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In Loving Memory...
~ Gogo Fatale ~


6/2/01 - 10/11/11
~ Forever the Marest of Them All ~
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Saturday, September 12, 2009

American Eventing Championships 9/11/09: Day 1, Dressage

An astonishing thing has happened here at the AECs. Out of 40 of the best Novice competitors in the nation, Gogo and I are sitting in 7th after dressage with a 30.5, even with mistakes in our test. Our score without the obnoxiousness would have been somewhere between 26 and 28. Which would have meant we almost were kicking Philip Dutton's but!! Oh well, Gogo had to show her snarky side, as usual :)




She and I were dressed to the nines and ready to rock and roll by 9am yesterday morning, and were on by 9:10am for our 10:12am ride. And I have to say, she warmed up faster and better than she EVER has. She was just right there for me. Well, minus the lap around the warmup where she screamed like a maniac for her neighbor, lol. Cracker. Anyway, they had us warmup in the lower ring, then go up and warmup in the upper ring, and THEN go into our test. Last year I think that would have probably melted her down. This year, she was a little looky when I took her up there but behaved perfectly well otherwise, because she was feeling so good after our warmup. She was ready and raring to go, still hot to trot after a solid hour of warmup, and I was ready too even though I had another wicked calf cramp (which was eased by an overdose of calcium chews. Nice...). We were in Ring 1, and she trotted in like a champ, looked around, and went hmmmm now this is the time to really behave! I think I shall NOT! But only a little ;)

The whistle blew, and down the centerline we went. I felt a little all over the place, and realized as I went to make the first turn to our first trot movement that I didn't have a half-halt. At all. There was nothing I could do at that point because giving her a stronger one would have made her fling her head all over th place, in perfect Gogo fashion, so I just put on my game face and fudged it a little bit. The first part of the test was great other than that, although it felt a little stilted, and she made a very nice transition to walk, and even had a pretty nice freewalk for her, all of which scored exclusively 7's and mostly 8's. And then I had to pick her back up from the freewalk, right in front of the judge, and it got ugly for a second. I apparently offended her for whatever reason, and she grabbed the bit, gaped her mouth, and rooted outward as hard as she could, swinging her head around like a madwoman. RIGHT in front of the judge. Nice. Somehow I managed to get it back together enough to pick back up the trot, and then immediately the canter, without any major further incident, but that walk movement scored a 4, and the following trot transition a 5 because of the fact that her head was still in the clouds. Oops. However, our canter DID get an 8, so there you go! I felt like we were sort of losing it at the end, and our right canter got a 6 to show for it because I was sort of hanging on for dear life ("losing energy" was the comment I think), and we came down the centerline and ground to a half. Awww maaaaan, I though. That test was horrible! Won't be competitive, it'll score mid 30's, it was easily the worst test of the entire year.

Scores weren't posted for 3 hours. But when we finally got back to see, Alex shrieked, "You're in 7th!!" Yes ma'am, despite getting a 4, 5, and 6, AND a 6 for submission, we countered those with enough 7's and 8's (including 8 for rider, I think because I was as tactful as I could be given the circumstance!). Our final grind-to-a-stop halt even scored an 8. It obviously didn't look as wild as it felt!! We scored a 30.5; the top score was a 25.








I have more pictures, and I'll post them when I get them all sorted :)


As for right now, it's on to XC. You can follow the live feed on the USEA website, check out the blog, and see full coursemaps with pictures too. What you CAN'T see in the coursewalks is the approach to some of the complicated questions we have. There are jumps leading to both waters, a step out of the water, a downbank to an offset skinny, a corner, an offset two stride, and a FULL coffin complex (not numbered as such but rides as such). I will have a full coursewalk for you as soon as I can :) The course is challenging, long and FAST, and I am REALLY excited. Wish us luck!!!

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats at 7th! :D

Luck luck luck! Both of you stay safe, and have fun!

LeopardAppy said...

Awesome job. How exciting. You guys look GREAT in the pictures. Love the checkerboard. Good Luck.

Anonymous said...

Congrats again! I just checked the site again, I see you guys are now in 6th after XC!!! AWESOME!

Anonymous said...

Love live scoring--see the XC went well! Good luck in stadium and can't wait to hear the details.

- Hannah

Meghan said...

Hey, 7ths are lucky, aren't they? Or is it just 7s?

Gogo's just trying to keep your ego at a reasonable size. Imagine how much kicking Philip Dutton's butt would inflate it. Scary thought, huh?

Seriously, though, I think mares question things more than geldings. "Why SHOULD I?" Sofie questions why she should listen to me when I ask her to go forward. However, if SHE wants to go forward, she does it without hesitation.

I'm looking forward to hearing about XC and stadium! I walked to the library so I could read this post.

Dressager said...

OMG now you're in 6th place!!!!! OH. MY. GAWD!!!!

You guys looked absolutely amazing. Truly stunning and professional. I love Gogo's little checker quartermarks heehee!!

Can't wait to see the XC pictures!

LOTS of luck. Though it seems like y'all are doing fine lol.

Heidi said...

You guys look gorgeous! And CONGRATS on your placing after XC! Have fun tomorrow!

