This message is from: Karen Keith kkke...@hotmail.com
Brag Alert!
Wow, I've waited a long time to get to write an email like this. But today
was one of those days where you just want to let someone (everyone) know.
Today was the day I took my Bella (Nor-Fin's Ellen) to her first horse show.
We have been doing a lot of trail riding and also participating in musical
rides (kind of quadrille stuff) with my local riding club since the start of
the year, but I thought this low-level fun show would be a good test to see
how Bella would do with strange horses (and colorful jumps) in an outdoor
arena. I plan to show Bella at the Small Draft Festival in Virginia (being
held in connection with the eval in July), and I just wanted to expose her to
a show situation.
My dear Bella did not disappoint. She wasn't the least bit fazed at being
among all the strange horses and ponies. She was the only Fjord, and of
course she got lots of comments and compliments. The show was held at a
hunter facility, and all the other horses were TBs, TB crosses (field hunter
types) and hunter ponies. Bella was certainly the odd man out.
We entered five classes, two in hand and three ridden. All the ground work
and liberty work I do with Bella paid off in droves in hand. We took 2nd in
the halter/conformation class, and I have no doubt that had to do, in part,
with the fact that Bella will really trot out in hand. I hadn't done much of
this with her since her eval two years ago, but we have done other in hand
work, and when I asked her to go, she did. As soon as I knew she was right
there with me, I lengthened my stride to really show that she can and will
move. The second class was showmanship, where we had to perform a pattern --
a circle right at trot, stop, quarter turn left, then back up, and stand for
presentation. We placed 1st in showmanship. Woo hoo!
We entered three ridden classes -- Greenie Hack W/T, Greenie Hack W/T/Back up,
and Greenie Hack W/T/Individual Canter. I told you this was a low-level show.
:^) And don't worry, I was not the only grownup in there mowing down Pony
Clubbers. Not that anyone mowed down Pony Clubbers; in fact, it was we adults
who had to watch out for kids on ponies. They seem to be quite unaware that
there is anyone else in the ring. But the class was mostly adults on big
honking hunters, and me on my golden pony.
In the walk/trot class, I mostly worked with Belle to try to get her bending
properly. That horse loves to drop a shoulder and bulge through her corners.
So I was pleasantly surprised at placing 4th. In the walk/trot/back up class,
it was pretty much more of the same, I continued working on her bending and
softening to my inside rein. Her back up was a bit slow, but without all that
unsightly (and gotta be uncomfortable) pulling on her mouth. I wasn't
surprised at her less than exuberant response to the back up since she had
been standing there quite relaxed awaiting her call to back. I will have to
think about how to bring up her energy in prep for backing without first
getting a forward step. Anyone have any ideas? I was completely surprised
when we were called as 1st place. I think that judge must have liked my
Fjordie.
Finally we came to the walk/trot/individual canter class. This one was W/T/W,
reverse direction, W/T/W, then line up nose to tail at the end of the arena
and strike off at a canter one at a time to canter around on the rail for
about 3/4 of the ring, rejoining the back of the line. Now this may not seem
like a big deal, but canter departs and just cantering in a ring are something
I had just introduced to Bella. When I first got Belle, she definitely had
some anxiety about the canter. Last summer and this year, we have been
throwing some canter into our trail rides, and with encouragement and
generally good experiences, her anxiety has subsided. She is learning to
enjoy moving out with her trail buddies. However, in a riding ring it was a
different story. She would get rushy and strung out.
So instead of allowing that to become ingrained, I specifically went to an
instructor who teaches canter from the walk. She says it's easier for the
horse to organize her feet for canter from walk rather than trot, and I
believe she's right. It certainly looks a lot nicer. We do a lot of
transitions, W/T/Halt/T/W etc., and when asking for canter, it's from trot,
transition to walk for two or three steps, canter. The trot creates the
energy, while the few walk steps allow her to organize her feet before
striking off. Initially, Belle was still skeptical, and my aids were less
than fluid, but with a bit of encouragement with a whip tap, a buck from
Belle as she leapt into canter, and lots of praise for her try, she has come
around nicely in just two lessons and a bit of work at home.
Which brings me back to today's show. When it was Bella's turn to leave the
group (psychologically difficult for the horse to leave the herd), she took a
