It was almost 3 when the saddle fitter finally got me. I had been sitting at the barn doing nothing for 3 hours. The fitting gets a whole post onto itself. Why? Because my problem with the saddle could not be fixed. Which sucks! After all that. The saddle fitter really worked to make it better though and spent a long time making sure that the tree and flocking were perfect. The problem is my saddle though, and not the tree or the flocking. Well, I shouldn’t really say it is my saddle because that is not 100% true. My saddle would be fine on Gennyral or another horse like Gennyral. On Phoenix though there was not a lot she could do without slicing my saddle open…something that I was not willing to do the day before a horse show!

As the saddle fitter packed up to go to the lower barn Phoenix’s Owner was nice enough to hang around and give me a lesson. I told her ahead of time that all I wanted was a half hour of Phoenix listening to me. He is going through a phase right now where he thinks he knows better. We all know he does not but it has been pretty hard to convince him.

Because I was in such a bad mood I struggled in the lesson. I do believe the exact phrase was “picking fights” with Phoenix. I couldn’t let go of his mistakes, which were plentiful, and he couldn’t do everything I was asking him to do because I was just asking way to much of the baby horse. It was not good. We decided to call it a day after a nice canter. It was nowhere near the best lesson in the world, but at the same time I am very grateful that it happened during a lesson because I have been struggling how to deal with his attitude on my own. His Owner helped me to come up with ways of dealing with the issue. My fear after the lesson was that his Owner was going to beat me on her ultra green mare. I could handle anything else about the show but I really didn’t want to be upstaged by a horse who has hardly had any time under tack and that is a whole year younger than my fat spotted pony.

By the time I was headed back up to the barn it was starting to get dark, and I still had a butt load of prep to do. Tack needed to be cleaned, and so did Phoenix, not to mention the fact that he still needed to be braided. It was freezing cold out and Phoenix was so hot from our lesson I decided that I would be bad and not bath him. We did just have a show the week before that he was glowing white for and he has had his blanket on since. So the only thing he needed done desperately was his socks. I figured I could get away without a bath time as long as he looked clean and cared for. Mind you even typing this up makes me feel guilty. It was so cold though. I have this fear that some day I will be one of those people that just grabs a horse from the field and puts them on the trailer. Can you all tell how guilty I feel about it? I really do feel horrible that I didn’t braid, but I really didn’t want to get Phoenix sick my turning him into a ponycicle.

After a very thorough brushing I decided that I would was his legs in the morning and that I should just get to work on the braids. They came out better than I thought they would for dry hair (I normally can only braid wet, clean hair) so I decided things were looking up. Granted at this point it was well after 6:30 and I was cold, hungry, and had to pee, but I was going to a horse show and that made me happy.

I put my tack in my car and figured I would clean it in front of the TV in my nice warm home. I went to see Gen and while I was still not at my best, I felt a lot more relaxed. Gen’s injury taught me that you should never take a horsey moment for granted because you might not get very many. I went home to take my time and enjoy getting ready for this show because it is the last one of the year and you just never know. I love the fact that showing is still really special to me. That even after all these years I still cherish the fact that I get to go out and do something that I love to do and have dreamed about my whole life. Yes, I was in a bad mood and stressed out, but as dumb as it sounds I still felt really luck to be in that situation.

Tomorrow I will start on the show…

The Young Rider, Speedy's Mom and Ransom's Mom all watching the lounge session and FREEZING while we wait.

I should have known better then to schedule my saddle fitting with the Young Rider. She has terrible saddle fitting luck. The very first time she got her saddle fitted she ended up waiting for hours in the freezing cold before finally bursting into tears and getting sick. Every time after that has also been an adventure. While my saddle fitting experiences have always been positive, until now that is, the Young Rider doesn’t know how easy it can be. So on Friday I showed up to the barn at 11:45. Our appointment was at noon so I figured the Young Rider could go first and that I would go and get Phoenix as soon as the saddle fitter showed up so I would have plenty of time to groom him before it was our turn. I was thinking that Speedy’s Mom, who also needed her saddle done, was thinking the same thing as me because she was not there yet either.

