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
Our third attempt at First level was at the August "team" show at HBF. This is always a fun show because not only do we get to ride and be scored on our tests, we are also put into teams ahead of time for an overall team score as well. Complete with neck sashes and a white polo awards ceremony, this is always a highlight of summer showing!
Ellie and I had some serious growing pains with First Level in 2020, which is probably fitting in the Year of the Dumpster Fire that was 2020 haha. However, it gave me space to figure things out, with the help of Beth of course, and just sticking with First 1 and showing at HBF. This August show was a clear step in the right direction and helped me to remember that progress is not linear just because you want it to be. Training an opinionated young horse teaches much more than just horsemanship.
Our first ride was a 61.2069% with our typical unbalanced bobbles in the canter and difficulty with submission. Our reride was a bit better with a 63.4483% because I decided to ride her firmly. No, you cannot blow through my half halts and trot like a sewing machine, especially after the canter. No, you cannot gallop down the long side in the canter or ignore my half halt before the 15 m. circle because WE HAVE TO TURN when I say so. LOL she has so much confidence that her way is the right way, and it wasn't really until the end of August she started truly working with me instead of trying to be "right". I needed to put my foot down a little, even at a show, because that's why they are called schooling shows!
We were paired with two other AA riders as our team, and we were reserve champs of our division! Yay!
OMG neck ribbons! I am so jealous! Nice work!
ReplyDeleteLOL right? Who doesn't love a neck ribbon! It's one of my favorite parts of this show haha.
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