Saturday's Memorial Show

This show was so fun, but as always, they take forever! English was in the morning and western in the afternoon, but they ran late as expected. I did 3 classes because I missed the jackpot (oops - I was glad 3 kids got some cash to get something for themselves), didn't want to do showmanship since I pulled Spyder out of the field and put him right on the trailer, and opted out of a course. The 18" crossrails were enough for me after arguing with him all morning! I REALLY want to get some western tack/clothes, but I should probably ride in my dressage saddle first.

We got there around 8am so I had to feed him prior to tacking up. I thought about showmanship, but he was behaving and I didn't want to get him all worked up in the ring before getting on. I tacked up and had all of my show gear on, and I could not believe they were making us wear jackets. Of course, half way through my second class, they said we could take them off. I was SO happy I drove an hour and a half to buy a short sleeve shirt - THANK GOD! It was only in the 80's and we got a light rain for part of the day, but the humidity was awful.

Lucky #13

 

Our warm up went well, and he had one "moment" which was a hop/squirm/rear buck thing. It was small and harmless, and I rode through it like nothing. We just worked in our circles before going into the ring. [UPDATE] In the warm up ring, someone was like, "OMG, is that a warmblood?" I was like, "Well, he certainly doesn't move like one, but that's the best compliment you can give a Standardbred!" She said, "Yeah, I thought it was just a warmblood with a bigger head!" LOL, I let her know that Stb's are known for that! Too funny!

English equitation made me nervous, but I was assured by the judge that I had my heels down. The judge was very nice and gave everyone criticism to let you know how and why you placed where you did. SITTING TROT killed me. 1) Spyder is NOT comfortable even at a post 2) We go much too fast to sit the trot 3) We NEVER practice for reasons 1 & 2! She let me know that she had a standardbred that did everything: english/jumping/and western. She liked Spyder, but that sitting trot... Yeah, we'll have to work on that... maybe. "You never know when a judge will throw that in there." Oh, shush.

-English Equitation - 3/4

English Pleasure went well, but we weren't in enough contact. I went with the "look relaxed" look rather than the "cranked in and on the bit" look which is what the judge was looking for. She let me know that she saw Spyder do it, and knew that he knew how. I guess I didn't know how to show in that class! This is how we warmed up and what we've been working on so it would have been nice to show off!

-English Pleasure - 2/3

Hunter Hack was a lot of fun! We started in the ring with w/t and then lined up for our jumps. We've only jumped in this ring once, but the 18" crossrails weren't much to take on. We trotted up to the first and then cantered. OOPS! We were only in a w/t classes. I tried to bring him back down to a trot, but the excitement of the second jump left us with a pace. I was SO proud that he didn't flinch, and he was super happy to be in the ring jumping. He's super willing and has yet to let me down at a jump. We don't jump too often because our flat work and listening needs help so it was fun knowing he's down for anything. His halt at the cone at the end was amazing, and the judge let me know I need to sit right back down after the jump to reinforce the "slow down to trot." I was asking him with my hands and not following through with my seat.

-Hunter Hack  - 3/3

Since I was pleased, I skipped the course being that we never did one (even though he would have been fine), and my arms hurt from him being so strong all day. I should have packed the Kimberwick, but we haven't gone back to that in quite some time. His excitement gets the best of my muscles! All in all, it was a great day. The prizes were wonderful as they got a lot of donations, too! Each time you got a ribbon, you could pick an item from a bucket that they filled. I got a new grooming mit, a hoof pick, and a lead rope. The memorial show also got a check from someone so it can continue on for the next few years. Hopefully I'll be able to support them next year, as well!