Ridiculous Ride

Every once in a while I have a truly ridiculous ride, where the horse is so silly all day that I wonder if I'm actually starring in a cartoon.  Today was one of those days for Monty.  We were at a schooling show and fortunately we were the only ones in our division, so no one but the judge and gate person saw us.  The 2'9" jumper courses were pretty long, twisty turn-y and complicated, and since we were the only ones riding I had to go immediately after myself and didn't really have time to process the direction changes.  On top of that Monty was really squirrely, feeling confident, fresh, and even a little bronc-y.  So while I'm glad there wasn't a big crowd to watch his antics, we did get some really funny photos. 

This is sort of how Monty felt all day.  "Hey, look at my lip tattoo!  I think this horse show thing is a piece of cake, I don't need to practice good behavior!  Kim might need to look at the course one more time but I've got it all under control.  I shall leap the little fences so high and long that you simply must call me Superman."

I remind myself that he's only six, and he has been very studious all summer at the horse trials in which we have competed.  He has earned his upcoming winter off (and perhaps a little romping around at a schooling show).   I also remind myself of all the shows I went to as a kid.  When I would watch the other riders go I would always mentally choose the biggest hottest horse I could see and wish it was my own.  Between some of the goofy geldings in my barn right now I definitely have fulfilled that childhood dream.

Thank you to Kimberly Hale Photography for getting this fun recorded.