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Our First Show
Our first show is over and done with and it was quite the introduction to competing for us both!
I am absolutely over the moon with my boy. He loaded perfectly as always and we trailered to the Horse Park venue. The show management had some issues with stalls so we had been put in temporary stabling under a large tent. Both Axel and his friend Ira settled into their stalls whilst we dragged hay feeders, tack trunks and more across the muddy car parks and venue! It wasn't the easiest setup of a show ever but we got it done whilst Axel assessed his digs for the weekend.
It was a lot to deal with for his first show, the wind was flapping the tent and spooking all the horses in there including Axel, so each time the wind gushed through they all ran round in circles a few times then settled until the next gust hit. The venue had construction, golf carts, multiple jumping rings, and horses everywhere, so much for them to deal with! We spent the day washing them, grazing them, hand walking and then in the evening we schooled both horses in the warm up and competition arenas. Axel looked at everything but didn't overreact to a single thing and tried really hard to stay focused but found it pretty hard with so much to see. We settled both horses down for the night and headed home to get some rest.
The next day dawned and I got there early to check on Axel and feed them both. He hadn't rested at all overnight poor boy but I hoped he had enough in the tank to work well during the day. He began his warm up better than the day before and a little more focused but I could feel him still struggling to really focus with so much happening. It was our turn to go and they rang the bell and off we went. I could feel him wavering a little down the centre line, not really understanding what we were doing but being his sweet little self, down he went regardless. Our test didn't quite go as planned and we had a few blips with a canter lead and balance but he behaved so well. As the weekend went on he started to click a little more with what he was there for. Unfortunately we didn't get a qualifying score over the weekend as I made some mistakes that were costly and threw unnecessary points away, with both of us being new to competing we just didn't quite hit the harmony in the ring that we can at home. For the last test I had Sara ride him as I wanted her to feel what work we need to do before the next show, where he is struggling and what I am causing. It was incredibly helpful to see her ride him and feel most of the same things I felt. Of course, she's a brilliant rider and managed to get some great work out of him after some corrections in the warm up. She rode a gorgeous test on him and managed to score over 68% even with a wrong lead pickup.
I am so incredibly proud of my horse. He handled the atmosphere like a pro and didn't spook or misbehave once, even when the wind was out of control at some times! He entertained the competitors and their families around us with his huge, adorable personality and made me smile with his sweetness in looking after me.
We have some work to do, I need to keep an eye on him and make sure he is still doing well physically and learn a bit more about test riding. We need to get out and keep showing! He has a few days of rest as was exhausted after the show and then we can hit the ground running and work hard to get ready for our next show.
In the meantime he has had Tina see him for magnawave and Trey to give him his manicure! He should be all ready to swing tomorrrow for our lesson!
I am absolutely over the moon with my boy. He loaded perfectly as always and we trailered to the Horse Park venue. The show management had some issues with stalls so we had been put in temporary stabling under a large tent. Both Axel and his friend Ira settled into their stalls whilst we dragged hay feeders, tack trunks and more across the muddy car parks and venue! It wasn't the easiest setup of a show ever but we got it done whilst Axel assessed his digs for the weekend.
It was a lot to deal with for his first show, the wind was flapping the tent and spooking all the horses in there including Axel, so each time the wind gushed through they all ran round in circles a few times then settled until the next gust hit. The venue had construction, golf carts, multiple jumping rings, and horses everywhere, so much for them to deal with! We spent the day washing them, grazing them, hand walking and then in the evening we schooled both horses in the warm up and competition arenas. Axel looked at everything but didn't overreact to a single thing and tried really hard to stay focused but found it pretty hard with so much to see. We settled both horses down for the night and headed home to get some rest.
The next day dawned and I got there early to check on Axel and feed them both. He hadn't rested at all overnight poor boy but I hoped he had enough in the tank to work well during the day. He began his warm up better than the day before and a little more focused but I could feel him still struggling to really focus with so much happening. It was our turn to go and they rang the bell and off we went. I could feel him wavering a little down the centre line, not really understanding what we were doing but being his sweet little self, down he went regardless. Our test didn't quite go as planned and we had a few blips with a canter lead and balance but he behaved so well. As the weekend went on he started to click a little more with what he was there for. Unfortunately we didn't get a qualifying score over the weekend as I made some mistakes that were costly and threw unnecessary points away, with both of us being new to competing we just didn't quite hit the harmony in the ring that we can at home. For the last test I had Sara ride him as I wanted her to feel what work we need to do before the next show, where he is struggling and what I am causing. It was incredibly helpful to see her ride him and feel most of the same things I felt. Of course, she's a brilliant rider and managed to get some great work out of him after some corrections in the warm up. She rode a gorgeous test on him and managed to score over 68% even with a wrong lead pickup.
I am so incredibly proud of my horse. He handled the atmosphere like a pro and didn't spook or misbehave once, even when the wind was out of control at some times! He entertained the competitors and their families around us with his huge, adorable personality and made me smile with his sweetness in looking after me.
We have some work to do, I need to keep an eye on him and make sure he is still doing well physically and learn a bit more about test riding. We need to get out and keep showing! He has a few days of rest as was exhausted after the show and then we can hit the ground running and work hard to get ready for our next show.
In the meantime he has had Tina see him for magnawave and Trey to give him his manicure! He should be all ready to swing tomorrrow for our lesson!
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| Axel sharing my celebratory glass of wine! |
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