FCE blog hop: favorite ribbon / prize / award?

I'm gonna give this whole blog hop thing a try. Other bloggers have come up with a whole world of interesting questions to ask, and I've enjoyed playing along - hope you do too! 

So, without further ado, here's my question for y'all:

What is your favorite ribbon / prize / award that you've won in relation to horses? Is there a story behind it? Or was it a bucket list prize you'd been chasing for ages? It doesn't have to be from a traditional horse show, and ribbons that are the favorite bc they are the prettiest are just as awesome as awards with a great story. 

I was pretty active with a local h/j show barn while away at college in Rochester. They hosted and participated in all kinds of schooling shows designed specifically for lesson students and riders who didn't own horses. And playing around in the adult divisions at these shows left me with mountains of satin. Really, it's not too hard when you're competing in divisions where 4 makes a big class. 

This meant that I got some fancy year end awards - including having my name engraved on a big trophy that travels around from barn to barn, some nice long tri-colors, mugs galore, medals, and these weird but neat embroidered tartan lap blankets. 

(yes those are half chaps...gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes lol)

I definitely enjoyed all the swag (who wouldn't?) - but no one element from those experiences really stands out as an exceptional or defining moment. 

But, as a whole - my time in Rochester CAN be summed up by a show I rode in about two years ago, long after I had already moved away. 

I usually visit Rochester once a year and schedule a lesson while I'm up there. A few years back tho, the weekend of my trip was a show weekend so trainer A would be at the show rather than teaching. In a moment of bravery impulsive recklessness, I told her, 'what the hell, I'll just ride in the show then. Pick my horse and division and tell me when to show up!'

Ha. Never mind that I had only just started riding again after a 4 year hiatus and hadn't really done 2'6" coursework since I left Rochester... 

I can't remember exactly how many classes were in the division, but I *think* it was two flat classes and three over fences. And the best detail? The only other rider in my division was a former barn mate that I had always lessoned with - and she was riding my main Rochester squeeze Lad. So definitely a pretty friendly class haha. 

My horse on the flat - Rosa - was one I used to ride pretty regularly in lessons and was a very smooth ride. We won our first flat class but flubbed a lead in the next for second place. 

My jumping horse was Indy, who I had ridden once in a lesson on a different Rochester visit a year or so prior. Pretty straight forward and forgiving ride. He was fabulous, but my eye sucked and I added in almost all the lines, tho not consistently. All in all, pretty mediocre - and we were 2nd in all three rounds.

But ooooh boy did I have fun - and it was like the most awesome reunion, with my former trainer and barn mates and favorite horses all there, and the added bonus of a sweet reserve champion ribbon and sparkly green crop as a prize. Woo hoo for small classes!

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