# Cudo's continuing adventures in America



## BunnyDog (18 February 2018)

So rather than updating all the threads before this I think we'll just keep updates relegated to here.

So for those not following our facebook page, here's a video of our first proper jump school. 

Couple things to note, he had usually gone in a running martingale. I chose not to use one to see how it went without. I'm probably going to use one again but maybe not right away. Also he has been jumped in a Myler bit with the hooks in use, I chose to try him in a french link snaffle and see how he did with a more plain bit. 

Short summary...lots of good things discovered. I absolutely bought myself the right horse, now we have to learn how to communicate and figure out what signal means what and such. Also this saddle is an absolute treat.. Wow. Love it. Time and patience will be the trick to bonding and I absolutely will give him that. 

https://youtu.be/kNimHGgKKYM

Hope you all enjoy. He's settling in beautifully and is an absolute sweetheart with an ever increasing American fan club now also. 



Emily


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## Miss Bossy (18 February 2018)

Looking great! I&#8217;ve been following your posts with interest, wishing you lots of fun with him &#55357;&#56842;


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## splashgirl45 (18 February 2018)

what a good boy,  he seems to have a lovely temperament.    good luck with him


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## PapaverFollis (18 February 2018)

I'm following him on Facebook. Looks like he enjoyed his jumping session. What a good boy he is.


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## nikicb (18 February 2018)

Beautiful horse who obviously knows his job.  Looking forward to seeing your progress together.  xx


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## j1ffy (19 February 2018)

Love him! He looks so sweet and clever, thinking on his feet. Lovely paces too, much looser now!


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## MissTyc (19 February 2018)

Lovely update - he has some power!


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## Bernster (19 February 2018)

Lovely to hear and I did watch the vid on your you tube channel. Glad you are happy with him. Def lots to like and you can see how good you're going to be once all the buttons are worked out !

ETA intrigued! what saddle do you have?


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## BunnyDog (19 February 2018)

I bought the sellers custom fit Equiline Dynamic.  I liked that it was already fit to him and can be flocked.  Equiline has just started it's presence in America so it wasn't a saddle I'd ever seen or heard of.  

I'm honestly surprised because when I was searching for a new saddle inn 2016 it was a long drawn out nightmare.  I ended up with my lovely used Devoucoux but I must have tried 20 saddles or more.  

Emily


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## claracanter (20 February 2018)

Lovely update....He's such a sweet boy......must confess he reminds me of my WB as he has the same white sock configuration....i will be following your progress.


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## BunnyDog (26 February 2018)

Another new video....

We're getting somewhere good. 

Em

https://youtu.be/ijQaAxskHno


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## DabDab (26 February 2018)

Oo, it's really all starting to come together. You're definitely not looking like a basically brand new partnership anyway! 

Cudo looks so happy. Such a classy horse


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## VRIN (26 February 2018)

Looking very good.


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## Bernster (26 February 2018)

Fantastic looking very smooth and 'together' in that vid !  I struggle to get over the filler you have there, so those jumps look huuuuuuge.


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## Sprig (26 February 2018)

He is a lovely horse. So relaxed looking. I am sure that you are going to have loads of fun.


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## BunnyDog (26 February 2018)

I will admit I get the sense that he's still sad at times.  He misses Lauren and doesn't always seem that 'bright ' as we do what must seem to him like endless flatwork.  Ground poles were new (and scary) and he's definitely needing love and encouragement while settling in.  

I noticed he was much more engaged with me when I'm grooming him and giving him treats.  So I started riding with pieces of carrots in a bag in my pocket and I give him some when he's good or nervous.  Ever since I started doing that he seems to be more engaged with me as we ride.  

I'm playing with bridles and bits a little, and this was using a loose ring slow twist with acavallo bit guards.  I think it worked well but we'll return to the daily bit the herm sprenger duo when I ride him next on Tuesday.  

Thanks so much for your kind comments.  He's a hell of a horse.  

Emily


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## PapaverFollis (26 February 2018)

He's such a good boy.  It does take a while for them to settle in and figure out their new human. You'll get there, looks like great progress already.


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## VRIN (26 February 2018)

Its a big move for him and still early days. I got my new one at the back end of August last year and like you felt he was not really happy. He never did anything wrong I just had a sense something was missing for him. However he is now well settled in and we are forming our own partnership.


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## ahml100 (26 February 2018)

Gosh he is rather beautiful! I have been silently following your journey in your quest for a new horse and though I told myself that I am far too old to have the green-eyed monster I have failed!-He looks utterly divine and you certainly do not look like a new partnership. 

If you do not mind the question, I have very little knowledge of American showing can you aim to jump at specific championships and are your classes split between amateur and professional? I followed a bit during WEF but the classification confused me a bit! Do full understand that this could be a rather  vague question!


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## BunnyDog (26 February 2018)

ahml100 said:



			If you do not mind the question, I have very little knowledge of American showing can you aim to jump at specific championships and are your classes split between amateur and professional? I followed a bit during WEF but the classification confused me a bit! Do full understand that this could be a rather  vague question!
		
Click to expand...

Ok so this will be a bit clear as mud but let me try. 

I used to be a professional (I taught lessons to 3 friends and was paid for training rides of other people's horses)

Then I decided it would be more accurate and more fun to get my amateur status back and compete in the amateur classes/divisions. 

Ok... so the divisions that I compete in are the Adult Amateur Jumper - High division (1.10 meters) and the ultimate goal would be the Amateur Owner jumper division. That has low(1.20-25), med (1.30 - 35) and high (1.40) heights.

With my greener horses I would go in the variety of choices around 1m or lower, low AA jumper, Thoroughbred Jumper, or the like. We have age classes as well but none of my horses fall into those ranges anymore. 

Certain classes are open to all. Height classes for example... Training or schooling jumper is usually written up in the prize list as "Training jumper 0.95 m"  or "Schooling Jumper 1.20m." ANYONE can go in those classes. 

There are divisions separated down by Juniors, amateurs and horses that are owned by an amateur owner. 

To help I am going to share a link to a rather big show that happens in May, Old Salem Farm.

https://cdn.flipsnack.com/widget/v2/widget.html?hash=fdk8vfqsc&bgcolor=EEEEEE&t=1519335096

Ok a couple short hand explanations:

AA (Adult Amateur)
YJC - Young Jumper Classes


Take a look at that and feel to ask follow up questions. 

Em


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## ahml100 (27 February 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			Ok so this will be a bit clear as mud but let me try. 

I used to be a professional (I taught lessons to 3 friends and was paid for training rides of other people's horses)

Then I decided it would be more accurate and more fun to get my amateur status back and compete in the amateur classes/divisions. 

Ok... so the divisions that I compete in are the Adult Amateur Jumper - High division (1.10 meters) and the ultimate goal would be the Amateur Owner jumper division. That has low(1.20-25), med (1.30 - 35) and high (1.40) heights.

With my greener horses I would go in the variety of choices around 1m or lower, low AA jumper, Thoroughbred Jumper, or the like. We have age classes as well but none of my horses fall into those ranges anymore. 

Certain classes are open to all. Height classes for example... Training or schooling jumper is usually written up in the prize list as "Training jumper 0.95 m"  or "Schooling Jumper 1.20m." ANYONE can go in those classes. 

There are divisions separated down by Juniors, amateurs and horses that are owned by an amateur owner. 

To help I am going to share a link to a rather big show that happens in May, Old Salem Farm.

https://cdn.flipsnack.com/widget/v2/widget.html?hash=fdk8vfqsc&bgcolor=EEEEEE&t=1519335096

Ok a couple short hand explanations:

AA (Adult Amateur)
YJC - Young Jumper Classes


Take a look at that and feel to ask follow up questions. 

Em
		
Click to expand...

Ah much clearer thank you! I was getting confused with the classifications but now can read my head around them a bit more! Good luck with the season.


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## BunnyDog (27 February 2018)

ahml100 said:



			Ah much clearer thank you! I was getting confused with the classifications but now can read my head around them a bit more! Good luck with the season.
		
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I know how you feel. I had no idea about your levels of jumpers when I started looking. Frankly I was laughing because with Foxhunters being 1.20 I could only think of a handful of fox hunter friends here on this side of the pond who could survive doing a course at that height. A foxhunter class at a show here is roughly 2'6" (I think that's close to 0.75m). Ha Ha Ha. 

Em


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## Meowy Catkin (27 February 2018)

Foxhunter was a famous show jumper ridden by Harry Llewellyn, the show jumping classes are named after that horse, hence the size of the feces.


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## BunnyDog (27 February 2018)

Faracat said:



			Foxhunter was a famous show jumper ridden by Harry Llewellyn, the show jumping classes are named after that horse, hence the size of the feces. 

Click to expand...

OMG.... that makes so much more sense!!!!!!!  

The things you learn in life!!!!

Em


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## Meowy Catkin (27 February 2018)

*fences

Urg... typo!


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## BunnyDog (27 February 2018)

That could well be one of the greatest typos....EVER. 

  

Em


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## Meowy Catkin (27 February 2018)

It's a good job that I didn't accidently put an 'a' in there! *eek*


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## Sheep (27 February 2018)

Faracat said:



			It's a good job that I didn't accidently put an 'a' in there! *eek*
		
Click to expand...

I think the 'a' might be irrelevant in the States


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## Meowy Catkin (27 February 2018)

Oh no! How embarrassing!


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## fetlock (28 February 2018)

I've so enjoyed following your search for a horse, and hearing about the differences (and OMG the prices) between the UK and USA, and following Cudo's epic journey over to you too.

I'm just a few miles from where you found Cudo - what a lovely horse he is- I'm so looking forward to seeing how you do with him once you'e competing, and generally, and wish you every success with him.


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## BunnyDog (28 February 2018)

fetlock said:



			I've so enjoyed following your search for a horse, and hearing about the differences (and OMG the prices) between the UK and USA, and following Cudo's epic journey over to you too.

I'm just a few miles from where you found Cudo - what a lovely horse he is- I'm so looking forward to seeing how you do with him once you'e competing, and generally, and wish you every success with him.
		
Click to expand...

Awww that's so kind. Thank you, truly. 

