As I opened the emergency door to the trailer my confidence wavered. Phoenix was standing there shaking, like literally shaking, with his eyes bugging out of his head. I told him it would be okay, that I was okay and he had to trust me. By the time Shawn’s Mom helped me unload him he was already looking better. Phoenix looked around and then took a deep breath and calmed right down. It was in that moment that my heart swelled with pride. My little baby was growing up! I tacked him up (with help) in the driveway and hurried to get myself dressed. My parents surprised me also by showing up so I went from having no one to having lots of great people around! I was running so late that even PO had wandered down the drive way to try and find me. By the time I got to the warm up ring to get on it was 12:58. I had 10 minutes to get his number on, tighten the girth, do a full warm up and get in the ring! Yikes!
You would think that my high strung self would have lost it at that point, but I was actually okay. I never felt frazzled or panicked for some reason. Looking into the ring where just 4 short months ago I lost my nerve gave my confidence another shake, but luckily PO was there and she was having none of it. My horse was fine and I was too. I had so little time to ride I needed to turn my worries off and my riding brain on. Phoenix was SUPER tight backed as I climbed on. He felt like a spring that was ready to pop.
Some horses do not need a lot of warm up. Gen, for example, did best with only about 20 minutes before he went into the ring. Phoenix on the other hand needs LOTS of warm up in order to loosen up and relax. I normally walk him for 10 minutes, so an 8 minute warm up was just not enough time to loosen his back up and get him tracking up. Knowing that the judge was a tough one and that all scores were low so this would not be a useable score unless a miracle happened, PO set about giving us the best warm up that she could for such a short amount of time. She focused on the few things she knew we could fix instead of the 100 things we didn’t have time to worry about.
Before I even blinked it was time to take off his boots and head into the ring. We had only gotten to do one canter depart in each direction. Phoenix was nowhere near relaxed and submissive. Still, I was happy. He was not the crazy horse he had been last time we where there. I felt totally comfortable riding him, which was a big win for me. I knew that it was not going to be the best test ever, but I also knew that we were doing the best we could all things considered. One last bit of advice from PO about having a smooth and accurate test and in we went.
I could still hear PO’s words ringing in my head as I started around the ring waiting for the judge to ring the bell. As Phoenix started being a baby and looking at things and getting himself twisted into knots I took a deep breath. I needed to be smooth, no surprising Phoenix. Every transition and every movement needed to be planned and thought out. I knew this would be an “interesting” test. Phoenix had no impulsion, and so we also had no bend and no real connection. I also knew that while it might not be beautiful, if I used my head it would not be ugly either. Phoenix was a young horse and kept throwing his head in the air and he would not stop looking, but I did my best to correct him and remind him that I was on top of him! His big spotted shoulder popped out right as the judge went to ring the bell so I decided to ride smart right away and circle him before we turned up at A. This test was going to be all about using my brain.
To Be Continued…
[...] Part 3 [...]
Good for you!!!! I always crumbled at shows and had meltdowns..just couldn’t handle the pressure but look at what you did!
That is awesome that you enjoyed yourself and that will make Phoenix a very happy boy too! Nice pink ribbon!!