a show for every audience

I can always tell when it's spring around here bc suddenly my weekends end up double, triple, or quadruple booked. Like, for real, I wish I could give up the 9-5/M-F lifestyle and just like... live for the weekends LOL.

 

hard to tell but there's a bebe shetland back there watching charlie suffer through ice cold spot cleaning....

Anyway, tho, as is always Charlie's generous habit, he graciously volunteered to make my life easier and lighten my load by striking at least one plan from the agenda. In this case: his spring shots-induced fever meant we did end up scratching from our barn's little schooling CT this weekend. 

On one hand.... I'd already been kinda noncommittal about doing it and was maybe looking for an excuse. On the other hand.... Eh, it probably would have been fun to do. 

tadpole is best pole <3

As it was, tho, spending the day working the warm-up and in-gate had its own advantages. Like, just look at these friggin adorable kiddos?!? Local schooling shows aren't the most glamourous thing in the world. But these are essential points of access for kids (and adults!) who don't own horses to still get that experience and reap the benefits of all horses have to offer. 

They can't happen in a vacuum tho. Even tho it was a "small" "schooling" show, it still took a not-insignificant number of (wo)man-hours to make it happen. Coordinating entries and times. Dragging the arenas. Setting the courses, including carting additional standards and poles into a designated warm up area. Plus there still needs to be judges and stewards. 

It takes a village, ya know? And is honestly a great way to spend a Saturday <3

 

watching the pros warm up is pretty cool too

Tho, lol, back to the "double/triple/quadruple booking" situation... Apparently I was feeling much more ambitious in the cold wintry darkness of January -- when I signed up for all sorts of volunteer roles at recognized HTs throughout 2021. Including, Morven's spring event this past weekend. 

Guys. Morven is a haul for me, esp early in the morning, bleh. And esp esp on days when it's forecast to downpour all day... Luckily, tho, we got lucky with the weather and only saw sprinkles a few times throughout the day. 

Less luckily, those few moments happened to be when literally THIRTY FIVE (3-5-OMG) horses showed up in the Novice Show Jump warm up at the exact same time, and literally all wanted to know how many minutes til their round, and how many horses ahead of them, etc etc etc at the exact same moment. Omg. And my order of go (with all my notes) got all soggy and the pen was ripping through the paper... 

Lord, that was madness. Like, guys. If you are warming up with 30+ horses, each horse needing to jump, and each round taking ~2min.... Yea. It might be a few minutes before you go LOL. Esp when there are pros with multiple rides and coaching responsibilities who are guaranteed to show up and cut in line anyway.....

lol i love how charlie looks like an absolute gangster here --- but the real story is him standing back watching the ENTIRE HERD put on a show of their own

We worked it out tho and everyone jumped that wanted to jump. It was a hairy few minutes tho -- but also kinda sorta secretly exactly the blast of show ring adrenaline I live for -- that is, when *I*, personally, do not have to ride haha...

For real tho. If you rode in the Novice at Morven this past weekend, sorry if you felt a bit delayed getting through warm up!!! We kept the division on time (often running early, actually), at least, tho individual riders got a bit juggled off their slated times. 

Ahem. Anyway. 

dutifully recorded for your video viewing pleasure

I ended up not riding at all this weekend bc I was just plain old too worn out from being out in the sun on my bum ankle all day Saturday, then dealing with driving and being at Morven all day Sunday. 

You'd think that might mean a boring media landscape.... But Lo! Charlie's herd had the Spring Sillies in no uncertain terms, oh.my.fucking.god. 

I turned Charlie out after a little TLC on Saturday afternoon, at which point he was immediately chased clear across his field by the God of Mischief, little gray pony pictured in the above thumbnail. Then the entire herd of retired racehorses (plus, again, mischief pony) raced around and around and AROUND for literally three full minutes of bucking and squealing and farting and Bentley actually wiping the fuck out bc obviously. 

My favorite part of the video is obviously how Charlie and his best bud Iggy resolutely refused to demean their dignified selves by participating in the pandemonium LOL. Keep an eye out for the two bays holding their ground on the crest of the hill, hahaha.

 

shout-out to my editor in chief!

Omg. Again. Madness LOL!!!

I swear, no horses (or ponies!) were injured in the making of this film. But holy crap it's hilarious to watch --- even my cats thought so HAHA! 

So there ya have it. An eventful weekend in its own right, lol.... Tho. Ya know. Hopefully Charlie will be getting back to more of a leading role asap!