So, here I am at the horse show. Or more specifically, back at the hotel. Listening to the construction yahoos congregated outside my door discuss how they don't smoke pot before they're going to drive. Good thinking, guys! Now get the hell away from my door and hang out somewhere else!

I will keep this post short and sweet because I'm exhausted, and I'm disappointed with how our class went.  D decided to drop Blondie to Country Pleasure - you  know, where manners count.  I have one of the most ill-mannered horses in the barn.  That's just the way she is.  If you get after her for being a pig, she gets piggier.  She thinks she is far too good for manners.

The warm up wasn't too bad, though everyone was yelling at me about having my hands too high.  Just a few weeks ago, they were yelling at me for not having them high enough.  Wonder where the confusion comes in??  I don't.

Fast forward 3 hours, and it's show time!  We were in the 6th class, with 5 other horses.  Blondie was fine trotting in.  The real problem began at the walk.  There were horses in front of us, so I stopped in the middle of a rail.  She was suddenly certain that something was going to leap over the rail and eat both of us.  This mannered country horse was hopping around and acting like a complete fool.  Then she was fine on the canter, the reverse and the next trot.  At the walk, she was a spooky mess again.  I'm very discouraged with our performance.  On the bright side, I stayed on her, even though she looked like a crazed beast.  You can guess where we finished, so I won't insult your intelligence by actually typing it out.

The recent lack of updates is due to fatigue.  I am trying like heck to fight off a cold, and after riding yesterday, spent the rest of the day napping and reading.  It figures that one of the flakes I work with would bring the plague to the office.  Now almost everyone who works up front is sick!  Just keep your germs at home!  I'm the only one who has to work when they are sick!

Friday was a good lesson on Blondie.  She was a very good girl, and after, M said we would try her show bridle on Sunday.  Yay!

Yesterday was a dreary, raining day, more like a fall afternoon than a spring one.  It was depressing, and me not feeling well didn't help much.  I rode Blondie first, and then Classi.  They changed the bit on Blondie's bridle, and "A" warmed her up.  It's a good thing, because the silly mare spooked at her bridle.  Bits are so scary! 

I kept cueing the canter with both legs, which had M tearing her hair out.  I wasn't the only one, and that had her grinding her teeth in frustration.  Hey, the horse show is only a few days away, so we really have to boost up her anxiety level.  Did a pretty good job, too!

"A" was yelling at me when I was riding Classi.  Too much curb rein!  You are going to get in trouble because you are using too much curb rein!!  The session with Classi will not go down in history as a stellular lesson.  It didn't help that I wasn't feeling well.  Oh, well, there's always another day to try to get this right!

Which brings us to today's lesson.  I rode Classi again, in a training bridle.  And what does "A" tell me?  Not ENOUGH curb rein!  Is it any wonder that I am confused about this particular issue?  More with a martingale, less with a show bridle?  Argh!

I was also told to stop yelling at the poor horse, aka, kissing when cueing the canter.  Classi doesn't need that.  She doesn't like that.  Too bad I am conditioned to DO that.  Oh, well, there's always another day to try and get this right!!!

Jen had a interesting moment, as her saddle slipped.  I don't know if it was during the canter or just after, but all of a sudden, she was sliding off of Doc.  Good thing "A" caught her!  Yeah, always check that girth before getting on!

Classi

Yesterday was rainy and gloomy.  It was pouring when I went to run some errands, and even with an umbrella, I ended up getting soaked.  It was not much fun.

It stopped raining by lesson time, and there were six of us in attendance.  I rode Classi.  I am starting to feel much more comfortable riding her, despite her fits of spookiness.  She doesn't get all bottled up like when I first started riding her, and she's not a big bully like Blondie. 

We worked on transitions all lesson long.  M put out ground poles, and had us walk in and canter out between them, or trot in, stop, trot out, etc.  Classi didn't want anything to do with those scary ground poles at first, but after M lead us through them a few times, she got a little braver and hardly gave them a second glance.  At first, though, I had my doubts about our participation in this exercise.  M had me grab mane, loosen the reins so the horse could check those freaky poles out, and she forced her back and forth between them several times.   Classi felt like a coiled spring at first, but she gradually started to relax when the ground poles didn't jump up and eat us.