It was COLD out, so I bundled up and took a seat in the sun while the Young Rider fussed over her mare to make her look her best for the fitting. At noon Ransom’s Mom showed up. She had called the store the day before and they said that if there was time she could get her saddle done also. At 12:15 there was no sign of the saddle fitter. Odd, but not unheard of. At 12:30 we were starting to get annoyed. It was COLD out. I decided to call the store where we were getting the fitting through to see what was going on. It went straight to voicemail. At this point the Young Rider and I were already frozen through and joking about her curse of saddle fitting. It was then that Speedy’s Mom called to tell us that the saddle fitter was running late. Why did Speedy’s Mom call? Because they called her, twice, about being late. The second time she had asked to make sure that they had called us. They hadn’t. At this point we were all just laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

Shortly after she called Speedy’s Mom showed up. Phoenix’s Owner was laughing at all of us sitting around waiting and decided to use the time wisely. The Young Rider has been having trouble on the lounge with her mare. Since the saddle fitter was still a good 45 minutes away and the mare was clean there was tons of time for a lounge lesson. So we all went to watch because we had nothing better to do. So there we were bundled up watching trying to pass the time. At 1:15, the new expected arrival time, there was still no saddle fitter.

The Nice Local Trainer started a pot of coffee and told us all to come inside and at least warm up while we were waiting. The Young Rider and I finished putting away her mare and started making our way into her house. It was 1:40. We were not happy campers. Just as we were about to get to the door the saddle fitters car pulled up and started to drive down to the lower barn. We chased after her because our horses are up top. By the time we caught up with her we were both miserable. Cold, annoyed we had no warm up time, annoyed she was late, just not happy. She apologized right away for being late. This is only week 2 of having one of her employees take the appointments for her. Even she agreed that it wasn’t going that well yet.

She got started right away on the Young Riders mare and I will say this. She was a good saddle fitter. She took her time, made the kid ride and kept readjusting until it was perfect. Which takes time. By 2:30 I was starting to go into panic mode. I was supposed to already be prepping for the show by now. I still wanted to take a lesson. It would be dark in a few hours. This was not how my day was supposed to go.

To Be Continued…

So as you are reading this I am hopefully doing very well at the show. My saddle fitting was an adventure was not so fun and deserves a whole post to itself. Since today is a good day I only want to talk about good things. And one thing I am super excited about is that Equine Affaire is only 7 days away! 7 Days!!! I am so excited!

For those of you who have never been to the Equine Affaire you really are missing out. There are three different Equine Affaire’s in America every year. There is one in California in the winter (February), one in Ohio in the spring (April) and the one I am going to in Massachusetts in the fall (November). What makes the Equine Affaire so special is the size of the expo and the quality of people and vendors that come.

At the Massachusetts event this year one of the clinicians is Steffen Peters. STEFFEN PETERS! The 2008 Olympian and the 2009 champion of the world cup in dressage. I am so excited to see him. I have heard he was not great at the Ohio Equine Affair so I am hoping that he has used that as a learning experience and will be awesome in Mass. Also, Susan Harris will be there. I have had the pleasure of meeting her in the past and she is a really great lady and a knowledgeable horse person. For those of you who can’t think of how you know her, she is the author of the U.S. Pony Club Manuals. I got her to sign all mine last time I met her and she not only signs her, but draws so I have the most adorable hand drawn Appy faces from her also. If you are going to the Mass event bring your books so she can sign them. Instead of boring everyone with a list of all the people I am excited to see I will just let you click here to see the complete list.

Another thing I am looking forward to is the trade show. You cannot imagine how much stuff there is. There is sale stuff, custom stuff, and new up and coming products. The horse stuff covers multiple buildings and all disciples. Speaking of disciplines, I also love the breed demos that happen throughout the whole event. I am a total sucker for draft horses so to see a group of drafts in the ring is enough to make my heart melt!

