After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the
I took Snappy to her third dressage show last weekend, at a farm I have never been to (seems to be a theme with me this year, to try new venues!). The new owners have done a great job with the older facility, and I really liked the superb footing and easy parking. All the volunteers were friendly and helpful, which is always a huge plus to me. And I knew it was a good place when I saw the huge sign in the indoor (their warmup area) that said BE KIND. Not a common trait for much of the horse world, so it was refreshing to see!!
For years, SMDA only held their shows at the local equestrian park, but recently have been allowing private farms to host affiliated shows, so there are now TONS of opportunities for riders to earn year end awards. I did not attend Scarlet Day Farm's first affiliated show this summer in July and I cannot attend their September show, but I do hope they will host shows again next year!
Snappy is such a pain in the ass to prepare for a horse show, but she totally redeems herself in the ring LOL! She cannot eat her hay or grain the morning of the show, because OMG I AM IN MY STALL AND NOT TURNED OUT SO SOMETHING BAD MUST BE HAPPENING. She stands there and chews her tongue (her only vice) the entire time. Once we arrived, I did take her for a walk around the back of the indoor to the outdoor (competition) ring so she could take in the sights. She did settle into the new environment well, but she still stands there at the trailer with a full hay bag and chews her tongue instead. Sometimes she will paw the ground. SIGH. This is just her and it really hasn't gotten any worse or better this year, and I will say this is exactly what she used to do in the paddock before a race. So whatever, mare. I do give her a tube of Gastrogard the morning of a show in an effort not to allow her ulcers to completely regenerate LOL.
As soon as I tacked her up and got on, she was fine. There was someone lunging a horse at the canter at one end of the indoor (even though the show paperwork said NO LUNGING) and there was a nervous horse on the other end trotting a circle. So it was not the ideal setting to begin a warm up, but I have to hand it to this mare, she marched around like she knew exactly what was expected of her. Once the lunging was over and we had space, we had a great warmup.
Intro A - 1st out of four with a 67.5% (our lowest score so far LOL)
Intro B - 1st out of five with a 70.94%
Right before I left, I ran into the current president of SMDA, there to compete at First Level with her new horse I hadn't met yet. I haven't seen her in a few years, especially since I haven't shown since 2013, so it was nice to catch up with her! She took a pic of us with our ribbons and asked if I would do a write up for the "Member Profile" section of the upcoming club newsletter. Sounds good to me! :-)
For years, SMDA only held their shows at the local equestrian park, but recently have been allowing private farms to host affiliated shows, so there are now TONS of opportunities for riders to earn year end awards. I did not attend Scarlet Day Farm's first affiliated show this summer in July and I cannot attend their September show, but I do hope they will host shows again next year!
Snappy is such a pain in the ass to prepare for a horse show, but she totally redeems herself in the ring LOL! She cannot eat her hay or grain the morning of the show, because OMG I AM IN MY STALL AND NOT TURNED OUT SO SOMETHING BAD MUST BE HAPPENING. She stands there and chews her tongue (her only vice) the entire time. Once we arrived, I did take her for a walk around the back of the indoor to the outdoor (competition) ring so she could take in the sights. She did settle into the new environment well, but she still stands there at the trailer with a full hay bag and chews her tongue instead. Sometimes she will paw the ground. SIGH. This is just her and it really hasn't gotten any worse or better this year, and I will say this is exactly what she used to do in the paddock before a race. So whatever, mare. I do give her a tube of Gastrogard the morning of a show in an effort not to allow her ulcers to completely regenerate LOL.
As soon as I tacked her up and got on, she was fine. There was someone lunging a horse at the canter at one end of the indoor (even though the show paperwork said NO LUNGING) and there was a nervous horse on the other end trotting a circle. So it was not the ideal setting to begin a warm up, but I have to hand it to this mare, she marched around like she knew exactly what was expected of her. Once the lunging was over and we had space, we had a great warmup.
Intro A - 1st out of four with a 67.5% (our lowest score so far LOL)
Intro B - 1st out of five with a 70.94%
Right before I left, I ran into the current president of SMDA, there to compete at First Level with her new horse I hadn't met yet. I haven't seen her in a few years, especially since I haven't shown since 2013, so it was nice to catch up with her! She took a pic of us with our ribbons and asked if I would do a write up for the "Member Profile" section of the upcoming club newsletter. Sounds good to me! :-)
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