After a week of preparation and last minute practice, I participated in my first dressage schooling show.
And Zoe and I placed second in both of our classes! Woooohooooo! I am so excited and force everyone who enters the front door to look at my beautiful ribbons. :)
So here's a brief recap of the week leading up to Saturday's show:
After the Friday trail ride with Jennifer, I ended up taking the weekend off from riding - too many other commitments to squeeze in any good rides. (We did have an awesome afternoon up at the Bruner's and had a killer hike up and down their mountain side, though.) By Monday, I was beginning to panic over the limited number of days left to ride....what was I thinking entering a competition? I'm not ready for this!
So my solution was to take one of my precious-few practice days and go on another trail ride. :) Makes perfect sense! It was a good ride, though, and I totally enjoyed spending a few hours with Angelia and her horse Dawn. We see them at our barn almost every time we go out there, but I had never ridden with her. Zoe and Dawn did wonderfully together and I am thankful to another friend who was willing to babysit us on the trail. Zoe only had one spook - over a snake-like stick - and actually ignored the deer we saw along the trail. Such a good girl!
Wednesday was the first time I actually tried riding the tests. Angelia and Trish, fellow boarders, happened to be out in the arena at the same time and generously coached me for a short while. It was good to have the help but also a bit nerve-wracking to realize how much I still needed to accomplish!
Thursday, Emily came out to help me practice. She quickly informed me that I do not know what a circle looks like....to which I replied that it has been over 30 years since I had geometry! Her input was useful, however, and I now know the difference between a circle and an oblong-ish shape. ;)
Friday brought a lesson with Pat. And by the end of the lesson I felt even less prepared. All the advice and input from everyone throughout the week made me see that I have so much more to learn. At the end of the lesson Pat offered to read the tests for me, so I knew that at least I would get the pattern right....even if I did fall off or did some other egregious thing!
Several boarders at the barn were riding in the show too, so Friday evening brought on a cleaning frenzy. I decided to wait until Saturday to bathe Zoe...which was good as it gave me something to do while I waited anxiously for my test time.
Waiting for our call time....
Matt and the girls came out to see me ride. I know that watching riding competitions like this can be about as exciting as watching grass grow, but it was really nice to have their support. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished over the past year and I liked being able to share it with them.
(Matt took some video of my two tests, but I can't seem to upload them at the moment....)
Our final warm-up lap before the bell starts the test...
Final results: A score of 63.12 on Test A and a score of 61.25 on Test B. (Before the test Laurie B. and I had been joking that we would be satisfied with a 40, happy with a 50 and ecstatic over a 60!)
I love the comment Pat made at the end of my first test, "Who would've thunk a year ago. Who would've thunk!"....and it's true. Who would have believed a year ago that I would be riding a dressage test. I was so afraid every time I got up on my horse and truly needed someone to lead me around. And here we are now, Zoe and I, learning to work together as a team. I still get afraid but I'm learning to conquer that fear and to push both of us a bit farther each time I ride.
Now on to the next challenge: cantering by the end of summer!