D wants to show Blondie country pleasure at the show next week, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.  I can't remember seeing anyone in a driving class in that division, so those will basically be a waste.  At least in show pleasure, there's usually one other horse to compete against.  I hope I'm wrong and there won't be one horse classes.  The show pleasure riding classes are bigger, too, and I enjoy riding in larger classes.  Guess I'll see.  I will be updating by twitter during the show, and writing posts as time allows.  Please follow my twitter account if you're interested - check out the left sidebar for link.

Yesterday was a dreaded longe line lesson.  For both Jen and myself!  A worked with Jen and Doc, and M worked with me and Jimmy.   I admit that I was not overly thrilled to learn that I would be riding Jimmy, but since I really do need to strengthen my legs, I quickly sucked it up.  Plus, Zoe was already riding him, so prep time was minimal.  In fact, we were finished half an hour earlier than normal, which was a nice change of pace.  Putting the horses away consisted of taking them to the other barn, filling their water buckets, and feeding them dinner.  A was going to take them all outside later.

There is a new horse are the barn - JG bought herself another pony.  Her 5-gaited horse passed away last year, and she had been looking for another horse to replace him.  She settled on a very attractive 4 year old ASB.  He's black, and his name is Cookie.  Don't know who named him, but it doesn't do him justice.  They are going to try to get  him ready for the show next week, so I'll post pics if they take him.

The arena was so dusty!  One footstep caused a billow of dirt to rise into the air.  The arena didn't get watered, so we all to suffer through breathing in dirt.  Yuck!  I'm still coughing up dirt from my lungs!

Sunday was chilly!  So chilly that the pony caught a cold.  He looked pathetic wrapped up in blankets and coolers.  Hope he's feeling better soon.

Other than Classi spooking at the canter, it was a rather uneventful day at the barn.  Blondie worked very well, so we didn't keep her out too long, and after putting Classi in stretchers, she worked really well, too.  D wants her conditioned a little better, hence the stretchers.  She really had a lot of motion with them on, and I had a hard time keeping my balance.  A was really excited because she looked good.  Though I couldn't see, she certainly felt like she was working hard for me.

Spent the rest of the day reading, napping, and snacking on curry.  Kind of uneventful, but enjoyable, none the less

Last minute equipment adjustments.  Don't want that saddle to slide off in the middle of a rail!

Friday was devoted to working on canter leads.  Liz and I rode together because I was little early, and M was running behind because one of her earlier lessons was late.  I still didn't get home any sooner, though!

Blondie gets a last minute brushing before going into class.  Can't have an unruly mane!

While I understand all of the mechanics of cantering, I still can't tell when I am on the incorrect lead.  Classi is easy to canter - just squeeze the outside leg, and off she goes.  No tipping, kissing, or rearranging one's self on the saddle.  Squeeze and go.  Blondie is nothing like that!

Blondie also anticipates the cue, or tries to trot into the gait, or flat out ignores me.  This is like the bane of my existence.  I think I've worked through freaking out when she freaks out, and I am there for her now and don't let her just run off like the crazy mare that she is, but I'm still having trouble with this cantering thing!  Who decided which leads were correct, anyway??

If you squint, you can see the championship ribbon from our driving class.

Monday, I was still feeling a little exhausted from the busy weekend, and since A & M were taking the day off, I thought that I didn't have a lesson.  I even called A, and she told me that she thought the lessons were off, too.  M called me a little later, and told me that L was coming especially for me and Jen.  Too bad Jen had a migraine and had already left for the day.  I went anyway.

Looking ever dashing, Sammy gets some last minute primping before his driving class

Since the show horses had the day off, deservedly so, I rode Jimmy.  Most of the lesson was spent without stirrups, doing the two point, scissor swings, and posting at the walk/trot to strengthen my legs.  They were very sore when I finally got back on the ground.  Ouch!  L was feeling very evil!

