Milo Chronicles; P. 7

We did it! Scar Face Tony is officially a Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover Graduate *wistful sigh*. What a great show; the staff and volunteers, the organization, the competitors, the venue, all chef's kiss. I love the Kentucky Horse Park, and I'm so glad it's the venue for this fabulous show. I've been going there since I was a kid, I did my first overnight horse trials there, and it's my favorite place to compete in Area 8 (why wouldn't it be?). Having it full of recently retired Thoroughbreds all learning and showing off their new thing just made it that much better. I was pleasantly surprised by how chill everything was, one might be hard pressed to guess that the horses were all OTTBs in their first year away from racing. And the competitors! It seemed like everyone was just there to have a great time, people were kind to each other, encouraging, friendly, and while there was definitely stress and nerves the overall vibe was joyous.

Now, about Milo 😁. My baby horse was SO GOOD. Especially for his first overnight show, all by himself, and with only hand grazing (no turnout) and work for 4 days. The opportunity for ring familiarization was really beneficial, we got ticketed schooling times to ride in and around the dressage rings in the Rolex Arena, and jump the stadium course in the days prior to competition. Milo was the picture of professionalism the whole show, there's much to be said for spending time on ground work and creating a partnership that he could rely on in such an unfamiliar place. I'm also grateful for the lunging areas and hacking all over the park.

Results-wise, I was not expecting a whole lot based on our lack of preparation at shows beforehand, and him being such a baby, but he definitely stepped up to play! He was completely unfazed, unbothered, and unflappable; we hacked around the whole place on our own, foot perfect - I was amazed. The competition phases are judged out of 100 possible points and we were one of 60 entries in the Beginner Novice division, which called for USEA Novice dressage test and Beginner Novice jumping courses. We hadn't ridden the novice test away from home, and I don't think we'd jumped a full BN course. So, I pretty much went in thinking "well, we'll see how this goes!"

Dressage couldn't have been any better. He had one little spook at a banner before entering the ring, and was otherwise rhythmical, consistent, responsive and calm. Once again he picked up correct leads in the test, was just a little resistant in the left canter transition, and a little wiggly. We earned a whopping 74.7 for 4th place after the phase.

In the show jumping, we were a little unbalanced and disorganized at times, needing much more confidence on courses. But man, he showed nice scope, flying changes, counter canter and adjustability! We did have a rail and posted a somewhat disappointing, but fair 73.5.

The cross country was so cool, you guys -- he jumped a full ditch for the first time ever out there! Unfazed. He went into the water, albeit at a walk after a brief pause to assess, but he did it! The last ask on course is to show a gallop between the last fence and the finish flags across the field. Honestly, I hadn't let him out before and had no idea what to expect, so I didn't ask for much (lest I be bucked off) and he didn't give a whole lot, and I was happy with that. We earned 83.5 on the cross country for a total score of 231.7, finishing in 14th place.

Overall, Milo learned a ton about himself, about competing, being away from home, and about me at this show, and I'm so proud of how we completed it. We know now that we can handle all this stuff! With more education and experience, he's capable of so much more, and I'm really excited to see what else we can do. I also loved spending time with my mom, and the couple of clients that came out to support us! Now, I get to go on a little anniversary trip with my husband, and Milo gets a little down time. For anyone considering competing in, volunteering at, or attending the RRP TB Makeover, I highly recommend it. And if you want, I'll even train and compete your very own OTTB for you, and I promise to prepare yours better than I did mine. Although, I'd say it turned out pretty good.