As Ms. B comes along with her flat work she will go to dressage schooling shows. I took her to her second dressage show (her first one was in June) about two weeks ago. She was 100% better and I couldn't have been more happy with her that day.
It was pouring when we got there, which doesn't bother her, it's just annoying. Luckily they have an indoor to warm up in and by the time we were warmed up for our first test, the rain had stopped. She warmed up great. She had never been to this farm but nothing really seemed to catch her eye. She was much more steady with her connection by this show too. It still needs work, but you have to remember we are working against her entire life as a racehorse. She still has her moments but those moments are becoming more and more spread out.
The ring was a sloppy mess because not only was it pouring when we got there, it had been raining all night. Luckily, Ms. B loves water and went marching right through the giant puddles. Some horse were spooking and having a hard time dealing with staying on the rail to get through them. The funniest part of the day is that the judge had a bell that day. Every single time B heard the bell it got her FULL attention. She didn't do anything, she would just perk her ears and look toward where it came from. It was pretty adorable. I'm sure it had to be reminding her of the bell on the gate.
Her first test was much better than the last show. She went right in the ring like she knew what we were doing this time. The only real issues was just a few moments of broken connection and being fussy. There was no issue of going forward after our halts like last time. I attribute that to a bit change and just continuing consistent work.
We had a little break between our tests so we went and walked around the property for a few minutes then went back in to the warm up to work on a couple transitions. She was checking herself out in the mirrors too, I mean can you blame her? Overall she was just on her very best behavior.
Our second test went well too. Same issues, broken connection which led to one too big 20m circle. Her free walk needs a bit of work but it was definitely better that day than the last show too. I left the ring super happy with her again. We went back to the warm up again to work on our canter while we were there. After a few nice canter departs we headed back to the trailer.
I was so happy with her I really didn't care what our scores were. They could have given us a 5% and it wouldn't have taken any of my happiness away. I knew our scores had to be better than last time though, and they were. For where she is in her training and experience, she really could not have been any better. No video from this show either. We went alone.
She scored a 60% and a 62%, respectable for a green horse. She earned her first blue ribbon and was second on her other test. I saw the scores at the office and didn't even read my tests. I was too happy with her. I threw them in my truck and forgot about them until last week. I had to get something out of my truck and I saw them and thought, wait I never did read these! So, I read them.
The comments at the end made my day. Keep in mind, she was in the Starter Horse division so the judge knew she was a green horse, but saw her potential. Here are those comments:
As if I couldn't have been more proud that day, those comments managed to make me slightly more proud after I read them. Those scores also qualified her for two local championships, so she will go with Klein to them this fall.
She has another show in a couple weeks and I can't wait to see how she does with the next one because she continues to improve every single week. She's going to be a serious threat after she gets some more strength, balance, and experience.
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