We're going to be a bit delayed from showing as of all things, the day after Cudo arrived at the barn there was a normal pony club lesson where there are horses shipped in, to our indoor (never set foot in the barn). Well unfortunately one of those horses came from a barn where another horse in the barn came down with EHV1 (the herpes virus) after that. Now, the sick horse and the lesson horse have never interacted, never been stabled near one another, never turned out near one another. That said, we are all locked down. So Cudo is going nowhere until everyone says we're clear to move about the region safely again. The pluses are that Cudo is vaccinated, has had normal temperatures and is thriving all around. If anything it reminds me to take my time and build our relationship in the peace and quiet of home and set out showing when we're together and more prepared. That said as he's been a bit spooky I'm just wishing to be able to go to a few other farms and let him see things and hopefully get the shock and awe of American jumps, rings and different settings down a few notches. But that can wait. 

He's getting shod for the first time here today. We're going to try to very carefully start to give him some heel support as his current shoes are setup with his heels dangling off in space. Now we all recognize that he's sound with these and we don't want to do any massive changes.... just slight tweaks that should help him going forward. Fingers crossed that it helps. 

I have a dressage lesson scheduled for next Thursday so that should be fun. And tomorrow I am going to the clinic I was supposed to be riding in with my old coach, Jimmy Wofford, and I will help set fences for a few hours and bring the lessons home to Cudo. No surprise, I sent Jimmy the videos of Cudo and he really likes him. So that's pretty cool. 

Em


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## Chuffy99 (28 February 2018)

What made me smile was in this metric age all the jump heights in that schedule are in good old feet and inches, loving this journey


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## McFluff (28 February 2018)

He is one seriously nice horse. Wishing you both a fun and successful journey together. It&#8217;s lovely seeing your updates and the differences over the pond.


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## BunnyDog (8 March 2018)

So we had a snow day here today. Roughly 6-8" in our area. So John and I didn't have to go to work so eventually we made our way to the barn. Thanks to the great design of the barn (Built by a dressage couple from Denmark) the indoor is attached to the barn. So it was easy to ride....once we got him in from the field. That was heavy trekking in wind blown piles of up to 12". 

So today we worked on more trotting of jumps and using small fences to work on consistency and and give me time (and a hubby shooting videos) to work on my position issues. 

The video is here:

https://youtu.be/AyWh-Ss1wkg

Still pics to come but I will share those too once I get them online. 

It's coming together and he's just a lovely guy. Even if I did fall off yesterday thanks to a loose girth. (UGH)

Em


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## BunnyDog (8 March 2018)

Link to still pics.  

Very thankful to my awesome photographer hubby! 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/xctrygirl/albums/72157665631111158

Emily


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## j1ffy (8 March 2018)

He looks great, very calm and relaxed over those fences. I still love him! Fantastic photos too


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## BunnyDog (27 March 2018)

Hi Everyone....

I'm trying not to update too much for fear of driving everyone crazy with minutiae amid barely any news. 

Cudo is doing well, he gets to meet my trainer/coach this Thursday in a clinic settling (group lessons) at an indoor down the street from us. 

Over the past month he has been improving steadily. We have moved from Phillip's barn, not to my barn as planned, but to a barn halfway to my barn. Why? Because we got 9" of snow on the Wednesday of the week we had to leave Phillips!!!! My ring won't hold up for that and with freezing temps every night it's either too wet or too hard to reliably ride in. So we moved Cudo a whopping 2 miles from my barn halfway from Phillips. But before we did, when he loaded on my trailer it was the first time that he'd been able to go anywhere since his arrival and the unfortunate quarantine from the EHV1 exposed horse that had used the indoor. So off we went to play in the indoor where the clinic will be this week. The fences in the ring were built with the small standards and all had jump fillers. That was fine by me. Low and slow confidence building has never been a bad idea. Though he will be in the 1.10m group at the clinic this week. 

He shipped like a star, was grand in the ring and really came ready to play. As luck would have it couple friends showed up to school at the same time so it was great to watch him go and then wait and then go again. He's always a star and only had one stop looking at a filler shaped like a fox. All good, stormed right over on the second asking and I don't blame him. I likely under rode it given that he's jumped NO filler in America before this point. Sadly I do not have video of this ride.

We have an album of pics on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ElCuadorHorse/posts/1984159451826311

After we schooled we took him to his new (temporary) home and he settled in quite well. He's turned out with quite possibly the world's cutest mini, "Cassanova." I was told by his owner Lauren that he'd been turned out with a mini in England. And indeed he seems more animated and playful in the field with the mini. I posted 3 pics of the two of them and now I am being 'pushed' to steal the little guy when we move to my barn. LOL. I mentioned this to the barn owner and she said "Oh we could probably make a deal!" Oh lord..... I Attached a pic here: https://flic.kr/p/25u9xGE

I have a friend coming to the clinic to get some video, so hopefully I will be able to throw something on YouTube Thursday sometime. 

That's all the news for now. Depending on how the clinic goes, there is a horse show 2 miles away on April 9th. We might go play there. At some point we have to go face the music. 

Also... for anyone who is a pro member on Rimondo, Cudo's full brother, Electric Kid, is competing with his new owner in Germany and there's some show videos up. Have a look!!!

Thanks for following us!

Em


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## splashgirl45 (27 March 2018)

he is such a dude......love the relaxed way you are schooling him, he seems very happy and is absolutely gorgeous,  love reading your updates ....


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## Orangehorse (27 March 2018)

Lovely update thank you.  It looks as though you are going to get an addition to your stable, how can you resist?


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## BunnyDog (29 March 2018)

Clinic video from today. 

Short version (because I have to get back to work) He's a friggin unreal star. 

I'm totally undeserving!!!!

https://youtu.be/-eCAsu1ntKE

Emily


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## Bernster (29 March 2018)

Wowzers, you both look fabulous!  Well done. You've really come on together, it's lovely to follow you.


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## McFluff (29 March 2018)

Looking good. This is a lovely journey to follow, thank you for sharing. 

I get school envy watching your videos!


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## BunnyDog (29 March 2018)

Thank you both. It's really amazing to feel all the decades of education that I've been fortunate to have actually going in the right directions and everything now clicks and makes sense on a more made horse. Don't get me wrong I love my thoroughbreds but we're on a whole different echelon with Cudo. I really do hope that my time with Cudo will help me better develop future young horses and let me calm down and ride correctly every ride. 

Jimmy Wofford ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Wofford)  is the trainer I ride with. He absolutely adores Cudo and that in and of itself is a rare feat. Not that he doesn't love many horses, but saying that "he is over the moon" about this one was kind of like a step back and stare moment. And I have worked with him since 1994, he just doesn't say this much. 

It really was a great ride today. I stopped by and checked on the boy tonight and he's as happy as a clam and thought the half bag of huge carrots was adequate praise for his efforts today. 

Hopefully the show we're eyeing on 4/8 will be a good learning experience also. 

Em


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## BunnyDog (24 April 2018)

So we've been a little waylaid from our original plan. Right after the clinic with Jimmy I gave Cudo 3 days off as he'd done quite well and it was a nice weekend of weather. When I got back on him Monday (4/2) he didn't feel right. Farrier came out and it was an abscess, that had popped thankfully, but it was coming out his frog. So we started soaking, wrapping etc. By 4/7 I'd sat on him and he felt ok. The show on 4/8 was too big of an ask for a horse that had been back one day so we skipped it. We did light flat work the week of 4//9-4/14 and I jumped 9 2'9" fences on 4/12 to see how he felt. There was a show on 4/15 that we were contemplating if he felt ok. 
All felt good but I kept checking and the very tip of his frog was sensitive to a light prodding from the hoof pick. I discussed with my farrier and vet and we opted to stick to flat work and hacks until he wasn't as flinchy. 

So we missed the show on the 15th and kicked on. He was feeling better and better this past week so instead of going to a show this past weekend I took him to a paper chase. Since I am unsure if you all have these I will describe just so all are clear what this is. Essentially it's a pre set course of distance riding over cross country. There are low jumps and all are avoidable. There are water crossings and nice rolling hills of fields to ride across. It was a 7.78 mile track and the footing there was nice with a great amount of give to it but not muddy or boggy. 

I had NO idea what Cudo would think of this. I usually do these for fun on my horses that are good foxhunter types as we can run across slow groups in front of us and faster groups that come up on you from behind. I went with a married couple who are my normal riding buddies for the paper chase seasons. So we got to the grounds and he was good. His first priority once I got on was to eat as much of the amazing grass in the field we were parked on. Head down and munching away. Ha ha. Once we set off he didn't necessarily love being 3rd in line but that was where it made sense to start off. Charlotte's Tb gelding is a bit hot the first couple miles normally and this plan always helps him to settle. So we went on our merry way and we hopped a tiny coop and he was grand. My game plan was to jump sparingly and see how he felt. I knew he was pretty fit but 7 miles of our hills is tough on anyone. 

So all is going well and we get down to the first water crossing. Downhill approach but a gradual down hill. There's a pair of riders in front of us milling in the water. I would say it's about 10' wide left to right and about a 12' crossing front to back. I hack down to it thinking nothing out of the ordinary... he doesn't even get to the edge...He leaps STRAIGHT up and out about 3'+ high and nearly takes out the second horse as it's walking out of the water.....12' from me. How I stayed on is beyond me, I am surprised and gather my reins up. He's fine. But I am laughing. My friends catch up and on we get laughing all the way. We enjoy a nice gallop up a hill and then walk for a bit down a hill. We do a small road crossing with 2 jumps and are going for a while before we meet the next water crossing. This water crossing is smaller. I am prepared and I suggest that my friends let me go first. Well that doesn't work. He's not thrilled about going before his buddies. So Charlotte (English friend) go ahead but trots through to be out of the way. This crossing is about 7' wide and 9' front to back, he clears it with me lingering by his tail. By this point my laughter is not as funny. Now I am like... well ****... This kind of flying about is not the most encouraging thing and I bet it&#8217;s not great for his foot either. But I figure we're out here and screw it. We're riding the horses we have.

