Knight and I are (Lord willing) going to our first horse show next weekend!!!
It’s a schooling show, but my nerves are on edge like it’s Devon or Rolex. The last time I went to a schooling show (when George W. was President–to give you a reference point), my previous horse and I encountered a series of fiascoes, yet in the end things turned out okay. Here’s what I learned about how not to horse show from that day.
1. Forget your saddle pad. I had carefully made sure to take only my essential brushes, a hoof pick and fly spray in my yellow plastic brush box. I put the saddle, girth, bridle, and brush box in my car. I was good to go with everything else. Or so I thought.
I had everything EXCEPT my saddle pad. Thankfully some kind soul I didn’t know lent me one.
2. Provoke your horse to whinny and whinny and whinny. DC could not be tied so I had to rent a box stall which was a few hundred feet away from the arena. I was the only competitor who had a halter-breaking puller of a horse and therefore he was the ONLY horse in the barn. Everyone else had their horses tied to trailers. He kept belting out a series of unending shrill whinnies. It was embarrassing. And loud. And obvious. Did I mention loud?
3. Break the unwritten rule about not using the round pen (and find out the hard way). Since DC was whinnying and high as a kite, I did what I had done at other showgrounds in my previous life (when Bill Clinton was President), and decided to lunge him in the round pen. For just a few minutes. I thought he would expend a bit of energy, and thus regain composure. He began to huff and puff and shake his head.
To my horror, the horse show announcer announced, “The round pen is not open during the show. You need to remove your horse from the round pen immediately!!!” Why couldn’t they have locked it or put up a sign?
4. Ask your friend–a beginner horse person–to hold your horse. Somewhere in the midst of the forgotten saddle pad, unending whinnying, rule-breaking chaos, Gabriel showed up. Not the angel, but a friend with the name who had always wanted to learn how to ride horses and had recently begun taking lessons from a family member who had a riding school. I needed to head over to the show secretary’s table to register and get my number, so I left DC in his charge.
I assumed in his limited riding experience, he knew how to hold a horse. It couldn’t be that hard, but I hadn’t accounted for just how tricky it can be to hold the lead of an unsettled horse at a show grounds.
5. Let your horse get loose. When I started filling in the papers, DC started his fretful whinnying again. One of the ladies at the registration table made a snide remark about “that bay horse.” As I filled in the registration form I said, “I’m trying to enter ‘that bay horse’ of mine into the hunter class.”
Just then someone shouted, “Loose horse!” DC had spooked and pulled away from Gabriel and was now trotting proudly much like the Black Stallion in the scene where Alec attempts to tame him. Thankfully a nearby Good Samaritan successfully grabbed the dangling lead rope.
6. Arrange for your only friend/fan/supporter to leave right before you enter the arena. I thanked the helpful stranger and then my friend had some other event to attend and had to leave just as I was about to start riding.
By that point I was a bundle of nerves: my horse had been broadcasting his unease by whinnying across the whole show grounds, I had been publicly reprimanded over the loudspeaker for lunging him in the round pen, and now he had been the “loose horse!” What was going to happen when I mounted and actually rode him in the show ring? I mounted and my seat came to rest on a wad of nerves, not my equine companion of ten years.
7. Go it alone. I didn’t really have a trainer at the time. Some kind soul trailered us over and dropped us off. So when my one friend left, it was just me and my horse. And the whinnies.
I’m embarrassed just thinking about all these events again. But it turned out okay in the end.
Do you want to know what happened next?
My horse, who had been a bundle of raw energy up until that point, decided to use his powers for good once inside the show ring.
“You are now being judged at a walk.” I took a deep breath and tried to shove my heels down further and stretch my spine up taller.
By the time we got to, “Riders, please canter your horses. Canter.” I barely grazed DC’s right side with the heel of my boot, giving a little squeeze to the left rein.
My show horse pushed off his hind end and burst forward into a left lead canter. He flickered his ears back for a second, listening to me, and then focused his ears forward again to show off for the judge. I sat tall and proud.
When we lined up at the end, DC stood like a gentleman as we awaited the results.
There were eight riders in the class so I figured we’d at least get a ribbon. The announcer revealed the placings beginning with 6th place. Our number was not called. He went through all the other placings then called, “In first place, number 282, Susan Friedland riding Adonis.”
The next class was almost the same as the first. Although I was more relaxed. And when it was over we had won another blue. By the end of the day I had won the championship for my division. Even though it was “just” a schooling show, I was as delighted as if I had won an Olympic gold medal.
Epilogue: The best part of this horse show was that two weeks later, a friend from my barn said, “Susan, I got an email from the organizer of the schooling show. They put out a monthly newsletter and she was wondering if she could get a picture of you and DC to include in the next issue.” Vindicated! “That bay horse!” and the rule-breaker did all right.
YOUR TURN: What tips do you have for “how not to horse show?” Have you learned any lessons about competing the hard way?
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This is absolutely hilarious and I so enjoyed it :). How awesome that it turned out so well, but it sounds like a comical day ;). Hope you can learn from all that for your show with Knight!
Oh my gosh I laughed out loud at these! (after taking the appropriate amount of time to cringe at my memories of doing the exact same things).
