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...
Knowing full well that entering Snappy in her first ever dressage show for May 22 might have been a huge mistake, I set out to find a way for us to ride in an actual dressage ring beforehand. I wanted her to see the tiny white dressage fence, complete with letters and flowers. If she was going to be incredibly spooky about Christmas trees and rocks on our daily rides at home, then she was surely going to kill me when I asked her to trot around a dressage fence, right?
I found a local fun day on April 24 that would have the ring set up and it was even the same venue where I planned to show her in May. Perfect! I did not account for the fact there would be a trail course (complete with balloons and tarp curtain) directly outside the ring by E, but heck, if she could get through this, she could get through a calm dressage show.
Snappy was tense and nervous when we arrived but not crazy. She did not want to stand tied to the trailer and worked herself up about the entire ordeal, but I tried my best to just remain calm. She wasn't horrible but she was very VERY tense, to the point where she couldn't bend LOL!
I am so glad we went because it told me many things. She didn't even notice the dressage ring (yay!) and even though she was nervous, she wasn't dangerous or have any bucking/snorting/stopping/wheeling moments. It showed me she doesn't look as bad as she sometimes feels, but for the love of god I NEED TO STRENGTHEN MY CORE AND SIT UP!!! We ran through Intro A and Intro B and it wasn't bad. I rode in her front of others away from home and we survived. Maybe entering her first dressage show wasn't going to be a bad decision after all...
I found a local fun day on April 24 that would have the ring set up and it was even the same venue where I planned to show her in May. Perfect! I did not account for the fact there would be a trail course (complete with balloons and tarp curtain) directly outside the ring by E, but heck, if she could get through this, she could get through a calm dressage show.
Snappy was tense and nervous when we arrived but not crazy. She did not want to stand tied to the trailer and worked herself up about the entire ordeal, but I tried my best to just remain calm. She wasn't horrible but she was very VERY tense, to the point where she couldn't bend LOL!
Oh god help me, my core!! :-( |
Sorry it's a bit (a lot!) wobbly. My 12 year old did his best! |
didn't die, yay!
ReplyDeletenext goal: have fun!
Yes!! Having fun is ALWAYS the goal!! :-)
ReplyDelete