Horse Show update: Day 1

The horse show technically started yesterday (Thursday) with classes, but Amanda and I opted to only enter Friday to Sunday, so we hauled over Thursday night, bedded the stalls and took them for a walk. Rob hauled for us as neither Amanda or I felt too good. He also did waters for us and looked after unhooking the trailer which made settling in go quicker.

While walking the horses beside the rings (we couldn't go in the rings as once the show started, the rings were closed to any schooling, even after show hours), we saw that they were a little fancier than usual...make that a LOT fancier! Way more flowers as well as wicker deer, wooden park benches, and other decorative odds and ends. AND brand new judges booths for the CDI ring. These booths are BIG, and fully enclosed with large windows. There are three of these massive booths around that ring; one at C, one at E, and one at M. The booths make sense, as they keep the judges out of the elements, the wind from blowing the sheets, and likely make it easier for the scribes to hear, and easier for the judges at C and M to talk without the other judge over hearing. All in all, Amberlea did a great job in making it look first class.

So today I got there early enough to take Dexter for a walk and little lunge before tacking up to ride for my 8:39 ride time. (This meant getting up around 5am to do chores before leaving. The horses didn't seem to complain about the early hours, but the dogs didn't seem impressed.) My first test was indoors. My brain was not fully functional. To start with, the ring was labeled as having a horn to sound the start. I was thinking a horn like a car horn, so a honking sound. So as I am walking the edge of the ring I hear a funny squeaky sound, and think to myself, "what an annoying sound for someone to be making in the arena"...until I heard it again and realized that was the horn! Ooops!

So we start the test. Dexter was being pretty good, but a little looky at the activity at the far end of the ring, and checking out what was going on in the barn, but overall pretty good. I, on the other hand, lacked a brain. So...mistake #1 was not recognizing the horn. Mistake #2 I was fiddling with my stirrup for some reason during the medium walk which he reasonably interpreted as meaning trot. Mistake #3 was the simple change through trot...he didn't want to trot, but i got it...and then forgot to get the new bend before asking him to canter again...bad me so we picked up the wrong lead. Then mistake #4....my mind drew a blank as to where I was supposed to go after the last canter. My brain was thinking "hmmm...it is test 3, so this is the test without a stretch circle..right? right...so maybe I go across the diagonal in lengthen? No that can't be it, I already did 2 lengthens...hmmm...." but by the time I did all this thinking I had already started across the diagonal in lengthen trot...and the judge didn't whistle me! I was at K before I finally pulled up and told her I was off test, so she finally honked the horn. And then I remembered that all I was supposed to do was turn at B, and go up centerline to halt in front of the judge. So we do that. But I was expecting Dexter to resist the halt, so I asked early...and wouldn't you know it, he halted perfectly as soon as I asked...so we halted wayyy to early and I couldn't decide if I should salute there, or walk ahead...so I ended up walking a few steps then saluting. Ug. Oh well, Dexter was good, and that is the main thing.

So my next test was in the CDI ring, 45 minutes later, so I took Dexter back for some water and a pee break. Meanwhile Amanda was getting on for her first test of the show. Somehow her first test just had to be at the same time as my second test so no chance to watch her go! Arg.

Dexter walking nicely around the CDI ring, not even looking at the judges booths, and we were soon whistled to start. We got in, halted, saluted and proceeded...but as he got closer to the booth I could feel his eyes getting bigger and his steps getting smaller! So we opted to turn early. That got us both a little tense, but still, he was ok. His lengthened across the diagonals away from the booth may have broken speed records though. I thought he was over worrying about the booths until we did our 15m circle at E...I am not sure if the he saw his reflection in the booth behind him or what, but he shot forward and sideways all of a sudden...but then managed to settle right back in and was somehow right back where he should be for the circle. No idea how he managed to recover so quickly and end up where we should be...the judge even commented on the nice recovery!

What was really odd about that test came at the end...I heard clapping! And it wasn't anyone I knew clapping! THERE WERE SPECTATORS! In fact, as I was leaving, there were so many spectators that the parking lot was FULL and they were parked a ways down the dirt road.

So with that I was done for the day, but Amanda had her Equitation class still. So I put Dexter away, and walked up to the ring to help her warm up. Then, 5 minutes or so before her class was to start, the judge saw lightening and stopped the show...which meant all 3 rings stopped and all the riders had to get off and go back to the barns. Good for safety reasons, but annoying none the less, particularly as the lightening was far off to the east. They stopped the rings for about 40 minutes, then let the horses back into the warm up for 15 minutes before resuming the show.

Amanda's class was a group class in the CDI ring. Ri was pretty good for the most part, and didn't seem concerned at all with the booths. I think it helped that the other horses in the ring didn't seem to care. Poor Ri had some trouble keeping up with the big warmbloods for the lengthen trot, but otherwise did well.

So then both horses were done, so we cleaned stalls, fed more hay, and got them clean water, and then went to the show office to get our tests. Both horses did well, and scored above 50 in their tests, and Dexter placed 3rd in one of his classes. I also won a saddle pad for a door prize kind of thing.

Now I am hoping I can get enough sleep tonight so my brain is working better tomorrow! I have my Freestyle first in the CDI ring. And I am nervous. I have a slightly easier variation I can do, and I think I may go with that and accept a lower difficulty score, but we will see. Amanda once again rides at about the same time as me, which is annoying considering we are riding different levels, but I am sure I will be able to watch at least one of her tests.

One thing that would make tomorrow go better is if someone would accept responsibility for the young hellion child that is wrecking havoc in the barn just up from us...for some reason certain horses don't like a small child yelling, playing fort in a stack of shavings bags (and jumping out of them at random while yelling), or riding their training wheel bike up behind them and then dropping it in the middle of the barn alley. Oh, and I think he punched Amanda too...what do you do when a 5 year old punches you and its parents aren't around? I suggested Amanda puts some of her nurse training to use...

Karen