So we get to the next crossing. I think "AHA this will sort him." It's a LARGE creek. Not a stream and the embankment we have to go down is over 4' high. And the water has lots of rocks and then a section of mud before you reach dry ground. Only bad thing is the path in.... it's an angled slope down so you can fall in to the right or have them put a foot into the bank and slip to the left. Yay. So again I try to go first... No way.
Let first friend go... he won't follow. Send 2nd friend and tell him to move quickly out of the way. So he does.... we still almost hit him! Cudo Launched from half way down the slope, cleared almost all the rocks sections, lands in cannonball fashion, splashes and then proceeds to BOUNCE over the mud and hits the dry ground. Athletic doesn&#8217;t quite describe it. This is not a small creek. It was an enormous effort. 

This is not the same section but it shows the size of the creek's natural width bank to bank. http://www.pbase.com/bike50now/image/146569880

Sooooo he survives the paper chase experience but he's probably well suited to being an open jumper as he seems to prefer going over water rather than through.  

The proofs from the photographers came out... Have a look at the whole album for a bit of perspective of our fellow riders. 

http://www.hoofprintimages.com/p203223754/ea91d04df

http://www.hoofprintimages.com/p203223754/ea91d04e2

http://www.hoofprintimages.com/p203223754/ea91d04e5  (Like this one even if I do make horrendous faces)

So the farrier returns today to shoe him and we'll see how that frog looks. I checked him yesterday and he came out of the experience well and seems quite pleased with himself. 

Lord willing if the frog seems in check we might go to a show soon. But first my hubby and I are pretending to be jet setters this weekend. One of the airlines ran a ridiculous promotion so we're flying down to Kentucky on a 5:45 am flight, arriving around 7:30am. Will head to the Kentucky Horse Park to watch cross country and then at 3pm leave and run back to the airport and be back in Pennsylvania by 7:30pm. So just enough time to watch some friends and Michael Jung and hit the trade fair and then come home. Stupidly I might try to take Cudo to a show the next day if he seems alright. LOL. Or I may wait a week and sleep a bit. Depends how tired the travel and walking will make me. 

So that's our latest update.  

Em


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## ester (24 April 2018)

Clearly he wanted you to get your feet wet first!


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## BunnyDog (24 April 2018)

ester said:



			Clearly he wanted you to get your feet wet first! 

Click to expand...

Oh believe me... How I didn't.... is beyond me!!!!  

He did this for EVERY water crossing on the course. 5 in total. The last one he finally only cleared half of it. LOL. 

Em


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## Bernster (24 April 2018)

Lovely pics, that looks like a nice day.  They sound like the rides that we have, that are either park and ride or sponsored rides (raising money for charity).  They are lovely and I love going out with friends but they do seem to blow some horse's minds so Cudo did amazingly well I'd say.

On the water, I assume that he generally jumps water trays so was baffled by actually going into the water.  He was doing his best 'I'm a sj' impression   Can't believe you stayed on but it does sound hilarious (to a spectator perhaps!).  Glad he's on the mend and good luck with your next outing.


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## BunnyDog (24 April 2018)

Bernster said:



			Lovely pics, that looks like a nice day.  They sound like the rides that we have, that are either park and ride or sponsored rides (raising money for charity).  They are lovely and I love going out with friends but they do seem to blow some horse's minds so Cudo did amazingly well I'd say.

On the water, I assume that he generally jumps water trays so was baffled by actually going into the water.  He was doing his best 'I'm a sj' impression   Can't believe you stayed on but it does sound hilarious (to a spectator perhaps!).  Glad he's on the mend and good luck with your next outing.
		
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Funny enough he had done eventing xc schools with water jumps, he would jump in big but still go and he'd been in the sea, but never natural streams (per his English owner) She thinks this is hysterical and we're all sorry there aren't any pics!!!

Em


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## SpringArising (24 April 2018)

Love reading your updates and gorgeous pics!


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## j1ffy (24 April 2018)

He sounds like a real character! What an athletic horse though, well done for staying on!

I&#8217;d call that a fun ride, or a sponsored ride if it&#8217;s for charity. The ones near me are often organised by one of the hunts, and often run through beautiful parks or countryside that you can&#8217;t normally access. I did one last weekend that was 10 miles with lots of optional fences, however some were very randomly built! I stuck to the solid looking logs that couldn&#8217;t possibly have nails sticking out or flip over if the horse hit them


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## BunnyDog (24 April 2018)

It was a benefit for the local hunt pony club. And it was on land that you cannot normally ride on. Lots of fun and gorgeous scenery. 

Emily


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## splashgirl45 (24 April 2018)

he is looking fab, well done for staying on....fingers crossed his foot is ok and you can get out competing soon....


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## BunnyDog (30 April 2018)

We finally did our first show!!!!!

I am pretty tired so I am including what I posted on Facebook so all can see the update. Just to clarify my husband and I flew down to Kentucky yesterday at 5:30 am (up at 3am) to watch XC day at the Land Rover (Rolex) Three Day Event. We were supposed to fly back at 5pm but our flight was delayed 5 hours so we didn't get home until 1:30 am. Soooo we were a bit tired.  Nevertheless I woke up this AM and was beyond excited. So no amount of fatigue was going to keep me from this show. It also helped that my classes were the last 3 of the day for the jumper ring. 

So there you have it. Here's what I wrote. 

Well we finally did it!! We got to a show.  Admittedly tired didn't even come close to covering our mental capacity. Me from round tripping to Kentucky and Cudo from playing all night with his 5 pasturemates. All that said he was FABULOUS and I haven't stopped grinning yet. The horse is unreal. How I have him is just so amazing when you consider how I found him. And given how far we've come in a bit more than 2 months... well the future is looking really really good. 

First and foremost HUGE thanks to John Salvaggio for driving us, and being willing to spend his day off in the frigid conditions taking pics of us. There are some truly awesome shots in this album and it's all thanks to him. Plus its so cool to see him appreciating the joy coming back into my life by having an awesome equine partner. He has seen some lows and it's about time we aimed for a bit higher moments 

Second, I can't stop thanking Lauren for putting that picture of Cudo on that ad. My life has changed in a million incredible ways and I can't stop pinching myself. 

I have videos also... I will share them on Cudo's page so go look for them there. They're a bit rough as I had to tweak them with some edit in zooming. But trust me he was AMAZING. 

We did the High Child/Adult Amateur (1.10m) and took this opportunity to really play with all the bells, whistles and buttons. He really can turn, accelerate and uses those knees to our advantage.Never dropped a rail and it was so fun to have a plan work out. We finished 2nd, and 3rd in the division classes and 3rd in the classic. As a result we were the reserve champions!!!! Good times. Can't wait for our next show.

Thanks so much to all who volunteered and worked to put on this great show. I had an absolute blast and I couldn't have been happier that this was our first show together. 

My position is a bit rough but now we're ready to start getting regular lessons and hopefully we'll polish things back to where they can be. As always thanks for reading my drivel and looking at our pics!! 

Facebook Album link:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155552874822759.1073741899.528382758&type=1&l=bb6ed112e5

Emily


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## BunnyDog (30 April 2018)

Almost forgot...

Here are two videos of our rounds. I had a lovely lady offer to help video me. Only problem was she didn't zoom in so I had to add the zooming in post production editing. Sooooo it's a bit rough. Sorry. 

https://youtu.be/9fjHiDJGDt0

https://youtu.be/q6xVBZ7XVhg

Em


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## HeresHoping (30 April 2018)

Your faces, both of you, say it all! Fantastic!


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## PapaverFollis (30 April 2018)

Wow! That is so awesome. Well done you and lovely Cudo!


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## BunnyDog (30 April 2018)

Thanks!!!!

I am still grinning today. Albeit a bit tired. 

Em


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## Sophire (30 April 2018)

Well done to you and Cudo!!

I'm a chronic lurker on COTH, especially on weekends like Rolex, so always see your posts over there too. Thank you for keeping us updated over here on HHO, loving your journey with him.


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## j1ffy (30 April 2018)

What a great first show! You&#8217;re looking like a real partnership already


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## splashgirl45 (30 April 2018)

wow!!!!  you both look great...


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## BunnyDog (30 April 2018)

You all are very kind. Truth be told I think that the foot abscess and the little bump he got in the field really made a difference. Both made us slow down and do more flatwork. I mean I don't jump my guys a ton anyway (They only have so many jump in their bodies, why waste them) but we've worked a lot of strengthening and position improvement and really getting our signals down to smaller cues for bigger reactions. Now we have a long way to go but since we're at full speed again I think I can start grabbing some lessons with him now on a more regular basis and hopefully improve all the little pieces of the equation. 

We have another show this coming Saturday which is a local pony club benefit unrecognized show. But it has a mini prix that I did a few years ago with another horse. I loved the show and swore I'd be back. The mini prix is now lower as it tops out at 1.15 but that will suit where we are in life perfectly. After that we have 2 weekends off, 1 for rest and 1 for traveling for my mom's 70th bday. After that we want to find a show on the 26th and then we are planning to go to Upperville which is a big A show June 8-10. I'm trying to decide if I will do the High Amateur 1.10 or the Low Amateur Owner at 1.20. The next 6 weeks will help us sort that out.  

Cudo lucked out and his Pulse therapist is in the area today so he'll get pulsed again and then have today and tomorrow off to relax. 

Lots of fun things coming. I just can't wait. 

Em


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## SpringArising (30 April 2018)

BunnyDog, why is the 1.10 called the High Amateur but the 1.20 called the Low Amateur? You guys have so many different names and acronyms!

Are your Amateur Owner classes the equivalent of our unaffiliated classes?

Your latest pics are fab, BTW. You found a smashing horse in Cudo, and you ride him wonderfully!


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## BunnyDog (30 April 2018)

SpringArising said:



			BunnyDog, why is the 1.10 called the High Amateur but the 1.20 called the Low Amateur? You guys have so many different names and acronyms!

Are your Amateur Owner classes the equivalent of our unaffiliated classes?

Your latest pics are fab, BTW. You found a smashing horse in Cudo, and you ride him wonderfully!
		
Click to expand...

First, thank you. All these kind words are making me tear up repeatedly. So by now I look a bit puffy. Hope none of my co workers pop by my office today. Ha ha ha. 

Ok so we have these levels as they pertain to Amateurs in jumpers.

