Judging the Front Range Exceptional Equestrians Horseshow

Yesterday I was at the Budweiser Events Center to judge the annual horse show for a local therapeutic riding group called FREE.  This is the third year I've judged the show, and it was every bit as fun as previous years.  This time hey had a train theme.  The trail/obstacle course involved putting on a train conductor's hat, depositing coal, wood, and steel into a large model train's cars, going through a "switch" like at a rail road crossing, weaving around poles and model mountains, going over poles and model mountains, then weaving through trees and going over a bridge.  Other highlights were the costume class with an adorable little girl dressed as Tinkerbell with her gypsy cob horse dressed as Peter Pan complete with hat.  We also had a veterinary surgeon and a zebra who wanted to be a race horse.  The costume class is always the hardest to judge because they are really fabulous costumes.  It feels really good to be part of a group that helps riders with disabilities show off their independence, and my goal for the day is to make sure everyone gets a ribbon and is told at least one thing that they did well during their ride.  This is one of my favorite shows of the year, and I look forward to joining them again next summer.