True, magical progress happens when the pain of not doing something outweighs the pain of doing that thing.
Dr. Lynn Lease
Stanley and I made it to our third show, and now 6th time off the property. After our low-key trail ride, I was feeling super. But this was a BIG show for me. It was still just a schooling show but it was a sold-out show; meaning there would be a LOT of people. It was also a three-phase show for Starter, Beginner Novice, and Novice. So there would be a higher probability of a lot of green horses, too.
We were joined by Suzanne/ Tiger doing Beginner-Novice, and Becky/Cassian doing Starter with us. We were happy to see a ton of friendly faces while we were there. Our community is filled with some great people I feel so fortunate to know.
Even as we arrived at the show Stanley seemed amped up in the trailer. We unloaded and he stood quietly at the trailer.
I was scheduled to ride dressage at 10:22am. I got tacked up and dressed and proceeded to the ring a little later than planned. I missed my opportunity to warm up in the grass ring and went directly into the sand ring. Despite the considerable tension that always seems to be there he had some soft moments. He bent a little better. We rode our test, the same as the Trilogy show (USEA Starter…see Stressage and Stanley). He was tense, choppy, above the bit. All things I’ve dealt with. Towards the end of the test, he offered an ever so slight softening. In whole it was an improvement and considering this was by far the busiest venue we’ve been to I was super proud of him.
Our score was better than our last test too. Still not good in the slightest, but improved.
Just under an hour later we were dressed and tacked in our cross-country gear and getting ready for our show-jumping phase. He warmed up lovely in the grass paddock and we took a couple of the warm-up jumps. We went into our jump round. I had him trot in, and holding him back was a mistake. In holding him back we came in too slow and knocked the first rail. The rest of the round went smoothly. He was fantastic at it!
Our XC round was very shortly after so we went straight from the stadium ring and walked across the property to the XC course. I was already “On Deck” when I arrived so I popped over the warm-up fence and walked around for a moment. The starter counted me down and we trotted out of the start box.
I had no delusions of grandeur in entering this show. Another trials had to cancel and this venue made a quick decision to offer a schooling horse trials in its stead. With the venue being under an hour away and offering a chance to go cross-country on beautifully maintained footing I entered as a way to school. Yes, I can only school each jump once but I was entering with a “take it easy and see how we do” approach. In fact, I expected to trot most of it.
We trotted to the first jump, I added leg, and we were over it. Stanley completed the first jump in a lovely flowing canter. It was uphill, it was slower, it was thoughtful. At this moment I was thinking “Here is my XC Superstar! This horse is going to be AMAZING!” It was just him and me and he was calmer out there than back in the center of the hustle/bustle. We took the second jump with ease. The course turned left and up a steep hill and celebrating a little too hard Stanley took it at a gallop. I initially celebrated with him but halfway up I asked him to slow down because I knew the hill turned back downhill quickly. I pulled back too late. He was slow to listen and when the ground disappeared from under him Stanley was caught off-guard. The downhill was steep. He slammed his brakes on. With the quick slowdown AND the steep downhill, I didn’t have enough core strength to stop my momentum.
I fell like a sack of potatoes. There was crunching and slamming and rolling. Between rolls, I looked up to see if Stanley was going to step on me. He stayed clear and very careful not to. I sprung up instantly to try to catch Stanley. He was a loose horse in a field with a busy interstate on one side and busy showgrounds on the other. I self-assessed to make sure nothing was broken but no, I could stand. I couldn’t move fast but I stood and reached my arm out. Stanley circled me three times. He was shocked and confused; he was worried about me and about himself.
I couldn’t move fast enough. Stanley was just out of reach and he turned tail and galloped toward the showgrounds. Towards the people, the horses, and towards the trailers. Stanley galloped at full speed a full half-mile from where we stood to our trailer where a gentleman at the neighboring trailer caught him.
Amazingly nobody was hurt. He didn’t even disrupt much. From what I am told he went through so fast that nobody really knew what happened. Unfortunately, he ran past at the exact moment that Suzanne and Tiger were performing their dressage test. They both looked up and she signaled to the judge that she had to go because that was her friend’s horse. The judge understood.
Back in the cross-country field, I was slowly making my way back to the trailer. A volunteer was walking with me, called for the golf cart to help take me back. No golf cart came. No medical staff. Nobody. I hobbled a half mile back to the trailer. Halfway back the tears were really trying to come out but I HATE crying in public. To be honest I was pretty surprised. At GMHA all rider falls needed to be seen even if they were fine. This wasn’t a recognized event but it didn’t seem right that there was nobody for an event with cross country.