Low Child/Adult Amateur jumper - They compete around 1m high and can be either children (under 18) or Amateurs on horses they do not necessarily own. They can be on leased horses or on another persons horse so long as the rider themselves paid for the entry. They can own their horse as well. 

High Child/Adult Amateur Jumper - They compete around 1.10m high and same as above on entry requirements.

Amateur Owner Jumper - As the title suggests you must be both the owner and an amateur (By the United States Equestrians rules for an Amateur: Go here https://www.usef.org/forms-pubs/nT3TlM3v0NA/gr13-competition-participants-and   It's on page 11) 

There are levels to the Amateur Owner divisions. Low is 1.20 but goes to 1.25 in Classics. Medium is 1.30 - 1.35. High is 1.40 - 1.45. 

The US amateur rules are hotly debated often and are confusing enough that there are people at the US Equestrian offices whose job is to answer emails on the Amateur inquiry email account about if various scenarios posed by members are violations or within the rules. 

Example: you cannot be paid to gallop racehorses and be considered an amateur for showing. This has been reversed to this current position from being allowed a few years ago. 

Overall it's really a hot mess. 

Now someone needs to help me to understand the differences in the UK show classes. I am totally at a loss.  

Em


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## ester (30 April 2018)

Ha, I was going to say I suspect it is about as clear as mud in the UK if you aren't here either! 

He looked fab and great you finally got out


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## SpringArising (30 April 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			Now someone needs to help me to understand the differences in the UK show classes. I am totally at a loss.  

Em
		
Click to expand...

Don't worry, we are too


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## BunnyDog (1 May 2018)

This is how he looked today after he got pulsed. He was quite happy for him and a little playful. 

https://flic.kr/p/26DqiMG

Emily


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## BunnyDog (2 May 2018)

I think he felt a bit too good as he then went out that night and ripped off a shoe and all the walls where we would have nailed into. Soo now Mr. Fancy Pants is wearing 1 new glue on Poly flex shoe and one regular steel shoe. 

He also has shown us that he is definitely NOT a fan of American flies. So I will be looking online at all the newest fly gear for his royal highness. 

Horses. It's always something. 

Em


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## Bernster (2 May 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			I think he felt a bit too good as he then went out that night and ripped off a shoe and all the walls where we would have nailed into. Soo now Mr. Fancy Pants is wearing 1 new glue on Poly flex shoe and one regular steel shoe. 

He also has shown us that he is definitely NOT a fan of American flies. So I will be looking online at all the newest fly gear for his royal highness. 

Horses. It's always something. 

Em
		
Click to expand...

Haha, he knows you like him so now he's being a diva to get all the goodies 

Glue on shoes are handy for serial shoe pullers.  Mine needed them when I first got him - either cos he was young and clumsy or because farrier was sorting out his foot balance - and they worked a treat.  Expensive though !


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## BunnyDog (6 May 2018)

Saturday night update with video! 

Went to a small show not far from us today.  Originally we were going to contest their "mini prix" at 1.15m but our scratched down tho just being me.  So I settled for doing just the High amateur division of 1.10m 

https://youtu.be/52YinCrnI_g

https://youtu.be/rKPI4BHjFE0

https://youtu.be/Neh-FT21LdA

Ok first class was an optimum time class.  So our run out, 100% due to my poor line, didn't count against me and we finished second.  

The second was a power and speed class so if you're clear after jumps 1-7 you go fast fences 8-12. If you pay attention you'll see I got him to take 1 stride in a 2 stride combination.  We won this class.  

The third was going well until the last fence.  The voice you hear say "EMILY! " is my trainer from 7th grade Beth Wicas. I'm planning to take some lessons with her  again soon.  We finished second in this class. 

For the second week in a row we were reserve champion.  Very happy with Cudo and he's really kicking butt. 

Enjoy.  

Emily


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## HeresHoping (6 May 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			Saturday night update with video! 

Went to a small show not far from us today.  Originally we were going to contest their "mini prix" at 1.15m but our scratched down tho just being me.  So I settled for doing just the High amateur division of 1.10m 

https://youtu.be/52YinCrnI_g

https://youtu.be/rKPI4BHjFE0

https://youtu.be/Neh-FT21LdA

Ok first class was an optimum time class.  So our run out, 100% due to my poor line, didn't count against me and we finished second.  

The second was a power and speed class so if you're clear after jumps 1-7 you go fast fences 8-12. If you pay attention you'll see I got him to take 1 stride in a 2 stride combination.  We won this class.  

The third was going well until the last fence.  The voice you hear say "EMILY! " is my trainer from 7th grade Beth Wicas. I'm planning to take some lessons with her  again soon.  We finished second in this class. 

For the second week in a row we were reserve champion.  Very happy with Cudo and he's really kicking butt. 

Enjoy.  

Emily
		
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How absolutely fabulous! You really do have a horse in a million there. And jees, they put some distance between your fences in a speed class! 

Now don't tell anyone else where you got him otherwise there'll be nothing left here for us!


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## BunnyDog (6 May 2018)

HeresHoping said:



			How absolutely fabulous! You really do have a horse in a million there. And jees, they put some distance between your fences in a speed class! 

Now don't tell anyone else where you got him otherwise there'll be nothing left here for us!
		
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Lol those courses were interesting for sure.  A week ago I was almost constantly turning,  then yesterday I felt like I was back in the school gym running wind sprints up and down the basketball court.  Still a fun day.  

Uhhhh sorry I've already mentioned that he came from England.  Though I think you're safe.  Most people have an over inflated mental value on the airfare and the cost of horses to import.  They would die if they knew what I actually paid.  Ha ha. Thank goodness for great exchange rates at the time.  

Em


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## BunnyDog (6 June 2018)

HI Everyone!!!!

I'm sorry it's been so long between updates. We have been having more rain than usual and as such our most recent scheduled show was cancelled...as we were on the grounds and being told to shelter in place due to lightning. 

So let me catch you up on the past month. 

1: We are headed to America's oldest Horse Show tomorrow, Upperville Horse Show in Upperville, Virginia. This is right outside the equestrian hub town of Middleburg, Virginia. We will be competing in the High Adult Amateur division which has fences from 1.10m-1.15m. We had been trying to do the Low Ammy Owner classes that are contested at 1.20m but sadly all our higher show classes either cancelled due to lack or turnout or weather. So this is the best path forward for us. We are now aiming for a 6/30/18 show to move up to 1.20. There's a free live feed of the show at www.upperville.com/live BUT it won't show our ring. However you can see live scores on line at this link:  http://www.ryegate.com/SHOWS/UppervilleJ/2018/tsked.php   John will be taking pics and a pro video company will be there so there will be lots to see after the fact. 

2) Given all the rain I guess we were due for some challenges, they came in the form of shoeing issues. All is well now but Cudo has 1 glue on shoe and 1 steel and a patch over a crack that he came with. Our vet and farrier felt it best to try to help the crack to move on so we're working to grow it out. This can take a long time but he's worth trying to help with the foundation of his soundness. He's still barefoot behind but he'll likely get hind shoes in the next month or so. 

3: Boy can he jump. We went a few weeks ago to Boyd Martin's farm and schooled in his outdoor school. We 'happened' to play over a bigger fence in a line of 3. How big... well we got it up to 1.40m and he doesn't even look like he's trying on the pathetic fuzzy video: https://youtu.be/p0A4vbsxGCI

4: I have started taking lessons with my trainer from the 7th grade. So in 1984 Beth was my instructor at my school. He we are MANY years later, she's close by, is a fabulous instructor still and has agreed to help us with our goals and my desire to be better. Plus side, she loves Cudo. (I mean who doesn't!) All is well through 3 lessons so far. Yesterday's lesson was a great confidence boost and we feel ready for the show now. Video clip here (Turn down your volume!!) https://youtu.be/p03almkrL1Y

So that's the short version of the last 30 days. AS always please come like Cudo's Facebook page!! https://www.facebook.com/ElCuadorHorse/

Best, 

Emily


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## Sheep (7 June 2018)

Glad everything is going so well for you and your lovely boy!

All the best for upcoming competitions - looking forward to hearing how everything goes


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## pixie27 (7 June 2018)

I really love following you guys - he is a gorgeous horse and you both seem to love each other's company. Good luck for Upperville, look forward to reading reports and seeing pictures.


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## Accidental Eventer (7 June 2018)

Good luck, can't wait to hear how you go. He really does make jumping look effortless!


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## BunnyDog (7 June 2018)

Ok now I am laughing. In an ounce of conservative caution I added a round in the Low Adult Ammy Jumpers tomorrow before my high class. This will be at 1m. I checked the order, yep.... I go second out of 52 rides. Ha ha ha. 

But in my High class, which follows it, I am going 46th in the order, out of 50 entries.  So that's a nice Long break between rides. 

Getting excited. Hard to sit at my work desk and focus right now. Keep watching the live feed of the 1.30 class thinking how I want to earn my way up there. 

Em


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## Colivet (7 June 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			Keep watching the live feed of the 1.30 class thinking how I want to earn my way up there. 

Em
		
Click to expand...

From what I've seen in your pics and videos - this will happen sooner than you might think (-


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## BunnyDog (11 June 2018)

So it was a fun weekend with a lot of good experiences and as expected some learning moments. I think I improved from Friday's round to Sunday's. I did manage a ribbon out of 40+ on Saturday (YAY) and we came away understanding more about each other and what we have to work on. This is good as we now have 3 weeks until our next show which is a more local 1 day show. So that more lessons in this time frame seem like a good idea. 

I am including the 3 rounds YouTube Links. There are pics up on Cudo's FB page. He was sassy this morning and happy to get out in the rain with his buddy Max. We were very lucky that I stabled near the show with a friend and he had turnout down there every day so he wasn't cooped up in a tent stall in the blazing heat that we dealt with Saturday. 

Round 1 Friday: https://youtu.be/GE7n0mIvByM  This was a Power and Speed class. Since we were not clear we didn't progress beyond fence 8. 

We had a blip at fence 3 and I would say that it was an equal mix of me not riding him enough and him deciding that for whatever reason he didn't appreciate the fence. 

