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This made me acutely aware of why I rarely ever do showjumping entries - jumps are h a r d. I think this is like my second ever showjumping entry? Probably won't be my last :')

Frankie Harlow on Too Late for Edelweiss at Fathom Acres Winter Festival 2022 (Showjumping)
Advert: www.deviantart.com/dozymare/st…

Prev: Love and Pride - Next: Chills n Thrills

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The first day of the Fathom Acres Winter Festival included the showjumping class. It was understood that this show would likely mark the beginning of the end of Edelweiss' eventing career. Aside from some low stakes eventing, drag hunts and halter classes here and there to keep him interested, the gentle grey stallion was looking towards the comfy stud life, with several successes and premium breed status already to his name. The staff at Ballyroan Farm were eager to offer prodigy from the once rather prolific eventer. His show record showed gaps since a break in eventing for a couple of years, so this final big show was intended to close the chapter more officially. Of course, Edelweiss wasn't made aware of his approaching retirement and had no reason not to do his best and as always, he was as good as gold during preparations, loading and travelling to Switzerland.

As he was tacking the big grey up, Frankie caught Jim’s eye, keen to come back home to his favourite Mexican food, he called out,

“I’m betting a year’s worth of Boojum on me placing higher than you. Whatcha say?”

Jim scoffed, “You sure lad? I’d be betting on the butter side down, that there’s a dressage horse.”

“He’s an eventer, actually, and you should see the training I’ve done with him – the guy’s a mean jumping machine.” He heartily patted Edelweiss’s dappled rump, “Just look at these cheeks, pure power”

Both Jim and Edelweiss scoffed and shook their heads. “Well, if you say so. Best of luck, try not to fall off if you can. It looks particularly slushy, and we didn’t pack spare breeches”.

The sunset drifted in early, as it often does during European Winter. Something Frankie never really adjusted to after moving over from the US was how short winter days could feel, and how depressing that could be. As a freelance photographer, it was quite a learning curve for a while, finding the perfect lighting felt like it required a degree in meteorology sometimes. As his name was called out and they cantered into the arena, no longer preoccupied by memorising the course, Frankie was immediately distracted by the scenery. The reflection of the warm sunset glow on the patches of thawed ice and the gigantic, frosted mountains in the distance - "Jim better be taking photos, this is absolutely breathtaking." he muttered to himself before snapping back into focus before some inevitable disaster.

Edelweiss had been trained and ridden by almost every member of Ballyroan Farm, which brought its pros and cons. He was well-rounded, got on with everyone and had gone from a shy, delicate horse into a seasoned, confident eventer that didn’t have noticeable hang-ups as far as training styles go. He wouldn’t perform any less readily with a dressage trainer than a showjumping trainer and would give equal effort whatever he was told to do. Unavoidably though, Edelweiss had a few bad jumping habits from being primarily a dressage specialist, especially in his youth. This meant that he often over-jumped and his strides were long and difficult to predict, but Frankie was patient and gentle with him no matter how frustrating the horse’s old habits could be because the willingness and cooperative attitude from the stallion was obvious. Frankie knew jumping wasn’t Edelweiss’s primary talent, but also recognised that he didn’t need to “fix” this nearly 16 year old horse - he just needed to adapt his own riding to get the most out of him and let the old boy have some fun.

This relaxed but persistent training approach seemed to be working well based on the stallion’s performance on that freezing cold day in rural Switzerland, and that’s what mattered. The dappled grey stallion showed no fear or distraction as he approached the jumps, bending mostly flexibly over the poles and paying no mind to the more extravagantly decorated obstacles laid out in the arena. Frankie couldn’t be more pleased with the horse’s behaviour that evening. The horse’s head was level and completely in the game, which only made Frankie feel worse for himself being slightly overwhelmed by the landscape upon entering the arena. This once slightly stressed dressage specialist that had been out of competitions for two years was showing him up – and he was so proud of him for it.

Before becoming comfortably at home at Ballyroan Farm, Edelweiss used to be a nervous horse, spooky and skittish, with a particular distrust of anything that glowed, flashing lights and unusual or loud noises. Already aware that these little quirks may someday be a trigger for the horse despite his regular bombproofing tasks, Frankie had slowly implemented string lights, tinsel, LED lights and flashlights to test his reactions and subdue Edelweiss’ old fears and apprehensions. At first, Frankie was light-heartedly mocked by his colleagues, as he would forever be chasing a large, spooked Traaker dragging fairy lights around the arena- an entertaining spectacle that could be seen from the house on the other side of the farm. Eventually, however, the stallion rewarded the determined showjumper with his trust and with that, his fears no longer caused a reaction. He still wasn’t hugely thrilled by flashes – but no show would put horses in danger with such lighting styles anyway.

The soft lighting that adorned some of the jumps, therefore, had no effect on Edelweiss. They only existed to light up his silvery fur and highlight him in a hazy orange glow. Frankie muttered whispered words of encouragement as Edelweiss approached each jump. Little neck scratches rewarded every successful land. Coming up to a particularly high Traaker sponsored jump, Frankie scratched his stallion’s neck momentarily “Come on fella, this is your jump, show ‘em why you’re a premium pony!” As if he understood, the graceful Edelweiss represented his breed by soaring over the jump – slightly too high, but Frankie put that down to excitement and charm – This horse was completing his competitive days with absolute dignity and was enjoying every minute of it.

