More showing!

Took Charlie to a western schooling show on Saturday.  I really liked the judge they had.  Grace and I showed with her last year too.  She must also be a breed show judge for paints or quarters and I can tell she likes that type of horse.  She's also super positive but instructional.  I love that.

Our showmanship pattern was a V shape and a little tricky.  Charlie's pivot wasn't very clean and it took him a minute to set up but he was good.  There's an older gal, Sandy, with a ton of APHA experience who likes to come to this show to practice for her paint shows.  She's good...very poised and elegant in an understated way.  She got a young horse that she's working with that I just love.  There is something about the pair of them I just like.  I'm glad she comes because she keeps me on my game.  She forgot to jog a section of the pattern and Charlie and I got first place!  It was really nice to talk to her though and she explained alot about how the local paint shows work.  She just made me feel really comfortable and made me think about some things regarding showmanship.  There's actually a really fine art to it and I need to plan better before I'm lined up at A.  I always get nervous and stop thinking about anything but making it to the judge.

Our next class was Western Eq walk/jog.  Charlie broke stride once at the jog but so did everyone else apparently.  We got a first again!

We started out well in our Western Pleasure class and then Charlie must have stepped on a rock.  He just started limping suddenly at the jog and I knew it looked terrible.  I rode to the middle, excused myself to the judge and got down to check him out.  She told me she was glad I pulled him.  She said she was watching, thinking there goes, second, third, forth...tough luck.  :(  At least I know she would have placed him if we hadn't had that little accident.  Sandy ended up winning that class.  I packed it in for the day, but two firsts out of three classes is awesome for our second show.  This was the first time I've been brave enough to even try a riding class.  The best news is he looked fine by the time we got home.

I think I may start practicing for a smaller two judge APHA show that's coming up.  Sandy made me feel a lot more comfortable and there isn't any reason we can't do the showmanship and the walk/jog classes.  I'm going to work on getting my paperwork in order.  I still need Charlie's papers transferred and my ammy card. 

Sunday, I was going to take December to the same place for their English/hunters schooling show, but of course she was having none of that and ripped off her shoe and most of her foot to boot.  Instead we took Charlie, who lunged out just fine in the morning, and Allonsey, my friend Alyson's horse.  Charlie was like a crack addict in our first class which was English Eq maiden (clearly we have some work to do), so I asked Aly if I could ride Allonsey in the rest of my classes.  She's only doing the walk/trot and ground pole classes currently.  Allonsey's a really well trained hunter, but had a injury and is just getting started again after about a year off.  Alyson's a little green, but a great rider and has made huge strides learning about all the quirks a TB without consistent work can develop and how to move past them.  Allonsey and I got a second in an English pattern class, a third in Eq, fourths in hunter hack and hunter hack maiden (he was being a goof), and then finally a first in warm-up hunters.  I realized that was the first time I've jumped a full course on him and the first full course he's jumped in years.  He's really nice though...just set him up consistently before the fences and leave him alone and he does his job.  We ended after that class since it was so good.

Unfortunately, the only down part of the day was Allonsey, who has trailered nicely for me before, decided he did not want to trailer.  It took an hour and a half before the show, and about a half an hour to get him in after.  In the process of trying to load after he stepped on my foot and pivoted.  It's pretty ugly but getting better every day.  I managed to get boots on yesterday so of course I rode...  I'm terrible.