Round 2 Saturday: https://youtu.be/Mo3gZdUM3rQ This was a table 2b class. You jump clear first. Then stop for a sec, then jump your jump off. We managed to finish 7th out of I think 43 in this round.

This was a much better round in terms of riding Cudo versus sitting on Cudo.  The blip at fence 6 was odd but he kept it up so that's all the counts. 

Round 3 Sunday: https://youtu.be/VLJvk4zcSSc This was a stakes class and also in table 2b format. I was really excited to try the jump off, sadly a rail at #2 that was avoidable, if I hadn't picked on his mouth, took me out of that. 

Overall I am pretty happy with where we are. We have work to do, as every rider does, and we will keep working hard to improve our game. Thank you all for following along, we appreciate all the support from near and far. 

Best, 

Emily


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## McFluff (11 June 2018)

Lovely. You both make it look so easy and comfortable, and that you&#8217;ve scope to burn. Pity about the pole in the third round as that was (otherwise) a really classy round. Good luck for your next show.


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## BunnyDog (12 June 2018)

McFluff, 

I totally agree. That was going to be a good round. Much better had I left him alone or done my adjustments on landing instead of in the last feet before the base. (And yes I know better...ugh)

He does make it easy and it's a lot of fun to ride him and have that kind of scope beneath me. He's on his second day off today but back to the routine tomorrow. 

Emily


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## BunnyDog (17 June 2018)

Well I did a thing today.  I called an audible on my show schedule and threw Cudo on the trailer.  We went north to one of my favorite venues,  East Freehold Park,  in East Freehold,  NJ for the Monmouth County Show run by Claudine Liberatore. I woke up wanting to tackle the next height level (3'11" /1.20m) in the form of their Low Amateur Owner division.  I was the only one in the classes so I was given beautiful blue ribbons and lovely prizes.  But what was even better was the ease and confidence that came from riding Cudo over what used to be 'big' fences.  He makes it so damn easy and he teases my desires to see how big we might go.  Sure I have style points and other things to improve (course memorization! &#128514 but there was no fear,  no nerves, just pure joy that it all went as it should and some flying sensations intertwined. No ribbons exist that would surmount those feelings.  &#10084; Let me not understate this,  I got past a couple big demons who've been entrenched in me for a LONG time today.  I really just want to celebrate.  But there's more work to do.  

My heartfelt thanks to Rose Nolen-Walston (Also English! )for letting me steal her daughter Ali for the day to be my right hand girl.  I had so much fun hearing how to win from a Devon Horse Show champion.  She's just awesome to spend a day with! Sadly my photographer hubby John was at work so all we have is video and a couple screen shots.  I think the videos show a marked improvement from last weekend.  Cudo likes more pace and I let the pony kid in me out for some "chicken wing flapping, smooch smooch, Git er done" type of rounds.  And it worked! 

Enjoy! 

Em 

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Zcl8F0HWIYI


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## Bernster (17 June 2018)

What a super boy!  Lovely to hear how good he&#8217;s been for your confidence.  Those courses are bonkers. I love how your friends are giving you directions, sat nav needed haha.  But I see no chicken wings and pony club kicks though.  I&#8217;m jumping half your height but I&#8217;ve got those moves mastered if you need help hahahahah.


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## ycbm (17 June 2018)

I understand you totally. I could never crack 1.20 show jumping and it's a lasting disappointment. I topped out at 1.15   They are BIG fences!

Well done, and bask in that sensation!


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## Polos (27 June 2018)

BunnyDog I have sent you a message if you don't mind!


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## BunnyDog (5 July 2018)

Hey Polos, I tried to PM you back but it gave me error messages. 

I am happy to help you. Feel free to email me emily.daignault@gmail.com

So sorry you went through that. I'm heartbroken for you. 

Em


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## BunnyDog (13 July 2018)

Good Afternoon All, 

It's another warm weekend in the US but nearly as bad as 2 weeks ago. We were dealing with what the weather apps call a 'real feel' temp of 42 degrees celsius. The actual temp was around 34 degrees but with the lack of wind and humidity, it felt like 108 or 110 degrees Farenheit. That's way too hot. 

On tap for the next few days is taking Cudo to not 1 but two shows. He'll got a local farm's show tomorrow and do their newly added 1.20 Low Amateur Owner division. We lobbied for a high division to be added to more local show and this facility stepped up so as a a result I am going to give them my support. I am however not doing all the classes as we will also be showing on Tuesday as well. It was easier to get a day off from work on a random Tuesday than a Friday and the farm hosting the Tuesday show is a well known and lovely facility, that I have never been to. So, 2 shows in the next 5 days. But again, only aiming to do around 2 classes per show. 

The more fun part is that I will look very tough as I have 9 new stitches in my cheek from a skin cancer removal on Wednesday. 

If you'd like to see the show sites you can go here:

http://knockonwoodfarmllc.com/

http://www.ridgeshowjumping.com/

Video I found on YouTube from a Low AO round there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvSsLk7ejnI

So that's what Cudo is up to this week. Fingers crossed it goes well. 

Have a good weekend of sport over there too!!!

Em


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## Northern Hare (13 July 2018)

Hi Bunnydog! Thanks for the update and good luck to you and Cudo at your two shows - and look forward to reading / watching the updates! Also, all the best for your Op this week, and hope you recover quickly!

Btw, we&#8217;re also having an amazing few weeks of wonderful hot and dry weather - we live very close to where Cudo came from and we&#8217;re accustomed to plenty of rain, but today is literally the first rain we&#8217;ve had in six weeks - amazing for this time of year!


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## BunnyDog (15 July 2018)

Well the first (unrecognized) show went really well. I was one of 3 people in my division of 1.20m jumpers and thankfully since I was the last to go and it was a VERY laid back show, I asked the fences to be made up to true size. And they did and it was awesome. The down side was that we didn't have any good warm up area. Soooo we only got to jump over 1 lowered vertical 3 times. And then I had to go hop to our 1.20 course. Soooo we got a cheap rail in the first two courses, completely understandable. I was still thrilled with him. The kicker is that when they raised the fences they raised this liverpool oxer and it looked 'big' to my eye. Didn't matter much as it wasn't on the first course, BUT....there it was on the second course. As the first fence. The show people, God love them, offered to lower it for me. That was when I blinked and said no thanks. Big girl pants went on and we jumped it well. I made sure to ride it how you should, with pace and to the base and shocker (not really) my scopey boy sailed over it. And man that was a great feeling. Euphoric in fact. 

So lots of great times. We were the champion of our 3 man division even though I only did 2 classes. (They let me do the second course a second time to polish it a little...hence the 3rd round on video. )

So not bad. Now we get ready for the show on Tuesday. Probably by sleeping in tomorrow. 

Video is here: 

https://youtu.be/j5Avcq0Ro-4

Pics are here:

https://www.facebook.com/ElCuadorHo...tif_id=1531630690875168&notif_t=story_reshare

Hope you enjoy. Some folks who have met Cudo and watched him are now curious about English sale horses. LOL

Em


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## BunnyDog (18 July 2018)

Ok so how wrong does this sound.... Another show at 1.20, another championship.  (Against 2 people again, like Saturday. Which feels better than saying I was champion when I was the only one in the division. 

We went to the recognized show today and it was forecast to be challenging weather and boy was it. High humidity and temps and then a hell of a storm that came through. I had the option to do my last round in the deluge and I'm lucky in rain so I did it. Nice round until fence 6 but all in all lots of forward progress. 

I am completely exhausted but Cudo continues to be a star. I'm reminded as I sit here that a friend of mine commented after I got him "Oh you'll be doing 1.40 by the end of the year." It's completely unlikely but 5 months in I could see it. Not interested in rushing him but man he's that spectacular. 

All the rounds are on his YouTube Playlist. The Show is called "The Ridge at Riverview" 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKBarO_NR9rgNc5Slv2uLRl8125uELIqg

Em


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## Zero00000 (18 July 2018)

Love seeing your photos on Facebook,
He really is some horse, exciting times ahead!


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## BunnyDog (18 July 2018)

Thanks very much Zero. I love having him and being able to do all the fun stuff. 

Em


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## HeresHoping (18 July 2018)

I have to admit, whilst showjumping is not my thing (closet eventer with a string of lame horses to her name) and I don't do geldings (string of unsuitable partnerships on that score), I am green with envy. He is, as Zero says, some horse. So exciting to watch.


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## BunnyDog (18 July 2018)

HeresHoping said:



			I have to admit, whilst showjumping is not my thing (closet eventer with a string of lame horses to her name) and I don't do geldings (string of unsuitable partnerships on that score), I am green with envy. He is, as Zero says, some horse. So exciting to watch.
		
Click to expand...

Thanks. I really am so fortunate to have found all of you and as such found my way to him. By far the greatest horse of my career. 

For those that are oooing and ahhhing over the show rounds let me tell you, schooling at home is a challenge. And he has taken months to stops snorting and blowing at a set of rails on the ground. He has a little spin and change of tack is not a welcome concept. But at a show he is as professional as they come. He makes my days better and he's done everything I had hoped and elevated my riding a ton. 

Em


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## BunnyDog (13 August 2018)

Update from the states. It's either hot or wet right now. I have 7 jump rails in my garage waiting to finish being painted as it's been too humid to finish what I started 4 weeks ago. I will get to them but not right now it seem. 

Yesterday Cudo and I did a heavier jump school in prep for a bigger show this weekend at the US Equestrian Team Headquarters in New Jersey. We will be doing the Low Amateur Owner division (1.20-1.25) and for fun I tossed in the Friday 1.25 welcome stake. Devin Ryan has a horse in there also so finally we have found some competition!! 33 or so others in the welcome and 10-14 in the division. So we have to work to get any ribbons this weekend. I am hoping since it's my birthday Sunday that maybe things will go well enough in a larger class. Fingers crossed. 

Here's the video:  https://youtu.be/WTEUoS22_S0

We have this show this weekend and then we wheel him right back to the Zone 2 Jumper Team Championships the following Thurs-Sun. We even have a jog for this!! It's a Nations Cup format and though we're only doing the 1.10 High Adult Amateur section I am hopeful that we can string together a bunch of good rounds.  

