Practically Perfect: Show Report Carmen the Magnificent Edition

I have to be careful that I don't let my excitement over Quaid's first show overshadow how well Carmen did. After all she's been around longer and deserves some air time as well. 

The first thing that really impressed me this weekend was how calm, cool and collected she was for the unloading, being in her stall and all the excitement. The barn is shaped like a big T and she was in the stall that was right at the juncture. This allowed her to see everyone. Hilariously, she used this position to nicker to everyone in order to get fed.  Samantha was laughing at her because every time she went into her tack stall Carmen kept talking to her. 

This photo cracks me up. Suzi was desperate
to say hi but Carmen was just too cool 

Historically, Carmen has been stand-offish with people she doesn't know. If a stranger approaches her she will withdraw into the stall until they go away. So imagine my shock when I was sitting in the aisle and a family with young girls (approximately 3 & 5 years) walked by and they were smitten by her. 

Mommy! Look at this one. She's so pretty! I just love her! That was not a surprise. What was shocking was that she allowed them to approach and kiss her nose. And she even whuffled their hair! She looked pretty pleased with herself. 

Me: I feel like I don't even know you! 

Carmen: I have depths. 

On Friday I had booked us a warm up slot in the show ring and it was about 90 minutes after Quaid's. I hopped on and rode her in and we just, well, went to work. It was a really good session and I was pretty pleased with both of us. There was none of the typical 'will she work here, is there a problem there,' session. Not that we were perfect but it was a great session. 

blurry screenshot

On Saturday a lot of my focus had to be on Quaid and helping him deal with all his emotions over being imprisoned in a stall all day and horses coming and going. But Carmen didn't seem to mind at all. She did call for him a bit when I was riding him but it was pretty low key. 

Julia and I tacked her up and I hopped on to begin on our warm up. Carmen was forward. Like, who is this horse, forward. Usually in the warm up ring she's tight and I have to push her. Instead I had the opposite issue but, not gonna lie, I was really enjoying how flowing she felt. In no time at all it was time to go in. We were waiting for the bell when we came down by A and she gave a big spook (the lattice was gone from one side and she was pretty sure it was a cave with a monster). Right then the judge rang the bell. We regrouped and we started our test. 

This is where the forward worked for me in terms of her trot work but bit me on the ass in our canter because in our first lengthen it became clear that I did not have a half-halt in the canter. Like at all. Which had us careening around the corner  while I gave a sigh of relief that we made it. 

But overall I was pleased with our effort. 

The scores were pretty much what I expected. We had 60.43% with a comment that made me giggle: "An enthusiastic lads! Sometimes that energy needs to be better channelled over her back with more throughness'. Ya think?  I have experience with pushing Carmen forward and stopping her from running off. This new forward Carmen needs some getting used to. 

I had about 20 minutes for our next one so I went into the warm up ring we schooled half-halts. They were running a bit ahead of schedule and asked if I wanted to go early but I decided to use my time and go when I was scheduled. I needed all of it because Carmen was still quite energetic even though were hitting the 45 minute mark of pretty steady work. 

I made sure this time that I schooled a few half-halts while we waited for the judge to ring the bell. It paid off- except for our transitions after the counter canter work. She totally blew those off.  But the test felt pretty reflective of where we are in our training. Our score went up to 62.18%. The comment was nice: "A lovely mare! Work for more engagement in collection with clearer ability to carry behind. Capable pair." I honestly want to get 'capable pair' on a t-shirt but it will probably be misconstrued. 

I was quite tired at the end but still really happy with Carmen and myself. 

On Sunday I decided to start my warm up sooner to make sure that I could channel her energy. It definitely worked and our test felt really good. We even got a few 7s on our canter work and an 8 on our final halt. 

Our score was much better than Saturday with a 64.29%. 

So in between our tests I worked on keeping her supple and responsive. Then it was time to do our last test. I was ready (for the test and to be done).  I made sure that I didn't fall into old habits of being grabby and tight. When we were done I was really happy with our test.  It felt so good. Our score was 64.23 and another favourite comment "A very sweet mare." I love that she saw Carmen's sweetness because it's not always evident. 

In the end I felt that Carmen and I had done really well. And, oh yeah, we came second in every class. Which was nice too.