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!

Since both of my girls saw the dentist today (even the step-pony, who had a wolf tooth removed), I rode Jimmy for the group lesson to give their mouths a chance to rest up.  I arrived early, so I could test out my new camcorder and snap a few pics with my camera.  Zoë was taking a jumping lesson with Jimmy, and M had a course of jumps set up for them.  I spent some time goofing with the camcorder and trying to figure out how it works.  Hopefully I'll have time this weekend to get the software installed on my PC and upload a few videos.

This was large lesson group; with the horse show next week, everyone wants to squeeze as much ride time in as possible before the show.  Jimmy was pretty good, for a change, but some of the other horses were just plain naughty!  It all started with Sarah, right after she climbed on Ritz.  The mare decided she didn't have to listen to what Sarah wanted her to do, and so they spent the first 5 minutes walking into walls.  Then Audie got on Bentley, and the pony took off crow hopping all the way down the rail!  Almost into me and Jimmy!  I hate to admit it, but the pony looked so cute while he was misbehaving.  Audie managed to stay on, A managed to catch the miscreant's bridle, and they spent the next 10 minutes walking around the inside of the ring. 

Oh!  I forgot!  I was the first out in the ring, because Zoë had to pick up the jumps.  We swapped saddles, and I stated walking Jimmy around, hoping to cool him off a little before our lesson started.  Amber came out and A helped her get on Harley, and then she left to help the late arrivals get their horses ready.  Harley did not like the jumps one little bit, and he started shying away from them.  I told Amber to keep him in the middle and to cut a wide path around the jumps until Zoë had them all picked up.  Harley is a big chicken! 

The lesson was a lot of fun, but the mares were all psychos.  Summer wouldn't walk (not unusual for her), wouldn't slow down, and was slick with sweat halfway through the lesson.  M had Laurie start walking her out so they weren't there all night.  Ritz wouldn't walk, either, which again is nothing new for her. 

Every time I ride Jimmy, we pick up the wrong canter lead going the second way.  We did it again last night, and when I stopped him to correct it, we almost had a pile up of horses with Summer and Harley.  I love group lessons!

I am also pleased to report that I am getting better at the sitting trot.  I don't bounce all over the place ( or I didn't last night), and I was sitting deeper in the saddle.  Yay, me!

The snow from Sunday morning all melted away, and it's starting to feel like spring again.  The parking area was a mushy, muddy mess when Jen and I headed into the barn for our lesson.  The chiropractor had been there in the morning, to work on some of the show horses.  D didn't think Blondie needed a back-cracking, but many of the other horses did, including Harley.  The dentist will be there on Wed, which means that once again, my horse sees the dentist more than I do.

I rode Classi, and Jen rode Harley.  The lesson was a little short, because Classi is so out of shape, and Harley had had his back worked on.  Classi has  a few quirks, like she gets all bottled up and won't move forward.  You have to put your hands on her neck to relax her, and she starts moving forward again.  She was a little spooky by the shavings pile, but other than that, she was pretty steady.  Her trot is a lot choppier than Blondie's, which had me balancing on her mouth.  I am determined that by the end of the season I will be steadier with my hands and not pull on the poor horse's mouth.  It's always good to have a goal.

M had me concentrate on getting the mare's head set, and she must have thought I can do it, because A called on Tuesday to tell me that M has submitted the entry for Classi for next week's show.  I still have to work on the canter - Classi is a lot different than my horse.  She's bouncier, but she's a lot easier to get moving in the canter.

As the weather is so nice today, I think I will try to get to the barn a little early and take some pictures.  Maybe the yearlings will be playing in their pasture.

This morning I woke up to nasty, vile, tiny flakes of snow.  WTF?!  It's supposed to be spring!  What a terrible disappointment, as the ground slowly turned white.  Terrible! Horrible!  I'm sick of winter!  Die already!

Wednesday, I rode Jimmy. M had me slated for Harley, but I asked if I couldn't ride someone a little, er, faster.  Harley is the easiest horse in the barn to ride, and I really need to start riding some of the tougher ones.  The lesson went well, except that I couldn't get Jimmy to walk.  He also started to get really hot, so she had me canter alone the first way.  I kept him on a circle, and really worked at lifting his shoulder and not letting him bury his head and take off.  He's actually a lot like Blondie - she doesn't like to walk, and she constantly pulls at the bit, too.