Another big part of the Equine Affair is the Pfizer Fantasia. It is an event where several different horse/rider combos all put performances to music. You can read about last years here. Since I decided so late that I was going, my seats are not great. It is fun, but nowhere near as cool as Dressage at Devon. There are usually a few very cool acts though and no matter what it is still really cool to be in an arena filled with all sorts of different people who love horses! So instead of boring you all who are not going with more gushing, I thought I would help out all the first timers.

Tips for Equine Affiare goers…

1) Bring a big bag. This year all I need is splint boots. Literally, that is the only thing I need to buy. However, I have learned that even if you don’t need much the shopping is fantastic and you will buy many different things. So instead of getting your hands ripped up by plastic bags, bring a nice big purse, shoulder back or back pack. Trust me when I say it will make your day a whole lot better.

2) If you have the option, bring a car with 4 wheel drive. Parking at the Mass Equine Affair is in a big field. Some years it is no big deal, and some years it is very, VERY wet. Don’t worry, they have tractors to pull you out if you get stuck, but it would be really nice not to get stuck in the first place!

3) Bring something to drink. Like all things that are in an enclosed space the food and drinks are EXPENSIVE. I know plenty of people who bring a picnic lunch. I am not anywhere near that organized. I have found that bringing 2-3 bottles of water will save me a lot of money and also keep me hydrated (I am usually there for a good 10 hours all told).

4) Give yourself a budget and bring cash to encourage yourself to stick to that budget. There are some really great deals, and there are some items that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else. That makes it really hard to say no. If you have a set number, and only that much cash you will be a lot better about saying no.

So on that note…I want to run another blog contest. I am giving myself a budget for next week. The person that guesses the closest to that number that I actually spend without going over wins. How much do you think I am going to spend at the Equine Affiare? Knowing of course that all I need is splint boots. Good Luck!

So today I have the day off! Hence the late timing of my post. Tomorrow is my last show of the year and so I want to enjoy getting ready for it and not be totally stressed out and running out of time and light. I also am getting my saddle fitted today. I am so excited to do it. For you long time readers you might remember when I first started leasing Phoenix that I got my saddle fitted (you can read all about it here). At that time Phoenix was still barely broke, had no neck and back muscles, and was a mere 4 years old. Now he is a 5 year old who has lots of muscles and has been in consistent work for almost a year now! It is amazing how much has happened since my saddle was last fitted.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that during a lesson his owner pointed out that my saddle needed to be done. I had wanted to wait and get it done by the Schleese people when they next come down from Canada. Unfortunately the next time that will happen I will be without a truck, and I cannot trailer Phoenix without something to pull it! Lucky for me I live in a popular dressage area and my local dressage tack store owner is also a certified Schleese saddle fitter. I have never used her before, and hear mixed things, but I am willing to give it a go.

Why? Because my saddle is BAD on Phoenix. At the canter, the cantle of my saddle actually LIFTS UP…like in the air…and comes back down to reputedly hit him in the back. And that is just the stuff I have noticed. I hate to see what else it is doing to my poor Appy’s back! Phoenix and I have some canter issues, but that was a new thing, so I am hoping that it was just because of the saddle not fitting and it will go away after today. Especially since I need to canter tomorrow!

I will talk to the saddle fitter and see what she says about allowing me to video tape part of the fitting. I know that A LOT of people cannot get their saddles fit so I think it might be helpful to see why I think it is so important to buy a saddle that can be adjusted if needed.

Wish me muck at the show tomorrow. I am so excited. My times are like perfect. 10:21 and 10:35! How can you get better than that? And one of the judges is SUPER generous so hopefully I can break a 60% at training 1! Fingers crossed. Do you ever just get a good feeling about a show? I have one about this one. I have no reason to, but I just feel like it is going to be a good day. I am going to bake some muffins now to bring tomorrow. Normally I bake because I am nervous. Today I am baking for fun!

