Schooling the Schooling Show

This weekend was super hectic.  My barn has a fall schooling show and it is actually a memorial show for the BO's late wife who had breast cancer.  We try to make this one a little extra special, but that also means extra work.  I took Friday off and worked out at the barn all day.

Saturday I got roped into bathing horses (I learned I never want to be a groom).  I gave Stinker a bath, then gave S's mare a bath, then got roped into giving a grey (UGH!) a bath.  If I ever get delusional and think I want a grey I just need to give one a bath and that will end my delusions.  My problem is I want things to look perfect and greys never look perfect after that first bath if it has been awhile.  In the afternoon I had a lesson with my favorite dressage judge (more details later when I have the brain power).

The only sucky part of the day, was when I went to leave and we discovered no one had cleaned any of the stalls.  So at 9 pm we started cleaning the barn.  I was pissed because a) I wanted to be home in bed since I was scribing the next day b) the people that were supposed to do the stalls had already left and c) I don't get anything for cleaning them.  I got home around 10:30 and was seriously regretting life choices.

Sunday was a fantastic day!  I scribed in the morning (7:25 until 1:30), but I actually got there closer to 6 to help finish setting things up.  I truly love scribing, especially with this judge because I learn so much.  After the lunch break, it was just straight dressage test and everyone else was doing stadium which is in another pasture.  I took advantage of the not so crazy dressage warm up area and got Stinker out.

I was actually really nervous, because I didn't want to be that person in the warm up.  He got tense when I was walking him up there so we just stood around.  I chatted with a few people and waited until he was relaxed and mugging me for cookies.  I popped him on the lunge line to gage how he was without his security blanket (me) right there.  He walked and trotted just fine.  So I decided to get on him.

Getting on is a bit tricky, because while I have worked with him a ton at the mounting block we still have issues.  This is totally my fault because we have a really tall mounting block behind the barn and I don't put a foot in the stirrup.  I just swing my leg over, and he prefers this method , but there was only a short mounting block available.  He gets antsy when I put my foot in the stirrup, and I didn't want to turn things into a big deal.  He was much better than I expected.

We actually had trot like this!!!

We didn't do much.  I just walked him around on a fairly loose rein and asked him to stretch.  We had moments of tension and jigging and he never really let go on the left side of his body, but he stayed with me a tried so hard.  He even walked around the ring and past the judge's car without issue.  I think I only worked him for about 15 minutes, but I wanted to keep things positive and he was starting to feel like he was building the tension a bit.  I had him give me a nice moment and got off.

I shoveled cookies at him and we stood up there until he relaxed again and then went back to the barn.  It went a million times better than I expected and I realize how silly it sounds that I am so damn proud of my horse for walking around a relatively quiet warm up.  But I am so freaking proud of him!

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