Grand Prix Debut by Marne Martin-Tucker
It seems impossible to believe, even now, that Escobar is a Grand Prix horse and I am, albeit an amateur, a Grand Prix rider. It feels like a dream now that we have achieved this milestone, but in the moment, it was difficult and exhausting struggling to do a clean test and get enough respect as a no name from very experienced judges in Germany to break 60%!
The good news is we did it - well not in our first Grand Prix, but the next weekend at the big Dobruck-Wingst show, Escobar and I scored in the low-60s to be in the middle of the class and lucked out with a few scratches to not only show in our first Special the next day, and to also break 60% in that! Never in my wildest dreams did I think Escobar and me as an amateur, riding part-time, would be able to make it out respectably and compete already this summer at Grand Prix in Germany!
We just started working on the Grand Prix movements last fall, so less than a year ago, but for sure Escobar is a better Grand Prix horse than he was anything else and enjoys the work more. His piaffe/passage has really developed to be good, and we even got a 9 on it the first weekend. I have never shown that much due to work and traveling, but I am learning how finally to be a better test rider. It will take another season I think before I can reliably get round the test without the little mistakes I have here and there, but it will come. Escobar also needs some more time to get a bit more confirmed and for all that he looks like a muscle man now, he still needs to get stronger to hold an uphill balance the whole test.
The trot tour is quite reliable,and the funny thing is that for all that I was so worried about the canter zig-zag -- now that is the part of the canter tour that feels the most reliable. It is the changes and pirouettes that I sometimes am not quick enough to ride each stride and make a mental error. Everything in the Grand Prix comes up so fast that each half halt has to be on time and come through the horse-- every aid clear and concise. Obedience to the aids brings new meaning - let me tell you! I thank our trainer in Maryland Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel for those years reinforcing the circle of aids to me.
I couldn't be more thrilled with my Escobar as you can probably guess, but we did have an interesting path to get here. I only bought Escobar at the the start of his 9th year when the German stallion station where he was went bankrupt. Escobar had not done very much and had almost no basics, but was pretty with nice gaits so...he got gelded and went to a dealer in the Netherlands with super riders that put him in boot training. I bought him, the naughty, but pretty, little bugger he was under saddle then, and in three years, we have gone together from barely 3rd level to Grand Prix. No one but me (because I did not know better I think!) and this year our trainer Markus Gribbe here in Germany thought we could do it. Markus said that he thought already back in January that we would make it this summer, but I certainly had no idea that I would be ready!
Fortunately, Markus has had tons of experience not only riding at the international Grand Prix level, but also coaching students up to that level, so his advice and teaching has made this "miracle" happen much more than anything else.
It seemed amazing to me when I look around at these shows at the other 25-30 people in my Grand Prix class that I was actually showing among those people. I can tell you that the German riders at this level (and not even the team riders) are REALLY GOOD!
Just to be there as an amateur among them is a great learning experience since Germany has so much depth of training and history. I feel privileged to have the opportunity with international work and my husband putting up with me.
I am by far the most inexperienced rider at the shows we went to and have a long way to go before I feel like more than an "incidental" Grand Prix rider, but I can tell you, it was an amazing experience to have a little girl taking pictures of you in the warmup and people knowing the name of your horse. It makes you feel special when you remember that it all starts with a love of a horse and a dream. That is why most of us spend all the money and the countless hours.
For all of you PVDA members, just remember that it can be done! We all need to dream a little, set goals, and then see what happens - - even if others think we are a little crazy. Now, I just need to say some prayers that Escobar and I have many more years together since he is only 12, and also that he is whispering sweet nothings to his stable mate Royal Coeur such that one day she follows in his footsteps. :-)
