What's Up Wednesday: Horse Show Edition!

 

Guys! WE DID IT! We went to a horse show! 

Photo by Chelsea Lothrop Photography

And it technically wasn't even a one day though I only went for one day. I'm really proud of Al and myself if I'm being honest. I was feeling all sorts of feelings about the whole thing. I haven't taken Al anywhere ever other than to the boarding barn and my house. And I haven't driven the trailer in forever. I haven't shown my own horse in over seven years. There's a lot of things about horse showing that I haven't done in a very long time. And so yeah, I was feeling some anxiety. But you know what else I was feeling? Really FREAKING EXCITED! I felt like we were ready to step out in public and do the thing. Now don't get me wrong, I chose this particular show to set us up for success. So the classes we did were only .90 meters, the show was only twenty minutes away at the barn where I grew up riding, and I was able to go the day before to see which ring we would be in and get checked in. All the little things that would make this first time out as comfortable and inviting as possible. So let's walk through the big day, shall we? 

I got up at 4:45 to feed early and have enough time to offer Al a free lunge before we left. So I went out to the barn in my jammies to feed, and then while he ate and digested I got dressed and even had some time to sit down and drink a cup of coffee. Quite civilized if you ask me! He wasn't all that interested in the free lunge, so I brought him back in, got him cleaned up and put his shipping wraps on. I forgot to snap photos, but he looked adorable in his nice show halter and new shipping wraps. (At some point during the pandemic I went through the trailer and restocked everything that needed replacing. Shipping wraps were at the top of the list. I got tan ones from Wilkers, which I must tell you is genius. They stay looking nice for much longer than white.)

My helper arrived right on time, and we got Al loaded and headed to the show! On the way there, we nearly witnessed an accident, because nothing ever goes completely smoothly. We were on a road that is a 35 mph speed limit, but it's a state road, and people generally drive much faster. I was doing about 40. Well. This dude in a pickup truck behind me decides he needs to pass me immediately, despite the fact that there was an oncoming car. I thought for sure they were going to crash. Nothing I could do but watch in horror and hope for the best. Thankfully they didn't hit each other, but I gotta tell you... it was a very near miss. Terrifying. But I was hopeful that would count as the near disaster for the day. And generally, I would say it was. 

So we get to the show and Al is quietly munching hay in the trailer. I decided to leave him be while I headed up to the ring to walk the courses quickly. This was a small show but surprisingly, my class was full with 7 riders in it. I think in an effort to keep the day moving, they made all three classes speed classes. So no jump offs to learn! Another thing making this day slightly easier. I had entered all three, but was planning on probably just doing two classes. Regardless, I walked all the turns and lines in all of the classes just so we were prepared. Then we headed back and got Al ready. The ring was open for schooling which I wasn't interested in doing. I wanted to see what Al would be like seeing the jumps the first time in the actual class, since at most shows you can't practice first for jumper classes. But I did let him take a walk around the ring since that is generally an option in the morning at most shows. I was pleasantly surprised with his attitude. He walked around calmly and seemed very relaxed. I think he was really happy to be at a show! 

My trainer had arrived by now so we headed over to the warm up ring. I put myself down to go first, so I wanted to be ready as soon as the judge was. Al started out very relaxed in the warm up, right up until I cantered the second direction and he couldn't help but let out a couple little bucks. Silly boy. They weren't nasty though, I could tell he was just feeling excited, and he didn't unseat me at all. Though one time I thought we were going to plow down a kid on a pony... We didn't at least! Anyway, he settled back down and we jumped a few schooling fences and headed toward the in gate. 

I had expected to feel really anxious at that point, but I didn't. Which was very nice. Ha. None of the fences seemed big to me, and Al was in a good headspace. My plan was not to ride this like a speed class. I just wanted to have a respectable round with neat turns and a consistent pace. Our consistent pace could use some work, but otherwise I was really happy with our first round. You can watch it here:

I did feel like he was yanking me out of the tack a bit, and as a result my reins were too long much of the time. But that's all stuff we can work on. Even though we weren't fast, we still ended up right in the middle of the pack with a fourth place ribbon for this round.

Photo by Chelsea Lothrop Photography

I went in for the second class with the same plan. To make neat turns and aim for a consistent pace. Unfortunately, I made some mistakes in this class. The first couple of fences were lovely, but I found a tight spot to the third one, which resulted in my reins getting too long. The next fence was a 90 degree turn to an end jump, and with the long reins, I had to scramble a little to make the turn. I changed my mind a little at the end fence and I think jumped ahead a little. Al touched the rail, and then thought it was attacking him so he kicked it right out...

