we showed, and we're happy
Aug. 13th, 2007 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannSo... yesterday I rode the two Intro dressage tests at a schooling show. When ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
goddessfarmer first brought this up a few weeks ago, I thought she was crazy to even suggest it. But really, we did quite well given that Minnie's 24 and this was her second show ever, and I have not shown in 26 years! They combined all the intro level tests into one class, so a person who rode both could get two ribbons. And we got 2nd for our Intro A and 6th for our Intro B.
My new user icon is us during warm-up. Isn't Minnie pretty!
It was deathly hot, and we had to wait around for several hours afterlyonesse and Stjarni did their two-phase, which they WON, by the way, and L had all sorts of little girls fawning over Stjarni, because he really is the cutest pony ever :) By the time I rode, Minnie was nearly somnolent, and actually had to be pressured to move forward. This is not normal Minnie behavior! I rode the whole Intro A test on a too-loose rein, because Minnie would respond to rein pressure as "Oh, time to stop, thank you!" The judge suggested I try the B test with more collection, and there I got the Minnie I am used to... speedy girl. Our B test would have been much better if she hadn't decided to canter on the second circle. I recovered and got her to trot, but the video is pretty ugly.
The judge... well, *I* liked her, and she liked me. She was really encouraging when she gave me feedback, and I think she liked seeing an *adult* amateur. J's daughter has ridden for her, and J says she's spot on with her commentary. But some of the younger participants were grumbling about her, saying she was mean. There was one girl who really did get scr*wed by the show management; for some reason they had her listed riding test B before test A, and she got confused and upset and the judge was frustrated with her. It didn't help that the girl was really overmounted on a big, HOT event horse, whose response to a nervous rider was to get even more hot. But... even once they got the which test to ride issue figured out, she still made a lot of mistakes because she just didn't know the tests. Another girl who complained a lot had the same problem, but she finally said, "Well, I would have done better if I'd actually memorized and practiced the test." Is it surprising that both these girls had trainers and parents with attitude issues themselves? One of the parents even said that the judge was a bitch in front of a whole bunch of children!
And there I was, having worked on the tests for weeks, and running through them in my mind every night before I went to sleep, and checking the printouts at the last minute to be *sure* I had the right place for transitions. Ah well, I am nothing if not serious.
OTOH, there was a little girl on a cute grey pony who handled things very well when the pony spooked at the judge's box (after passing it with no problems twice before.)
Before we rode:
Trotting.
Pretending to be "real fancy dressage rider and horse"
Random warmup photo:
Minnie loves to canter!
Gratutious Stjarni photo, because, well, how much cuter can a pony be?
Test A (notelyonesse and Stjarni near the judge's box):
Test B:
Minnie gets a rest until Friday. I am so proud of her!
goddessfarmer first brought this up a few weeks ago, I thought she was crazy to even suggest it. But really, we did quite well given that Minnie's 24 and this was her second show ever, and I have not shown in 26 years! They combined all the intro level tests into one class, so a person who rode both could get two ribbons. And we got 2nd for our Intro A and 6th for our Intro B.My new user icon is us during warm-up. Isn't Minnie pretty!
It was deathly hot, and we had to wait around for several hours after
lyonesse and Stjarni did their two-phase, which they WON, by the way, and L had all sorts of little girls fawning over Stjarni, because he really is the cutest pony ever :) By the time I rode, Minnie was nearly somnolent, and actually had to be pressured to move forward. This is not normal Minnie behavior! I rode the whole Intro A test on a too-loose rein, because Minnie would respond to rein pressure as "Oh, time to stop, thank you!" The judge suggested I try the B test with more collection, and there I got the Minnie I am used to... speedy girl. Our B test would have been much better if she hadn't decided to canter on the second circle. I recovered and got her to trot, but the video is pretty ugly.The judge... well, *I* liked her, and she liked me. She was really encouraging when she gave me feedback, and I think she liked seeing an *adult* amateur. J's daughter has ridden for her, and J says she's spot on with her commentary. But some of the younger participants were grumbling about her, saying she was mean. There was one girl who really did get scr*wed by the show management; for some reason they had her listed riding test B before test A, and she got confused and upset and the judge was frustrated with her. It didn't help that the girl was really overmounted on a big, HOT event horse, whose response to a nervous rider was to get even more hot. But... even once they got the which test to ride issue figured out, she still made a lot of mistakes because she just didn't know the tests. Another girl who complained a lot had the same problem, but she finally said, "Well, I would have done better if I'd actually memorized and practiced the test." Is it surprising that both these girls had trainers and parents with attitude issues themselves? One of the parents even said that the judge was a bitch in front of a whole bunch of children!
And there I was, having worked on the tests for weeks, and running through them in my mind every night before I went to sleep, and checking the printouts at the last minute to be *sure* I had the right place for transitions. Ah well, I am nothing if not serious.
OTOH, there was a little girl on a cute grey pony who handled things very well when the pony spooked at the judge's box (after passing it with no problems twice before.)
Before we rode:
Trotting.
Pretending to be "real fancy dressage rider and horse"
Random warmup photo:
Minnie loves to canter!
Gratutious Stjarni photo, because, well, how much cuter can a pony be?
Test A (note
lyonesse and Stjarni near the judge's box):Test B:
Minnie gets a rest until Friday. I am so proud of her!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 06:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 06:51 pm (UTC)i actually think it's kind of cute in your A test how minnie seems to be saluting the judge as well ;)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 11:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 09:51 pm (UTC)(And it sounds like the world needs more "mean" judges. Those brats have it coming to them!)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 11:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 10:00 pm (UTC)Minnie is a beautiful horse.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 11:11 pm (UTC)Minnie is her own kind of pretty. I am used to her sort of standing around, usually resting one foot and looking like a nag. She cleans up well!But you can see why thoroughbreds are a racing, athletic breed. She was never raced, which is one of the reasons she's doing so well at her age.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-14 01:52 pm (UTC)(In the interests of full disclosure, it looks like we're in the same area. I would like to say for the record that I am not a creepy stalker.)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-14 03:05 pm (UTC)Where do you ride? Besides riding with J in New Hampshire, I take lessons during the school year at Windrush Farms.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-14 03:33 pm (UTC)I'm down at Flatlands Equestrian Center in Rehoboth, on the Rhode Island line.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-18 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-18 02:33 am (UTC)(Oh, and the usericon is sleepy Minnie. This is a horse that DOES NOT rest... and she fell asleep at the show while I was sitting on her!