Jess said...

It looks like I'm too late to wish you good luck today, so extra good luck for tomorrow!

Lexie said...

I'm so happy for you guys! I have my fingers crossed for stadium. But I am confident in both of your abilities to get'er'done!
Go Go Go!

Bev said...

What a team!!!! Can't wait to see how it all turns out. My trainer and 3 others are all competing but fortunately none are in your class, so I can whole heartedly want you two to kick some more butt!!!

jacksonsgrrl said...

OH ANDREA! My fingers are so crossed! And you guys have come through and overcome so much, no matter the results, you KNOW you are great! You TWO mares! :) The couple of dressage pics looked wonderful, and I can't see how you would EVER say you are the disgusting part of a pic with Gogo like you did in your one post! IT makes those of who DO look TRULY not so great on our horses even worse! -grin-!
Fingers and toes are crossed grrrl!
~Mindy

Kristina said...

Woah, what does that W stand for in the live scoring? Did you withdraw? I sure hope nothing is wrong and that you and Gogo are both okay! :(

jacksonsgrrl said...

I just saw the results! Hurry and post and let us know you are BOTH ok, I can't find any coverage other than the damn results!
I'm so sorry Andrea!
~Mindy

Gal Wednesday said...

I'm 100% sure you made the right decision, you always have gogo's best interests in mind. You'll come back stronger than ever from whatever is going on, I'm sure of it!
Thinking of you!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh no! I saw the W - what happened? I hope you both are ok.

Anonymous said...

I too saw the W this morning...I waited all day to see if maybe it changed and was a mistake...but it's still there :( I hope you are both ok. Please post as soon as you get a chance, I know you guys have tons going on but we are all thinking about you two!

Gina said...

Just checked scores and saw that you withdrew... I hope everything is ok...

The other rider I know that went had serious time trouble XC... dropped from 8th to 40th.

I just hoping both you and go go are safe.

Sarah said...

Andrea, I am jingling like mad for Gogo and you! I read that you're thinking that she bowed a tendon???? I hope you are sorely wrong and that she was just sore after rocking around the xc course!

Hang in there and update us when you have time to digest it all!

lopinon4 said...

I follow your blog religously and truly enjoy reading updates every day. I, too, saw that you have withdrawn from Stadium. Sending lots of positive vibes and thoughts your way...hope all is well. Update us when you can. And, what a bang-up job you did in XC and Dressage! WOOHOO!!

Anonymous said...

Waiting for the update, sending good thoughts.

- Hannah

Anonymous said...

Jingles! I hope everything is alright :(!

Anonymous said...

Hope you both are okay! If you need any help, I am in the general Lamplight area and have lots of horse contacts (including vets). Just post on here if you'd like assistance and we can figure out some way to coordinate.

I'm the "anon" that's rehabbing a suspensory right now - I posted a comment previously when Gogo had chiropractic done and the chiropractor noted suspensory tenderness.

I really hope that all is well...but if it is not, please do not be afraid to ask for help.

Yankecwgrl said...

Andrea,

We are sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear what happened!
Hope you and GOGO are both fine....
I'm sure you are crazy busy but please post ASAP....

Albigears said...

Andrea,

Sending good vibes your way, any news on Gogo's hind legs? Did you find a way to get her home? (Are YOU okay?)

Megan

BestHorses said...

I saw how great you were doing and then you withdrew. I've been checking your blog every few hours for some news! Jingling that it's just a small snag and nothing serious. Safe journey home.

Anonymous said...

Andrea, I've been checking your blog every couple hours too. I hope you guys are ok. I have been thinking about you two a lot the past two days, I hope you are ok and on your way home.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know what happened to gogo and Andrea? Are they okay?

lopinon4 said...

Seriously getting worried. 3 days with no update? Really hoping it's not too terrible.

Nicole Redman said...

Gogo seems to have injured herself cross-country, and finished the course with tendon damage in both hind legs. The injuries are not career-ending but she is in quite a lot of pain. Andrea and Gogo are on their way back to CT now, and I'm sure she will update when her mare is safe and snug and starting her rehab!

Yankecwgrl said...

Nicole,

Thank you for the update! We have all been wondering!!

Andrea,
You and GOGO have lots of people praying for you! Horses come back from tendon injuries all the time! Take it nice and slow and she will be fine!! Sending lots of good vibes your way!
-Jennifer and Casper

Anonymous said...

Yes, thank you for the update Nicole...even though it made my heart sink a bit. Andrea - I am so, so sorry to hear that Gogo is hurting. Soft tissue injuries are a big pain in the butt to rehab, but if anyone has the patience and dedication for it, it's you. I am sure you will give Gogo everything she needs for the best and quickest recovery possible!

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry about Go Go. Best wishes from NC. Hopefully recovery/ rehab is short and uneventful.

Gina

lopinon4 said...

As a wise vet once told me: the horse's legs are a long way from their heart. Gogo will bounce back from this and all will be well.

Kelly said...

Jingling hard.

Unknown said...

Oh no! So sorry to hear about your misfortune. Wishing you both a safe trip home and a speedy recovery.