Fancy and I did not shine at the Spring Show. I have many excuses, the main one is that my age must be telling me to quit the Versatility arena. I thought it was a sign. I need more “old people” to ride in versatility classes and Ranch Horse classes so my age excuse will be permanently deleted.
The first day of versatility was 100% full bore sun, no shade. We went through a humid 80 to 90 degree day. The first day the horses are mandated to stay in a marked boundary area. Our beloved shade tree was lost to a lightning strike a couple years ago.
I figured out early this year that one secret to avoid waiting long “hours” for my next class would be to sign up for every class for which we are elgible. I had signed up for Western Pleasure No Canter and the next class, Western Pleasure will Canter. Entries in both classes were high.
Fancy and I did sensational in the no canter class. We had a brief argument when I discovered my body was tell Fancy to get further out on the rail, but my hand was pulling on the inside rein. It was briefly ugly and let’s assume the judge did see it to explain my eighth place ribbon.
After the ribbons were awarded, it was immediately time to head into the arena again for Western Pleasure Will Canter. Again, there were a lot of contestants. Fancy and I did excellent. During the reverse canter, Famcy sped up and I did nothing to slow her down. I’m not totally comfortable with riding one handed and these show reins are not anchored securely in my hands. They slip looser. I had a great time cantering around the arena and my inner self didn’t want to slow down. When we lined up, we placed ninth.
I thought the judge hated me. I’ve come to the above excuses after rest and air conditioning.