To summerize:cold

Today was day 1 of the Amberlea show. Overcast, windy and COLD. Fortunately very little rain fell, and it waited until all but Clare were done. I had planned to wait until Clare rode her second test...but coldness and tiredness won out. I was pretty happy to come home to find Rob had supper ready!

Ri was once again a steady little dressage horse, and placed in all 4 of his classes, with Amanda breaking into the 60's today! The ribbons are SO pretty. The real start of the day though was Sara and Fancy; they won their 2'9" jumper class posting a double clear, and then were 4th in the 2'9" jumper medal! Hopefully she can repeat the magic for stake day!

Ironically Ri's old owner is stabled next to us.

Also stabled next to us is a barn that thinks it is a good idea to tack their three horses up in the alley making it extremely difficult to get horses past them. I am not talking putting finishing touches together either...I am talking three horses tied up for over 30 minutes...in a narrow alley with tack boxes and such. Last thing I want to do when I am hurrying for a class is to dodge behind three horses I don't know who are tied so close together that it doesn't feel safe to push them over into each other. I really do not get what is so hard about tacking up in ones stall!

Also interesting was the warm up ring for Sara's medal class...four horses also in the jumpers with their heads tied to their chest via a overly tight standing martingale. Two were attached to cavessons, so although disturbingly tight, not what I consider cruel over little jumps, but the other two...yikes. There was the uber tight standing done up to the stiff, and very tight rope noseband (OUCH!), but even worse? Someone had a standing martingale done up to a figure-8 noseband! A figure 8 noseband loops high on the horse's face, and then down around the jaw...so a pull on the martingale would cause the thin straps to pull the fragile bones of the horse's lower jaw up into its upper jaw. The trainer was someone I more or less respect and should know better. What happened to training? What happened to actually learning to ride? And this was an equitation class! Horsemanship people!

The best part for me about this show is the nice chats I have had with some of the other trainers. I don't go to a lot of jumping shows, and on Friday I kind of felt out of my element and missed the familiar faces at the dressage shows, but it didn't take long to feel welcome by some of the other trainers that I know from my past, and from recent transactions. It was nice to talk to Linda about her transformations over the years and how she figured out how to balance riding and home life, and to listen to her words of experience. It was good to catch up with Kris, and with Cheryl too, both trainers I like to have a good relationship with and support. I had a fair number of trainers ask if I had horses for sale too...maybe I am missing a possible niche for Hillside?

So...for tomorrow....I am going to dress warmer! And hopefully the horses do as well or better tomorrow!

Karen