Friday, it was 70 degrees, and we were under a tornado watch.  Last year, two Fridays in a row, we had to stop my lesson because of storms and tornado warnings.  The promised storm never materialized, but there was a very pretty rainbow when I was leaving.

Tank, the poor kitty, was throwing up in an empty stall, and after I realized what he was doing, I went in to pet his head and talk to him comfortingly until he hacked up a wad of grass.  Everyone at the barn now thinks I'm nuts.  Don't you want to help make your pet feel better when it doesn't feel well?  Tank appreciated it, and he came over the lie down by my tack box.  He didn't even hiss at me when I scratched his head later. 

We used the draw rein again for Blondie's lesson, but I don't think she held her head as nicely as the week before.  I did have an epiphany at the canter, as M told me to use my whole body to bring her back and keep her slow.  I leaned back and really sat deep in the saddle and I didn't bounce around!  Finally!  Of course I couldn't repeat the same thing on the other side, but now I kind of know what I haven't been doing.

Today, there was a jr judging clinic at the barn.  I forgot that it was today.  It was for the saddlebreds, and there were two "classes," an in-hand and show pleasure riding.  D showed Blondie for the in-hand class, and she beat the other horses, but I don't think she should have won.  Sammy had better motion, and Summer stood in the line up better, so her conformation looked prettier.  I missed the reasoning for why Blondie was first.  She is pretty, but her conformation wasn't the best out there.

For the riding class, they had me ride her in a show bridle. I haven't done that in almost a year.  At first I was pulling on it too hard, which was making her so mad.  I got better with the pressure on the reins, but I was using too much curb and not enough snaffle.  The class went pretty well, mainly because Sammy, ridden by D, was being an utter tard, and Summer wouldn't walk. Harley kept breaking at the canter.  Blondie did break from a trot to a canter for a few strides, but I quickly corrected her.  We won the class.  She was best behaved, which is a total shocker, and she looked the easiest to ride. 

As I was putting Blondie away, A's stepfather arrived with Classi, the NSH that I am half-leasing for the show season.  She is really pretty!  She's a bright chestnut, with a razor thin stripe on her muzzle.  We brushed her up, and then after A warmed her up, I got on for a trial spin. 

Classi has a few quirks, one being that you can't kick her. This is the very opposite of Blondie, who you have to kick every few strides or she quits on you.  With Classi, you have to squeeze instead.  It's going to take me a bit to get used to that, but she steps right into a canter.  You just squeeze and kiss.  No tipping, kicking, and all of that other stuff.  Just squeeze and go.  That's nice!

Wow, it seems like spring has finally arrived!  It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining merrily from the sky.  I was so excited to go riding in a t-shirt!  It's the simple things that really get me motivated.  I realized too late that I had brought my winter boots so my feet were roasting, but it felt great to be warm, so I didn't really mind.

I rode Jimmy, and Jen was up on Doc.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Doc was a World Champion trail horse, so not only is he an A #1 lesson horse, he's also a champ!  I guess we will just have to overlook the repeated coughs when he first starts trotting.  It just takes a couple of heavy-duty hacks for him to really get settled down to business.

A was in charge of our lesson.  M was trying to teach Amber how to use a show bridle.  Harley was just not very enthusiastic about it, and M had to give him a refresher course on how to wear the bridle.  She doesn't take any crap from the horses, and that's something that I need to learn.  I let them get away with so much - no wonder they don't pay any attention to me!

Jimmy was wonderful, and I had a great lesson.  He cantered in a nice little ball, quite a contrast from the last time I rode him during a non-lunge line lesson.  He picked up the wrong lead the second way, but after I stopped him and asked again, off he went at a nice, slow pace.  It was kind of nice not having to worry about his head set and to just concentrate on my form.  A said I found my pretty feet again.  Now she is giving me grief about my hand position.  I need to hold my hands higher and have more bend in my elbows.  It feels really awkward on Jimmy with his hunter head set.

