Showing and All the Rest-AKA, Longest Post EVER

Sooo, I'm sorry it has taken me two days to update you, but as you watch the slide show, you will realize it was a BIG job to make it, as I got pictures from myself, from Jean, from Jean's mother, and from my mom. Thank you to all the people contributing pictures, I appreciate it!

So last week staying at Jean's started with the Stuart Horse Trials in Victor, New York, which Jean rode in. It was a BIG deal to ride in, and it was pretty cool to watch. It was a big eventing competition-in eventing you ride in three different parts: cross country jumping (jumps on a big course made of "natural" materials (trees, wood, indestructible fences), stadium jumping (jumps in an arena made of stands and poles that are more destructible and yeah....) and dressage, which is just a complicated riding on the flat (without jumping). Congratulations to Jean, she got SECOND! Bubba was just pretty much awesome, and it was all cool...

On Sunday we went to the game show, which I wrote about, so just look at pictures and that's all I have to say about that...

Monday was an open show, which I have no pictures of right now, and I rode Bubba in the morning. I rode him in an English Pleasure class, which is where you ride through your gaits and they focus on how the horse carries itself. Unfortunately, I was a little more in the mind frame that it would be easy, a piece of cake, so I didn't focus as much as I should have. When we went to go from a canter to a trot and then a walk again, he wouldn't stop cantering, he more like started galloping, and I was so shocked I didn't try hard enough to stop him, and they dismissed me from the ring ("Rider number 50, you are excused"). Well, that was disappointing. I entered the next class, English Equitation (same as English Pleasure, except they judge the rider's form) in walk/trot instead of walk/trot/canter, and we did better. That afternoon I rode Daisy in a trail class. There was a bridge that I had to walk her over, poles, a mailbox to ride to, open, and take out a paper and show it to the judge, a rain slicker to pick up and put down, a box to do a 360 in, and a part to back in. Daisy (in my opinion) did very well, but we only got 7th. That was ok, though, because the class itself was fun, and it didn't really matter to me how we placed. That night we did Western Pleasure and Western Equitation (like the English versions) and we placed 2nd in both...out of 4 riders ;-). Then we went home, late at night.

On Tuesday I rode only Bubba. I rode him in the same classes as the day before, and I got FIRST PLACE in the class I had been sent out of the day before! I was really focused on not letting him get away with me, and it payed off. We got third in Equitation because he was harder to stop the canter again toward the end, so I just stopped him messily, and that cost the ribbon, but the way I look at it, at least I got him to stop! That afternoon we did a command class, and we got third place.

On Wednesday, which there are pictures for in the slide, I rode Daisy. It was all just mounted games (relay races) and it was a lot of fun, a very laid back day. I don't feel like listing what we placed and what the games were, it's too much work ;-).

On Thursday was Western day. I rode Daisy. We got only 2nd in Western Pleasure and Western Equitation (out of only two riders, me and Daisy and a girl named Sam and her own horse, name which I have forgotten) because BOTH TIMES Daisy picked up the left lead when we were supposed to do right...she was having an off day, but it wasn't too bad, so I'm not mad at her (:-P) because otherwise she felt wonderful. We got first place in command class, though! For once her quick, even if they are a little messy, transitions came in handy, lol. We did a trail class again that afternoon, and she got 2nd with me, which is great.

Friday was THE MOST AWESOME DAY EVER! Although between the games I had such a bad eye (it happened on Wednesday, too...my eye must have reacted to something in the air and it burned horribly and watered) I still had fun, and just wore sunglasses a lot. First of all, Daisy is THE MOST AWESOME HORSE I COULD EVER WISH FOR! I had heard that Daisy had done VERY well in western games (barrels and poles) but I didn't know for myself. Well, I rode her in pole bending, and got a 2 second less time then Sam riding her grampa's experienced gaming horse, Joker! Daisy just whipped around everything like she'd been doing it and practicing forever, when in reality, I've NEVER done poles, and she hasn't done them in about 2 years! We won first place in pole bending! We also won first in stake-n-barrel. In that game there are two barrels, standing across from each other about 20 feet, one is empty, open can with a stake in it, one is a closed, regular barrel. You have to run in, grab the stake, figure eight around the second barrel, drop the stake back in the first barrel, and run for the finish. Daisy did great AGAIN! We got second in keyhole, with a time of I think 11 seconds (slow time, I guess). Keyhole is just where you run through the start cones and ahead on the ground is drawn a keyhole shape like on a door handle, and you have to run in, turn around without leaving the white lines of the hole, and run back...All in all, the day was totally fun, and Daisy seemed to like it, too. She was soooo sweet-waiting for the races she stood like she was asleep, but the minute I put her out there by the cones and asked her to gallop, she took off. She listened so well to me, and all I can say is, "Thank you, God, for giving me such an awesome horse!".

Well, I won't bore you anymore. I'm sorry this post was so incredibly long, I can't help it! I hope you enjoy the pictures!

5:49 PM