Then on 9/3 (Labor day here) we have a local Mini Prix that while it's unrecognized a lot of top horses who regularly do the big shows come and compete. Should be a lot of fun. 

But the big show on the calendar is The American Gold Cup at the end of September. http://www.theamericangoldcup.com/

This is a BIG DEAL show. I am loving that I can go up for 4 days and watch the best of the best when I am not competing. I will walk all the courses and try to absorb as much knowledge as I can. 

Then we're not sure what we'll do in Oct/Nov. Nothing is planned yet.  I'm debating between doing more lessons and a boot camp of sorts before the winter indoor season fires up, or showing as normal. 

Soooo that's life from the colony. I hope you all are enjoying your show seasons as well!!!

Em


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## Sheep (14 August 2018)

Sounds like he is going really well - brilliant to follow your progress - super boy! Good luck for the upcoming competitions. Do let us know how it all goes.
And happy birthday too - is it this Sunday (19th?) - if so, my birthday too


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## BunnyDog (14 August 2018)

Sheep said:



			Sounds like he is going really well - brilliant to follow your progress - super boy! Good luck for the upcoming competitions. Do let us know how it all goes.
And happy birthday too - is it this Sunday (19th?) - if so, my birthday too 

Click to expand...

Yep, turning 47 on Sunday the 19th. Cudo was born on April 19th and I believe that the folks born on 19th's are just generally very very brilliant folks. 

Thanks for the well wishes. I'll try to do my best!

Emily


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## BunnyDog (20 August 2018)

Exhausted but stopping by to drop off videos. I promise I'll write it all out tomorrow. 

First Class: https://youtu.be/Tob-BiVB3Dg

Second day, low class I added:

https://youtu.be/geiafBPRhtU

Jump off for that class:

https://youtu.be/hreNxP321z8

Low AO Speed class (1.20m):

https://youtu.be/gEBO788Vm1o

Final classic today (1.25m):

https://youtu.be/8J7Mu2DHd8Q


Overall a great recovery from a less than wonderful start to the weekend. 

Em


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## HeresHoping (20 August 2018)

A whoops! And a well done! And a pity about the knock, but a much better looking round. What happened at fence 2, Em? He looked fine going into the first.


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## Northern Hare (20 August 2018)

Hi BD, that's fantastic well done - that must have been a shock to find yourself taking a tumble in the first class but the last round looked really great! 

I've really enjoyed reading all your posts and watching the videos. Just checking back on YouTube it looks like Cudo arrived over with you at the beginning on Oct '17, so I bet you're delighted with your lovely horse in less than a year! I seem to remember that one of your aims when trying all those horses was to find a new horse who would take you to 1.20m so you must be so pleased to have done done that in such style - and at what looks like an amazing show!   Thanks again for posting the videos.


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## ycbm (20 August 2018)

What's he worth in the US now Emily?   $50,000 ?  More?


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## BunnyDog (20 August 2018)

HeresHoping said:



			A whoops! And a well done! And a pity about the knock, but a much better looking round. What happened at fence 2, Em? He looked fine going into the first.
		
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Well.... he's done it once before. At his first 'big' American show. The commonality between then and now is probably my nerves. That said I really have no clue. And falling was a new element. That said I think it was a much needed reminder to wake up and be an active participant rather than thinking that once I set the cruise control that all will be perfect beneath me. I did more and better things after I hit the dirt so all's well that ends well. 

Northern Hare - Actually I got him in February. I went on a buying trip in October and the horse I loved massively failed the vet. (But good news he's for sale now for 2x the price so you all can buy him!) Cudo didn't arrive until 2/10/18. 


YCBM - I'll let you know. I have asked a friend who runs one of the bigger sales sites in the US for Jumpers and Hunters. 


Em


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## BunnyDog (20 August 2018)

Per my friend around $40-60k US now. 

Em


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## ycbm (20 August 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			Per my friend around $40-60k US now. 

Em
		
Click to expand...

Mine was a good guess then


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## Northern Hare (20 August 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			Northern Hare - Actually I got him in February. I went on a buying trip in October and the horse I loved massively failed the vet. (But good news he's for sale now for 2x the price so you all can buy him!) Cudo didn't arrive until 2/10/18.  Em
		
Click to expand...

Of course - apologies - we have our dates the other way round (dd/mm/yy), so I looked at 2/10 and took that to be 2nd Oct - that would have been impressive enough - but 10th Feb is even better!


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## BunnyDog (20 August 2018)

Northern Hare said:



			Of course - apologies - we have our dates the other way round (dd/mm/yy), so I looked at 2/10 and took that to be 2nd Oct - that would have been impressive enough - but 10th Feb is even better!
		
Click to expand...

Yep 6 months and change is a pretty good start. Nice to be figuring things out more and more. I found a bit he likes better, a full cheek waterford. We had been using a slow twist loose ring but I was thinking that he didn't need the edge as a surface that had more play to it. And I was right. Now we're just getting him some bit cheeks as the bottom edge of the full cheek can actually slide into his mouth. Oh that's not good!!!  But should be right as rain after we fix that. 

Em


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## BunnyDog (22 August 2018)

My apologies, I realized I forgot to come back and write a more complete summary of events. 

Ok so since we leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow for the next show, allow me to summarize the past one a little more briefly. 

First this show was the first one where I FINALLY had more than 2 competitors to ride against in my classes. I had entered what's called the Low Amateur Owner Jumper division which is contested at heights between 1.20-1.25. For fun I had also entered the 1.25 Welcome stake. That was on Friday after my first AO class. 

When we got there we had a look around and saw the lay of the land. There was a not very big indoor where most folks were warming up and then there were 2 jumps at the ring where folks were mostly just popping a final fence or two. The ring was lovely and the fences were very nice. 

I took him into the indoor to warm up and there were many others in there with me at the same time. Oddly Cudo was backed off by all this activity and seemed to take a while to get into his groove both flatting and jumping. It probably didn't help that I had to pull out of an approach a couple times as people were flying by us like gnats and jumping fences we had been headed for without calling out. (Jumps were not flagged, so that they could all be approached from both directions)

I made my way to the ring and popped a few jumps there. When it was our time we went in, had a nice look around and set off. I switched my whip to my left hand and tapped him on the shoulder so he knew it was there as he has shown the odd/random left side spook or glance off before. Jumped the first just fine with plenty of scope and cantered the 6 strides to the second fence (a simple vertical). Except at stride 5 he decided to prop and leave stage right. Admittedly I think my shoulder were too far forward as the little prop knocked me loose enough that combined with his stage left maneuver I hit the ground. I had enough time to think "Oh this is gonna hurt" on the way down and it did. My right butt cheek took the brunt of things. All these fancy footing rings are lovely for the horses, but they feel awful if you get dropped. 

I got up, Cudo got caught and I was apoplectic with embarrassment. I had just been talking to Devin Ryan in the warmup and now I looked the fool. I knew doing the 1.25 welcome was now a horrible idea so I took my breath and got John to hold Cudo and went to the office to shift things around. I scratched from the welcome and added him into an open 1m class in the Am. I kept him in the AO class after but I was fully aware that I could scratch that too if needed. We sulked off home and I had a lot of time on the heating pad overnight. 

I woke up Saturday and was determined to ride much better than my Friday showing. So we go to the 1m class and I rode him like the dirtiest stopper in the world. And he never looked at a thing. We were clear and did our jump off and I turned the accelerator on a bit. We went quick and managed to finish 4th out of 14 entries. I felt like he was fine and whatever happened the day before was no longer in play. So we went back to the next AO class, which was a speed class. I haven't really asked him to go too fast at our shows. But surely if ever there was a time to be pushing and going on a bit, I think now might be a wise moment. So I wet in the ring with the mindset that we would just do our best at a healthy clip. He was a friggin star!!! I knew he can turn, I knew he can slice lines and I know the height isn't an issue. Amazingly we went fast enough to capture the lead. But we had to sit through another 7 riders after we went to see if it would hold. Shockingly it did!!! I beat 10 people and won a class with money and actual other people. (Shock didn't cover it!) I laughed at the horse show fates, but enjoyed it nonetheless. 

Sunday we just had the classic for the AO. I was still wondering if he'd be ok without a low prep round, but my hubby was adamant that no, this is the path forward. You both know your jobs, he's been in the ring and jumps the jumps, don't baby him. Hold yourselves to your competent knowledge. So we did. It was an interesting course. I have never seen a course that started with 5 verticals. I knew it was a trap to get us to pull something somewhere, and yet we still ticked #4. Once the rail fell I decided it was probably a better choice to school a bit on our lines and changes for the rest of the round. I know there were enough other riders who'd be clear to make placing highly unlikely even if we were the fastest 4 faulter. So we finished with a tidy round and I think Cudo was happy for the lack of pace as the humidity from the prior two days had sapped him a bit. I can see on the 3rd to last fence on the video that he didn't snap his knees in his typical manner. I think he was just a shade tired. So we finished with 4 faults and 4 time faults. I was thrilled with him and very excited about our future. 

I don't mind saying that Friday night I was questioning everything and one of my friends suggested that we should back down to a lower level. That just because I had done big before, and he had done big before, it didn't mean we should just rush into doing it together and it would work. It's a sensible comment but I just wanted to crawl into a hole. I hadn't rushed. I had taken my time, we had done 3 successful shows at this height already. Was this the perception of me from the outsiders? It really bothered me and I didn't sleep well at all. Looking back I think it motivated me much more. 

So now this week we have the Team championships and I am on an Adult Amateur High team that competes at 1.10-1.15m. Cudo's had 2 days off rolling in the mud and lying in the deepest straw stall in front of his fan. I'll hack him today and get on the road tomorrow. We're getting him in the ring with either a 1m or a 1.10m class tomorrow am before the championships actually begin. We have to be on the grounds by 11 and the jog is Friday at 12. Followed by the first Individual round. It's a Nations Cup format so Individual round on day 1, 2 team rounds on day 2, and a final individual round on day 3. 

Sadly John has to work so he'll try to get pics maybe Saturday but definitely Sunday. 

Thanks for following us. 

Emily


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## VRIN (22 August 2018)

Looking forward to reading all about it. Enjoy and good luck.