So last week I told you all that on Sunday I would be heading out to volunteer at an endurance event. I learned when I arrived that it was not an endurance event, but rather a 25 mile competitive trail ride. What is the difference? I learned that while both endurance and competitive trail riding evaluate the horses well being, fitness and soundness you actually get about an hour less to complete a competitive trail ride.

I had signed up to be a scorer, but because I knew I had a horse show this weekend I didn’t want to miss a chance to ride last weekend. I spoke to woman who was putting the whole thing together and asked what jobs I could do if I could not get to the place until after 2pm. She told me that being a scorer would be perfect because you can’t score until the end of the ride. So I was able to ride Phoenix, see Gen and still have plenty of time to come out and volunteer. When I showed up to the event I knew I was not in Kansas anymore. My endurance riding friends often joke about what people wear to a ride, but after stepping out of the car I could see why…and I was totally jealous.

People had on riding tights in bright bold colors. Everything was coordinated though. There was one woman who had bright red half chaps! I was so jealous! She also had black and red tights, saddle pad and bridle! You could always tell which horse went with which rider because of how well matched they were. There was a kid who had lime green and turquoise for her colors that even had a cooler to match. It was awesome. I am so bored of being a black and white dressage rider that I think I might have even drooled in jealousy watching them all! The other thing I noticed was how many men in my area ride endurance. You normally see a handful of guys at the schooling shows, more at recognized, but here at this right it almost seemed like they made up half the riders.

So I walked through the fun colors of people and went to check in. On my way I passed the final vet check. It was amazing how happy these horses looked after 25 miles on the trails! I paused for a moment to listen in to the two people talking to two more people on clip boards and then headed over to where the scoring was taking place, on my way passing a giant table of ribbons. You would think after my 2 blues the day before I would be over ribbons, but no…I stopped and admired how beautiful they were. When I showed up, a good 20 minutes before expected I was greeted with the news that the ride had a very low turnout so they didn’t really need me. I told them that I wanted to hang out for at least a little bit so they gave me something to do.

I was a runner for the scores. Just like in upper level dressage there were 2 judges. One was a vet, and one was the layjudge. My job would be to go to their scribes (who were easy to identify because they had giant wooden boxes to write on hanging off their neck) and pick up the ride sheets. I had to make sure that I got the same number from each judge and when I had a matching pair I would go inside and give the 2 sheets to the scoring table. The sheets were really big and had lots of information on them such a heat rate, respiration, and even a diagram of a horse noting any all lumps and bumps they had before and after the ride.

Once all the scores were collected a really nice woman sat me down and explained the scoring system to me. At the start of the ride each horse/rider combo was evaluated by those two judges. They had to trot the horses out for a lameness check, go over all the vital signs and evaluate how the horse looked. Were they chipper? Did they move well? All of those things were written down on a sheet. At the end of the ride (since the ride was only 25 miles and done in such a short time it was only a pre-and post-ride evaluation) they did all the same things and noted on the sheet any changes.

For example, one of the horses looked a little sore on their left front when they finished the ride. They had no problems on the left front when they started. The judge evaluated the horses lameness on a scale on the sheet and said that on the lameness scale the difference in how the left front was moving from the start of the ride to the end was a change of two. So on that riders score sheet they got a one in the area next to movement. This same horse also had an elevated respiration from the start of the ride. Because the horses respiration was over the maximum allowed the scorers used a chart to find out how many points over the horse was and give them the point value indicated. So the horse and rider got 2 for the lameness and a .5 for the respiration.

In a competitive trail class they take that score of 2.5 and subtract it from 100 (which is a perfect score) to give the rider a total score. So this person ended the trail ride with a 97.5. Once you had a riders score you would put them in a ranking in their weight category. At this ride there was a light, medium, and heavy category which is decided by how much weight the horse is carrying on its back. I thought it was pretty cool because some  riders have really heavy tack and some do not, it was just the total amount the horse would be carrying. If I were to do the ride I would clearly be in the heavy category, but it was neat to know that I would only be judged against other horse and rider combos who were also carrying similar weight. Because this was a competitive trail ride and not an endurance rider they then had an awards ceremony.

