The Capital Region is very fortunate to be located in the heart of the US Eventing Association's Area II, and our eventing rally was held in conjunction with the always well-run Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trials two weeks ago. Seneca Valley Pony Club hosts two recognized events each year, and it is one of my favorite events. The Maryland Region ran its eventing rally at another awesome Area II event - Waredaca. I mean how cool is it to have riders like Boyd Martin, Karen O'Connor, Phillip Dutton, etc., etc., at your PONY CLUB RALLY??? Pretty awesome, I think. (Above: I try to be incognito at these horse trials, but apparently I can't escape HM!)
We usually run two rallies on the SVPC HT weekend, but our numbers were low for the Training/Prelim day, so we only held a rally on the Novice/Beginner Novice/Starter day on Sunday. Since I had Twix the Super Pony entered in a novice division, I took care of my HMO duties earlier in the week. One thing I've noticed in my three years as HMO is that clipboards seem to be a hot commodity! I *know* I started the season with 12 clipboards, and by the time we got to our third rally of the season, we were down to 6! Are you kidding me? Just goes to show you that you can label everything and it STILL won't get returned to you! Luckily, Target had some funky fruit patterned clipboards in the dollar bins (I'm 
addicted to the Tar-jay dollar bins!) and I added those to our HM kit, labeled, of course!(Above: Capital Region's newest HM clipboards!)
(Right: The Capital Region's Informational Booth at the SVPC H.T. The Region also hosted a silent auction, which was quite successful!)
(Left: Grady checks in with Eventing Rally CHMJ, Elizabeth Young)
(Left: Grady checks in with Eventing Rally CHMJ, Elizabeth Young)
Because our rally is at the mercy of the horse trials' entries and schedule, it was a rather long day for everyone - grounds opened at 6 am, the briefing was at 7:15 am, and the first turnout was at 8 am. The last rides (the starter division) completed around 5:30 pm, and I think everyone was able to roll out around 6:30 pm. So kudos to the Capital competitors and parents for sticking out a very long day! We're already looking at ways to run the rally in two segments for next year so that our starters don't have to be there alllllllll day. I stopped by after my rides were completed and I'd met with our RS and SJ rally organizer about THAT rally the following week, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. The most popular feature of the rally were the vouchers for free smoothies from Fruit and Ice Connection (aka "Smoothie Lady)! Smoothie Lady is a LEGEND in Area II! They are the BEST smoothies, and so refreshing on a hot day at a horse trial! My favorite flavor is Berry Blend (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry), and a lot of the Capital kids get their smoothies as "parfaits" (whipped cream layers). I think I consumed at least 5 smoothies over that weekend...
(Far Left: Grady enjoys a Berry Blend Smoothie while visiting the Capital Region Booth...hey, wait...he never paid me back for that!!!)
(Left: Smoothie Lady teaches Grady how to Dougie, I mean, make a smoothie!)
So while I'm on Eventing Rally, let's talk Vet Box. What's the point? Well, since Pony Club is heavily rooted in eventing, the original intent of the vet box at rallies was to prepare you all for upper level eventing and the vet box at traditional full-format 3-day events, which while popular at the training level, are rapidly disappearing. The point is to help you learn about how your horse recovers from the effort of cross country. Vet box staff take a lot of time to record your horse's vitals, and sadly, I find that many competitors don't bother to ask to see the sheet to see how they recovered. I've also found that many lower level competitors are a bit unfamiliar with how to get a horse to cool a horse down after exerting exercise - yes, walking helps, but what REALLY helps is getting nice, cold water at arterial points (i.e., where you see veins popping out, like the throat and between the hind legs.) The cold water absorbs the heat from your horse's body, so you need to then scrape the now hot water off (otherwise, it's like a big wet blanket). At events like Rolex or Fair Hill, you'll see grooms set up stations that look like "horse washes" (a bucket at each corner.) The goal is to get the water on, have it absorb the heat from your horse, scrape it off, rinse and repeat.
So while I'm on Eventing Rally, let's talk Vet Box. What's the point? Well, since Pony Club is heavily rooted in eventing, the original intent of the vet box at rallies was to prepare you all for upper level eventing and the vet box at traditional full-format 3-day events, which while popular at the training level, are rapidly disappearing. The point is to help you learn about how your horse recovers from the effort of cross country. Vet box staff take a lot of time to record your horse's vitals, and sadly, I find that many competitors don't bother to ask to see the sheet to see how they recovered. I've also found that many lower level competitors are a bit unfamiliar with how to get a horse to cool a horse down after exerting exercise - yes, walking helps, but what REALLY helps is getting nice, cold water at arterial points (i.e., where you see veins popping out, like the throat and between the hind legs.) The cold water absorbs the heat from your horse's body, so you need to then scrape the now hot water off (otherwise, it's like a big wet blanket). At events like Rolex or Fair Hill, you'll see grooms set up stations that look like "horse washes" (a bucket at each corner.) The goal is to get the water on, have it absorb the heat from your horse, scrape it off, rinse and repeat.
The other part of the vet box is getting your stuff up to the box and back. This is where labeling becomes very important. I can't tell you how many times I've seen riders get off at the end of cross country and not know where their stuff is, or realize that something, usually the halter and leadrope, is missing. So work with your stable manager to develop a plan for the vet box, and make sure they or another member of your team can help you. Once all the tack is off, it is important to make sure you keep it all together. In many cases, you will pack your stuff up in big LABELED garbage bags to transport back to the stable area. I've also seen laundry baskets and big duffel bags. But in the end, it is up to you to make sure everything is labeled and organized in a way that YOU get it back at the end of the day (after all, you need to clean most of that stuff for turnback, right?)
My last pet peeve before I clean my boots and go riding on this beautiful day is the common water source in the vet box. I'm going to keep it simple:
1) Do NOT let your horse drink from the common troughs!
2) DO only dip into the tanks with designated buckets!
We want all the horses that come to Championships happy and healthy to go home the same way!
Oh, and if you were wondering how Twix the Super Pony did at SVPC - he was 3rd in a 19-horse division. Needless to say, I was very proud of the Little Monster!! :)
Oh, and if you were wondering how Twix the Super Pony did at SVPC - he was 3rd in a 19-horse division. Needless to say, I was very proud of the Little Monster!! :)
(Finders Keepers, aka Twix, braided and ready to go to SVPC HT! Competing at last fall's SVPC HT - photo courtesy of GRC)
17 days until Festival 2011 begins!
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