Wednesday, I was given the choice of riding Classi or Ritz.  Like that was a hard decision!  Since Amber loves Ritz for some strange reason, I mentioned that I would leave her for the kid to ride.  Yuck!  I was the only adult riding in the lesson, but don't worry - I felt right at home with all of the kids.  Wonder if that means anything.

Bentley, showing off his blue

I am feeling much more comfortable riding Classi.  She was getting very tired by the end of the lesson, as she's only been back to work for a few weeks.  We let her walk a few times to catch her breath.  I still hang onto her mouth going the second way, but I think there has been much improvement the first way.  She cantered beautifully last night, too.

Me and Blondie heading into class

Disclaimer - Please ignore typos - I am too freaking tired to proofread this.  If there are glaring errors, please email me and I'll fix them.  Otherwise, please ignore them.

So, the first show of the season has blown by.  It was full of frustrations, but also a sense of accomplishment.  I also am quite sleep deprived, so forgive the brief overview.

Friday night was the night of frustration.  I was driving Blondie, and we were last in the Show Pleasure Driving Class.  I was so disappointed!  A said that my hands were all over and the mare's head not bridled.  At all.  D told me it was a good drive, but it is hard for Blondie to compete with the other horse because she was so much more necky than Blondie.  I pondered that all night long.  Is it possible that even if my horse is perfect, we'll still never win anything because of her conformation?  I know that she wasn't perfect on Friday, but I still refuse to accept that.  She wins so many of the pretty horse classes, surely she can win some performance classes, too.

Saturday morning is when the pretty classes were held, so I was looking forward to watching Blondie's in-hand class.  She usually places very well in them.  Not yesterday.  You'd have thought a hornet flew up her ass, she was so mad.  Mad, mad, mad.  D couldn't even get her to stand up in front of the judge.  It was just awful.  Even with her horrid behavior, she still wasn't last (5 of 6) so wonder where she would have placed if she had behaved herself.  D was less than happy with her, and back at the barn, he gave her a crash course in how to be pretty for in-hand classes.  Argh!

I waited until the lunch break to make a break for it.  I just needed to get away from the show.  I discovered a really tasty Mexican restaurant on Jolly Road called Cancun on Friday, so I ended up going there again yesterday.  The food is inexpensive and good.  Then I went back to the hotel to try to take a nap.  That never happened because people kept called me on my cell phone. I finally gave up and got ready for the driving class that night and headed back to the fairgrounds.

My timing sucked, and I arrived right as the last afternoon class was wrapping up.  That meant a 2 hour break before the evening session.  Instead of driving back to the hotel, I went and read in A's Mo-Ho.  She's got an old RV, which according to her, has all the comforts of life.  I have to agree.  I wish I had an air conditioner, toilet, and kitchen on wheels.  Her puppy Cowboy - I call him Cowpoke - kept me company, and I spent a relaxing hour there.  Of course, I missed the exhibitors' dinner, but I still a little full of nachos and chile rellenos, so I wasn't overly upset.  Besides, Pancheros is right across the street from the hotel!

I was not very enthusiastic about the driving class before hand.  Everything was very rushed Saturday night, and there were so many back to back classes with our barn that I was starting to stress that Blondie wouldn't be ready to go by the time the gate opened for our class.  We had time to trot once up and down the warm up area, and then we had to rush into the arena, as the other horse was already in.  You know, the necky mare that we didn't have a chance of beating.  Sigh.

I changed how I sit in the buggy for the class, sitting as far back on the seat as possible, bracing against the back support with my legs jammed into the front of the buggy.  I got after Blondie right away, using my whole body to bring her head back.  Every time we trotted past A, she told me to keep doing what I was doing.  Blondie walked when she was supposed to, had two gears of trot like she was supposed to.  In the line up, I was shocked beyond belief when her number was called as the winner.  I looked at D and said, "Holy shit, we won."  It's the first championship class that I have ever won, and we received a nifty cooler and a commemorative plate in addition to the ribbon.  I was starting to feel better about spending all that money to go to the horse show again.

Me and Classi before our class

I didn't sleep well because I was riding Classi in the morning, and I still don't feel every comfortable on her.  A warmed her up, then she got on Blondie, who she was showing in the same class.  I was a little bummed that I couldn't watch them.  Jen and Sammy were also in the class, so there were plenty of friendly faces.  Not that I noticed any of them.

