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
Dreamy and I attended the Southern Maine Dressage Association's show on May 11, 2008. It was our first show of 2008.
Dreamy is a fantastic horse. I truly lucked out with her. I am proud that despite the fact STB are not bred to be dressage horses, she is proving that STBs indeed can do dressage (or anything else you want them to do!)
We placed 2nd in Intro B Senior out of 6 riders with a 68.5%. Not our best test, but we had just about all 7's with a couple 6's.
We placed 4th in Training Level Test 1 Senior out of 4 riders with a 55.65%. My goals for TLT1 were to get both canter transitions correctly and immediately and score at least 50%. I do not care at all about the ribbon or how I placed, I am just so pleased she cantered when I asked in the tests. No it was NOT pretty, but it is a START.
We actually got an 8 on our entrance, lots of 7s, but then a 5 and a 3 on our canters. Her worse direction is right..cross cantering....hence the 3. I am motivated to make that at least a 5, if not a 6 or 7 eventually!!!
After winning what we won last year, there was no way I was going to stay at Intro level again. It would not have felt good to me to just win everything again (not that I think we would, but I just did not want/need to try....and let's face it, usually to do well you just have to SHOW UP...LOL!). I mean, competing to me is not just ribbons but it is the challenge and the WORK involved.
SO.....my goal is to have a SOLID Training level horse by this fall. Right now, we are not *really* ready to ride Training level, but I know we will get there. Starting out in May with a 55.65% was amazing, and if we break 60% by the end of the season, that would make me very pleased....and probably make me cry! I want to see progress in my horse, not winning ribbons just to win ribbons.
So far, not bad for a 17 year old who was a broodmare for 8 years!
So far, not bad for a 17 year old who was a broodmare for 8 years!
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