Wednesday, September 14, 2016

vicarious horse showing

Just because I'm not currently competing myself doesn't mean I don't love a beautiful day spent at a horse show.

striking poses all around. except Pig. Pig is sick of our shit already lol
Mostly I've gotten my fix by accompanying Brita and some other barn mates to their various horse trials and jumper shows and whatnot, but the other weekend I made it out to Loch Moy for a rated dressage show with Austen.

the sky was doing weird but cool things
It was kinda cool being at Loch Moy for something other than a horse trial haha. Plus Austen has been to a couple of my shows so it was nice to return the favor.

team spirit!
And obviously I was happy to make myself available for dog holding and last minute test learning and quizzing (and then the occasional heckle when Austen still went off course bc I'm actually kinda an asshole). Mostly tho it was cool to just watch Pig go out there and do his thing.

dressage done right?
I'm sure Austen will have plenty to say about the details herself eventually (maybe) - I was mostly just there for the atmosphere, ponies, and booze. Let's be real haha.

It was supposed to be lesson day for me at eventing barn OF... but I skipped out, choosing to go to the show instead. Idk. Y'all have probably heard more than enough about me being tired of hustling up rides, and I just didn't really feel like riding Gogo or Noel again. Hanging out at a horse show with friends sounded WAY better.

two very handsome (and sweet!) dudes
Esp bc I got to meet another blogger and internet-famous ponykins: Jan and Penn!! Obviously it'll surprise exactly nobody to learn that Jan is absolutely wonderful in person. But Penn. Omg. Guys. What a sweet quirky friendly horse!

"Ppl, plz to give me this sweet smelling beverage?" - Penn
Jan arrived after Austen's day was wrapped, so we got to hang out a bit and decompress while she unpacked and schooled and whatnot in preparation for the following day's tests (which she already wrote about and hot damn did they do well!).

contemplating the xc fences on the hack over to school
I mostly just liked watching tho. Especially watching how other riders like to go through their warm-ups and practice movements and stuff like that. Both Austen and Jan have been known to write fairly detailed reports of how they ride certain movements and whatnot, but nothing quite compares to actually watching.

i think they'll stick to dressage tho haha
Penn is just freakin adorable too. And such a nice guy! We all wandered around the xc field a bit longer after Jan finished her school, then off to a quick dinner before I took my (unfortunately sick) self home.

Penn spies water!
Fun times all around, I think. It's been an odd year for horse showing for me lol - I've attended way more as spectator than as competitor. But it's cool. Watching and supporting friends is fun too. Do you like to go watch horse shows? Or is it one of those things that if you're going to go, you're going as a competitor?

35 comments:

  1. I do enjoy watching horse shows. I will often help out if I can't ride in them.

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    1. Agreed. It's weirdly rewarding in a way to go thru all the motions without actually having to perform lol

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  2. <3 <3 <3
    I'm so glad you made it!! You were such a huge help! Without you, I'd have had to drink that whole bottle of wine. ;)

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  3. I'm glad you got to have a fun day! I love going to horse shows and hanging out (although I always seem to manage to get put to work by management)

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    1. Ha yea I haven't had that problem at shows beyond my own barn, and esp not at the big recognized/rated shows

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  4. I love "spectating" and helping friends at horse shows! The barn I board Ruby at is really good about encouraging us to come hang out even if we're not showing. Although usually I use it as an excuse to bust out my camera 😁

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    1. Ha me too - I'm like candid camera central over here lol. The competitors usually don't mind tho ;)

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  5. I haven't "spectated" much, been a groom just 2 or 3 times, but I have volunteered a lot in both OH and MI. Sadly, horse shows are 2+ hours from me now so it is more difficult to volunteer. I have heard about H/J shows that are close, I may look into volunteering for those some next year when things (should) be quieter.

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    1. agreed that distance definitely makes the case for volunteering slightly trickier... i keep thinking that i'll do a ton of volunteering since i'm not competing but it honestly just hasn't happened. i've gone to hang out and spectate with friends plenty tho!

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  6. Love!!! The MD blogger contingent is seriously awesome! I don't do it much, but I love going to horse shows to spectate/groom/cheerlead. Almost more than riding, sometimes. It's all the best parts of horse showing without the crippling anxiety!

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    1. ha yea i totally hear ya. regardless, i love coming to your horse shows equally well too so we need to make more of that happen!!! MOAR MD PA BLOGGER MEET UPS!!!!

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    2. October is gonna be a busy show month for us, hopefully! LET'S DO THIS AND MAY IT INVOLVE MORE JUMPING AND LESS ELIMINATION!

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    3. yesssss more jumping Dino!!!!!

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  7. I love going to horse shows with friends. I make a pretty wicked groom/sanity check. I even love going to shows when I don't really know anyone. I find it to be some of the most interesting people watching. Horse people really are crazy!

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    1. haha yup people watching is the best! and totally agreed on the groom / sanity check bit. it's super easy to stay grounded when i'm not the one riding!

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  8. There's something really great about being a spectator, in that there's no pressure to compete. Of course, wine always makes spectating a lot more fun.

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  9. Does it count as spectating if I'm just the coach?

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    1. ehhhhh i'd say it depends on who you ask. my guess would be that you experience slightly more pressure as a coach than i do as a wine-drinking dog-holding armchair quarterback spectator lol

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  10. It was so awesome to finally meet you!!!! I wish I had come a bit sooner in the day to hang out. Next time!!!!

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    1. i wish you had too!! also wish i hadn't been feeling so crummy and could have come out and played sunday too. congrats on such awesome tests tho!!!! looking forward to next time :D

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  11. I like helping/watching just as much as riding myself, although sometimes if it looks like a super fun event I'm envious I'm not riding too!

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    1. haha yea i definitely get the envious bit too... soon enough tho!

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  12. I keep planning to go cheer on S's crew at shows with the little one but they are always on Sundays that I work. I need to vicariously show also

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    1. ugh i hate it when work gets in the way of all my fun activities!!!

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  13. It's so cool that y'all live close enough together to do shit. #jealous

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  14. I like attending shows even if I'm not riding. I was groom/spectator for my husband's show this weekend. If the show looks like a lot of fun though I usually wish I was riding.

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  15. I like watching my friends show. I am a nervous wreck when I show... eek. Next season will be interesting, as I hope to be doing lots of things with all my ponies.

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  16. I've gone to a few shows to groom or just shoot for my MIL, and I'd be more than happy to do it for my friends. My stupid life schedule is FAR too busy for that kind of lovely frivolity right now, but I sincerely hope that I can get back at it soon!

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