My only “don’t” is don’t take it too seriously! You are there to enjoy your awesome horse in the company of other horse people and show off what you can do. Do go in there with a big smile and have an awesome time! I can’t wait to hear about it.
I thought of your story about not knowing you couldn’t school in the jumping ring. When I read that, it made me think of this.
Hilarious now, totally cringe-worthy then. Thanks for reading and have a fun weekend!
Haha yes, add that to the lists of don’ts!!
This is so funny! Love it. Especially when he got loose. Totally sounds like my horse…the trouble maker. Glad it turned out so well! Congrats.
Thank you. Hopefully the next show will be more sane.
Don’t let your horse break its reins in the startbox just as the horse before you leaves on its cross-country round. The marshalls were very understanding, albeit commenting, “Well, that was smart.”
Broken reins for cross country sounds like a complete disaster. Yikes!
Luckily the marshall was understanding and my sister ran to get my spares!
From years of being around cutting & reined cowhorse people, their horses are tied up almost every day at home & learn patience & how to just “hang out.” They’re hauled to shows as 2 yr olds & tied up there & ridden when their trainers aren’t showing their horses, so by the time they really are shown, the whole show environment is comfortable for them. While at the shows, they’re loped for a long time in the warm-up pen, & figure out pretty quick to not waste energy being jerks & to just relax & lope. What I oberved over many years of seeing these horses is that they learn to go in self-carriage, on a loose rein, & none of that constant rein nit-picking that I see with English & dressage horses. Now, these western performance horses are nothing like western pleasure horses. I’m sure they are miserable in their training, but your reiner & cutter learn to be business-like thru regular, repititious training.
Whoops! I just read my post & it sounded like I meant that the reiners & cutters “are miserable in their training.” I meant just the OPPOSITE!!! The other thing these trainers do is just hang out while riding their horses in training. When a horse has been good, they’re allowed to just sit & watch the world go by while their trainers relax & chat with friends. This is such good training for a young horse & I only mention it because these situations for training are available to anyone if you have a truck & trailer. Take your inexperienced horse to horse shows, but don’t show, just get you & your horse acclimated. Ride in the warm up pen, ride between the barns. Sit outside the showpen on your horse & let them ease into the situation.
Glad your show day had a happy ending. From my experience, I would say, “Do not fall off over the first fence on XC when your trainer is standing there with her video camera.” I can’t tell you how many times I had to watch that!
Oh no! That is very unfortunate! So, have you posted said footage to your blog? I promise I won’t laugh. Don’t feel bad. The rider I interviewed before Rolex for Sidelines magazine fell off at Fence #4. At Rolex. She was extremely disappointed.
Hahaha that is such a fun story!!! It was a happy ending to a crazy day. 😀
Thank you. I’m so flattered you follow along, even though you’re more of a music girl (not a horse girl). I guess the experience of doing something you love and feeling like a fool is universal whether it’s with a guitar pick or saddle pad.
oh man – i could feel myself getting stressed out just reading this! talk about a comedy of errors! but of course it all worked out perfectly – you must have been so proud!! good luck at your upcoming event!
Absolutely embarrassing and fun! Fun to read, and perhaps remember! 🙂
Laughing still 🙂
Bet any other show will be great after this! ! 🙂
Thanks for reading! I am a bundle of nerves because Knight has never been to a show before. But he’s been to every race track in California. I’m thinking if he handled all that chaos and commotion he can probably handle a show at a stable.
I’m pretty sure he will. Hope you might have a helping hand on the side, too. It really helps. Hey, don’t forget your saddle like I did last weekend! Such a flop! Just sayin’…
Best of luck to you and Knight! Go get them!
I finally got my home computer and internet fixed so yay I can catch up on blogs!! (I’ve been just posting from my phone and doing limited blog reading from my phone since the wordpress app on there IS TERRIBLE).
(A) KNIGHT IS LOOKING SO HANDSOME! I’m so excited or your show!
(B) This absolutely cracked me up. I had so many experiences like this with my quarter horse. I was 11, had no idea what I was doing, and for the first year I had him he was a total hellion (although he’d win a lot). And last february, I broke my boots right before stadium, borrowed a friends, and then Wizard squeezed out of the stall while I was tacking him up and ran around the barn. Embarrassing… Note to self, if in a stall, tie your horse up or get someone to help…
oh my gosh, I love this! It makes the perfect story! But then it makes me wonder… since you did so well after all those things happened, wouldn’t that make the case for doing all those things? 🙂
I forgot my stirrups the last time I first time I took my horse to a new barn for a lesson. Very embarrassing first impression!
Oh goodness, it sounds like everything that could go wrong, did! But as I always say, these things happen once and after you get them out of your system you will be good to go for next time. I also let a beginner hold my horse one time (my husband) while I slipped away to the entry booth. When I came back he informed me that my horse tried to trample him and a lady had to save him ; ) Needless to say he didn’t come back to any shows for a while. Next time will be flawless, right?
Just catching up on your blog!! Well done wonderful lady!! x
Thank you! Good to have you back. I need to catch up on your blog too! 🙂