Dannaroo!!! Such a good kid. :)
We had our dressage debut. His first under saddle show! And he was actually better than I expected. :) Don't get me wrong... we had issues, but it was better than I expected. :) I bathed him on Wednesday and despite coming home and while still damp, rolling in the mud.... he stayed clean enough. He loaded and hauled fine and was alert but not stupid once we got to Barlyn. I tacked him up and as I went to put his bridle on an aged mare came galloping up in the pasture. So Dan grew an inch and was dancing but I managed to get him settled and get his bridle on. I did a teeny bit of in hand work and hopped up. I decided to ride him up by the ring rather than warming him up down by the trailers and then having to get him resettled up by the rings again. So we headed up.
Hee hee. He was really UP! He was a bit overwhelmed with the sights but managed to keep it together. Mostly. ;) The first 10 minutes made me wish I had my safety vest on and I was a little worried we were going to be kicked out for safety reasons. But, he settled down once I could get his feet moving and he wasn't too bad after that. Phew!
We worked on transitions and just staying together and not running people over. ;) Then it was our turn. I took him in the ring and he was looky but not too bad. When they rang the bell I was awfully far away so I got a little rushed. Then some kids were running in the woods and Dan spooked. I think technically we should have been eliminated for not getting into the arena in time, but it was okay since it was a schooling show. I managed to get him in and start down center line. We halted.. and then tracked the wrong way. Doh!! Geometry isn't as important as staying on him. ;) Ha! And then, as I turned the wrong way, he stepped on the chain and pulled it off the post. So he bolted a few steps. I eventually got him back to the rail and the judge blew the whistle. Barb reset the chain and gave us both a few minutes to breath. So we started up again and he and I were both a little more relaxed. It wasn't pretty and he certainly wasn't soft or showing off his beautiful gaits. I realized that I had way too tight of reins and was trying to soften. But, he did everything he was supposed to and he even went back in the corner where the chain "ate" him without spooking. We finished... and everyone clapped. Hee hee. We survived!! We accomplished our goals... finished a whole test and stayed in the ring and I didn't come off. Success!! We scored a 54 and change. Doh! But that put us in 5th place out of 6. :) Yay!!! Not last!!
Our next test was pretty quickly after so I went back to the warm up area. I was thinking that cantering was highly optimistic, but.... there was no one else there, so... we cantered! And that really helped. He settled down a good bit and I got some nice work.
So back in the ring we went. I was a little more relaxed and so way he. I managed to pilot him more correctly and I thought we had a fairly decent test. He got both his leads on the first try. :) Yay! Good baby horse. Although I started my trots too early and halted at X instead of G. Doh. But that's okay. He did good. And we finished in 6th out of 7, so again, not last!!! :) I think we scored a 55 and change this time. Definitely didn't score well on submission. ;)
Intro Test C
Then to make the poor kid deal with even more.... I made him stand around for a few tests so I could cheer on some friends. He was great though!!! He just hung out and made friends. Then he stood tied at the trailer while I got our tests and ribbons. Such a good calm baby!!! I'm so proud of him.
I swear he doesn't feel that big!! But I don't think I'm that much of a midget. ;) Anyways, we might do the Full Gallop Schooling Show in December. After that, he gets off til the Spring. Other than an occasional trail ride probably. He gets so bored! ;)
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