I've never worked so hard for or gotten my butt kicked so much by anything else in my life. I've also never felt so proud.
Cubbie Girl North, the 4-year-old Thoroughbred filly that I've been retraining with the hope that we'd compete at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, just completed a roller coaster run of five horse shows in six weeks. During this time, I realized the real reason why I've gone through the ups and downs of eventing with a young ex-racehorse. What's ironic is that the reason why I originally began this journey no longer exists because of the postponement of the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover to 2021.
After three schooling shows in Colorado at Pendragon, Mile High, and Sunrise Equine, Cubbie and I were ready to try our first recognized event at the Spring Gulch Horse Trials on July 5. Well, not quite, because the week before at the Sunrise Equine Big Mini Trial we may have broken the record for worst eventing score. Since it was a schooling show, officials decided not to eliminate any horse and rider for refusals at jumps. Cubbie and I were like the golfer whose ball has a magnetic attraction to bunkers, water, and rough.
During our stadium jumping round, Cubbie and I accumulated 36 jumping penalties, the result of nine refusals or rails dropped, plus 120 time penalties, the result of a scrupulous timekeeper that kept the clock running for the five minutes we went beyond the optimum time allowed. Cubbie's nerves were maxed out by the height and positioning of some early jumps to the point where, following a combo, she decided she would not jump anymore, even though we were getting to arguably the easiest and most inviting jump on course. She stopped, went backward, and spun around with the same determination of one of my favorite racehorses, the Australian sprint star Chautauqua, when he decided he wouldn't leave the starting gate at the end of his racing career.
During our cross country round, we added 60 jumping penalties for three refusals, including another epic meltdown at the water. The organizers let us school the water afterward, and I convinced Cubbie to channel her best Michael Phelps as we did laps across it in preparation for the water we'd have to go through a week later at Spring Gulch. Adding some time penalties and our dressage score, we finished on a 266.2. The winner had a 32.8. Eventing, like golf, is won by the lowest score.
The truth is, I was actually quite proud of how we did. I wrote in a previous article for this series that overcoming the mental challenges is harder for athletic ex-racehorses than the physical challenges. Yes, Cubbie threw a few tantrums, but that's inevitable, especially with an opinionated 4-year-old filly.
“She's going to have to do it, and you got her through it,” said my fiancée and trainer, Ashley Gubich of Super G Sporthorses.
Dealing with Cubbie's theatrics is exactly like dealing with a tantrum from a 4-year-old child, except the horse weighs about 1,000 pounds and doesn't understand English. Whenever Cubbie decides to make a scene, it can be terrifying to ride through, especially for someone who's an amateur and only started riding five years ago at the age of 30. The truth is I keep waiting for Ashley to throw in the towel for me and bail me out. But she doesn't, so I keep at it because I won't actually quit myself.
Then, three days before the Spring Gulch Horse Trials, Cubbie gave me seven stitches, the first I've had in my life. It was a during a dressage lesson of all things. She reared up when I asked her not to lock on the bit. When she came down, she crow-hopped, and her head busted open my chin.
“Looks like you and your horse butted heads today,” said Dr. William Boroughf, who kept me in good spirits while stitching the wound.
As comments started popping up after I posted before and after photos to Facebook, I realized how supportive the Thoroughbred community is.
“Battle scars!!!!! Now you['re] officially one of us,” wrote Heather Collins, a race trainer.
“Badge of horsemanship,” wrote Ellen Zachary, a race owner.
With only days until our first recognized event, Ashley stepped in and brought Cubbie back to being a workable horse. There's a language for communicating to horses that she's more proficient in than I. I wrote earlier in this series about the benefits of “Jumping In The Deep End With Lifeguards At The Ready.” Eventing is an individual sport on paper, but it truly takes a team to make a rider and horse successful. That's what Ashley has instilled to our Super G Sporthorses team.
I woke up at 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 5, to feed the horses on our farm, give Cubbie a bath, and make sure our tack was organized in the trailer. Thankfully, no blood had dripped on the brand new black and gold dressage bridle that we used for the first time during our death-defying dressage lesson.
