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Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

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

SMDA Show results 6/15/08

Dreamy and I competed in the Southern Maine Dressage Association's second show of the season on June 15, 2008. We had a great (if a bit soggy) day! It was pouring but Dreamy was a trooper. The rings (both warm-up and competition) were a MESS, so her gait was a little "big"....as in she wanted to T-R-O-T over the puddles! LOL! And my breeches were a wee bit wet (um...soaked) so I felt a little slippy. It was like I could not get my body organized. So not at the top of our game.....though I had fun!!!

I am SO PROUD of my Dream Girl. We scored a 61.5% in Intro B.....had a few fishtail moments where she lost her back end and I was not ready for it with my outside rein. :( Needless to say it drove our score down a bit....so we ended up 8th out of 12. Not particularly pleased with that, but hey....she was obedient and forward, what more can a girl ask for??

Then we scored a 54.350% on Training 1. We placed 2nd of of 3 riders! YAY I beat someone! LOL! And I got to bring a ribbon home! :D Again, her balance was not great. I was super careful with my canter circles in the sloppy mud. The judge wrote that her canter was a little flat, and I would have to agree...since I held in her in a bit to keep her upright. :P

I REALLY wanted to break 55% BUT......she was forward, she cantered on the correct leads, AND she cantered immediately when I asked her to. All week she has been doing her "throw-my-head-in-the-air-and-pace-like-a-racehorse-what's-a-canter-anyway" routine into the canter to the left......I swear she KNOWS when we have a show coming up and likes to make me stress over the canter! LOL! So again, she spent the week "unable" to go straight into the canter from the trot and then at the show she was a rock star. She was super obedient which pleased me. :)

So.......while scores and ribbons and all that are nice (and if ribbons meant so much to me I would have stayed at Intro level too! A-HEM!) I am more impressed with what the judge said to me after each test...and wrote on the bottom of each. She said I had a "lovely" horse with "fantastic" gaits. And to continue doing exactly what I am doing.....but to be patient. She said "once this horse becomes more balanced, you are going to be scoring 8s and 9s" (rather than the 5s and 6s....and a 4 on the left canter). She said to be PATIENT because this horse has what it takes to do very well at Training and BEYOND.....but just needs to find her balance. She said to continue giving her confidence and not to push her. She said, "It will take time, but just keep doing what you are doing....you are on the right track!" She asked how long I had been cantering her....I said only a few months, since she is a 17 yo STB and has only been under saddle for about 2 years. Her face broke into a huge grin and she said, "OH WOW! She is absolutely lovely and you have great potential here!"

I swear to god, I nearly cried. I was so proud of my girl! And hearing a judge say exactly what N, J, and Judy have been saying all along really felt awesome. :) :) :) It is like when my mom or dad would always say how great I was or how well I did something.....and I would think "yeah, yeah, but you are my mom...you are SUPPOSED to say that." ROFL! So to hear someone say it whom I don't know and who is completely objective was cool.

So no matter the ribbons, scores, the fact that I will be beaten in year ends by riders who are not brave enough to move up......GRRR....I am just so pleased to hear that this judge really loved my horse.....as a DRESSAGE horse who is also a STB! YAY!

No photos this time, as I had S videotape us instead. But I do hope the pro photographer got a few! Waiting to hear back from her....

USDF Intro B


Training Level Test 1

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