Legs and I have had a tough training season thus far! Just before Fort Valley last season, he dumped me on a morning training ride and hurt my back pretty badly. He also dumped me at the ride in warm-ups, causing me to sprain my wrist. We had a long "discussion" after that weekend and have had no incidents (other than the trailer issues) and have been great ever since. But this winter was tough; with the excessive snow and rain it's been nearly impossible to get out and train, so I'm a little concerned about his fitness level heading into our first race and will definitely be taking it easy, going just for the completion. My fitness level is questionable too; since I got hurt I've put on about 10 pounds and have had trouble losing it. I have been working out, though not at the intense levels I could do before. Frustrating.
My goal this season is to qualify for the National Championships on Legalas, which are being held at H. Cooper Black Park in South Carolina (where Sand Hills is held). We need 4 50's to complete, and I have no doubt that if I play it safe and responsible he can make it! Some are closer together than I would've liked, The ride is in October, the weekend before Fort Valley. Here is a list of the rides I'm planning on this season to use for qualifying:
3/20 Sand Hills (SC)
4/17 Foxcatcher (MD)
5/1 Biltmore (NC)
8/28 VA Highlands (VA)
I also have Whitehaven and the Biltmore Fall ride penciled in as back-up, just in case. Already we're seeing ride cancellations due to this winter craziness (No Frills was cancelled due to excessive snow that's not melting), and since it is a tough schedule I want to make sure he gets plenty of rest/space in case of injury.
Right now, my biggest worry though is his trailering. Last season ended with no issues, he had gotten AWESOME with the trailers we were using. I have since gotten my own truck and little 2H bumper pull, and the results have been not so good. We were stranded on a training ride out at Sandy Point for 6 hours while he fought me and refused to get back on the trailer to go home. He got tangled in his rope, tried to come out the small escape door on the side of the trailer, and almost killed both of us in the process. Thankfully, we both came out of the day with just some bumps, bruises, and scrapes, but I'm still having issues. For about 2 weeks, he was fed twice a day on the trailer. Then I slowly started the process of building him up to trailer places. Weekend one went awesome; I loaded him by myself with very few problems (he now thinks when I go to shut the door behind him that it's time to back off), we did 15 miles just down the road at our summer training grounds (within riding distance), and trailered back fine. Last weekend, he relapsed. It took 20min for Michael (Joy's awesome husband) and I to winch/force him on the trailer to go out and train. I met Mary for our training ride and she helped me load him after our 16 mile workout, and while he did refuse some it was easier. He wasn't being scared, I could tell, but just stubborn. He gets this look on his face, if you can believe it, so I can actually tell the difference.....
My worry is being able to load him by myself. Sand Hills is next weekend, and I am taking the trip alone. All I need to do is get him on to go; once I get to the ride I will have help to get him back on to come home. But it's still a scary issue; he seriously scarred me for life with the day at Sand Hills and I'm terrified. So, the plan is for me to go to the farm all day on Sunday (even though it's supposed to rain) and work on it. If the weather is decent, I will probably do a light 10 mile ride to maintain for next weekend. But seriously, if it takes me all day, I WILL successfully get him on and shut in that stupid trailer several times.
Positive comments and reassurance are welcome! This horse is definitely worth the trouble, but he's exhausting me....
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