Another show... another show experience

Off to Mystic Valley Hunt Club this past weekend. We were due to depart on Thursday afternoon but severe thunderstorms in the area kept us at home until early Friday morning. Getting to the barn at that hour I hoped Blu was clean and tidy like our last outing but of course that was not to be. He had brown spots all over him. So off to the wash stall we went. His braids were also a bit dicey but time was not on my side and I said to heck with it and went off to the show a bit tattered. Half way in the commute I realized we were not going to make our class in time. When I got to the show, I immediately went to the show secretary and luck would have it that there was a scratch an hour later so I took the slot.

By the time I got enough unloaded, Blu groomed and me put together we had 15 minutes for warm-up. Out went the long walk and a bit of trot. We walked to the warm-up area and went to canter. He felt good -- a bit tired-- but overall he was good. Neither of us were very anxious and that is great! He was still going into the ring but what are you going to do when the show must go on? Put on a smile and trot into the ring that is what you are going to do! And so we did...

The test was far better than our last outing. I was more confident and started to think more about the ride vs. the OMG I am actually in the show ring thinking. I had a heads up from my friend that it was a bit boggy at "X" due to torrential rains the evening before. Blu spotted it immediately as we entered at "A". You could feel his wheels turn -- "How am I going to get out of stepping in that slop?" I kicked and kicked... he fishtailed and bulged. I got him into the middle of it but the halt was plain ugly. For a horse who usually scores a 7-8, we settled for a 5. Sweet! For the rest of the test where I had to pass through "X" I simply tried to stay to one side or another but we had to come back through as we approached our final halt. Simply put, it again was not very pretty. He scooted through "X" and then landed in a heap with a few walk steps for the final halt. Not good for second level and it earned us another "5".

Our judge was of international fame -- how lucky could one get? My trainer thought my score was a bit low but her comments were certainly something to build on. Our score was better than our last show and we did place 2nd out of 6.

We have some work to do. I just have to get these scores out of the way so I can take a breath and begin to think about third level. With the month of August being show free, we will start back in the double bridle. I think we are both ready for it. Next show in 2 weeks... Get ready Letter Perfect Farm... Here comes Blu!!!