Horse Show!!

Well this was it! Here was the moment I had been training all winter for...Stonewall horse show! Hmm. It is such a small, unassuming fun show for ammies. Not even a blip on most horse people's radar. However, for me it is my mountain to conquer.

You see, two years ago I took my young, inexperienced and ridiculously green Miss Tea there in hopes of getting through the Walk/Trot class. Our class was well after lunch time, so I had plenty of time to ride and relax and get her familiar with the place.

The morning warmup ride went alright. She was nervous of the other horses around her, as she was not used to working in a crowded ring. I brought her out again for a second warmup after lunch to get ready for our class. So there I was, about to mount in the open field where the warmup area was and as I put my foot in the stirrup the saddle slipped. A lot. No problem right? I had my foot out and I was back on the ground to fix the saddle right away. But wait! Miss Tea has never had a saddle on sideways before, and she was still frightened about being away from home. She started to panic and pulled back. Moving now made this sideways saddle even more frightening and in slow motion I watched her pull away from me and go bolting/bucking across the fair grounds. She luckily ran into a large fenced second arena that was not being used and was caught. I even managed to go in my "Walk/trot" class right after it happened!

This time around we did much better. Placed in Halter and did quite nicely in our flat classes.

Miss Tea and I the second time around :)
 

Cross rails was a fail -- refused the very first jump and left it at that. But overall, very happy with the day! And for jumping, I am setting a goal of at least getting over a jump or two at the next show.