I Finally Rode in my First Horse Show
Posted: Monday, April 05, 2010
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. I'd fallen off of the horse I was to ride in the show on the Monday preceding the Saturday of the show. I was thinking I had a screw loose for wanting to ride him in a strange place in front of a bunch of people I did not know, all of whom were probably much better riders than me.
The owner of the horse (I'll call her Ell) and I talked about it at length the evening of my fall. We decided that a more "insistent" bit might be in order. Ell said she had one that should do the trick. I was concerned that it might be uncomfortable for him. She assured me that it would not. When I saw the darn thing on Thursday (the last day I would have for practice before the show), I didn't know what to think.
I got to Ell's at 6:15 a.m. and we went about chasing down Diablo and Lupine (the horse Ell would ride in the show) and putting halters on them to lead them to the trailer. They were full of spirit that morning and we finally had to resort to oats to get them to stand still. Luckily, they both are good about getting into the trailer. Then we loaded up the rest of our gear and headed out to Freeman Farms in Chino Valley , AZ. They were hosting the Equistar Show.
We signed in and Ell said I should ride in two classes, Walk and Trot Novice Rider and Walk and Trot Championship. Up to that point, I'd been running on routine and then it hit me when the sign-in lady handed me my number. This is it. I'm actually going to get up on him and ride him in front of all sorts of people (I have an insanely bad case of performance anxiety). I am going to be judged and most likely found wanting.
Originally, I had no intention of ever riding in a show (for obvious reasons). I just wanted to learn to ride a horse safely so that I could enjoy a trail ride now and then. You know, actually look at the scenery. And then I discovered that I really just like being around horses and Ell says it is good for Diablo; helps keep him young. But that aside, I know what you are thinking. Didn't I start this story by saying I had recently fallen off. I'll just say this; I've been riding for over a year now and only fallen off twice. The first time was really, really bad. This last time was mercifully almost okay. I'd still rather not do it ever again.
Before we signed in, we had gotten Diablo and Lupine out of the trailer. We went back and groomed them, tacked them up, and mounted up. Then we went to the warm-up area. This was my moment of truth. Would I be able to communicate effectively and keep him in line in this strange place with the roosters crowing, the geese honking, trucks with trailers driving all over, and all sorts of people coming and going and making a generally crazy racket? We had about an hour for warming up and I figured by then I would know one way or another.
Ell had a much harder time with Lupine, but we both expected that. Lupine is still quite young and not yet well schooled. Diablo is a very young 24 years old, very well schooled and a gentleman of a horse. He could probably do a better job of it by himself than with me on his back. Even knowing this did not alleviate my nerves when it finally came time to ride my classes. The crazy wind (gusts up to 45 miles per hour were predicted for the day) and cold temperature didn't help me any either. It is hard to relax on your horse's back and thereby tell him not to be nervous when you are shivering like crazy and your face is so cold you can barely talk.
Then then I found out that there were no other competitors in either of my two classes other than me. I did not want to be alone in the ring. No way. An older woman came to my rescue. She actually audited three classes with me. I audited a third Walk and Trot at the urging of Ell. She thought it would be good experience.
I got the blue ribbon (first place) in both my classes because I was the only official competitor. I thought that I shouldn't accept them. But the spectators were clapping and cheering (they all new this was my first time ever) and the judge was so sweet that I had to take them. It still makes me laugh to think about it. I felt I had done everything wrongly. I didn't sit up straight enough. I had an annoying double bounce coming back into the saddle while posting to the trot. My hands seemed to be wandering all over the place instead of staying right over his withers. I have no idea which way my toes were pointed and at one point the stirrup slipped under my right arch (the stirrups are supposed to be under the balls of your feet) which made me lean a bit to the right. I thought it was a total botch job.
The funny thing is that while I was riding the classes, I wasn't nervous at all. I didn't once think about the judge or the spectators. I was just doing my best to do well all the things I'd been taught. Afterward, when I finally got off of Diablo, after some two hours in the saddle, is when I had the shakes and thought I was going to fly apart literally.
I learned a few things that day. It is for a fact, absolutely true, that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make her drink. Diablo sucked down a couple of gallons in no time, but Lupine wouldn't take a drop. Some horses are very shy about urinating in public. The show was held up for a while by one gelding that was standing in the urinating position with nothing coming out. We were all silently urging him on and applauded (quietly) when he finally let loose. The reason a horse will have a ribbon tied in its tail near the base is to warn people not to walk behind it because it is a kicker. The problem is that you have to be behind it to see the ribbon. And no, I did not get kicked thank goodness.
Then there was the woman telling me about the time her daughter was in a show and she fell off of her horse. The daughter was fine, but they had forgotten to close the gate to the arena and her horse ran off. Some spectators took off trying to run down the horse and the woman said she just sat there and laughed because the horse was terrified of hats and the runners were all wearing hats. The horse ran even faster. Horses are kind of funny that way. They have the oddest fears. I should talk. Anyway, she evoked an image in my mind of a horse running hard and looking back over its shoulder with its eyes going wider and wider at all the hats chasing it ready to make him into lunch. Frequently, I think they need therapy just as much as humans sometimes do.
I also learned that when you are asked by the judge to turn your horse and go in the opposite direction, you are supposed to turn to the inside of the arena. The "first direction" you are to proceed in is counterclockwise, as in "proceed in the first direction at a trot." Why they don't just say, "proceed counterclockwise at a trot" I don't know. When you line up in front of the judge, you are also supposed to turn to the inside of the arena and make a fairly large circle no matter how close you currently are to the judge. They were very nice about correcting me and didn't make me feel too stupid.
On the way home, Ell said to me, "So. What do you think? Would you like to do this again?" Are you kidding?! I didn't even have to think about it for a second and answered her with an enthusiastic "yes." I've got the bug and there ain't no cure.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)You certainly do have a solid writing style. It's a pleasure after plowing through this Readers club list. Thanks (that's 4.5 what ever the stars show)Hi Jack.Thanks so much for the praise. I appreciate it greatly. Thanks, too, for sticking with it despite the three pages.My best to you,DianneIf it was on bar stools, sauna or losing belly fat, I wouldn't have. Besides, your a friend
I think you've aptly illustrated that the only time a competition is a good thing is when you have no competition at all so you can win all the prizes!! I feel sure you have a great riding career ahead of you...Hi Jennifer.Exactly!As for the career, only time will tell. I've another show coming up on April 18. In this one I will ride the first Introductory Test A. I've got the darn thing memorized, but because of weather, I've yet to ride it in its entirety. I'm hoping to get a couple practice rounds in on it this weekend.Thanks for reading and for your comments.Dianne
Congratulations Dianne! It's been nice reading your 'horsey' articles that have led up to this one, your first show! I admire your gusto! Keep writing and riding. :)
Hey Dianne,The commenting feature is being all strange again. The last comment, keep writing and riding, was from me!Hi Brianna.I'll just respond to this one. And yes this feature is all messed up. I'm logged in, but it is putting the "anonymous" tag on all my responses. Go figure. I'm sure Bruce will straighten it out soon.I'm glad that someone is enjoying my obsessive writing about horses. I can't tell you how much discovering them has meant to me in so many ways.Thanks a bunch,Dianne
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