After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the
I have won my fair share of ribbons over the years with several horses. I have no problem admitting I am a ribbon ho, hahaha, though I would NEVER do anything illegal or harmful to a horse/person to win a ribbon. I love every ribbon I win and have kept every single one since I first started showing.
My favorite blue ribbon was with Dreamy at a 2013 MHA show, when we placed first in Hunter Pleasure Open out of 21 riders. Even though hunter under saddle hasn't ever been my focus, being a self-proclaimed event/dressage rider, it was so cool to win a class like that on a horse who isn't the "ideal hunter type" and was supposed to just be a harness racehorse and not ever canter haha. It made me feel good as a rider, especially since this was late April, our first show of the year, and the night before I had chaperoned the high school's prom (I was prom advisor for many years before I moved to the middle school last year!).
My favorite ribbon ever was a third place ribbon from a 2010 Dressage on the Seacoast UNH Dressage Show. We earned a 68.214% at Training 2, after spending a year and a half struggle bussing through Training level dressage at rated shows. (We also won a second place that day at Training 1 with a 64.348%, just behind a Grand Prix rider on a young horse. So both ribbons and scores that day were exciting!) I tried so hard to earn USDF awards in 2009, but it was not meant to be because our scores were just too low. However, 2010 was our year! This was our highest ever score at a rated show at Training level and while not a huge deal to most dressage riders, this ribbon and score to me was AMAZING! We were in a class of 12 riders and the first and second place winners were professionals (they rarely split pro and AA, so if I want to ribbon well, I have to work extra hard!) It also clinched our two USDF All Breed Championship awards that year.
Apparently, I don't even have a pic of that show or the ribbons, LOL! So here we are showing at UNH earlier that year.
My favorite blue ribbon was with Dreamy at a 2013 MHA show, when we placed first in Hunter Pleasure Open out of 21 riders. Even though hunter under saddle hasn't ever been my focus, being a self-proclaimed event/dressage rider, it was so cool to win a class like that on a horse who isn't the "ideal hunter type" and was supposed to just be a harness racehorse and not ever canter haha. It made me feel good as a rider, especially since this was late April, our first show of the year, and the night before I had chaperoned the high school's prom (I was prom advisor for many years before I moved to the middle school last year!).
My favorite ribbon ever was a third place ribbon from a 2010 Dressage on the Seacoast UNH Dressage Show. We earned a 68.214% at Training 2, after spending a year and a half struggle bussing through Training level dressage at rated shows. (We also won a second place that day at Training 1 with a 64.348%, just behind a Grand Prix rider on a young horse. So both ribbons and scores that day were exciting!) I tried so hard to earn USDF awards in 2009, but it was not meant to be because our scores were just too low. However, 2010 was our year! This was our highest ever score at a rated show at Training level and while not a huge deal to most dressage riders, this ribbon and score to me was AMAZING! We were in a class of 12 riders and the first and second place winners were professionals (they rarely split pro and AA, so if I want to ribbon well, I have to work extra hard!) It also clinched our two USDF All Breed Championship awards that year.
Apparently, I don't even have a pic of that show or the ribbons, LOL! So here we are showing at UNH earlier that year.
Those ribbons represent so much work. My favourite ribbon is the one I got at Carmen's first show this May. It represented so much work and heartache.
ReplyDeleteYes, they sure do! I know as riders we are more than just what any ribbon represents, but sometimes it is just nice to place well for yourself/your horse and think, "We EARNED that!"
Deletei love those special wins like that <3
ReplyDeleteMe too! Doesn't even have to be a first place, sometimes the best ribbons are just our personal bests (whatever that may be!).
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