Barn Life

"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle."
-Winston Churchill

Saturday, October 22, 2011

This year I learned....

Well, show season is over, and it's getting colder. So, I decided to review what I learned this year:

I learned to....

....Lunge
....Canter
....Pivot (on the ground and in the saddle)
....Do Showmanship
....Quarter
....Open a gate while on horseback
....Post and canter without stirrups
....Do Equitation
....Love Equitation
....Memorize patterns inside and out....and then again
....Not be afraid when a horse gets hyper



And this year, I....

....Got a new horse
....Actually got a horse trailer
....Won ribbons at my first show
....Took the intermediate high point at the Bureau County 4-H fair
....Got eighth place in Hunter Showmanship at the State Fair Junior Horse Show
....Won third place in Equitation at the Bureau County Fair


All in all, I would say it was a fantastic year, I love my horses, and my main goal is still to have fun. :)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Midwest Foundation Quarter Horse Association Show

Two Sundays ago (yes, this is late...) Faith and I went to a show. A very damp and drizzly show. However, it was worth it.
In halter, Faith and I actually got to go to the grand champion/reserve grand champion round, even though we didn't get anything in it, so that was exciting. We got first place in showmanship.
And then it rained.....the saddle cover worked well the protect my helmet....at least until it was needed for the saddle.


Yeah...still not sure why I let my mom take that......
Anyways, after it stopped raining, they continued ('cause they have an indoor arena). The first pleasure class was walk-trot pleasure, and we got second out of 12 people! :)
The next class was a walk-trot-canter class, and Faith was sort of strong in her canter, so we got fourth. We did well in the rest of our pleasure classes too, though I don't remember the exact placings. Equitation was next, and right before our turn, it started POURING down rain. Mom was worried that Faith would become distracted. She didn't, and we got first. The judge said that we had won by over ten points. (!)
And I found out about dizzy dizzy cowboy and bribe your horse.
Dizzy dizzy cowboy is were you ride your horse to the far end of the arena, jump off (and someone takes your horse), take a bat someone else has, put your forehead on it and spin around a specified number of times (at this show, it was 10), then you run back to the end you started at. I got sixth.
Bribe your horse is where you take something, like a treat, run around a barrel with them following you, and come back. We used her bucket and her feed. My, did she want that bucket! I ran around the barrel with her on my heels, and we got a second place. We looked as if we had heard about it before earlier that day!
They had moved trail to last, and that was our last class. However, Faith didn't want to behave, and we got second out of two people. The judge very kindly told me I could do it in hand because it was the last class of the day, and then Faith behaved perfectly. Go figure.
And then last Friday, we went to the Pekin Riding Club Show, and Faith didn't behave at all. The only thing me and my parents can figure is that she really dislikes the lights, and she's in heat. So we only got second out of two people in Showmanship, and didn't place in anything else.....oh well....

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Pekin Riding Club Horse Show

Faith and I journeyed to Pekin on Friday night, a few days after her hooves being trimmed.
We started out in halter, and we did better than expected, placing fifth out of quite a few people (I forget the exact number).
Next we did showmanship. We were the only ones in the class. So, of course, we got first, or as the announcer put it, first place and last place and every place in between.
Our first riding class, which was right after showmanship (though we got a break to tack up), was English Pleasure, which we got fourth in. Next up (I think) was walk trot pleasure, with two people in it.....We got second. (but we still got a ribbon! So that's still good!) And then came walk-trot equitation, which we got....well, I don't remember exactly, but I think it was second or fourth. After that came equitation, where there were four people. Faith bobbled at the first cone, so we got fourth (but I didn't fall of and I rode well, and that's what counted). Finally, my last class was Country Pleasure, where you started out at the walk and then showed at your favorite gait. We didn't place. However, that might have been because afterwards, we found out that her front feet were tender. So we didn't go into any other classes. But that was okay, since Faith needed to go home and rest.
Since Faith was resting, I rode Zippy the other day and got the idea in my head to smooth out her canter and try riding her in dressage. Even though she's bred for Western Pleasure. So now I'm going to try and do that......And I ask that you wish me luck.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Bureau County Fair Horse Show

Posting this a little late, but Faith and I went to the Bureau County Fair Horse show.
We did very well, especially now that I look back on the fact I only got her in April.
We got fourth in English Pleasure. :) We got fifth in halter- actually not getting last! How exactly did that happen?
And then my last class of the day was Equitation. I, for some reason love Equitation so much. It's my favorite class. Here, I got third. The second place person was 18 and the first place person was 16 and had been riding for a long time.
Mom says we would have placed in Showmanship, but my brain died at exactly the wrong moment, so for a second I went off pattern. I righted myself and went on, but I knew I wouldn't get anything. I did my best anyways. Faith was spectacular, and did everything well, so I'm happy about that. We had a wonderful time together-and to me, that's what matters most. :)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Green River Saddle Club

Saturday, Faith and I went to the Green River Saddle Club's annual pleasure show.
Unfortunately, it rained.
Fortunately, the show went on, and Faithers and I did well.
We did a couple of halters, and we got fourth in one of them. Then we did Showmanship and got second. I think being out of the arena (they were allowing the arena to dry a little) maybe messed us up a bit, because we stopped too close the the last cone. Oh well. We learned not to do that.
Then Faith was a bit antsy during walk-trot pleasure, so we got second (Out of two people, but that's still good, right?). But we got first in Pleasure! Figures....
Then came Equitation! I love Equitation so much, and I don't know why..... But I got first in it!
A friend that I made, Eva, talked me into doing egg and spoon, so I got third.
And so that was our show. :)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Camp Tuckabatchee Horse Show

Today I went to a horse show, despite the fact that Faith is in heat. We won five firsts, two seconds, and one fourth.
Got the firsts for Equitation, Walk-Trot Equitation, Trot Flag, Trot Barrels, and Trot Plug.
Got the seconds for Walk-Trot Pleasure and Trot Poles.
And I got the fourth in English Pleasure.
Faith got antsy during the gaming classes, but really antsy after them, right before egg and spoon.
In egg and spoon, they asked us to canter right away. I dropped it. (most everybody did)
I also did the potato race, which is just like plug, except you drop a potato in a bucket.
All in all, it was a good day.