Throwback: My First Show

 

I didn't show much as a kid. I did one play day type show at a neighboring barn when I was 12. But my first real show wasn't until I was 15 years old. We went to a county level show. My trainer, a few of his other lesson kids, and myself. My parents came along to help. We brought four horses. Barrister, Chesapeake, Precious, and Nip. I was signed up to ride Ches in a Walk-Trot class and Working equitation. She had never been shown before, and needed the experience. Precious, a veteran in the show ring, was my mount for Hunt seat and Hunter. Barrister, also a show veteran, would be in the English Pleasure and my working equitation class as well, ridden by Alex. Nip was doing a few classes for our under 12 years old age group.

 

The day started off early. We loaded Nip, Barrister, and Precious without a single issue. But then Ches decided that she didn't want to load. We had practiced a million times. She had been trailered in the past. But today, today she didn't want to cooperate. It took me an hour to coax her into the trailer. When we got to the show ground, she was a bundle of nerves. She was anxious and jumpy. I took her out to the Warm-up ring to lunge her, hoping it would settle her some. It did, a little. I groomed her, braided her, and tacked her up. Hoping to have time for a warm-up ride. We had arrived on the show grounds later than desired due to her disagreement with the trailer. My dad was prepping Precious for me, as those classes followed my first two shortly after. Precious was calm as ever. You would've thought she came here every day. Barrister was equally calm. Nip appeared to be falling asleep standing up.

 

I rode Ches in the Warm-up ring. Her ears slicked back every time a rider and horse she didn't know passed us. She was spooky, and jumpy. Her trot rhythm inconsistent. I kept trying, and she started to settle. When our turn in the Show ring came, she was better. Until we rounded the far bend of the area. They had set the Working equitation equipment on the other side of the rail. And she wasn't having it. She leapt off the rail like a lightening bolt from a cloud. I managed to hang on to my seat and leg her back onto the rail. On our second passing, I could feel her muscles twitching as we approached that side of the arena again. I started tapping her with my inside leg, bumping her mouth slightly, trying to keep her attention on me. It worked, sort of, she bent off the rail slightly, but it wasn't very noticeable. We were asked to trot, and as we picked up our diagonal, a loud metallic bang issued out from behind us. Ches shot forward, attempted to rear, but I turned her in a tight circle before she got too far out of my hands. One of the other horses had gotten to close to a red-ribbon mare and she had kicked out at him, clipping the rail with her hoof. The noise had pushed Ches' nerves over the edge. I was certain that this show couldn't get any worse. We changed directions. And no further events occurred during the class. The judges asked us to line up in the middle. After deliberating a few moments they announced placements. And somehow we got 2nd place.

 

The judge came up to me and handed me a red ribbon, she touched my knee and smiled up at me, "You showed wonderful horsemanship today."

 

Still one of the best compliments I've ever gotten.

 

Early morning show prep. You can see the sleepy on my face.

 

 

My next class with Ches went much better. For the working equitation, the horses enter the ring one at a time. And she seemed to take to that much better. She was still a little antsy and didn't trust all the obstacles to not eat her, but we placed 3rd.

 

Then it was Precious' turn. And she showed me how it was supposed to be done. I could've sent that horse into the ring without me. She knew what to do. And she was in perfect form over every jump. Eager to please. I didn't have to push her over any of them. She won me 1st place in both of her classes.

 

Barrister placed 3rd in Working Equitation, one spot behind Ches and me. Alex was peeved by that. He thought Barrister would carry him to first place. Our trainer told him, "I warned you. Practice more. The horse isn't the only one in the ring."

Barrister did get 1st in his pleasure class though, which brought back Alex's cocky confidence.

And Nip very squarely got 3rd place all day long with every kid she carried through the ring.

 

Overall, we had a sweeping success as a group at our first team show. It holds a lot of fond memories for me. And it taught me to never give up, keep practicing, and have fun.

And my instructor made sure we knew that a show is just an event where you pay someone else to tell you what they think about your horse and your riding. But at the end of the day, all that matters is the bond you share with your horse and that you keep on riding. You never let them push you down. And if you fall, you always pick yourself up and try again.  

 

Pre-show warm-up: Ches & me, my brother on Precious being led by my dad.