Beauty and Jasi rode in the starter division, which was just right for their first time doing all three phases at a show. Because dressage is first they were a little tense in their test, but got it done. As every eventer says as their motto, "there's something to be said for getting it done."
Next they had cross country, and wow did they rock that phase! Beauty looked like she'd been doing it her whole life, and no one would have been able to tell Jasi had never done all three phases at a show before.
Just after cross country they headed down to the show jumping arena and did that course. People watching made comments about how steady and maneuverable Beauty was, which led me to brag about this little cutting bred quarter horse who loves eventing, and who was amazing for her first time showing in this discipline.
Carol rode Ladd in the cross rails division, and it was also their first time doing all three phases. I got to do some bragging about him and how he didn't start jumping until he was fourteen years old, and look how much he loves this job! Because of how the ride time schedule worked out with so many rides from our barn we weren't able to get dressage photos of them, but they looked awfully happy when they finished their test!
Cross country went really well. It was their first time doing an entire course on their own, since previous outings have been pair paces with a team or schooling with other horses from Bit of Honey.
They seemed to have fun, I bet I'll be able to talk them into doing it again next season.
Silver did really well, too. He was a little tense for dressage because I just barely finished with Highboy in time to jog over to the other arena and hop on Silver, so we didn't get as much warmup as I'd have liked. All things considered though, Silver really did well especially compared to the last mini trial we did.
Cross country went well, too. He was excited and we spent quite a bit of time trotting and cantering in the warmup, but I expect that to become much less as he gets more experience at shows. I was really pleased with his jump form over fences when I got to take a look at the photos. Considering he really hadn't done any jumping before he got here in May, for him to rock around a beginner novice course happy and using his body well makes me awfully proud.
I included this photo because it perfectly illustrates why I put boots, especially bell boots, on all my horses when they go cross country. Even though Silver is barefoot (like most of my horses), you can see how much overreach he has with his hind feet as he's landing off of a galloped jump. It would be so easy for him to accidentally clip his front feet or heel bulbs with his hind feet, so the bell boots are a necessity to try and prevent injury from galloping and jumping. And this horse does like to gallop!
Show jumping went well for Silver, despite a few knocked poles. At this point in his training I care more about him getting the course done feeling confident, and that he is maneuverable and easy to rate his speed. He checked all those boxes, so the down rails weren't a big deal to me.
I rode Highboy first thing in the morning as he was the very first ride for dressage. This was absolutely ideal for us, since going first meant there was no one else warming up for Highboy to play with. His test went reasonably well, too, with minimal shenanigans causing my main complaint to be that he was stiff in his down transitions and not as loose through his back as he can be at home. His stretchy trot wasn't half bad, though.
Cross country was a bit comical. When the vet was out the following Monday we discovered he was acting strangely because he'd pulled muscles in his neck and back while messing around with his friends before we ever got to the show. Considering that, it was good he even did the course at all, but he sure objected after leaving the start box. We spent a good bit of time just standing and arguing about whether he was going to start the course. He wasn't refusing a fence, he just refused to go at all. Eventually he did decided to participate, and we got it done albeit slowly.
Show jumping was stressful as Highboy jumped the first fence, went three strides, and then one of his hind legs slid and he nearly sat down. He somehow managed to catch himself with the other hind leg and we didn't fall entirely to the ground thank goodness. We still were able to finish the course, though, and Kimberly Hale Photography was still able to capture some amazing moments.
Some other fun shots that were captured throughout the day
So many thanks! To Sunrise Equine for hosting this fun event so close to home.
Thanks to Redefined Equestrian for organizing the event.
Thanks to Gillian, Sara, Kathy, Alice, and Linda for grooming and cheering.
Thanks to Kimberly Hale Photography for the amazing photos.
Thanks to the horses who were able to go for being sound and making our day possible.
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