This is just a quickie update to tell all this, and I can't believe I'm saying it... we're going to a show on Sunday!!
It's just a little tiny, tiny, tiny, extra tiny - did I mention tiny - local schooling show at Curragh, where we went XC schooling last. We're just doing the Intro A and B tests (not C, C has canter in it and we're not quite ready for that yet... I can't guarantee we'll stay in the ring!), so we'll probably either be totally alone in our division or going up against tiny children on cute ponies. It is going to be 100% hit or miss at this point - she might go in and put in a super nice set of tests, or she might go in and be a total nightmare mess. My goal is to just go in and do it, to get some experience under her belt. She is at the point in her flatwork where she'll always get to where I am very happy with her final work... it's just getting there that can sometimes be tricky. Some days she'll come right out and get to work, and some days she'll be a nightmare when you first start out. Some days she'll be good until mid-ride, and then she'll lose it about something. She'll thrash around for a little while, and then get over it and go on with herself. She always gets to a good point, and it usually doesn't take all that long, but she requires a tactical ride and she is not always predictable. It will be a good experience for her either way but I'm not expecting to come away with ribbons and good scores. All she needs is for it to be a good experience.
I have been a busy busy girl, but hopefully tomorrow I'll have a little more time to fill you all in on the week. It's been a little bit and miss, but she had her shot a few days ago and seems to be settling down.
As for tonight, it is POURING out, so the kids are all up in stalls for the night. I don't think O has been stalled much, so it's a good time to start acclimating her to the idea (she'll only be stalled if she is at a show or if the weather is terrible, but it is still something she needs to be ok with).
I swore I was going to get better at keeping bloggy updates coming regularly, but I haven't gotten any better so far. More soon!
How exciting! Maybe for good luck you could remove the horns and red smoke from O's picture? (I just noticed that!) Good luck at the show and may the horns be banished from ring.
ReplyDeleteYay! Have fun. Remember the most important part is the warm up! =D
ReplyDeleteAh yes. I know all about showing up on a big pretty mare and warming up next to ponies and 9 year olds. I felt bad about it, until they kicked my butt a couple times. Then I got over it :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck, hope its a productive outing!!