“Hey, the next time you use your fancy dressage bridle, your ride will definitely be better,” said Ashley, always finding those valuable moments to lighten the mood.
I headed to Spring Gulch for a full day of announcing and riding. My favorite equine moments are when I get to announce and compete at the same event. Announcing is where I'm comfortable, and it calms my show anxiety.
If eventing had a “Group of Death” like soccer's World Cup, it was the Open Beginner Novice C division that Cubbie and I were part of at the Spring Gulch Horse Trials. We were Australia going up against Spain, Netherlands, and Chile. Our competition included two other 4-year-old OTTBs, the youngest age at the show, but they were ridden by two upper-level riders. There was Brit Vegas, a finalist at last year's Makeover, riding Mr. Park, a horse I announced in races at Arapahoe Park. There was Dani Sussman, who's competed at the CCI2* level, riding Vera (JC: It's Kisses). And, there was Madeline Backus, who ribboned at the CCI4* Kentucky Three Day Event at the age of 21 in 2017.
Cubbie with Horowitz (L) and Vegas with Mr. Park (R)
Our dressage test was decent, and I love how the judge, Beth Wheeler, summed it up in her comments on our scoresheet, “Promising pair!! Horse has to be more attentive to the aids.”
The stadium jumping course of 11 jumping efforts with a max height of 2-feet-7 was technical, including three lead changes, two bending lines, one combo, and a partridge in a pear tree. We made it all the way around, dropping one rail, a huge improvement from our stadium jumping effort the week before at Sunrise Equine.
Finally, to cross country. To be honest, both Ashley and I didn't think I'd make it through the course of 15 questions that included a ditch and water, the two tinders that have ignited a fire within Cubbie on cross country courses. Adding to the challenge of the ditch was that a new T-log jump was placed four strides before it. Any change to a familiar setting can be alarming for horses.
The T-log-to-ditch combo turned out to be the defining moment of our first recognized event. We started with a refusal at the T-log, as Cubbie weaved from side to side trying to figure out why something so scary looking now appeared in a place she had been several times before. I circled Cubbie back toward the combo.
“You got it, Cubbie,” I said to her. She picked up her knees over the jump. “Alright, let's do the ditch. Come on, Cubbie. Come on! Yeah!” Ashley and the other Super G riders there to support us cheered. The moment of exhilaration over the ditch in this video made the hard work and stitches worth it.
The rest of the cross country course was a rush. We cleared the water, opened up to a gallop between fences, and took jumps at stride. We managed to finish our first recognized event. Perhaps we may have placed better and earned a ribbon at the lower Intro level, but I found it more rewarding to complete the Beginner Novice level as part of such a strong group of riders I admire with a 4-year-old filly. I'm incredibly grateful for the special memories from the show.
Being a green rider with a green horse, I now realize and appreciate that the victories are the moments when Cubbie and I are in rhythm. As we continue to progress, these moments will hopefully happen more frequently.
It was exactly one year prior to the date that this article was published that Cubbie stepped off the trailer from Illinois to our farm in Colorado. I didn't know her, she didn't know me, and neither of us knew what we were getting into. I'm getting a bit emotional as I write this, reflecting on how far we've come and that we've done it together.
Cubbie and Horowitz looking determined on cross country
Now, where are we going? When Ashley and I first came across Cubbie's listing on CANTER's website, the destination we set was Lexington, Kentucky for the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover. Earlier this month, Retired Racehorse Project made the difficult but prudent decision to postpone this year's event to 2021. I was bummed because of how much I've invested in reaching the destination. That's when the strong two-legged and four-legged women in my life taught me a lesson I previously would nod my head to in agreement but never got to practice fully until now.
“You realize nothing about what you and Cubbie are doing changes,” was Ashley's reaction to the news.
I actually get to embrace tennis great Arthur Ashe's famous quote, “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”
The post Thoroughbred Makeover Diaries Presented By Excel Equine: First Stitches And First Recognized Event appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
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