The Best of Times: Sunday Show Report

 Sunday morning dawned warm and sunny. I was still feeling good about Saturday and I was looking forward to another day at the show.  Both horses appeared to have had a good night. Quaid was a lot more quiet then he had been on Saturday but as the activity picked up he got excited again.  Whenever I went into his stall he'd totally relax so I tried to be systematic in moving away so he could learn to settle. It actually worked pretty good even though he'd answer any horse that called. This annoyed one competitor (whose horse was also calling) and she was a bit snappy with me. But what can you do? A lot of horses were calling and it's all part of the learning. I tried to be zen about it all.  Carmen was pretty chill though. 

from Friday's ride in the show ring

I was trying to decide if I should ride him in the warm up ring or not. I kept my eye on the warm up because I didn't want to interfere with anyone wanting to show. I realised that it would likely be empty at lunch time and I would simply do my one step at a time approach. With that in mind I tacked him up and started to lead him out of the barn. Jane asked if I wanted her to come and I told her that she had been working hard all morning and it was okay to sit and rest. Ilka asked if I wanted help and I asked if she could come and stand while I mounted. I led him around the ring and he seemed pretty good so I left the ring and lined him up to the mounting block. Ilka stayed closed but he didn't need to be held. We walked into the warm up ring and I tried to be relaxed and supportive.  After a couple walks around I looked at the door and saw all of my friends standing there making sure we were okay. It was very heart warming.   I don't know if I would want to show if I didn't have such a great circle.  At the far side of the ring the door was open and there was a guy there with a portable hot water washer. Quaid was quite worried about it. Jane began to coach us and even had us trotting around.  She told me to give the rein up by the spooky item so he didn't feel restrained. It worked a charm. I was over the moon about how well Quaid listened and tried his heart out. 

I was sooo happy

Soon it was time to warm up Carmen. She felt a little more tired and less keen to work. Which was totally fair. I got tight trying to get her forward and soft. Jane really helped us so that we didn't dissolve into a battle of wills.  She warned me that because yesterday was so good I wanted even more but I needed to still be fair. Soon it was our turn to go in and do our test. 

the best mare doing her best

I was really happy with our test. We had a flubbed lead but corrected it and carried on.  Our score was 61.29 and earned us a first place ribbon.   

Our ride times were exactly the same as the day before so I walked her around again. Carmen (and I) were tired and hot so I didn't ask a ton until right before. But I didn't let her just plop around either because then she'd think she was done and get cranky with me. (Carmen here, I do not get cranky I simply expect her to treat me like the magnificent creature I am).  

I took a deep breath and brought her in for her last class. I was really really happy with it. Still lots of room for improvement but still a solid effort from both of us. Carmen tried her heart out for me and I tried my heart out for her.  Our score was 61.15. 

In the end Carmen and I were reserve at Second Level. However, there were only two of us at this level. Normally there wouldn't be a champion/reserve but the committee decided to do it for everyone. I don't care that I came second out of 2. This was the first time I showed and didn't feel like an imposter. I was happy with how I rode and how mature and good Carmen was for all 3 days. There hadn't been one spook. 

the first saddle pad I've ever won

I felt like this was a huge triumph for us. I had so much fun at the show and didn't feel unsafe riding even once. That is a huge win for us.