Much drama.

Then he landed and bucked so I had to make a circle because we were well past where I needed to turn. We regrouped and continued on though, because mistakes happen and we don't let them rattle us. The rest of the course was lovely. I left the ring with a smile and big pats for a good boy! Since we had a rail and circle we finished last in this class. But that was okay with me. I still got a ribbon! And all the photos.

Photo by Chelsea Lothrop Photography

I decided not to do the third class. Not because things weren't going well but because trainer and I both agreed I needed a little more bit. I could go in and do the third class and it would be just like the other two most likely. But I didn't feel like we needed to. We had jumped all the jumps already and I felt like we had a great experience and just decided to end on that note. 

Al was a gentleman to get untacked and loaded back on the trailer. He even was polite enough to hang out for a few extra minutes so I could check out and grab some breakfast. My helper and I ate at the ring to support some of our boarding barn friends who were there too. We didn't hang out too long though, because I didn't want to make Al stand around on the trailer too long. Not that he seemed to mind, but he had worked hard for me and didn't need to hang out just to hang out.

And that's the story of Al and my first show!

In other news... (I'll be brief since this is already a novel.)
I had a lesson today with Al and we tried him in a slow twist full cheek. It was magical. He didn't root in it ever. So I think that's what we'll try for the next show. 

I jumped Eros today after not jumping him last week just due to being crazy busy. 

He was nuts! Like I nearly fell off at one point nuts.

It was fun though. I'll free lunge him before we jump next time. I don't usually need to in the summer, but clearly, he's feeling some sort of way this week. It might have been pay back for starting on his mane yesterday. He hates that. 

I haven't jumped Shiny much lately because her kid has been doing it. But I think I will later this week. I want a turn too! She's feeling great, and I want to see if it translates to jumping. I imagine it will. 

In addition to showing Al last week at the horse show, I also had some braiding work. 

Which was nice because it paid for the show! But it was also a little exhausting. And I'm taking advantage of this quieter week to recover.

I had to do all of those things last week with my silly rolled ankle... But it's healing nicely. Almost all of the bruising is gone, but it's still a little swollen. Here's a lovely compilation of all the colors it went through:

And I'll just leave you with those lovely images of my foot. (My apologies if you hate feet. I also hate feet. But I do appreciate a good bruise.)

What's Up Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! You would think I'd have a really exciting post for you this week since I spent last weekend at the horse show. But to be perfectly honest, it was pretty boring. I think hanging around at horse shows NOT showing has lost it's appeal. Better than not going at all, certainly, but I miss the show ring.
I got up to VT in the early afternoon on Thursday. I had a few things to get done at home before I left, and then we had a crazy storm that I didn't particularly want to drive in. I just missed the Welcome Stake, so my trainer was already done for the day when I arrived. I decided to run my couple of errands at the horse show and then find my friend I was staying with. It was pretty hot, in the upper 90's and 100% humidity. Not super fun to hang around in for no reason. I was quite productive on the errand front though. I have some half chaps I got on ebay that are pretty awesome but they were a little big. So I dropped them off at Beval to send out for alterations. My fly bonnets that I ordered a couple months ago had finally arrived too, so I dropped them at Mona's for monogramming. It felt good to get those things out of the way on the first day. Then I headed up the mountain to find my friend. She was hanging in the yard with my favorite Dalmation, Moxie who was enjoying the sprinkler:

Truth? That kept us entertained for a good hour. We had a nice dinner and an early bed time. A lovely day if you ask me!
Friday I got to have a lesson on Badger. I have zero media though. Sorry friends! He was a good boy, but this only riding him twice a week and hardly ever jumping together really isn't doing me any favors. I kept finding the long spot (to crossrails... terrible plan) then not releasing enough so he would get mad and drag me through the turn after the fence. I did get to play around with his stride in a line though, which was nice. I now know from experience that he can move up or shorten pretty easily to get whatever number I ask for. Pretty nice feature in a baby horse! Hopefully this coming weekend I can do some more jumping at trainer's and get more comfortable on him. Baby steps I suppose. Trainer wasn't showing Friday and neither was my friend so it was another early day at the show. I wandered into town for some Ben & Jerry's and accidentally did a little shopping while I was out there. Oops. Friday evening I ate the confused lobster roll, and then I made a good dent in my book for our book club meeting on Monday. (Last minute reader... apparently I'm exactly the same person I was in high school.)
Saturday morning I rode nice and early, so I could watch my trainer go in the Grand Prix. I just flatted, but Badger was really good.

