Practice, Perfection and Paranoia

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Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only eventer who will check the dressage test in the omnibus for the next show over…………..

and over……………

and ……..well…….. over.

I have some pretty strange fears about eventing.

#1 I’m afraid I’ll learn the wrong dressage test.

Now.

I’ve never actually learned the wrong test……..

Amazing, I know…..

but apparently people have.

Bad Eventer has enough problems at this sport……

riding the wrong test is one I’d like to avoid.

#2 I’m afraid I’ll put the wrong horse in the trailer at 3:00AM.

I’ll never forget when my trainer left her horse in the cross ties and drove to the show without him. (Not sure how long he stood in the cross ties with his shipping boots on before someone rescued him.)

#3 I’m afraid I’ll drive to the wrong venue. (Don’t ask.)

Quit asking…….

Really…………..

OK, ok………. This is why I shouldn’t own a GPS. I was on my way to a show. I’d never been there before. I was riding 2 horses and wanted to get there super early so I could find where everything was. I punched the address on the Show Flyer into my GPS and headed out at 4:00AM. When I wasn’t there a couple hours later……….(it was supposed to be close by……….yeah………about that……………)

After investigating I discovered the address on the flyer was the show secretary’s home and not the show grounds………which were…….cough…..cough………about 200 miles in different directions.

#4 The first fence in stadium…..terrifying……

I did some practice jumper rounds at the last show (before the sky started falling.)

My “bogey” fence in stadium, is always the FIRST fence. For some reason I miss at that fence pretty much every time.

If my show record has a 4 after stadium, I guarantee it’s because I wiped out the first fence, and the rest of the round was perfect better.

I decided these practice jumper classes were my chance to FIX IT.

So………Bad Eventer entered the ring, and true to form………

…….chested the first jump…..(notice how the big, SCARY, airy one stride went perfectly though!)

I decided to jump around again……………and

guess what?………….Bad Eventer……………

 

did it again.

Unh huh.

I decided I would take another shot at it with a different horse…….practice makes perfect…..right?? 

Do I really need to tell you what happened with horse #2??

 

About that saying, “Practice makes perfect”……….

Soooooo not true.

One can absolutely perfect Mediocrity or Bad Eventer-ness by practicing it over and over.

I decided to give my bogey fence, one last try……This was my 4th attempt………

Yep, Bad Eventer Practiced Perfectly at CHESTING the first jump in stadium…….. 4 times in a row.

………………………. Bad Eventer at it again. 

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2 thoughts on “Practice, Perfection and Paranoia

  1. Hillary H.

    Haha. This makes me feel better. I am just venturing into Eventer Land and I am terrified that I will forget one (all) of my courses. And the ridiculously simple dressage test – Starter Level… I know what I am practicing for the next 3 weeks!

  2. Cathy

    I did learn the wrong dressage test. Since they had been watching Intro C all morning, they actually let me ride half the test before ringing the bell! After a perfect right lead canter transition no less. Luckily my trainer was allowed to read the test. The next show, I learned the wrong test again, but caught it a couple of days out. If I had a blog, it would be "Blonde Eventer". Thanks for keeping me laughing my first summer of eventing in 30 years! So far we have 2 blue ribbons, two red, and one blown CO2 cartridge. You are hilarious. I love it.

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