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 competed at the University of New Hampshire USDF bacDressage Show at the end of June. I love showing there and have written about it here and here back in 2010. I also showed there in 2009, but I am sure my readers can find those back posts if they want to read them. ;-)
I only showed Sunday instead of both days and was supposed to ride Training 3 and First 1. When I looked at the times online, somehow I had been signed up for First 1 and FIRST 3! AHHHH! There was a wait list for Training 3 so I could not just be switched out. I decided to ride, which I knew was stupid, since we are NOT ready for First 3 just yet. In hindsight, I wish I had scratched, but I was trying to be tough and brave. We had to ride First 3 before First 1, which made me nervous. It was a bit of a disaster, with the canter loops through X pretty much non existent! :-( I was tense, Dreamy was tense, I messed up a movement and earned a two point error, and I dropped my whip. Yeah, definitely not my finest moment. But we got through it with a very low score and an 18th out of 20 something riders in the class. :-p
I was much happier with our First 1 ride, earning two 8s and three 7s. We ended up with a 58.276% which I was happy with as it was our first time riding First level at a rated USDF show. I cannot remember what I placed, and it is not written on the test for some reason, but I know it was a huge class and they only pin to six. It did not matter, since Dreamy tried her heart out for me. I went home with the knowledge that I need to write VERY CLEARLY and LEGIBLY on my entry forms from now on!!!!
I am not crazy about the UNH photographer, but here are the proofs from the show. I do like her free walk photo (IMG_3106), which is the free walk we have gotten all 8s on this year!
I only showed Sunday instead of both days and was supposed to ride Training 3 and First 1. When I looked at the times online, somehow I had been signed up for First 1 and FIRST 3! AHHHH! There was a wait list for Training 3 so I could not just be switched out. I decided to ride, which I knew was stupid, since we are NOT ready for First 3 just yet. In hindsight, I wish I had scratched, but I was trying to be tough and brave. We had to ride First 3 before First 1, which made me nervous. It was a bit of a disaster, with the canter loops through X pretty much non existent! :-( I was tense, Dreamy was tense, I messed up a movement and earned a two point error, and I dropped my whip. Yeah, definitely not my finest moment. But we got through it with a very low score and an 18th out of 20 something riders in the class. :-p
I was much happier with our First 1 ride, earning two 8s and three 7s. We ended up with a 58.276% which I was happy with as it was our first time riding First level at a rated USDF show. I cannot remember what I placed, and it is not written on the test for some reason, but I know it was a huge class and they only pin to six. It did not matter, since Dreamy tried her heart out for me. I went home with the knowledge that I need to write VERY CLEARLY and LEGIBLY on my entry forms from now on!!!!
I am not crazy about the UNH photographer, but here are the proofs from the show. I do like her free walk photo (IMG_3106), which is the free walk we have gotten all 8s on this year!
That free walk does look spectacular. I have to agree with you though, the shots aren't spectacular. They aren't bad, they just don't have that "wow" sensation.
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