Badger did not approve of sharing the camera with Tedeo

Yes I will wear my ears as long as it's ONLY ME in the picture!

I stick my tongue out at thee.

After watching the Grand Prix, I can honestly say my trainer is way more bad ass than I'll ever be. She has two horses that she shows at that level currently. One is just starting and he tends to have a few rails. He's very scopey but he gets distracted easily. The other is a little older, and while he jumps a bit unorthodox, he's a really nice horse. They've only been together less than a year, so they're still working on things, but this week they made their first jump off!

Right? I jump crossrails now... Anyway. Sunday morning I stopped at the show to watch my friend in the A/O hunters and then headed home. Thankfully no drama like the last time and I got home fairly early. I had planned to ride, but the the car said it was over 100 degrees out. I figured after three days off that wasn't really fair to the horses. So they enjoyed a day off while I cleaned up the house and picked my dogs up from my mom's.

Apparently Grandma's house is exhausting. Also, since it was still about 88 degrees at 9 pm:

Night swimming! It was the perfect evening for a dip in the pool. Monday was book club after work so the kids had a pretty long vacation. I finally got on last night though. Romey was a little off, so I'm going to see what we have today and then maybe will need to put a call in to the vet. They should be SOUND after all those days off! Sheesh.

This toy is for wearing yes?

Jampy was actually pretty good considering all the vacation days and it was getting pretty dark when I got on him. And then I took Rio out...

Yep. Cellulitis. So he's on some Banamine and SMZ's for a few days and hopefully this will be over and done with quickly. It's not easy getting older. Poor guy. Clearly, he does NOT like me going away without him.
Well... That's what's up this Wednesday! What's up with you?

What's Up Wednesday!

There's not a whole lot up this Wednesday in all honesty. I spent the days working, and the evenings riding. We've already talked about Rio's little episode on Truthful Tuesday, and other than that things have been pretty quiet. I was supposed to have a couple horses to braid on Saturday, but my clients decided to go unbraided since the entries were really light at the show. Story of my summer! I really didn't mind, it was nice to have the night off.
I rode everyone this weekend. Rio just tack walked, but it still counts right? Jampy finally jumped around the course I set last week, and was actually more or less a good pony.

These pics are rough I know... But I took them from my watch's timer. Which is only 3 seconds. And really useless when you're also trying to ride... Longer timer please apple watch!
I took selfies with the other kids:

Rio was weird:

"I give kisses to mommy"

I finally busted out the grooming gloves for Rio too. He's already prepping to grow his winter coat. How depressing. But he LOVED the gloves. I think I will bite the bullet and get a pair each for the other horses too. I hate sharing grooming tools.

Ahhhh Mommy, that's the spot!

And the short kids did a lot of this:

They live the life. I made sure to take a few minutes to stuff my face as well. After riding Badger Saturday morning, I stopped at Dunkin for a muffin, coffee, and some pokemon time. (Finally I got some Poke balls!)

Sunday, I was dying for another lobster roll at the lake. I had a few errands to do so I drove over this time. It was delicious, and no complaints about the view:

And I was SUPER excited when I got my pics from Saratoga finally!
Photos by Shawn McMillen

Seriously, how huge is Venti. Such a good boy. I wish I could lease him for Medal Finals in two weeks. (Spoiler alert, I'm not going.)
And I guess that's about it... Oh! Like everyone else, I've been playing with Prisma too.

I think SuperPhoto is a superior app personally, but this one is lots of fun too.

What's up with you this Wednesday? Do anything fun this past weekend? Play with Prisma? Do you know how to save the Prisma photos without the watermark in the corner? I don't.

What's Up Wednesday!

