On the weekend

On the weekend I judged a fun little open show at the Fultonvale arena, put on by the folks at Colchester stables. It was great weather, and very suitable for my big floppy hat!

The show was well run, but the warm up rings were somewhat chaotic...this is something we need to work on at Hillside as our horses are used to having only a few horses in the ring at once. They need to get used to horses beside, in front, and behind them. I am thinking a soccer match later this month? Say a Saturday afternoon?

I wouldn't mind taking some students to one of the smaller fun shows, say the one at Hastings, if anyone is interested later in the year. If you think you may want to try this type of show, I recommend going to watch one first...there is another one at Fultonvale this Saturday.

Anyway, the key things that messed people up were trying to do more than their horse was capable of. For example: doing the 3 foot course rather than the 2 foot one, and having their horse refuse the first jump 3 times. Or trying too hard to do a lengthened trot and breaking to canter. Or showing in a curb when your horse isn't ready and should be in a snaffle.

The other major mistakes were in the jumping: horses would start out great, but the rider's would fail to rebalance during the course, and would FLY at the last jump (which was in a line going to the out-gate). This went hand in hand with not using the corner adequately. Coincidence? I think not.

Highlight of the show was the last class: walk-trot equitation. A little girl on a lovely bay horse was second place in a very large class. She rode well on a suitable mount and very much deserved it. When her name and number was called in second her face lit up like she has won Olympic gold. Good for her, and I hope she keeps that joy for a long, long time.

And that is another secret to showing...if you are nice to your horse, look like you are having fun and are overall a nice competitor, the judge will want you to do well. If you act/look like a spoiled princess, well...not so much.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

Karen