People stopped to ask “Are you ok?” and it was followed by “Your horse is REALLY fast.” Relieved knowing he didn’t hurt anyone I found it easier to laugh about the “He’s really fast” comments. I wish there was some footage of it!
I finally got back to the trailer and Suzy already had Stanley untacked and with his hydrocool boots on…it took me a long time to get back.
Miraculously the stewards and judges allowed Suzanne to redo her dressage test. They understood “loose horse and potentially injured rider” and were very forgiving of the situation. They had a wonderful test and went out to do the other two phases shortly after.
I had to stay back at the trailer with Stanley. I’d love to say it was an uneventful time there but it wasn’t. As Tiger walked away for the show-jumping Stanley exploded and broke his halter. I tied him with the rope halter this time. He was calling and calling and calling. I would walk over to him and he calmed down for a little while then began calling again. We were going really well when he must have sensed Tiger returning. Again he exploded and broke the metal clasp on the rope lead attached to the rope halter. I was beside myself. Injured and dealing with this mental case.
I held no resentment about our cross-country mishap but herd-bound behavior I have little tolerance for it. As Tiger came around the corner I made Stanley lunge for a few minutes. Ultimately my pain made me tie him back up and sit down. They were quiet for the rest of the day since they were together.
We were ready to leave before the results were posted, but later that evening we learned Suzanne won her division in beginner-novice! I am so beyond happy and proud of her and Tiger!
Becky did well with Cassian as well! He zoomed around the stadium course. Unfortunately, we were jumping the stadium when she went XC, but she was there for our start!
Back home we unloaded the horses, cleaned the trailer, and cleaned the stalls. I got in my car to go home and my leg didn’t want to bend. When I finally got home the real pain began to set in.
My left knee is definitely sprained…or maybe hyperextended. It’s strong and capable but bending deep or twisting is very painful. Let right foot is damaged all along the top. The ankle is ok, the bottom of the foot is ok. But the top and both sides are very painful.
I got home and started to rest, ice, compress, and elevate.
I bought some fancy ice compression boots for Stanley a few weeks ago and planned to use them for this show. I did. I used them on myself. With my sprained knee I turned the boot backward to have the ice around the top and sides. I pumped up the boots and the compression felt so nice. My foot got a gel ice wrap also.
For the last few nights, I’ve slept downstairs in a recliner. The foot was been swollen like an inflatable toy. The bruising is coming along too.
Before you ask, no, I have not gotten it looked at yet and I have my reasons.
I have been in worse pain from other accidents. At those times I went to urgent care for X-rays. They found no broken bones and I was left paying almost $1000 each time (high deductible plans are fun aren’t they).
If this is in fact a sprain the doctor cannot do anything that I’m not already doing. It’s going to hurt regardless of being seen or not.
As I rest and heal the swelling should begin to subside. Any serious injuries should reveal themselves by then. My plan is to see how I feel next Monday. I have Monday off so I will be able to go get seen if the pain and swelling are unchanged/worse. If the swelling subsides and nothing else seems to be wrong, I will simply allow it to heal and be careful.
For now, my fur babies have been the best doctors. Zac has been helping me feed the animals here while I stay off my feet and the cats keep me company. Sometimes even Bardi cuddles with me.
Coming back around to the horsey side of things, this was a valuable learning lesson. One I don’t regret. I would have been kicking myself if we didn’t try. Having this course and venue available is rare; it’s well maintained because, for the most part, they keep people off of it. I once took a XC clinic here but that hasn’t been offered since 2021. All other locations I know of are over an hour away.
Once I’m feeling better I will be training more on terrain and focusing on adjusting strides. I will also be taking him out alone on a few occasions to get him used to being with me and not his brother.
I am SO happy that this accident didn’t set me back mentally. I have had other situations that created a ball of anxiety within me and I don’t feel that way this time. I truly see it as a mistake and a lesson learned and that is all. I see it as an opportunity to do better and do differently. The venue was right. The footing and jumps were ideal. The environment, however, was too stressful and we needed to handle the terrain better.
Luckily I have some great friends and contacts now who have given me some great options for terrain training! I’m so looking forward to it!
This event was the last I had planned before taking a short recess, so at least my injury is timely. In the weeks ahead my father will be going to Boston for surgery. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at the end of January and has gone through very aggressive treatment of both radiation AND chemotherapy. This surgery will hopefully be the final stage of treatment and I will be away for a little while to help.
This means Stanley is going to get a little time off as will I. Our training will resume later in the month and will be less demanding as I have no intentions of taking him to other 3 phase trials this year. We will school, travel, train, school some more, and do some schooling shows in dressage and stadium. Once he begins to relax even more I will once again start thinking about trials for 2024.
He’s still my perfect partner and I love him more every day.
The Green Horseman 
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