Wednesday's lesson was on Harley, because Blondie tried to buck D off earlier in the day.  He pulled out her show bridle, and she didn't want anything to do with it.  To say he was unhappy with her attitude is to say the least.  She was grounded from me riding her until Friday, so they could remind her how an amateur's horse is supposed to behave.  

The group lesson was pretty uneventful, and Harley was breathing so heavily I started feeling guilty again for pushing him. A was really getting after me to get him moving, but the poor old guy just can't keep up with the younger show horses. Plus, he was getting so sweaty, I was afraid it would take forever to dry him off.

Friday was a pleasant day; I think spring is finally here to stay.  I got Blondie ready, and when I took her out to the arena, M told me that she rode her the day before, with a western saddle and a big western show bridle, to remind her again how to wear a curb bit.  The horse was absolutely perfect for me, wearing her bridle, cantering in a little ball, and trotting nice straight lines.  We called it good before the half hour was up, and M offered for me to ride Harley.  The Academy Banquet was today, so I decided to get some of my weekend chores finished instead, so I wouldn't have to worry about fitting them into an already busy schedule.

Yesterday, Dean and I had lunch at A Matter of Taste.  Why do I bring that up?  Because the Thai Crisped Walleye in a spicy (not really) red curry sauce really messed up my stomach.  I don't know what was in it that my system didn't like, but I've had a stomach ache since last night.  I am used to eating spicy food - I eat it every day.  If you aren't used to spicy food, definitely don't order that dish or you will suffer untold agony.

This morning started a little on the chilly side, but quickly warmed up to about 60 degrees.  Blondie forgot how to wear her bridle again, so M switched her curb rein for a draw rein.  It was a little awkward to hold, but Blondie started setting her head.  She is really frustrating me, though, because when I want to reduce some pressure on the reins, she just grabs back at the bit and pulls her head down. 

When I was taking Blondie from the arena, Sarah was riding the Friesian on the lunge line, and he started bucking again.  Big, Friesian bucks, too!  Sarah lost both stirrups, shot about three feet out of the saddle, but she managed to hang on and get him under control again.  She is such a good rider!  D told us later that if we want to ride him again, we need to do it by next Saturday, because he is going off to team driving school. Uh, I'll wait a few more years, thanks.

The Awards Banquet was pretty fun.  I picked up Jen, we went up to Kohl's because I didn't have anything to wear, and then came back to the house to change.  The banquet was at Baker's in Milford, about 20 minutes from the house.  We arrived just as Sarah and Zoe pulled up, and headed inside together.

The food wasn't bad.  There was salad, which I passed on, corn, mac & cheese, baked chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and lots and lots of rolls. There was also an awesome cake with horses on it, but the frosting was toooo sweeeet.  The roast beef was also sub-par, but the chicken was very tasty.

I ended up winning three Reserve Championship ribbons, which was kind of a bummer for me.  Until last week's fiasco, I had the most points, so I disappointed that I didn't get any Championship ribbons.  Just wait until next year!

Ah!  Yesterday was finally starting to feel like spring!  It was in the 50s, and very muggy.  Today is an extreme reversal, as the heavy winds are making it feel very cold, and the cloudy skies are bleak and gloomy.  Boohoo!

Jen rode Harley last night, and I had a lunge line lesson on Jimmy.  I believe my legs are getting stronger, as I was even able to canter (while holding the reins) without flying all over the saddle like I usually do.  I did have a bit of a stupid moment when I slapped my leg (I was getting a cramp), sending Jimmy off in a frenzied run.  I stayed on, with no reins, and stopped him before embarrassing myself and falling off.  Then we had to trot a few more times to calm him down.  Poor guy - I scared the crap out of him.

A is bringing her mare, Classy, next Tuesday.  This is our thing, and we will be the only ones working her.  A's going to teach me how to bit the horse and how to lunge her.  I've had a horse for two years and have never had to lunge her, so I don't know how to do it.  I'm really excited to be learning more about training and horses in general - I think that most barns kind of skip over teaching you the really basic stuff because it's so basic they don't even think about it. 

The mare also shows in the Country Pleasure Division, so I can still show Blondie in the Challenge of the Breeds and regular Show Pleasure classes.   Yay!  I hate going to shows and only riding in two or three classes.  Here's hoping that I'll be a better rider by the end of the show season, and everything works out the way I hope.