Hello! Yesterday (Feb. 10, 2024) I went to my first horse show. And, it was FUN.
Okay. So. I arrived at the barn… OKAY, let’s make it less intense. So, I arrived at the barn. I was there to groom and tack and get ready for the show like, 3 hours early… Anyways, we were assigned horses for the show, so each horse had a group getting him ready. First we had to clean some bridles and saddles. That was fun!!
I haven’t ridden this horse since September. Literally.I brushed him over with a body brush like 6 times. Same thing with all the other brushes. It was so satisfying! His hooves were realllllyyy dirty. So I went to get the hoof pick. I was worried and excited about the show. If I didn’t pick them… gross. Okay, I lifted his hoof, and the dirt was so thick! We also braided his mane and tail which was NOT easy, since he was taller than me. Also, they trimmed his mane so it was really hard to braid. We were gonna turn the braids into button braids, so we HAD to braid every single strand so he looks show-ready! While the other girls braided his mane while I groomed him AGAIN. Okay, so, there was only 1 step stool in the ENTIRE barn! And to be honest, most of the kids there needed to use the stool. We picked a nice clean saddle pad, and then… we went out to the ring for ring rules..
So, basically, if you are in a walk trot class, then the judge will say, “Trot, your ponies, please!” and “Walk you ponies, please!”. For those classes, everyone one goes together, but it walk trot canter, when you canter, everyone can’t canter at once, so they’ll line everyone up in the middle and let 2-3 people canter, and the they just take turns. Blah blah, we just did some, what if you get too close to the horse in front? When you are too close to the horse in front, you can cut across or do a circle.
Finally, we brushed him one last time and put his saddle on. By the way, the bridles and saddles were cleaned that day. When we were almost done, we asked our coach to turn or braids into button braids and we successfully made button braids! He was looking so show-ready!! Okay, now, we walk our ponies and horses over to the riding club!!!
FAST FORWARD
At the club, we watched the other classes before us, there was the costume class, which was fun to watch. We also just play with the horse until it’s our turn.
I walked by this table with SO many ribbons! And lots of food! There was like infinite ribbons everywhere. Like, it would be enough for everyone to have 3 ribbons, and LOTS of people were showing. Okay, so after like 30 minutes, it was almost time for my class. I watch the classes before me to pass time…
But, the perfect situation came along, horsey switch up! I am now riding a different pony! I rode him every lesson, but the group getting him ready chose a very dirty saddle pad. I decorated the other horse so well. I was very sad I couldn’t ride the other horse. But whatever!
So, after a little while, watching the last minutes of the previous class, it’s time for MY CLASS! Okay, now I have walked into the show ring. And I’m not scared. Like, if you’re in there you’re in, there’s no getting out! I was so excited. The stirrups were too short, because the previous rider had shorter legs, but then my coach made it too long, and then, blah blah stirrup chaos. So I headed out to the rail and started walking, the pony is very forward, good. “Trot, please trot.” I squeeze, and he picks up the trot. He picked it up really quick and I got the right diagonal from the start, I have a good body position and then, “Walk, please, walk.” Now we walk again. Okay, all good so far! :))) I’m safe! Okay, now for the canter part. I line up and watch the first people canter. I noticed that their canter wasn’t so smooth. Like, they weren’t staying in the saddle.I’m actually very happy I had a very smooth horse. In my head, I already knew I would be 1st. Okay, now my turn. I go to the rail and then “Trot, please, trot!” So I trot, “Canter, please, canter!” she says, my pony picked up the canter pretty quick, I stayed in the saddle, and kept the canter going. I am pretty sure I’m going to be in 1st place now. I trot, then walk, then change direction. The judge literally said, “Good Job!”!! I changed direction and I’m not sure what he will do on this rein. I trot, then I ask for a canter. But he doesn’t pick up the canter!! I was trying sooo hard, it took a long AND short side to pick up the canter. Luckily I was on the opposite side of the other rider and so they weren’t looking at me, they told me to canter again, and luckily he picked it up really quick! YAY! I sat the canter and she said “Good Job!” AGAIN!!! I did so well! I trotted then walked and ribbon time!! We lined up. It was so thrilling because everyone’s number started with 80-something, and so it would be”Fifth place to 80… Fourth place to 80… Third place goes to 80…” TOP 3. Expected. Okay, this is SO scary “Second place…” He walked towards me, stopped at me, “Goes to 80…” NOT MY NUMBER. He continued walking and stopped to the person next to me. WHAT! I AM IN FIRST PLACE. “First place goes to number 88.” YESSSS!!! I recieve my ribbon and I get a Hershey’s kisses. I grab one, but it slips out of my hands and so I have to grab one while he’s walking away! I ride out and my mom takes countless photos of me.
FAST FORWARD
Okay, now it’s time for my second class! It’s a course of cross rails, I LITERALLY HAVEN’T JUMPED SINCE LAST YEAR (it’s February). Okay, at least I’ve jumped a lot on this pony, (I haven’t ever jumped on the pony I was supposed to ride. Okay, so for this class, it’s one at a time, so they don’t give you whatever place, they just give you a ribbon for completing the course.
So I enter the show ring and pick up the trot. I went straight, then I jumped the first jump and that was a bit wobbly, but makes sense. I turn to my second one and I have better position this time. I canter down and turn the wrong way, so I do a circle of direction switch, and do a line of cross rails, and then turned over to my 5th jump, turned to the right and did my last 2 line of jumps and DONEE!!! I trot down and walk out, the guy gave me a “clear round” ribbon, and eh, it doesn’t look AS pretty. I walk out and I hand the pony to the next rider and now I go home!!!
THE END!!!