Tuesday, May 31, 2016

wherein i get to play groom!

Well. Sorta, kinda. Maybe the type of groom who really doesn't do all that much work. But I can be a cheerleader! And provide transportation!! (Tho actually Brita is getting quite confident behind the wheel and we split the driving up).

So, maybe in other words, I went to a horse show this weekend with exactly zero intentions of riding myself. And it was actually kinda nice!

al fresco bathing
Tho it was also kinda sad in some ways too... I love horse showing and I especially love horse showing with Brita and Wick. And we were off to Olde Hope - site of our first (triumphant) novice last year. And also the site of Oktoberfest, where I foolishly chose to crutch around all day less than 24hrs after breaking my leg.

It's a fun venue with a fantastic party-like atmosphere - tho I was oh so very grateful to be sans crutches this time around haha.

this mare was not invited
And actually it was nice to not have to worry about anything at all. I could keep busy helping get the horse tacked and untacked, walking courses, or making sure Brita stayed hydrated (it was HOT!).

Or... I could also kinda just sit around not doing anything if I so chose. After all, we've got a well-practiced routine down for the trailer, and Brita had a pretty good handle on everything.

party city!
Our farm's lesson program director had a couple students riding too, so it was a regular party. We may not be a very large or very fancy program, but it's still awfully fun to set up the little caravan of trailers. And we've all collected a nice assortment of gear to make the scene extra enjoyable - from camp chairs to coolers and just about everything in between. Ooh, except one of those canopy tent thingys.

A parent brought one along and it definitely improved the entire experience. Methinks that is a purchase worth making in the near future. Any recommendations?

people friends and horse friends - all three equines happened to be field buddies too
Brita's rides went very well too. Wick was lovely in dressage warm up, but maybe fell asleep on the way to actually ride his test and never really brightened up. But true to form, their jumping was fantastic and more than enough to move them right up the leader-board to finish 5th.

not sure what's happening in the saddle, but the background is unbeatable!
I should probably be taking some notes from them haha. Isabel might often be well-positioned after dressage... but damn if I don't struggle to cling on to that position through the jumping phases. Our three outings so far this year have netted us 24 penalty points in stadium alone (8 from refusals, and 8 from near refusals). Ouch.

feeling extra fancy with our newly acquired interchangeable bridle tags!
So.... yea maybe not too sad to be missing the show after all haha. It's a real shame timing-wise, tho. My upcoming work and travel schedule, combined with not entering anything until our jumping issues are repaired, means we can expect June to be a total loss for competing. And July is usually a mid-season lull for starter trials - fine for me, given the heat.

Oh well. At least that gives us a nice long time horizon to smooth things out and get back on the same page, right?

goofy horses. i love 'em all
And in the meantime, this show weekend wasn't without it's own grief - a reminder that pretty much anything can happen with horses. Especially when jumping horses. And especially jumping horses cross country. Alas a couple riders and horses parted ways, and another wasn't able to complete bc changes in footing are apparently very scary (Isabel relates).

Fortunately tho, everyone is fine and in one piece(ish), and will be back to try again another day. So I will be right there with them, working to come back better and stronger.

And other events from this long holiday weekend served as step 1 in laying that foundation. More to come later, but rest assured - just because Isabel got left behind on show day doesn't mean she didn't get her own share of excitement too!

25 comments:

  1. Glad you enjoyed the weekend! I just bought a canopy a couple months ago for camping and outdoor vending.

    http://m.kmart.com/caravan-canopy-10'x10'-v-series-2-pro-camo/p-089W002808951001P

    That's the one I got only it's blue, not camo. I can set up and break down by myself and it's well constructed. The carry bag has wheels for easy travelling.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. definitely fun! a little hot... but very fun!

      Delete
  3. Sounds like a good weekend! I really love grooming/cheerleading as well, I daresay almost as much as showing myself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it definitely has it's place in the universe. i don't think i could give up showing entirely tho!

      Delete
  4. Sounds like fun! I enjoy grooming/watching more than showing though it's been years since I've really done either. Starting to think I might need to find some sort of low key show now that the Batthorse seems to be OK loading... It might be different to show on a dead quiet horse...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oooh that could be fun! taking a quiet horse to a show can definitely be an entirely different (and sometimes more pleasant lol) experience

      Delete
  5. Woohoo! You were the best groom on this super spicy Sunday!! Although thinking of it now it definitely made the drinks taste better!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ha absolutely accurate - the heat definitely made for as good a reason as any to enjoy that beer!

      Delete
  6. i wish i was there! sounds sooo fun :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. definitely a good day for showing - looking forward to your recap too!

      Delete
  7. Belatedly catching up again, sorry to hear about your jumping troubles but glad the weekend went well and I'm looking forward to hearing about what else you got up to for the weekend ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ooh there was lots of fun stuff! will be writing all kinds of posts about that soon ;)

      Delete
  8. Glad everyone was okay and that you had fun at the show (hilariously the ad under this post was completely targeted at me 'Taco Planet' I had to click, you are welcome for the ad revnue!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha yasssss i am now one day closer to that magical mystical probably-not-ever-going-to-happen-day when this blog actually makes me money!! :D

      Delete
  9. That sounds like a fun day. Great way to enjoy a show without the stress.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's good sometimes to just remember why we love showing in the first place. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. very true! tho honestly i really do love showing. all of our events lately have been a total blast. except for stadium. and stadium has only not been fun bc... well we have been REALLY bad at it for reasons that i struggle to understand...

      Delete
  11. Sounds like a fun outing regardless of not showing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad to hear you had a good day at the show.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I, also, have a canopy for showing and it is awesome on the hot sunny days. I have a Coleman one:
    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Straight-Leg-Instant-Canopy-10-x-10/16677093?
    It is easy to set up by myself and isn't super heavy.
    So glad to hear you had a good day, all these positive experiences will add up fast! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Even though I haven't had a horse to show it has not stopped me from showing up and cheering everyone else on. :) It's a different kind of fun, but still good!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey its ok I'm out for June shows too

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment! You may need to enable third party cookies in your browser settings if you have trouble using this form.