A Refugee from UDBB

[dlmca]

Hi everybody - hope you don't hold it against us that we all swarmed over and swamped you! I have a mental picture of the bunch of us crashing a party by following an invited guest in the door; the hostess slightly bemused but hospitable nonetheless, nodding politely as we make our boisterous way in. See, we're in withdrawal from our "regular" dressage BB (which is temporarily down for the count) and are trying to find alternatives. COTH is great, but can be a little overwhelming, and you eventually get tired of following the same threads. Of course, there's a lot of traffic so there's always new stuff coming up, but not always something that interests you. And sometimes things get a little narsty. :eek: Hey, I like your smilies - especially your "eek" icon! But I assure you, we are mostly a mannerly bunch, friendly and unassuming and willing to participate in whatever fun is going on. Although I at least may need some translation help from time to time - I think your dressage levels are different from ours, and your slang is different too of course.

A quick bio from me - I'm 48, married, no kids, living in the San Francisco Bay area of California. I rode during my 20's and 30's, had a period of about 10 years where I didn't ride, then picked it back up just this past January. I had ponies when I was a kid, but I don't really count that - it was mostly just yahooing around bareback in the pasture. I did a little bit of H/J in college, then started riding dressage when I was, oh, 24 I guess. It's coming back to me, but boy is it a lot harder to train your body at this age! I sure don't remember being quite so sore back then.

I don't own a horse right now, but am half-leasing a 14 year old Hanoverian/Arab cross that's been trained to 4th level (which is our level just below PSG), and I'm really enjoying him. He's got a great personality and is a pretty steady guy, while also having enough "go" for me. I've promised my husband that I won't buy a horse this time - we move around fairly frequently because of his job, and it's just one more complication to deal with - but we'll see. He knows that the half-lease, while a pretty good stopgap, is also the first step on that slippery slope to horse ownership. :D

Well, I'm sure that's more than you ever wanted to know about me so I'll stop now. Thanks again for letting us join you - looking forward to getting to know you all!

[ann]

Welcome, dlmca! You'll find plenty of people here in your age group and with similar riding histories. I think it's the sport, actually!

Your fourth level is similar to our Advanced. We go:

Preliminary (used not to attract grading points, but is now linked with the next level, which is...)
Novice
Elementary
Medium
Advanced

So it's really only the naming of the levels that is different. Our naming convention was inherited from the British many years ago.

One of our moderators, Franca, also lives in the San Francisco Bay area, so you aren't alone there. You'll see her posts, and she will probably jump in here when she gets a chance.

It is a shame to see that UDBB is down, but as I mentioned in another thread, I was always surprised to see such an active board, and one with such large archives, still using phpBB. I am sure they must have pushed the limits with that software. We moved to vBulletin some time ago, as did COTH a few months later. It isn't free, but it is much more powerful and can handle much larger message boards (not that we're large enough to worry all that much. :D)

You know the ropes in these forums. Just jump in wherever.

[Adele]

psst, ann you shouldn't try and make them welcome cause then they will tell their friends and so on! you should kick them out when you get a chance ;)

See their are differences between all our grading systems

Ours is
Prelim (training)
Novice (1st level)
Elementary (2nd level)
Medium (3rd w/out changes)
Open Medium (3rd w/ changes)
Advanced (4th level)
The the FEI levels...

We have to be slightly different...

DD > good to see that you posted in here tho.. Its a bit of a tradition here to post about yourself before bombarding us, like the rest of you did :D

[dlmca]

Well, I have to admit that I also bombarded first and posted here after! But I like to follow the rules - I'm just an eensy weensy bit obsessive compulsive (well, aren't all dressage riders?) so I came here when I found out about it. And it is nice to know something about folks that you're "talking" with.

I do like this interface that you and COTH use - it has a lot more functions. It took me a little rummaging around to figure out the "linear" and "hybrid" thread views (could NOT understand at first why I could see more messages when I was in "post reply" mode than when I was looking at the thread itself), but it's nice to be able to see what messages are linked with what. I'll have to get a picture for my avatar, and set up my signature and everything.

I didn't know what UDBB's software was called, but "phpBB" makes me think of a raspberry - not the fruit, you know, the sound you associate with this icon: :p :D They've had problems several times - they'll probably have to make the switch sooner or later.

Thanks for the explanation of the levels, now I have a frame of reference. I'll probably still think "eventing" whenever I see the words novice and prelim, but it will sink in after a while.

Hey Ann, I was reading in the help section, and saw about referral points. Don't you think that Adele should get referral points for all of us who came over? (See, Adele, I'm trying to put a postive spin on this for you! :D )

[Jmc]

DD > good to see that you posted in here tho.. Its a bit of a tradition here to post about yourself before bombarding us, like the rest of you did :D

Adele, don't you know we are Americans and the world revolves around us? ;)

Ok, so I'm sorry for the bombardment and now I'm sorry that we are breaking tradition...but I'll play.

I'm Jackie...40yo...divorced...no kids...one ottb who I adore, although ride quite badly :o I've only been riding for about 4 years, but horses changed my life in such a huge way, it cannot be put into words... truely.