1003 words

Art & characters by me
No refs used
(jump inspiration provided by Traaker: ObstacleNo5 )

Description
This made me acutely aware of why I rarely ever do showjumping entries - jumps are h a r d. I think this is like my second ever showjumping entry? Probably won't be my last :')

Frankie Harlow on Too Late for Edelweiss at Fathom Acres Winter Festival 2022 (Showjumping)
Advert: www.deviantart.com/dozymare/st…

Prev: Love and Pride - Next: Chills n Thrills

---------------------------------------------------
The first day of the Fathom Acres Winter Festival included the showjumping class. It was understood that this show would likely mark the beginning of the end of Edelweiss' eventing career. Aside from some low stakes eventing, drag hunts and halter classes here and there to keep him interested, the gentle grey stallion was looking towards the comfy stud life, with several successes and premium breed status already to his name. The staff at Ballyroan Farm were eager to offer prodigy from the once rather prolific eventer. His show record showed gaps since a break in eventing for a couple of years, so this final big show was intended to close the chapter more officially. Of course, Edelweiss wasn't made aware of his approaching retirement and had no reason not to do his best and as always, he was as good as gold during preparations, loading and travelling to Switzerland.

As he was tacking the big grey up, Frankie caught Jim’s eye, keen to come back home to his favourite Mexican food, he called out,

“I’m betting a year’s worth of Boojum on me placing higher than you. Whatcha say?”

Jim scoffed, “You sure lad? I’d be betting on the butter side down, that there’s a dressage horse.”

“He’s an eventer, actually, and you should see the training I’ve done with him – the guy’s a mean jumping machine.” He heartily patted Edelweiss’s dappled rump, “Just look at these cheeks, pure power”

Both Jim and Edelweiss scoffed and shook their heads. “Well, if you say so. Best of luck, try not to fall off if you can. It looks particularly slushy, and we didn’t pack spare breeches”.

The sunset drifted in early, as it often does during European Winter. Something Frankie never really adjusted to after moving over from the US was how short winter days could feel, and how depressing that could be. As a freelance photographer, it was quite a learning curve for a while, finding the perfect lighting felt like it required a degree in meteorology sometimes. As his name was called out and they cantered into the arena, no longer preoccupied by memorising the course, Frankie was immediately distracted by the scenery. The reflection of the warm sunset glow on the patches of thawed ice and the gigantic, frosted mountains in the distance - "Jim better be taking photos, this is absolutely breathtaking." he muttered to himself before snapping back into focus before some inevitable disaster.

Edelweiss had been trained and ridden by almost every member of Ballyroan Farm, which brought its pros and cons. He was well-rounded, got on with everyone and had gone from a shy, delicate horse into a seasoned, confident eventer that didn’t have noticeable hang-ups as far as training styles go. He wouldn’t perform any less readily with a dressage trainer than a showjumping trainer and would give equal effort whatever he was told to do. Unavoidably though, Edelweiss had a few bad jumping habits from being primarily a dressage specialist, especially in his youth. This meant that he often over-jumped and his strides were long and difficult to predict, but Frankie was patient and gentle with him no matter how frustrating the horse’s old habits could be because the willingness and cooperative attitude from the stallion was obvious. Frankie knew jumping wasn’t Edelweiss’s primary talent, but also recognised that he didn’t need to “fix” this nearly 16 year old horse - he just needed to adapt his own riding to get the most out of him and let the old boy have some fun.

This relaxed but persistent training approach seemed to be working well based on the stallion’s performance on that freezing cold day in rural Switzerland, and that’s what mattered. The dappled grey stallion showed no fear or distraction as he approached the jumps, bending mostly flexibly over the poles and paying no mind to the more extravagantly decorated obstacles laid out in the arena. Frankie couldn’t be more pleased with the horse’s behaviour that evening. The horse’s head was level and completely in the game, which only made Frankie feel worse for himself being slightly overwhelmed by the landscape upon entering the arena. This once slightly stressed dressage specialist that had been out of competitions for two years was showing him up – and he was so proud of him for it.

Before becoming comfortably at home at Ballyroan Farm, Edelweiss used to be a nervous horse, spooky and skittish, with a particular distrust of anything that glowed, flashing lights and unusual or loud noises. Already aware that these little quirks may someday be a trigger for the horse despite his regular bombproofing tasks, Frankie had slowly implemented string lights, tinsel, LED lights and flashlights to test his reactions and subdue Edelweiss’ old fears and apprehensions. At first, Frankie was light-heartedly mocked by his colleagues, as he would forever be chasing a large, spooked Traaker dragging fairy lights around the arena- an entertaining spectacle that could be seen from the house on the other side of the farm. Eventually, however, the stallion rewarded the determined showjumper with his trust and with that, his fears no longer caused a reaction. He still wasn’t hugely thrilled by flashes – but no show would put horses in danger with such lighting styles anyway.

The soft lighting that adorned some of the jumps, therefore, had no effect on Edelweiss. They only existed to light up his silvery fur and highlight him in a hazy orange glow. Frankie muttered whispered words of encouragement as Edelweiss approached each jump. Little neck scratches rewarded every successful land. Coming up to a particularly high Traaker sponsored jump, Frankie scratched his stallion’s neck momentarily “Come on fella, this is your jump, show ‘em why you’re a premium pony!” As if he understood, the graceful Edelweiss represented his breed by soaring over the jump – slightly too high, but Frankie put that down to excitement and charm – This horse was completing his competitive days with absolute dignity and was enjoying every minute of it.

1003 words

Art & characters by me
No refs used
(jump inspiration provided by Traaker: ObstacleNo5 )