2ptober: And the Winner Is....

Happy November everyone! And happy completion to one of the most painful months of the year - 2ptober!!! (Second in degree of pain only to No Stirrups November - obviously lol).

Congratulations to all participants. Tracking your progress and watching you all steadily improve over this past month has been fun and inspiring! (Ahem, everyone save one rider...). 

By the end of the month you had, on average, TRIPLED the length of time you could hold your two point. That's huge guys, pat yourselves on the back!!! And take a good long look at the below charts, which show a clear trend to the right as the weeks wore on.

 

2ptober is that most perfect type of challenge where everyone wins (bc duh, becoming a stronger more secure rider is always a win!), but everyone kinda loses too lol. Because OUCH.

Y'all persevered tho. And among you, these riders deserve special recognition. The top finishers:

Longest Two Point Time: Top Five

	Rider	Blog	Week 4
First Place:	Sarah	Three Chestnuts	35:16
Runner Up:	L. Williams	Viva Carlos	28:30
	Alli	PONY'TUDE	18:21
	LoveLaughRide	Grain Before Groceries	17:21
	(Liz Stout)	(In Omnia Paratus)	(13:37)
	Lindsey	Redheadlins	10:08

Sarah of Three Chestnuts shot into the lead early in this competition and held onto it in no uncertain terms. It's almost like she woke up one early October morning and decided: "I am going to own the 2016 Two Point Challenge." Get it girl! Three cheers for Three Chestnuts!

And of course L. Williams of Viva Carlos, the heretofore host of this annual contest, gave us a fantastic demonstration in why she loves practicing her two point: Because she's damn good at it. And take note, y'all - L laid down those times while catch riding and on the occasional lesson horse. Nice job!! Congrats on claiming top honors in your first year eligible for a prize!

Alli, LoveLaughRide, and Lindsey round out the Longest Time Top 5 - congrats everyone!

(Since contest rules stipulate one title per contestant, Liz Stout's Top 5 title is abdicated in favor of her higher placing in the below Most Improved category)

Most Improved Two Point Time: Top Five

	Rider	Blog	Total Improvement
	(Sarah)	(Three Chestnuts)	(6,412%)
First Place:	Liz Stout	In Omnia Paratus	1,048%
	(L. Williams)	(Viva Carlos)	(971%)
Runner Up:	Olivia	DIY Horse Ownership	959%
	Megan	Howling Owl Farm	940%
	Amanda	Bel Joeur	664%
	outofashes	One Bud Wiser	560%

Liz Stout of In Omnia Paratus put the pedal to the proverbial metal in Week 3, holding her two point position for more than 10x as long as her baseline. That's the kind of grit and determination we expect to see from a rider who finished her first 100 miler this summer - congrats girl!!

And Olivia of DIY Horse Ownership rode through darkness and rain just to log that final two point time after a month of being kept busy and away from the horse mule. It was totally worth it tho, Olivia - that final massive improvement from your baseline rocketed you all the way up to the podium! Way to make it happen!

Megan, Amanda and outofashes round out the Most Improved Top 5 - nice job!

(Since contest rules stipulate one title per contestant, Sarah and L. William's titles here are abdicated in favor of their higher placing in the above Longest Time category)

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Sarah, L. Williams, Liz Stout and Olivia - please send me an email at fraidycat {dot} eventing at gmail to claim your prizes from our fantastic sponsors!

 

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And because let's be real, who among us doesn't love satin?!?, We created some virtual satin for all participants. Right click on your corresponding ribbon below to save it and upload as a badge to your blog's sidebar!

And. Lastly. Ahem. Let's all have a small moment of public shaming for Lindsey, who was apparently too busy with finalizing preparations, traveling, and ultimately competing in the 2016 Retired Racehorse Project to bother with logging any two point time after her baseline. Boooo Lindsey!! ;P

Seriously tho, everyone - congrats again on a great month and thanks for participating in the contest!