A DRESSAGE QUEEN TAKES ON THE HUNTER RING
(a page from her diary)

Enter through ingate, proceed to middle of ring. Note to Self: What WERE those little blocks scattered between the first row of jumps for? They messed up my perfectly straight line to a lovely imaginary "X".

Execute a perfect stop to address the judge. Wait for a good long time while judge is finishing up a little business on the cell phone... Finally I can proceed - pick up a trot, and move into a nicely engaged canter, and proceed past the ingate on my left lead to a 5 stride opening line.

Met the first fence perfectly!!! Have to work on this opening canter movement. I had such a pretty canter but I just didn't believe that pesky h/j trainer when he told me to RUN up the first line!!! Oh well, so my score will be a little low for that fence, but I thought we did a credible save for the 5 1/2!

We landed on the right lead and kept going around to the outside line coming home. It is ANOTHER 5 stride - how boring - they need some variety in this sport!! But I'm prepared, I know I am going to need to RUN this time! Hmmm... I wonder if I got bonus points for doing it in a 4? I know I will get good marks for my seat - I sat so deep and upright as he just flew over the fence (but dearest diary, I really was surprised when we left from way back there, but I think I covered it well).

As I went past the ingate that pesky (but cute) h/j trainer was yelling at me to slow down - you know, I am used to them calling out my test, but this instruction thing is disconcerting! Anyway, we had a long, long, long canter to get to that 2 stride jump on the other outside line - what do they call it? An "in and out?" Such gutter-minds, these h/j people... Really!  No class at all! Anyway, back to my long trip down that line... I had such a long way to go, so I thought I would show off Pfluster-grunt-a-graf's lovely canter! So we worked on it all the way down! And I'll tell you, after all that 4 stride excitement on the previous line, it took every inch of that line to adjust it to perfection!!! But I really think that extra work will get me bonus points that will overshadow that nasty deep spot we ended up with... And it is a tad more difficult to keep a deep sit during - what was it that those common riff-raff with their over-excitable scrawny TBs called it? Oh yes, a "Chiparooni" Well anyway, that line certainly wasn't our high point, with me almost falling off on the way out over the oxer - I was still a little green from the pain of landing off the vertical. I wonder why they insist on making these trick combinations? And is a sadistic streak that makes them put them right under the judge's nose?

Finally, we were headed home! Well it took me so long to reorganize from that whole "in and out" experience, that Grunty was no longer on the bit!!! Not to be outdone by these hunter types with their ready made horses, and complete lack of understanding of TRUE riding skills, I quickly got him fully engaged. Well that took more time than I thought it would, and we had almost overshot the turn to that (thank God) final 7 on the diagonal. Well I executed the nicest, most engaged turn you ever saw, even if we were a little crooked to the vertical (I mean it was ONLY 3 strides out of the corner - poor planning if ever I have seen it!) In retrospect, I think that saved us, because I am sure that if I hadn't had to swing back to face the other fence, we would have never fit the seven in!

I was so crushed to find out we didn't place! All those other riders MUST have taken the judge out to dinner!