Ontario County Fair: Gymkhana, July 27th

Gymkhana day. . . barrel racing and pole bending. 

Daisy's favorite :) 

The end of the 4H shows for horses always end with a little banquet pizza party where awards are handed out. 

Drumroll. . . . 

Daisy and I got Overall Senior High Point again this year! :) 

The extra exciting thing was that for the first time, they had ribbons for the high point horses to wear. How fun! 

And so fair week came to a close. 

I had a riding lesson through pony club on Thursday morning. . . unfortunately, it turns out Daisy has quite a sore back, I assume from county fair and all that riding. She's been standing parked out, trying to alleviate pressure, for the first time since 2009 when she got on her natural trim. Her right buttock is especially sore. I haven't ridden her since the lesson. I'm heading out in a few minutes to ride her over to Jenny's, where she'll stay while I'm in Costa Rica, and I can assess the situation. Hopefully the many days off while I'm gone will do her some good. 

My trip to Costa Rica is a mission trip that our church youth group is doing. I am so excited! This will be my first mission trip. We're going to take part in campus evangelism, and some kids programs in poor communities. 

Talk to you all when I'm back!

Ontario County Fair: Western Day, July 26th

When I was in Alberta at course, we went shopping at a western store one day and I got sucked into spending a hefty price for a show shirt. 

After seeing the pictures of Western day with it, I have no regrets ;). 

 Daisy was happy to be going western, her comfort zone, again. 

Trail class was the same pattern as Tuesday's. We placed first again. 

It started with a bridge obstacle. 

Then curved trot poles, to a mailbox. 

Then to a slicker transfer. . . 

Followed by a 360 box. 

A U-shaped back-up station was followed by the corner sidepass station. 

That evening, I entered the Versatility class again. Versatility tests the versatile nature of the individual horse (pretty self-explanatory). On western day, the versatility class starts out in english tack and clothing. We do an english flat class, then do a quick tack and clothing swap. Then we ride a western pleasure flat class, and a barrel pattern. In years past, the class has been very popular, with as many as 12 riders. The past two years Daisy and I have placed first. This year it was raining lightly, and only three people rode. Daisy an I won first again. 

Ontario County Fair: Mounted Games, July 25th

Wednesday was a low-key day of mounted relay games. 

Daisy was a good girl. She loves to barrel race and run fast, but we generally went in the middle of the relay team, so she had to be good about stopping in the middle of runs to pick things up, and wait at the end to hand off items. Once she got into it and figured out the routine, she had a nice set of brakes :) 

Wednesday evening was costume class. Daisy and I dressed as hippies and rode to the Beatles' "Revolution". 

Costume included tye dye fabrics and ribbons, non-toxic Crayola finger paint, fake daisies, and a fake butterfly, plus my most colorful tack. 

I was quite pleased with how it all turned out. 

We had fun :) 

As for my trailer, it turns out we won't have it for awhile probably... because the old owners never signed it over to their name, so in order for us to get the title for it, they need to get the former owner's signature on their title in order to hand it off to us so that we can title it. A bit disappointing, but we've made do without a trailer for 5 years; what's a couple months? 

I'm going on a mission trip with my church's youth group to Costa Rica on Tuesday of next week. We will be in the country for 11 days. I am SO excited! It should be pretty awesome.  

Ontario County Fair: English Day, July 24th

After deliberation, I've decided to make posts for each individual day of fair. . . that way, it's less work for me, less reading at once for you, and. . . etc.

The first day of fair was English day. I only decided to take Daisy a couple days before. I've received a lot of criticism lately about how Daisy and I look english (awkwardly paired), so first I thought I wouldn't bother, but then I did anyway. The fact is, I'm borderline too big for her. . . in an English saddle. Put me in a dressage saddle or western saddle with long stirrups, and somehow it looks fine. 

Daisy was lovely for English day. We ribboned mostly in the top 5. We didn't have many firsts and seconds, but we did decently well and I was pleasantly surprised with how the day panned out. 

Our best class, as usual, was trail class. The fact is, we win first 99% of the time ;), thanks to the work I put in with Daisy teaching her to sidepass over a ground pole. 

The jump course for the seniors was 3' max. . . which is too high for Daisy and I. I asked to be allowed to do the junior course (2'6") exhibition style, with no ribbons, just for fun, and we were allowed to. The course was perfect and Daisy was really lovely. She's turned into a steady jumper, which is so surprising compared to how she used to be. She has gotten soo much better at not rushing between jumps and just popping over them as-is. Unfortunately, we have a limited number of jump pictures. . . In fact, the photo below is basically 'it'.

Trust me, she sticks her ears forward once she's mid-air and looks much happier ;).
Overall, I was very pleased with the way the day went, and we did walk away with two blues. A good start to the long week ahead. . . 

P.S. I should probably include this in the Thursday post. . . however, I think containing my excitement for that long could be detrimental. Therefore, with great pleasure I present to you the official Daisy Mobile of Red Gate Ranch: 

My dad broke the news to me on Thursday that we could begin trailer shopping. Yesterday, we took a road trip and signed the papers for this baby. A complete tour will be provided once we bring it home sometime this week. I am SO. THRILLED. :)