I tend to hang out in the training forum on the UDBB trying to soak up all the info...and no, I really have nothing better to do and like it that way!

I have to admit...I love all the ODG stuff. Rollkur, I stay away from.

I have a warped sense of humor and have had it pointed out to me on the UDB...errrr....sometimes I find humor in tragedy....like the poor woman who was eaten by an aligator here in Florida, where I live. I forget that being eaten alive is only funny to Floridians who hear about it constantly.

I'm pretty low key...mostly invisible...easy to get along with and basically harmless.

Thank you Ann and all for allowing us to hang around. And thank you to all you "observation lounge" regulars from the UDB for letting me tag along.

[Adele]

Hey Ann, I was reading in the help section, and saw about referral points. Don't you think that Adele should get referral points for all of us who came over? (See, Adele, I'm trying to put a postive spin on this for you! :D )

Your a champion...

[ann]

Welcome, Jmc

I find linear threads impossible to follow, so always use hybrid view.

Also, we have an extra little help here. If you click on Get Posts, you can choose New Posts (since last visit) or 1 day, 2 days etc. It's not standard in vBulletin, but I find it useful.

We like people with quirky senses of humour here. And I do wonder how people with no sense of humour manage with horses... We are also, being mostly Australians, pretty laid back. Our rollkur threads are actually civilised! Maybe it's because we're tropical/subtropical...

But also, being mostly locals in a relatively sparsely populated part of the world and in a sport that is fairly small, we all tend to see each other at events. Unless you're a really un-nice person, it's just that much harder to be rude to someone you parked next to last Sunday, and who lent you a piece of gear you forgot, or congratulated you on a good test. :)

Adele gives me a hard time, of course, as do most of the young 'uns.

[Jmc]

Thanks Ann, I promise I'll figure it out eventually! I'm working my way through the "how to use this message board" slowly.

[clanter]

you don't have carrot sticks do you?

[ann]

Hey, we're Australian, not British. You're welcome whether or not you follow Adele's 'protocol'! But we do like to know about people who join.

[ann]

you don't have carrot sticks do you?Figurative or actual?

[Adele]

Im a linear thead type of girl... Can't stand the hybrid versions....

Ann, you know im just having a bit of fun & trying to give these guys a bit of a different type of welcome we would usually give people! And since they know me from UDBB, I guess they can handle it!

And also cause Im really bored at work, Im hiding in a little corner trying not to attract customers to ask me questions!

[Adele]

Clanter, bro, whats up with your carrot stick comments! .... you know they arn't the be all & end all!

[clanter]

just wanted to make sure

we will play nice... so what time is it there ...about noon on Sat in eastern Aussyland?

[Franca]

Welcome, Jackie! And welcome to any American refugees who buried their intros in Adele's monster UDBB thread. ;) Now we've got east coast, west coast, Florida, Texas ... anyone from the vastness in the middle??

I rode only occasionally as a kid because I was born and raised in San Francisco - limited riding opportunities there, LOL. My parents did their best to give my sister and me some outlet for our horse mania but apart most of the riding I did was a week here or two weeks there during school vacation. I don't think I rode even once after high school until five years ago. You might say I was "reborn" as the experience has certainly changed my life! My TB is not OTTB but her dam was - rescued pregnant from an auction, thank goodness or my beautiful mare would most likely have been born on a Premarin farm up in Canada. Instead I've got my equine partner for life. Is that your TB in your avatar? You forgot to introduce him/her. :D

[Franca]

Hey, I like your smilies - especially your "eek" icon!He's my favorite, too. :eek: Although I admit I'm also very fond of the traditional guy. :icon_eek: Now let's see if the smiley limit cuts me off. Yep, I had too many, had to commit smileycide! :icon_eek:

I wish to point out that the whole flavor of my message has been altered by the smiley limit. :twisted: Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'll be over my smiley fit by tomorrow. It's kind of like bubble wrap. Sometimes I just go a little nuts with it and then I don't need to pop any for months, LOL.

Ann is probably now wondering if Seven didn't stomp my head rather than my foot yesterday.

[ann]

Ann is probably now wondering if Seven didn't stomp my head rather than my foot yesterday.Must be all those other Yanks who've jumped in here and addled your brain. :D :D :p

[Jmc]

Is that your TB in your avatar? You forgot to introduce him/her. :D

Yup! That's Slewpy...the love of my life! I really shouldn't call him an ottb...he spent 6 months in race training as a 2yo and was too slow to race...so he never saw a real race track. He's a Seattle Slew grandson, but he's more like Seattle Slow.

He was an orphaned foal, so he's got some quirks. The farm manager where he was born slept in his stall with him at night and let him into the farm office during the day.:eek: Needless to say...the line between horse and human is quite blurry to him.

I found him in a pasture in Ocala, Fl as a 3 1/2 yr old...had him restarted by my trainer and he's now 5 years old and plugging along in training level with me.

By the way, I'm very proud of my very first avatar! I'm having way too much fun here :D It sucks for Adele, since we found her secret hideaway, but I might just stick around!:p

[rick]

you don't have carrot sticks do you?

there's enough 'Natural' people around in Oz to drive the rest of us insane, just none (other than maybe yerself) on here :p