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## BunnyDog (27 August 2018)

This was a long show and I am still a bit tired, but overall extremely "Chuffed" (I think that's the English word) with Cudo as a whole. 

To summarize this was our competition schedule and events each day:

Thursday: Had to be at grounds by 11 for check in for the Team competition. Did a 1.10m open round just to get him in the ring. You wont believe this, but I was thrilled with him. It was a good round, though intentionally slow, so I had 9 time faults and then I thought I we were jumping off for a medal of some kind and tried to slice fence 9 that just really was way too extreme of a line, so we had a silly runout. But I stayed on and re-jumped it so all was fine. Honestly the round gave me a ton of confidence in the weekend as a whole.

Video is here: https://youtu.be/I7R6HU2Cj7k

Friday: We had the jog at 12pm (on a ring surface instead of packed anything) and that went fine. 

Video here: https://youtu.be/bhOhqoV0NWI

Friday afternoon we had our first class for the Team champs and it was a Table Section 1 class which is a speed class. No faults converted though, so if you pull a rail you have 4 faults and your time. The goal being to go clean and fast as the time for this first class would decide any ties after the last round on Sunday. And boy did Cudo take that seriously. I have watched the video and I see points where we could have gone faster but we did a solid round, solid enough to sit in 2nd out of 17 riders. 

Video here: https://youtu.be/ZfFejuQv_IY

Saturday: We had team day. This consisted of 2 rounds over the same course with no speed component in the 2 rounds. Just Table 2 courses, which means go in do the course inside the time with no faults. (Basically Eventing Show jumping style) The kicker was coming back and doing it a second time once they had seen the track and doing it clean again. I had a fantastic team of 3 other lovely ladies. 3 of us had been in the top 6 of the first round so there was some hope that we might be able to be competitive.  We went in and amazingly produced clear rounds with all but 1 of our horses so we were standing on a score of 0 with our drop score. Cudo and I had jumped last and so the Chef asked if I was comfortable being the jump off rider to jump for the gold and silver. 1 rider from each team tied for a medal placing had to jump off for the medal. I went first and I honestly was just a tick slow. Not really intentionally, but I can see on video where I was not going as much as normal. We did our jump off in 37 seconds and the other rider managed to beat me and get a 35 second round. But still we earned the silver medal out of a total of 4 teams.  And 3 rounds and 1 jump off in, Cudo and I were still holding second with a score of 0. It was a good day!!!

Video of round 1 here: https://youtu.be/doZPxeGg0q0

Video of round 2 here: https://youtu.be/_bJs1pIkpU4

Sunday:  We had our last individual round. 1 round just clear and inside the time. The times from Fridays speed rounds were going to determine the individual placings if we all were still on a 0 score. Reverse order of standings meant that I went second to last. I was nervous but not in an I cant do this way but more in that the law of averages and being able to jump another clear was wearing on me. I typically make mistakes I mean we all do in subtle ways, and I am still figuring him out. But I did walk the course when the ring was set for their Grand Prix so when it was actually put down to 1.15 and I walked it again I was laughing. 1.40-1.45 actually didnt look bad. I kind of want to head that way and I think Cudo could do it too. &#128522; I tried to use what I knew from jumping stadium at the old long format 3 days. I knew he was tired and I didnt do a lot. I did a bit of stretching while off his back and worked long and low before jumping only 5 warm up jumps. The girls in 4th and 3rd had gone clear. I had to go clear to stay in second and I doubted seriously that the horse in first would touch anything. So I went in and set off. 1 and 2 were good 3 was nice, and he sailed over 4 but was sucking back as he gave a big look at 5 and added a stride. He did an ugly bunny hop and left 5 up so I got after him and pushed him forward through the rollback turn to the triple at 6abc. He went through that fine even with the forward distances but then my most common problem emerged again, I didnt get my reins back quite enough and didnt half halt as much as was needed on the way to the style fence at 7 and I knew it had a feather touch top rail and sadly we took it down with a good clunk. I groaned internally but then tried to fight out the rest of the course to keep it to just 4 faults. Cudo, per usual, hates hitting fences and was careful the rest of the way. The in and out at 10ab wasnt pretty but we got it done and by 11 and 12 he was back to sailing the jumps in his typical style. And then like all shows, it was done. I couldnt get the rail back, all that was left was to thank my horse for helping me along and to learn from these moments so that in the future we will make it on the podium instead of being relegated to 5th place. We had a fun time in the victory gallop and I got off his back and promised him even more treats. 

Video here: https://youtu.be/hHTP3Hi6mFM

We cooled out and bathed him and indeed stuffed him full of stud muffins and apple flavored treats. Then we had to pack up and go home. And then we were home, he was out in the field and I was a rider staring at a pink ribbon kicking myself for what might have been. Its not a big deal, this isnt our true goal but you all know you get to thinking of how cool it would be to win or be placed high and when it doesnt come to fruition, well theres that moment of being bummed. 

Today I am better and so appreciative of my big boy. He is getting a pulsing treatment this am to help with those undoubtedly sore muscles and we have a show (only 1 or 2 classes) a week from today on Labor day. Its a local unrecognized mini prix set at 1.25. Ive always watched but never had the horse to ride it. So this time were in and then the next show isnt until Sept 27th, so Cudo will get a weeks break and then fire up again. Hes getting 3 days off this week, well timed with a heat spell, and then well go into the Monday show gently. 

I hope you all are enjoying the ride. God knows the number of people who are now intrigued with horses to be found in England just went up again this weekend. A couple Grand Prix riders even took note of Cudo. So watch out the Americans might be onto the English sales horses. Ha ha ha. 

Emily


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## VRIN (28 August 2018)

'Chuffed' is definitely the right word! Well done. Its good that its not all easy as you can really appreciate it when all goes well!!


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## teacups (28 August 2018)

Thanks for these updates - I love reading them. 
As well as that, it's lovely to hear of a horse purchase which has gone so well! You are clearly having a fabulous time working together with him.


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## fetlock (1 September 2018)

I still haven't a clue how American SJ works, but am still thoroughly enjoy reading your updates.


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## BunnyDog (1 September 2018)

fetlock said:



			I still haven't a clue how American SJ works, but am still thoroughly enjoy reading your updates.
		
Click to expand...

This made me laugh, which I really needed as I had to put down my 18 yr old boy "Lad" Thursday and so any humor is more then welcome at the moment. 

OK let me try to explain American Show jumping. 

1) The ultimate goal is still first and foremost to jump clean

2) Usually we have a speed component as well. Whether it's a speed class or a class with a shortened jump off where you want to jump clean and be fastest

3) The Nations cup format that we did last weekend is VERY RARE. I have only seen Nations cup formats with actual Nations Cups. That said it still was cool to jump 3 full rounds and 1 jump off clean in a row. 

4) The Team competition thing is a new entity. The US Show Jumping folks are trying to find a way to spot younger talent across the countryside. This is one of the programs. The whole program details can be seen and read here:  https://ushja.org/programs/jumper/ch_aahome.aspx


So Cudo has been well rested. I gave him 3 full days off and so far we have only done light flatwork going into Monday's show. I might ship him to a place for a long trail ride today. I'm waiting to see how I feel. I was trying to give myself today to kind of get through the worst of the grief from Lad's death since it's a long weekend and no one needs me for anything. But I would also like to do well in the Monday class so a little torn. 

Let me know if there are specific queries about our classes and how the rules work. I can try and explain a bit more. 

Em


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## Northern Hare (2 September 2018)

Hi BD!  Thanks for posting your show report - I really enjoyed reading it and watching the videos - you and Cudo are doing so well!

Really sorry to read you've lost one of your other horses though - that's a sad time for you.

Good luck for your show on Monday - hopefully some good rounds with Cudo will help to lift your spirits a bit after your loss.


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## BunnyDog (5 September 2018)

Monday show report. Apologies for the delay. Work has been a bit chaotic and then today I had my second procedure to remove a bit of skin cancer from my face. Fun times!!! But I am home today and now have time to post. 

So first and foremost it was REALLY hot. As in, we brought a fan from home so while in the trailer he would be able to be cooled off. Game plan was simple, do the 1.10m speed class then wait and let him cool off again. I brought plenty of ice and planned to give him a nice ice bath cool off, ala the old style vet boxes at my three days. So we got ready and went out. VERY short warm up and then we got a bit lucky. The clouds came over and we got a breeze and a light drizzle as we went into the ring. Easy course and he was so on. We went in and he was raring to go. He was great all the way around. I overshot the roll back to the 8th fence and had to swerve a bit to get back online. We finished well and they announced that I was the new leader.  And that held up, we did win this class.

Video here:  https://youtu.be/G-7hrqRboeM?list=PLKBarO_NR9rgNc5Slv2uLRl8125uELIqg 

So we quickly got him back to the trailer and right as we walked in the downpour started. He was warm but not bad and the ice bath did a lot to helping him cool down. We got him settled in his trailer and let him relax with 2 fans blowing on him and some fresh hay and water. So then I went down and waited to walk the mini prix course. After the rain came through we had a bit more mud but the footing was holding up fine. We had an interesting course and I was psyched to ride it, but no more storm clouds around and a lot of direct sun so I was trying to judge how much riding he would need before we went in. 

He warmed up well, **Side note: Imagine a warm up area with 3 practice jumps warming up 1.25m mini prix horses AND a bunch of .65m low derby ponies. To say it was unusual and a little rough would be an understatement** So we did only 5 warm up jumps and then went to take a shot at it. 

It was a great round, almost. Fences 1-7 were amazing. He was going smoothly and nothing was causing that much of an effort to him. The triple was off a turn and was an oxer (8A) 2 strides to a vertical (8B) and then a 1 stride to the vertical at (8C). He came around the turn well and we got a step long to the A element. He cleared it easily but then he landed, did 2 strides AND then ran out left. UGH. I corrected him and re approached and he jumped it just fine, a little hesitation but still scopey as heck. Then he finished nicely over fence 9. I had pulled 8A on the second attempt so I think we had 8 faults but the results aren't posted and I might have gotten some time. 

