Highboy and Obie Go to a Show

We had a fabulous time at Triple Creek Ranch this weekend enjoying the last jumping show of the season.  Kim H. was there to take photos, my working students helped with the horses, while Obie and Michelle competed for the first time together, and Highboy went to his first "away" event.  Firstly, let's showcase how well Michelle and Obie did!

Coaching in the warm up

They rode in two cross rail classes and two walk/trot flat classes.  Obie was just as quiet and calm as he is at home here at Bit of Honey Training.  He behaved just as a point-and-shoot jumping horse teaching his rider should behave.  Michelle rode beautifully, with soft contact, balanced seat, and she remembered to keep talking to him so she would keep breathing!

We walked around the show grounds quite a bit, Obie marched around like a pro, even when Highboy was beside himself with anxiety.  I think the highlights of the day for me were when it became obvious that Michelle was confident riding Obie and didn't actually need me!  Michelle had me go stand in the barn while she rode in her classes so I would be out of the way, and she rode out around the grounds without me to visit with her friend from her barn in Parker, who was also there, competing on her adorable chestnut arabian.  (We didn't get a picture, but they were so cute with the blue saddle pad and matching blue strap jumping boots!)  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  In these situations I don't really care if I can get the horse to do amazing things, I want the owner to be able to do it!  

“It is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed.” - Harvey S. Firestone

Confident pair!

Where do we sign them up for modeling in the catalogs?

We even went home with several ribbons and a reserve champion for the division!

THE MAN IN THE ARENA                   Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic" Theodore Roosevelt
                   delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Discussing riding technique with Tigger

Exhausted Highboy eating at the trailer while we prepped for the trip home.  I swear, he did start out the day clean and polished.

Lastly we give a nod to sweet Highboy, who didn't have quite the calm day that Uncle Obie did...  This was Highboy's first field trip to somewhere other than the neighbor's arena, and he was mighty wound up.  He made bug-eyes at everything, and was generally quite wild.  I led him in the smaller, less crowded of the warm up arenas, and we walked in hand over cross rails and poles just like at home, which settled him significantly.  Once he was reasonable and happily grazing outside of the arenas I handed him over to my working student (who is quite accomplished with hot horses).  Highboy was ok until I walked away from him to check on the schedule for Obie's classes in the other arena.  Once he realized I was leaving him he went nearly berserk, and poor Sheridan was stuck flying the 1200 lb kite on the end of the lead rope.  When I came back he immediately settled and went back to grazing.  It was like someone had hit a switch turning him on and off.

I needed to coach Michelle and focus on them since that was the priority for the day, so the the horse show manager generously let me put Highboy in a pen elsewhere on the grounds.  He ran around a little, had a good roll, and then was fine, until I walked away.  He proceeded to run the fenceline, calling and calling, staring at me and then in the direction I'd disappeared.   After a couple hours he settled, and my working students were kind enough to baby-sit him during the day and make sure he didn't run amok.  When we got home from the show I opened up the back of the trailer.  He looked out, and just sort of deflated.  He was so relieved to be home.  In track life the horses usually just trailer from one race meet to the next, there isn't usually a "home base" that they return to at the end of the day for down time.  Had I not purchased Highboy he would have moved on from Denver to the next race meet in New Mexico.  So to go somewhere so exciting, stress out all day, and then be able to return home to relax was another new thing for Highboy.  When I put him back in his paddock he just looked shell-shocked.  I guess the big guy has gotten sort of attached and now has some separation anxiety....  Looks like he needs a LOT more horse show experiences!