Gold Crest Classic Show

This weekend was the Gold Crest Classic horse show at The Ranch in Loveland.      It was the first Colorado Hunter Jumper Association competition of the year.  Highboy and Dewey both attended, because the group they came through, CANTER Colorado, worked very hard to get this show to hold Thoroughbred Incentive Program classes.  I wanted to be sure we supported having Thoroughbred-only classes at the horse shows this year so that they will continue the program in our area.  Off to the show we went!

We started show prep the night before by braiding Dewey and Highboy.  I grew up in Massachusetts doing hunter jumpers, but it has been a LONG time since I've gone to a rated H/J show.  Despite the howling winds on Friday, Sara and I got the horses ready for the following early morning.  This was Sara's first time riding Dewey, and she was comfortable riding him for the first time at the show because who wants to ride in 30pmh wind at home just to practice for a show on a mellow youngster?

We got to the show really early in the morning on Saturday, and found that it was already packed with horses.  We hurried and got tacked up so that we could use the arena to let Dewey and Highboy look around at the jumps and check things out.  It was bedlam, as warm-up arenas usually are.  There were horses galloping, jumping, standing still, spooking, trainers shouting to their students and at their horses, all the usual commotion of a warmup at a large show.  It was indeed a large show, the low hunters division had 35 riders.

Each rider in the jumping classes had three rounds over fences, and each round took approximately two minutes.  That resulted in a four hour wait for our first class, which was only class number four on the prize list!  So after our warmup we went back to the horse trailer to get the horses some water and hay bag snacks, and we perused the show grounds. 

We did all the usual horse show day things, visiting the concession stand (tasty breakfast croissant), the vendors (cute custom saddle pads and exquisite leather hunter bridles), and watched some of the jumping rounds in both the hunter and the jumper rings.

Finally our turn to ride rolled around, and we went back to the big arena.  Sara was working with Dewey and I was with Highboy.  This was Dewey's first real horse show, and he was a little nervous about the drainage grates at the opening of the barns.  Highboy, seasoned show horse that he claims to be, showed Dewey how to step over bravely.

We entered the arena for our first class and did our walk, trot, and canter both ways with the group.  Highboy was a little frisky during his first canter to the right, and was sure he could engage all the other horses in a rousing game of horse wrestling.  It always makes me laugh when I encounter these baby horse moments, and fortunately I was up in a two-point position so my back wasn't jostled too much by his shenanigans.

The second class was the TIP class for just the Thoroughbreds.  Dewey and Highboy stayed in the arena for another go, and both horses did well.

Because the classes were so large and we were definitely on the greenest horses there, we didn't bring home any ribbons.  It was fine with us because our success for the day hinged on the horses enjoying themselves and having a positive experience at a big show.  All kinds of good things happened.  Highboy got both of his leads and overcame anxiety about the bleachers, Dewey was brave around large groups of fast horses jumping in the warmup, my back felt fine at the end of the day, and Sara rode in a jumping saddle for the first time in nearly twenty years. 

When we were all done we loaded up and went home with very tired ponies.  Dewey was literally nodding off at the trailer before we put them in, his eyes closed, lower lip drooping, and head bobbing as he fell asleep.  A fun day, though!