Now lets look at the obvious, this is the 4th left side runout at a show. We are going to have my vets and dentist to look at him. My ophthalmologist saw him last week because she was nearby (I am her secretary and she checked him as a favor to me). Our next show isn't for 2.5 weeks so we're resting him a few days and then going to do whatever he needs. We think it could be something small and I think the most frustrated person may be Lauren who I bought him from. This is all new and she is as confused as I am about where it's coming from. 

Video is Here:  https://youtu.be/m4bk9tegtGU?list=PLKBarO_NR9rgNc5Slv2uLRl8125uELIqg


So hopefully I can get this figured out, but we're onto American Gold Cup on 9/27/18. We should be ok and nothing planned after, but hopefully we'll have a couple more outings before the holidays. 

Soooo that's where we are. 

I'll post any news here. 

Em


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## fetlock (5 September 2018)

BunnyDog said:



			This made me laugh, which I really needed as I had to put down my 18 yr old boy "Lad" Thursday and so any humor is more then welcome at the moment. 

OK let me try to explain American Show jumping. 

1) The ultimate goal is still first and foremost to jump clean

2) Usually we have a speed component as well. Whether it's a speed class or a class with a shortened jump off where you want to jump clean and be fastest

3) The Nations cup format that we did last weekend is VERY RARE. I have only seen Nations cup formats with actual Nations Cups. That said it still was cool to jump 3 full rounds and 1 jump off clean in a row. 

4) The Team competition thing is a new entity. The US Show Jumping folks are trying to find a way to spot younger talent across the countryside. This is one of the programs. The whole program details can be seen and read here:  https://ushja.org/programs/jumper/ch_aahome.aspx


So Cudo has been well rested. I gave him 3 full days off and so far we have only done light flatwork going into Monday's show. I might ship him to a place for a long trail ride today. I'm waiting to see how I feel. I was trying to give myself today to kind of get through the worst of the grief from Lad's death since it's a long weekend and no one needs me for anything. But I would also like to do well in the Monday class so a little torn. 

Let me know if there are specific queries about our classes and how the rules work. I can try and explain a bit more. 

Em
		
Click to expand...

Glad to have cheered you up   and so sorry to hear that you lost your boy. x


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## BunnyDog (30 September 2018)

Hi Everyone!!!

Ok so I wrote a VERY long post. Turns out H&H doesn't like Novellas on their site. 

So here's a link to the recap for you all. 

Thanks for reading and following. 

Em

http://xctrygirl.blogspot.com/2018/09/american-gold-cup-recap.html


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## BunnyDog (3 October 2018)

Ok quick poll.....

Should I print a picture for the wall.... If so, which of the following????

Pic 1: Pink Jump

Pic 2:Liverpool

Pic 3: Head on 

or

option 4, wait for something better. 

My husband shot these and we have the high res files to make them pop, these are just the low res versions of them. 

Let me know your thoughts!!!!

Em


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## DiNozzo (3 October 2018)

Liverpool!


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## Branna (3 October 2018)

Water tray 
Lovely photo


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## siennamiller (3 October 2018)

Liverpool. You both look great.


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## BunnyDog (3 October 2018)

My husband found a frame later of the liverpool..... but I've lost the top of my head in the process... LOL


__
		https://flic.kr/p/MVP8HR

Em


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## SpringArising (15 October 2018)

Pink jump: it's the only photo where you can see all of you AND Cudo and you both look fabulous!


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## BunnyDog (15 October 2018)

I think we're going to wait. More shows with bigger fences in the future. 


He was great at the clinic with Joe Fargis this weekend. (1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, both individual and team show Jumping) 

Long video here. You can start at minute 7 and then it's only 8 mins long. 






Em


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## BunnyDog (19 November 2018)

I have been woefully remiss in posting Cudo updates. Sorry!!!

Yesterday I took Cudo and Chad to another clinic at my friend's indoor. This time we were riding with Laura Chapot. I have ridden with her before and appreciate many of the things that she teaches about. (Always go forward. Push with your seat to show him the line, guide with your hand. NEVER pull back)

I rode Chad first in the 'medium' height group and he was quite good. Then I rode Cudo in the 'high' group. Cudo was feeling good and was definitely on his toes. He has had a relaxed couple of weeks while we have been dealing with copious amounts of rain and a bit of snow. We now have a show in our sights again on Dec 2nd at a slightly lower height (1.10) but it should be a good day as it's a lovely facility. 

Here's a link to Cudo's video. 




I feel I should explain that not featured on this (because I don't have it recorded) we had a really bad stumble on landing from the blue oxer going towards the door of the indoor. I cannot understate this, he went down to almost his knees, my hat cut the bridge of my nose as we bobbled hard and I have a nicely swollen cheek below my eye where his crest and mane bashed into me as he was throwing his head back up to save himself. I hyper extended the back of my neck which hurt for a good 10 mins but was fine thereafter.  As a result, I pretty much rode that fence like hell the whole rest of my ride. So all excuses aside, I should have not let it affect me, but it did. 

Pics of both boys are shared on Cudo's Facebook page. 

Em


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## BunnyDog (20 November 2018)

And just for giggles here's Chad figuring out the courses. As with many greenies he thrives on the second time through of each exercise.


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## BunnyDog (3 December 2018)

So many fun adventures over the weekend and I just don't know where to begin. 

Well, the beginning seems best....

On Saturday we took a private lesson with Irish Eventer Joseph Murphy. I had taken an earlier group lesson with Chad and so I had an idea of what I was in for. We did explain though that this would be a 'tune up' lesson as we had a jumper show the next day and as such needed to work on form and function and not 8 million jumps. 

So we had a great time and really go through a couple issues and felt pretty good going into our show yesterday. So to explain this was a local schooling show series, end of year show. I had noticed when perusing the points online that somehow we were sitting 2nd in the rankings for one division, and somewhere in the top 5 in another division. As they were awarding double points for this show and since we hadn't done a show in over a month, I thought this would be a decent time to go play and see if we could improve our end of year standings. I really like the indoor ring that this show is held in and the people are truly lovely and kind. 

Sooo off we went. I decided not to bring Chad as his 90 mins in the clinic was jam packed full of new experiences and as the guardian of my little furry wunderkind, I thought it best to just let him hang out and chill instead of facing down another big new thing. 

We had 6 people in our first division and 4 in our second division. We had a show made for us as Cudo is a speed specialist and the classes were : 1:timed first round 2: 2 Phase with jump off and 3: faults converted, best time. 

In the first division we were very good but the jumps were only 1m. We won the first class, came 2nd by 0.10 seconds in the second class, and then unfortunately I got lost on course in the 3rd class and came 5th. That meant that we finished as the reserve champion for that division. 

In the second division we were a bit better, the jumper were now between 1.10 - 1.15m. Cudo seemed happier with the bigger efforts and indeed won the first two classes and came second in the last by a tiny amount which gave us the championship. 

So all in all really not a bad day. Cudo has been royally pampered and the weather gave us a treat as well so he's out naked today and rolling in the mud and enjoying the nearly 55 degree temperature. 

Videos are below. 

When I get the video of Chad's clinic I will post it. I imagine it will be entertaining. 

Em

First division: 




Second Division:


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## Quadro (3 December 2018)

Random question. How many are in the classes in the U.S? Seems to be calmer than the U.k!


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## BunnyDog (3 December 2018)

Quadro said:



			Random question. How many are in the classes in the U.S? Seems to be calmer than the U.k!
		
Click to expand...

Well you have to understand we live in a very strong horsey area. 

This weekend there were 6 jumper shows within approx a 100 mile radius. So while our show didn't have tons of people for these levels, there were overall 6 shows with these heights and classes. 

Each show had in their Adult Ammy divisions the following number of entries :
Best: 8
CJL: 5
FHSS: 6
Duncraven: 6
Palermo: 4  (But they had 3 in a 1.30 class)
Swan Lake: 8

So overall there were 37. So figure that means instead of one or two champions for 1-2 shows, there were 6 champions. 

Em


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## Quadro (3 December 2018)

Thats alot less than here!! In Scotland we had 2 shows with the same classes within 70 miles of each other. Classes had 40 horses each in them and 6-7 classes a day!
I thought the u.s would have more than us!


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## BunnyDog (3 December 2018)

Ok but wait. Remember that here each 'division' normally has 3 classes or 2 at some smaller shows. So overall here are the prize lists of what we had. Make sure you look at the whole schedule. 

Cudo ran 6 classes yesterday. And the way we separate out divisions and have multiples at each level means that we do more than 1 or 2 rounds per show. 

Best: https://www.horseshowing.com/show_upload/6153/59.pdf
CJL: https://www.horseshowing.com/schedule.php
FHSS: https://www.horseshowing.com/show_upload/6130/5.pdf
Duncraven: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3acd38_f239feb4cca14d769270f32e032e53cf.pdf
Palermo: http://palermoshowstables.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2019-Palermo-Winter-Fest-Prizelist-1.pdf 
Swan Lake: http://www.swanlakestables.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-Holiday-Jumpers-PL.pdf


Emily


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## Bernster (3 December 2018)

Awesome!  what a super year youâ€™ve had. Sorry to hear about the headbutt though.


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## HappyHorses:) (3 December 2018)

Looking fab. You must be proud of your chaps.


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## Quadro (4 December 2018)

Your entry fees are also cheaper. Even a 90cm would be more than Â£15! Plus your diesel will definately be cheaper! You are luckyðŸ˜


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## BunnyDog (4 December 2018)

Quadro said:



			Your entry fees are also cheaper. Even a 90cm would be more than Â£15! Plus your diesel will definately be cheaper! You are luckyðŸ˜
		
Click to expand...

Oh I promise you that's not always true.

The lowest schooling show may well be a bargain but if you look to showing in Wellington Florida, you will see that we pay GOBS of money for the privilege.

Overall I am a frugal show rider but sometimes shows just are expensive.

Here's a spreadsheet of my costs this year. Remember this is for only 1 horse doing roughly 3 classes per show. And we did a total of 12 shows over the course of 9 months.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P68y1DfaxEM8xM5-uT1sI-vrWUeTSgCaXHPBOctgNGg/edit?usp=sharing

And this spreadsheet doesn't cover the following:
Fuel
Hotels
Food
And off site stabling costs. 


Em


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