanted to shop for was a show shirt. I have a nice polo for schooling shows (and will probably pick up a couple more $5 polos from Old Navy because that’s tough to beat!) but my only show shirt isn’t my favorite and it’s starting to get a bit big on me. I had tried on and loved the HorseWare Ireland shirt but wanted to check out my options and probably get a shirt that wasn’t also navy blue.

I hadn’t tried anything on yet at that point because I was only finding shirts that were $200+ and I’m just not willing to spend that on a show shirt. A jacket or boots yes, but not a show shirt especially since at that price point I feel like you’re really just paying for the name and I just don’t care enough. However, H had bought a show shirt that I really liked and while she hadn’t told me the price I decided to go check it out. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the booth that the shirts were marked at $89 which was totally doable for me for such a nice show shirt. My favorite thing was that the fabric was a little thicker so, while still breathable, it didn’t show every single bump or bulge of my torso. I was able to try the shirt on in black but I wanted this really gorgeous light grey/cream color that they had and they didn’t have it in my size so I ended up ordering it from them. Because of that, even though I did buy something I didn’t have anything to carry which was sort of nice.

The only proof of my shopping.
I wanted a picture of what they were because I really liked
them but since they were priced at $349 I doubt I'd even buy a pair.

I had forgotten that clothes are taxed though (since they aren’t in MN) so that stinks but, oh well, I’m really happy with my shirt and can’t wait to get it!

 By the time I’d done that it was pretty much time for the show. I had planned to meet up with another friend (one of L’s students) but she was running a little late (due to the long walk at the zoo lol) so we planned to meet up during the break. I headed up to get my seat and met my mom there and then watched the Freestyle!


via GIPHY - Isabell Werth!!!

I LOVED seeing all of the tests but I have to admit that I actually liked watching the Grand Prix better. I didn’t expect that but for some reason it was just more fun for me to watch. With that being said the freestyle was AMAZING and it was so great to see Isabell Werth win! I still think I loved Laura Grave’s freestyle just a bit more but Isabell’s was truly spectacular. Since we had a long drive ahead of us we left right after Isabell’s ride and didn’t hang around but I did see the footage of the awards ceremony and it would have been fun to be there to see Isabell share her champagne!

After getting to my parents and picking up Veggie I ended up getting home around 12:30am and went straight to bed. It’s good to be home since it was a pretty intense three days with a couple of late nights and long drives. I’m really hoping to do either Rolex or WEG next year! I also have to say that while it was AMAZING to be there and definitely something that I’ve always wanted to do, I think I enjoy the Pony Cup just a little bit more. I enjoy that there isn’t much separation between the spectators and the competitors there and that it’s more pony specific so it’s something that I can actually see myself doing some day. While it’s an expensive event to go to for the level (not exactly seeing Olympians there for the most part) since I fly rather than drive, it’s something that I’m hoping to do again next year if not this year.

Tough Stuff

I’m finally starting to feel caught up in life a little after being out of town and sick for so long. I’m slowly catching up on the “non-essential” part of my life such as this blog so expect more content soon!

In the meantime I wanted to share my rides last week because it’s been an interesting roller coaster ride over the past month. Katai hadn’t been wanting to play either in or out of the sandbox after her adjustment for the first few rides. I don’t blame her, she’d just had a great vacation and prior to that had likely been in some pain so riding was just not at the top of her list of favorable activities.

However, that changed on Friday when we had an epic ride. The pony I had for my ride that night is the pony that I’ll have consistently in 3-4 years. She was so balanced and was allowing me complete control of her shoulders. She was relaxed and forward and really listening to my leg rather than just reacting. She was so balanced that I was able to ask her to do anything and she just quietly maintained contact and the same energy. Her transitions within gaits were on point. It was the most amazing and addictive feeling I've experienced so far in my time riding dressage.

I was so impressed with her that I did a small amount of walk, a bit of trot and canter in each direction and then called it quits. It was really spectacular and I didn’t want to push her past her willingness to work that night so we ended on a high note.

Saturday our heat index was in the 100s with +70% humidity that made me drip sweat just getting Katai tacked up. I hadn’t planned on doing much but the high humidity decided me and so I just lunged briefly at walk, trot, and canter and finished up before I got her sweaty at all. She got fly sprayed and put in her nice cool stall still bright eyed and bushy tailed. What I was really thrilled with was the relaxed forward energy that Katai had even on the lunge. Her trot was awesome, floaty, and just so relaxed through the back and her canter was spectacular.

We’ve had a tough month together and I’m truly looking forward to continuing this type of quality into July which I’m sure will be a better month for us!