I can't believe another week has come and gone already. Please slow down summer, I'm trying to make the most of you! So when I left you all last week, I was getting ready to head up to Vermont to visit my baby Badger.
I arrived early afternoon on Thursday since I had a ton of things to get done at home before I could drive north. I also made a quick stop at my favorite highway rest area:

My trainer was done showing for the day when I arrived and Badger had already been worked so we watched a few jumpers and then disbanded for the evening. I was staying with my friend from Saratoga. She and her husband also have a house near Vermont Summer Festival. How lucky am I to be her friend?! I was super excited to see this face again too:

Friday morning I rode Badger early and got to hop over a couple cross rails. I couldn't believe how good he was in the busy schooling ring! Horses all over, and one kid on a pony who really took passing left to left to a whole new level. No offense meant to my Jamposaur, but my baby Badger is ten times better behaved than Jampy...  He enjoyed some grooming and some grass later in the day since he was such a good pony.

I promise he was just wet, that's not a saddle mark! No saddle marks on my ponies. Once Badger was all tucked in, I headed up toward hunter land to watch my friend ride in the adult hunters. She has the cutest horse!

Saturday I got to have a real lesson on Badger which was great. A lesson at a horse show is a lot different than a lesson at home, and obviously we were very limited in what we had to work with as far as jumps. But we had a whole line to ourselves, so that was more than enough. I think going to the horse show did so much for him. He was absolutely perfect. He didn't bat an eyelash when another trainer unrolled a blue yoga mat right next to him. He didn't spook at the lady pushing a carriage past the ring. He didn't put a foot wrong the entire time! I'm so proud of him! The best part of the day? I got the photos from him showing with my trainer! His very first horse show! Oh and did I forget to mention that he finished 8th out of FORTY-TWO in one of his schooling hunter rounds?? I'm such a proud mama! We didn't have him braided since we weren't expecting him to be competitive the first time out. But he looked pretty fab anyway. All horse show photos below are by Andrew Rybeck Photography.

And my favorite:

After spending all my money on adorable photos of the cutest baby Badger, it was time to watch my trainer in the Grand Prix. She's seriously #goals you guys. I had a great lesson jumping 2'3" and crossrails, and she had two horses in the Grand Prix.

Artie, the bay horse had a few rails... he's still figuring life out. But Casino, the chestnut horse finished in the ribbons! Woohoo! So fun to watch!
Sunday I decided not to stop at the show before heading home. My assistance wasn't necessary to pack up and it had rained quite a lot the night before. I was a little worried my little car would get stuck in the mud. Not worth it if I wasn't going to ride anyway. Instead I meandered around town a little and stopped at my favorite sandwich shop for an early lunch before beginning the trek home. Good thing I stopped for lunch!

I drove over a large pot hole in Vermont, and when I was about half way through Massachusetts I got the low tire pressure light. I stopped at a gas station to see if I could put air in it to get me home. Unfortunately it wouldn't take air, and this car has no spare! Lame. I called USRiders for help. I have to tell you, they are amazing. If you haul horses you should definitely consider getting USRiders insurance. It's much like AAA, but for horse people. Even though I wasn't hauling horses, they still gave me all the assistance I needed. They called a tow truck for me, and then went ahead and called around looking for an open tire shop! Not only that, they made sure the tire shop had the tire I needed before dispatching the tow truck. They were really awesome. The whole ordeal took about an hour and a half, which really is pretty impressive. I was back on the road before I knew it! Though I did have to turn around and go back to the tire shop because they forgot to put my tow hook back in the car.... It's never easy.
I was excited to get home and see my other kids though. Because of the delay, I opted not to ride. It was already after five, and my motivation was at rock bottom. Instead, I fed all the kids, cleaned up the barn, and jumped in the pool!

First time this year! It was pretty hot out, around 85 still at 9 pm. Perfect weather for an evening dip!
Monday I worked all day and rode all the boys. We had a slight rain delay, but since this was the view after, I didn't get too upset about it:

Tuesday, I only worked a half day and then headed south to Yankee Stadium! It was a GREAT game and they even managed to win! (Not exactly a given this year...)

Obviously I dressed the part for the game:

But most importantly, I ate my way through the stadium:

I made a point to only eat out of helmets. Mmmmm Nachos and Ice Cream!
Today was back to the grind. I had a crazy day at work! (Ugh. So crazy.) And followed that up with rides on Jamp and Romey. Rio once again has some fat back legs so I opted to hand walk him instead. He's back on antibiotics and a higher dose of prednisone. Hopefully he'll kick whatever this is this time. Fingers crossed!

The pugs have mostly been doing this:

Sometimes I feel a little jealous of them. But then I remember they don't have thumbs or a drivers license and then I feel better.
How was your week/weekend? Do anything fun and exciting?