When I sat down with them at the table and they told me that endurance rides do not give our ribbons I knew that endurance would never be for me. I am fully aware that I am shallow and I know myself…finishing is not enough of a reward to me! I think it might be neat to try a competitive trail ride some day (I don’t think I am ever going to do a judged trail ride because those seem a bit scary). They even have an award for the best Appy! Overall it was a really fun time, and while I was only there for a little bit I learned so much. If you ever have a chance to go out and help out at a competitive trail ride I say go for it!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

So since I was flying solo I wanted to quickly get Phoenix loaded on to the trailer and headed home before the sky opened up. Luckily, my very pregnant trainer and the half-blind horses rider both stuck around after my second test waiting to see my scores. They also wanted to help me with loading him because they knew I was a little worried about doing it alone. They waited a good 20 minutes with me, which was nice of them because this show made me realize that while I am getting there, I am not ready yet to show alone. I still need the Young Rider to help me out. I am close though, which makes me feel good. If I can go solo by next summer I will be thrilled.

Anyway, before I even loaded Phoenix up they pinned my first class. At Intro A I got a 63%! Which was generous, but even knowing that, I was still thrilled with the score. We broke a 60%! For those of you new to dressage an average score is about 55%, adequate is in the 50%s and a good score is a 60% or better. It meant that the judge thought Phoenix and I were above average. Which also meant that…Phoenix and I got our very first blue ribbon!

I was over the moon excited about it. As you can tell by the fact that I started taking his braids out, I was not expecting it at all. I was genuinely worried that I did not break a 55% (which is where the other people in my class were scoring), so to break a 60% and win was just totally amazing. I took a ton of pictures I was so proud. In fact, were it not for a stranger teasing me about taking a million pictures of Phoenix with a blue ribbon as they were walking to the ring, I might still be there all these days later taking pictures of him. I rarely win. Ever. In fact, in all the years I have shown I can still count the number of blues on my hands. Because they are so rare the blues are just so special to me. And before anyone yells at me, yes, I do know it is not all about the ribbons. But I am very shallow as you all know and I do love my ribbons!

So needless to say I was floating on air as we loaded Phoenix on to the trailer. I brought Phoenix back to the barn and even though I was ready to unload him all by myself, his owner was literally walking out of the house to leave so she helped me out. I brought Phoenix back to the barn and couldn’t stop hugging him. I was so happy. What was really cool was the fact that even when I thought we didn’t do very well we still broke a 60%. I know it was only Intro, but I am still really proud that we did well even on a not so great ride. And I think what I am most excited about after this show is how Phoenix and I have grown in the past year. It really makes me look forward to next year. And even more so I am now super excited for my show next weekend to see how we do at training level (I have our last show of the year on Saturday). If we can break a 60% when Phoenix is ignoring me think about how we can do when he listens!!!

Shallow, yes, but I don’t care. It took us a whole year to get a blue ribbon and at this show we got 2! I was a little bummed when there was no ribbon for the costume class because I thought that they only way I would get a blue was to be in a class alone. This taught me that Phoenix and I can do it. Once we get a nice steady rhythm down we are going to be great!

Part 1

Part 2

I will admit that it was hard to get my focus back on work after getting all dressed up. I know that Phoenix felt the same way. Luckily, my trainer, who is 8 months and 3 and a half weeks pregnant, came to coach me so after 5 minutes of walking to clear our heads we went to work. The focus was rhythm and making sure that Phoenix was really paying attention to the inside leg to outside rein connection. It was tough. He is the only horse I know that can have a unicorn horn put on his head and be fine and yet spook at his own shadow. My trainer really worked with me to stop focusing on the things he was not doing for me and start focusing on all the good thing he was giving me.

