United States Eventing Association

The Road To Bromont Part 2: Kristin Carpenter

Did you miss part one? Be sure to check it out here!

I am sorry for the long gap in my blog. I kept thinking, “Well…today didn’t go as planned, I will wait until tomorrow.” However, I finally just decided that the bumpy part of the road is as important as the smooth sailing, so here I type!

I want to start by saying how terrible the fire at True Prospect Farm was, and that my thoughts are with Boyd and his team in this terrible time as they rebuild. Please donate to help them in their efforts! The USEA has a list of the many ways you can help here.

I came off Virginia a couple weeks ago, and Trance went ahead and got injected in his front ankles and hocks to make sure we were all systems go for Bromont. Consequently, he had off that Monday-Thursday. I got to see Sallie for a dressage lesson last Friday, and it was wonderful! We worked on a lot of my bad habits (like where on Earth is my right hand going in the canter?? WHERE?! It is in a different zip code…how do I not notice?!). She also talked to me about how to handle Trance. Her exact words were, “you really have to treat him like he is autistic.” At first I was a bit taken aback, and was certain that we were doomed between his mental inability and my bizarre riding techniques (oh come on, having reins the length of a football field is TOTALLY going to convince you my horse is forward!). However, I took her comment to heart, and instead of getting frustrated when Trance threw his head in the air during our first transition (which happens every day, and I mean every single day of every-daydom we redo the transition and he is fine. EVERY DAY. I SWEAR HE KNOWS BETTER), I just decided to take a deep breathe…and another one….and then redid it with little fanfare. And when he wouldn’t get off my leg (how comfortable can it be to lean into a spur, really), I just gently bounced it on him instead of stabbing it in while thinking “WANT TO LEAN NOW?” Sigh. The lesson went well, and I promised myself he is always trying his hardest even if all signs point the other way.

The next day we hauled out to an amazing gallop track at a racing barn for our conditioning sets. He stays so fit that that was actually our first gallop since February. We normally just use the competitions. He felt pretty good, but I made a mental note to gallop again before Bromont to make sure I have enough gas in the tank. That night I went out for some “off-horse” training with Skyeler (see photo to the right). We adhere to the “work hard, play hard” philosophy in life.

Trance was off on Sunday. Monday I got to the barn in the lovely 75 degree weather to find my horse in his stall covered in sweat and with foam between his back legs. Certain that he wasn’t running any laps in his 12x12, I got pretty concerned. I brought him out into the wash rack and checked his temp (no fever), then washed him off. My friend Julie found a sizeable eye ulcer where he apparently stabbed himself while rolling. It had happened in the last couple hours, since there was no swelling or gray matter in the eye. He didn’t have any gut sounds on the left side, so I was half convinced he was about to die and hit him with Banamine (not literally, I gave it to him orally in the paste form). Within thirty minutes his gut sounds were back, he had stopped sweating, and his eye was being treated. There is a ton of gas colic around with the clover coming in, so I was so lucky to catch it early. Despite his best efforts, he would live! He did, however, manage to get himself out of dressage day.

The next day we rode for an hour in the 104-degree hit. At 3pm. It was as miserable as you would think. I was concerned he was behind my leg a lot in the flatwork, but then I figured, “Hell, I am so hot I am probably behind my own leg!” So we went through the test a few times while pondering heat stroke and then called it a day.

Wednesday I woke up to find my body overtaken by the rash of all rashes. (This is a very unsexy paragraph). I had been bitten by a demon tick on Saturday, but nothing came of it. Well, until I woke up covered in a rash. It was even on my freaking face. I went to the Doctor, who then made me see five doctors, all of which said it was unlike any tick rash they had seen. They had no idea what I had going on, so they prescribed me Doxy and banned me from riding that day. Trance escaped dressage again!

Thursday I flatted him, keeping in mind Sallie’s comments, and we had one of our best days yet! I managed to keep my hands within twelve feet of each other, and he managed to do the lateral work AND WALK. Life is great! And more – they posted the Bromont entries!! How exciting!! Here is my moment to see my name and feel this goal!!! Wait. Where is my name? Maybe under Linder-Carpenter? No. I read everyone’s name, becoming increasingly depressed that the CCI2* is the two star Olympics, and even more sad that I was not there. Skyeler, having added on a few days ago….there. Me, having sent in a complete entry on practically day one, not there! Don’t worry, I now have it sorted. My entry was somehow lost. Of course. But I am coming!!! Invited or not I am running Bromont! If I have to keep him in my horse trailer and sneak behind someone else out of the box, I am running Bromont! Canada can’t keep me away!

Today would normally have been my dressage day, but it turned out it was the only day I could jump. On the way to the barn to hook up and get Trance I got a flat tire. GOD HATES ME. So, I found a tire place open at 6:45am and forked over $280 for a new tire. AWESOME. Made it to the lesson in time, though! I jumped with Jimmy Wofford, my ONLY jump school between Virginia and Bromont. That means I will have had ONE dressage lesson and ONE jump lesson in three weeks. That’s fine…..right? The lesson went great, Trance is jumping well as always. I had to do some exercises with just one stirrup, but I stayed on! Good thing a two-star rider can stay on with one stirrup. I just pictured myself as Mark Todd with one stirrup at Badminton in 1994. Naturally, this fantasy was disrupted when Jimmy told me that “your dressage trainer would cry if she saw what your elbows just did over that jump!” I then informed him that I make her cry all the time, so it would be nothing new!

So, while Bromont might not want me there (suuureeee they lost my entry!), and some unknown tick rash is covering my body, and my tires and horse are trying to self-destruct, TOO BAD!!! I am coming anyways. I might not make it to Canada in one piece, but I am going down centerline if it is half-naked and on a donkey I spray-paint to look like Trance. At least the donkey would walk.