OTTB First Horse Show Part Two

Previously on Saddle Seeks Horse, we revealed that although Knight had a lovely Friday night schooling session at his first ever horse show, when the actual competition began on Saturday, he was not in a “good place.”

Therefore my trainer and I decided to scratch him from the three under saddle classes. So what happened Sunday you ask?

Sunday Fun-day?

Although it was disappointing to have made the special efforts of getting ready for a show that it didn’t seem I was going to end up competing in, I tried to look on the bright side and kept ruminating on all the positives.

My List of Positives

• Knight seemed to have adapted well to the showgrounds initially as evidenced by how happy he looked munching hay in his temporary stall.
• The weather was really pretty.

• I had a new, classy riding helmet which could be used for future shows.
• I had new boots because of the show.
• The people at the barn where we were stabled, the regular tenants, were very friendly and welcoming.

• Knight was a super good boy with the guys dumping manure in the waste pit as I rode past in the warm up ring.
• The realization that no matter how nervous my horse is, he’s not really a spooker.
• It was really fun having other people help groom and tack up my horse. I felt like I was one of those people who keep their horse at a fancy barn.
• My horse husband was there to take pictures, hand me the water bottle, and cheer me on. (Thank you, Mark, for hanging out with all us horse girls for the day and not acting bored.) He also videoed which I’ll post soon.

Learning to Be the Adult in the Situation

Our schooling plan for Sunday was to take it easy and not do too much lest we rev the engine on my ex-racecar. We warmed up in the manure dump adjacent ring and again, Knight was wonderful. We then warmed up in the same covered arena as the day before. He was much more relaxed. Not like riding at home, but the edge was gone.

I was more nervous as we rode and had this sense of “What am I getting myself into?” The only appropriate class for us to enter was a limit equitation flat. (For those of you outside the hunter bubble, it’s a walk, trot, canter class that judges the rider’s riding “prettiness.” Limit means the rider has not won a certain number of ribbons at rated shows.)

I have not been riding without stirrups or even practicing the sitting trot much since last fall when I bought Knight. I brought this up as a concern and my trainer said they probably wouldn’t have us drop stirrups and to just slow Knight down for the sitting trot (his trot is super bumpy).

She asked how I was feeling and said he seemed so much better than the day before. I said something to the effect like I was not excited, but I was there so I should probably just go in the class. She said it would be the best possible experience for him: it was the end of the day and lots of people had left, so the class was smaller (there would only be three in the class), the crowds had thinned.

“Just stay to the inside of the arena a bit and use it as a schooling session. Don’t worry about anything else.”

It’s’ Not About Me!

I had an epiphany in that moment: it was not about me! This was about Knight. Who cared if I could sit the trot well or if they would asked me to drop my stirrups and I’d decline. I had to ride him around and show him it wasn’t a big deal and make it a pleasant experience for him. This was for him, not me!

My confidence clicked in. My worry had been I’d be perceived as one of “those people” who is on a horse and they have no clue what they’re doing or it’s an obvious rider-mount mismatch. A new resolve to just ride my horse and shut out the extra stuff settled in.

And so, with the trainer’s right hand on the left rein for a little extra support I was ushered to the in gate. My husband remarked later that Knight seemed nervous going in but that once I was in the arena walking he looked normal.

I walked my horse to the left. There was a rider ahead of me and one behind. About 15 seconds in,

“Riders, sit the trot.”

I tried to fake a very practiced sitting trot. Soon I was put out of my misery by a cue for canter. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal except Knight caught a glimpse of a dismantled jump. The panels were removed from the standards and placed perpendicular to them (why??????). The jump caught his eye and he was too distracted to canter when I asked him to. I had to ask two more times and then he picked up the correct lead.

I started talking to him, telling him he was a good boy. I remembered to ride more to the center of the ring to keep him away from the various distractions on the rail. We switched directions and before I knew it, I was actually having fun.

The announcer called us to line up and Knight stood nicely in line. Of course we got third out of three. I couldn’t really see my competition, but I was told the other riders had expensive, seasoned horses and that if either one of them had to ride Knight, they wouldn’t have known what to do.

That was a wonderful compliment and now we’ve got the first show under our belt. It can only get better. And I love the color yellow anyway!!!

Thanks for reading!

Comments: Have you ever come in last but felt victorious?

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