She reminded me that my goal at this show was just to go out and do something with Phoenix. I am doing as much as I can this year to turn my green horse into a show horse. She also reminded me that I was not allowed to get mad at Phoenix for being a bit of a wiggly worm. I was just supposed to correct and let it go. I didn’t have a lot of time to warm up so before I knew it I has to enter the ring.

I can honestly say that my first ride did not feel very good at all. Below is the video and it looks better than it felt. Phoenix felt like he just switched into auto pilot. It happened as soon as we went from the indoor to the outdoor. All of a sudden my fat spotted pony decided that he was in charge. My steering was not so good. In fact, there were three times that I was pretty sure he was just going to go right out of the ring. I really got after him with the outside aids and he stayed in, but it did shake my confidence in him just a little bit because I thought we had out grown that. I guess not.

What I love about this video is how calm and rhythmical his trot was for the first part of the test. It gives me hope for our future. It is showing me that we really can be a really nice pair with a little work. When I look at this video compared to the intro test we did back in April and they are worlds apart. There is clear growth in us as a pair. In fact, watching this video I see that I made some obvious corrections that could have been more subtle. I think that the fact I am even thinking about the details during a test is a really good sign for next year.

Not knowing how it looked though I walked back into the indoor after my test totally defeated. My trainer has been my trainer for over a decade now. She knows me really well now. She knew I was pissed that my pony tried to take over so she came up with a constructive exercise right away. We would leg yield a few steps in each direction and then go straight and leg yeild to the other side. That was really hard for both Phoenix and I and made us concentrate. Which is exactly what we needed. When I finally gave him a loose rein the poor fat spotted pony took a big sigh and turned to look at me as if telling me just how hard that was for him.

We headed back out for our second test, which I only have half a video of below. Sorry. My Dad (also known as my personal photographer at horse shows) didn’t realize I had started my test until he saw me walking. The second test did feel better than the first, but that wasn’t the best test ever. Phoenix did turn on auto pilot again as soon as we walked outside, but this time I really got after him to pay attention to me before the judge rang the bell and that helped.

The score for the other rider at Intro (there were only 2 of us at this show so my shallow self knew I was getting a ribbon as soon as I saw the day sheet) was about 55% for both tests. After my rides I knew it was going to be close…

To be Continued…

Part 1

So for those of you who thought I might not do the costume for fear of being different, you don’t know me very well, because as much as I want to fit in to the dressage world I know that I never will and have accepted that. So, since I know I can never be a part of the real dressage world I don’t mind at all sticking out. Even though I knew I was going to be all alone in the costume class, and most likely make an ass of myself, I went ahead and got Phoenix ready.

Most people would agree with me that a 5 year old horse who is still relatively green is not the ideal costume class horse. And most people would be right. So a logical person would bring the costume to the barn and practice with the baby horse. Time was not on my side this week though so there I was at the show standing next to my truck thinking “Phoenix might not let me put his costume on”. I figured I had to try though so on went his horn. And so without making a big deal of it I let him sniff it and made no big deal about putting it on his head. He wasn’t so sure about it, but Phoenix is easily bribed so after a bit of grain he didn’t seem to care at all that he had a giant, glittery, gold horn coming out of his head.

I didn’t give him a lot of time to adjust before I started to clip on his magical golden mane. Before I put the first one on I shook the glittery blob at him. He looked, but never startled, so I took that as my indication that he was fine. So on the mane went. By this point people had started to stop and see so I had his owner hold him while I put on his magical glittery tail. Mind you it is still sprinkling out and super windy. And I have my 5 year old covered in golden ribbon and tinsel, and it is all blowing like crazy in the wind. He was being so good that I put my princess dress on and walked to the indoor.