D had to head Classi into the ring because she is afraid of the gate.  Once in, I was so tense that I held her back from trotting almost the whole first rail.  I finally relaxed a little when she kept trying to do her job.  She really took care of me, and we ended up being 3rd out of a fairly big class.  Not bad for only riding her six times.  Blondie and A were second.  Yeah!

Back at the barn, D asked if I wanted to ride Blondie or Classi in the championship.  That was a hard one. If A rode her, she might have won.  I decided to ride her, and we ended up being last.  We picked up the wrong canter lead the first way, and I didn't keep her bridled, but it's the best I've ever ridden her, and I finally felt comfortable on her, especially at the canter.  Riding that choppy Arabian is helping me, after all!

Now I am exhausted.  I never get enough sleep during the horse shows, and I do not function well in a sleep deprived state.  I'll probably unpack and go to bed.  I'm so tired!

I've been a little lax about updating, but I had a lot to take care of before I could depart on my little jaunt to Okemos. Here are the highlights from the last two lessons:

Monday, the weather was beautiful, which made riding even more pleasant. The big excitement came after the lesson, when I was putting Classi away.  The silly mare bolted out of her stall when I was trying to get her halter on.  I panicked a bit, shouted loudly for A because I thought her mare was going to run right out of the barn, and grabbed the saddle.  That spun her around and she ran back into her stall.  Real lesson learned:  close stall door when putting on or taking off bridles!

Wednesday's lesson was a weird one. Got to the barn, to discover that Bentley had colicked,and things weren't looking so good for him.  This utterly bummed me out, because he is so cute.  When I left last night, his outlook was very bleak.  Fast forward to today - he finally pooped, and he's going to be fine. He's even coming to the show tomorrow!

The other incident occurred during the lesson, and for a change, I was not the main attraction.  Zoe was cantering Jimmy on a circle, turned him a little too tightly, and he fell.  Down.  In a big cloud of dust.  Once again, things turned out well, as neither horse nor rider was hurt.  Zoe was more stunned to find herself sitting in the dirt than anything else, and she was able to get back on and continue with the lesson.  We also learned that one of the new riders is any emergency room physician, so that's a little reassuring.

Today, I left work early and made a break for the fairgrounds.  I watched most of the horses get worked, including Blondie and Classi, but that was about it.  I wasn't able to snap many pics because the lighting in the arena sucked.  Tomorrow and the rest of the weekend will be better days for shooting pictures and video.  I hope one of the kids will help me with my little video camera, so I can concentrate on using my other camera.  The staff photographer blew me off, so here I am, trying to cover the entire weekend by myself. Jen, if you're reading this, feel guilty!

Pictures to follow.

Friday's lesson left me a little dissatisfied.  Blondie just kept pulling at her bridle, and would not set her head.  I think that I was more upset because last Sunday she was the next best thing to perfect, and now here she was, fighting me the whole time.  M said that I was holding the curb rein too tightly, which I think is due to the mare snatching the snaffle rein out of my grasp.  Something else to work on....

I drove her today, and it was first time since last summer.  She was really well behaved, though.  I also discovered that my arms muscles have gotten a little lax.  They were really tired when I brought her into the middle to practice a quick back.

After watching a few of the other horses get worked, A helped me with Classi.  We longe lined her first, and then I climbed aboard.  I still feel pretty unsure on her, and hope that I get myself sorted out before next Saturday.  I think I'll be able to ride her about three more times, so hopefully I'll feel more comfortable about her choppy gait by the time I show her.  D is going to put her show shoes on, and then she'll be easier to ride.  Or so A claims.  I hope so....

Had one interesting moment when riding her past the dreaded, horse eating back door.  She pulled a Blondie, and spooked big time.  I stayed on, though I had the side of my face smacked by her neck.  I guess that is the downside to a horse setting in it's bridle - Blondie has never whacked me in the face!  Anyway, Classi spooks with her right eye, and Blondie spooks with her left eye, so they've got me covered in both directions!