dancing horses

dancing horses

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

I get By

With a little help from my friends.

One thing that I really love about showing here in Nova Scotia is how supportive everyone is. Throughout the whole weekend I could hear happy chatter and laughter in the barn. When one of us was feeling apprehensive or tired the others would encourage them.

tired, hungry and all smiles at the local pub. I've shown with these
two characters for years. 
A few people have sent me supportive messages too since my post about our Sunday experience. I so appreciate it. The truth is, that while I was a bit bummed yesterday, today I am fine. I know Carmen by now and I know her moods. I don't know how far I will get with Carmen but it won't be because I didn't work hard.

on Saturday the judge commented twice about how pretty she was

On Saturday, after dinner we headed back to the barn to check on the horses. Paula offered to clean my stall while I walked Carmen. I took her out behind the ring to the grass. In a few minutes I was joined by Tanya and Ron. Then Sam and Jen. And finally Mel. We all stood around with our horses laughing and talking and getting in touch with our inner (or not so inner) horse-loving 12 year old. Some of us had great classes and others not so much. But on this lovely summer evening it didn't matter.

We should get a picture! Someone said. I took out my phone but taking the photo would mean I wasn't in it. But there was a father and his son in a car watching us. The boy looked excited to be this close to horses. I asked if he wanted to take a photo and he was a bit surprised. In the end the father took the photo and after the boy held on to Suzi (the sweetest of horses despite Carmen's opinion). 

This is why we were here
In this photo are an Andalusian, a Quarter horse, a morgan, an arab, a friesian and a TB/Draft cross. All showing dressage and having a blast. If this was high school they all would fit into various characters:
Suzi (QH)- small and cute- the leader of the pep squad and very popular. 
Raven (Friesian) - the dark, handsome broody guy we all had a crush on
Jake (TB/Draft)- the strong and lovable jock with a heart of gold
Smuggler (Morgan)- the handsome temperamental artist (and possibly sells weed behind the school)
Navigator (Arab)- the serious student who gets perfect scores on all the tests and wins the scholarships
And last, but not least is Carmen (Andalausian) and I am sorry to say that she is the princess who can be the 'mean girl' (but really isn't. Honest guys). Kind of like Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



It was a fun show, mare tantrums not withstanding. This is a different angle of her spook. I like it because it helps me to see what happened. 

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On another note, this weekend Ed and I are headed to Calgary! We have tickets to the Masters at Spruce Meadows, thanks to our friends Cynthia and Andrew. I am so excited. Any other bloggers going to be there? 




22 comments:

  1. Enjoy Calgary! I used to go every year but haven't since the Equi-fair got much smaller and became less horse focused (not interested in window blinds and hot tubs).
    Packing suggestions - take a winter coat, toque and long johns, and shorts and sun screen - I've worn them all over the same weekend!

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    1. Darn. I was looking forward to the equi-fair part!!! Well Ed will be happy :D

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  2. Love the mix of breeds and the characterizations! Have fun at SM- how cool!

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    1. I love the variety at our shows. And I am so excited for SM!

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  3. Sounds like a fantastic group of people (and horses)! You're doing so well with Carmen. Enjoy Spruce Meadows!

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  4. I love the way you handled her during that "spook." Very gentle, but kept her going forward, too. Friends are great--that's a lot of what having horses is about for all of us. It's a great community. Have fun on your trip!

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    1. It is a wonderful community! I am also looking forward to vacation. :)

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  5. Heading out to Calgary on Friday, riding in Kananaskis on Saturday and its Spruce Meadows on Sunday. We will be in the rush section. ;-)

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    1. We’re going to be in the British house. Send me an email mail and I’ll give you my cell phones n case we can meet up. 😁🥂
      We arrive Friday as well. Riding in kananaskis sounds fabulous.

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  6. Oh, and I love your position throughout the spooking business. You were balanced the entire time. If only I could ride my horses spooks so well ... ;-)

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  7. I used to ride nothing but grey mares for years, and now find myself with a whole lot of bay geldings! Carmen's antics make me kind of nostalgic for the group of sassy, boss-lady divas I used to ride. Not too much, though, since this spring I'll be starting two of them back into work. They're both young, one is an Arabian, and one dumped me in the show ring last season, so there are good times ahead. LOL.
    On a more serious note, there really is nothing like a good mare. They might be a little loopy around the edges, but so are the best of us <3 And once Carmen grows into herself, she might just become that battle princess type that will do anything for you!

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    1. You can always come and ride Carmen. That should give you a sassy mare fix. 😁😁

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  8. I will be at Spruce Meadows on Saturday! I will email you!

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  9. What a motley crew! I love it! It sounds like a wonderful atmosphere there. Have fun at Spruce!

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    1. We are a definite mix of types! The atmosphere is almost always great.

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  10. It's great to have friends with the same interests and a good support group. Have fun at Spruce Meadows!

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    1. It is nice! It's one of the main reasons that I show.

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  11. what a great group - i've definitely found that showing with friends can be such a game changer

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