As people walked by on their way to warm up I told them that I was dressing up and would give them a heads up before I came in so as not to spook the other horses. Most of the horses were pretty good, but the owners were nervous about it. I mounted up and went outside to wait for the person putting on the show so I could be “judged”. Clearly, since I was the only one doing the costume class, I had won. A few minutes later the woman came out to give is our prize. Phoenix won a beautiful garland of fake giant candy corn and I got a whole gift basket. It was filled with candy, fall candles and soaps, and even come Halloween nick nacks! It was pretty cool.

Even though I was the only one who did the costume class, I still had a lot of fun. And I honestly think that Phoenix liked it to. He LOVES attention so he happily put up with the scary gold stuff in order to get all sorts of people to look at him. I think that a lot of people thought it was neat that I dressed up so hopefully next year I will not be alone in the costume class! Once we got out prizes it was time to get off and get ready to show. The purple saddle pad was replaced with a white one and I got myself ready to go into the warm up ring.

To Be Continued…

haha…I love this picture. Poor Phoenix!

So last week I had a rough week. My job is pretty intense and I had to do more than one 10 hour day. I was pretty good about riding any day that I could, but by Friday I still did not feel so confident about the fact that I had entered the show. I had decided that even though my rides were in the afternoon on Sat, I would try and get as much done the night before as possible. It was not so fun though because it was freezing cold out and giving a horse a bath with no hot water and no place to attach them to is hard enough when it is warm out! I gave up on finishing braiding because my fingers were totally frozen though and stopped working by about braid number 8.
I layered Phoenix up and figured I would finish everything the following morning. I didn’t want to kill my whole Halloween, which is why I wanted to be able to sleep in on Saturday. I still had a lot to do though (including cleaning my filty tack) so my dream of a 9am wake up was just not an option. I didn’t even have time to sleep until 7. All well. I put the finishing touches onto Phoenix’s costume and packed up the truck. I got lucky at Gen’s barn when I went to get my trailer because the barn owner was there and helped me hook up my trailer in under 5 minutes!
Even with that stroke of luck I was still running late to get to Phoenix’s barn. Lucky for me, the baby horse has taken to his new role as a show horse so he left all his braids in and stayed relatively clean. Unlucky for me, was how poorly I had bathed and braided the night before so we still had a lot to do. I really wanted to make sure I was on time for the costume class, so even though my fat spotted pony was no where near my normal show turnout standards I put on his boots and got ready to roll.I had expected to have to load him on the trailer by myself. This would have been a first for us and I was a little nervous about it. My lucky streak continued though and Speedy’s Mom (who was also heading to the show) came over and asked if I needed a hand. As usual, Phoenix marched right up and we were on our way.

It was supposed to be a clear day on Saturday with a chance of rain in the evening (poor tick or treaters) but it was pretty gross all day. The sky was spitting and threatening a full blown rain storm. As I was driving to the show I thought about how lucky I am to be able to show Phoenix. I know a lot of people who get really bad show nerves, or who let fear of the unknown, or failure stand in there way. Here I was alone in a truck with my fat spotted pony in tow on a rainy day after only a week back in the tack because of injury and instead of being a nervous wreck I was excited. I couldn’t wait to get to the show. I couldn’t wait to try and ride a nice test.

I got to the show much earlier than I expect so I had time to unload Phoenix (with the help of Speedy and Ransom’s owners who had just beat me to the show) and chill out with him before I dared to dress him up for the costume class. Phoenix is always a little up when he gets to a new place, but he is also really good about calming down once he realizes that no monsters are there to eat him. As I was walking Phoenix I started to look around to see what other costumes people were going to wear for the costume class. The more I looked around the more I started to realize that no one I saw had anything Halloween about them at all. As I walked back to the trailer with my fat spotted pony in tow I knew that the costume class would really just be Phoenix and I. Dressed up. Looking like idiots all by ourselves. There were some big name people in the ring. Did I really want to make an ass of myself in front of some well known dressage riders?

To Be Continued…

Happy Halloween! Have fun and eat lots of candy!!