Lets Get Our Feet Wet

Halt at X
Salute

Well, we did it.  First schooling dressage show, under our belts.  I have a much better understanding of what it entails and how it works and feel better!  I got my white pants, white gloves, and white saddle pad out and now none of them will every be totally white again.  Who picked this color to be around horses?!

Things I Learned:

• I still do not like the color white.
• It is always better to be early than late.
• When in doubt, bring more hay.
• Dressage people have zero interest in the Hunter 'hurry up and wait' motto.
• Ride Times are life changing.
• When your ride time is 2:33pm, you have the most civilized horse show morning/day ever!
• Mules are allowed to compete in Dressage competitions.
• Tosh does NOT think it is OK to compete against mules, particularly an appaloosa one!
• I am grateful for the last 3 years riding my horse, they allowed me to get what I needed done without pushing him over the edge, helpful since I was sitting on lit dynamite, lit by the mule.
• I have the most incredible support network in place.
• I have amazing friends who will take a day to go far away and watch you walk trot and canter in circles and cheer you on the whole time.
• Tosh does not particularly like guacamole, unless you are eating it, then he wants some.

Proudly posing with our ribbon!

Going over the comments on my test.

Nitty Gritty Details

We rode Training Level Test 1.  It is a simple test so a good one to start out with.  The warm-up ring was in one indoor, the show ring was in another.  We went out into the very bright sunshine and had to wait there till it was our turn.  Thank goodness my horse trusts me because I basically asked him to walk into a dark cave of death and asked him to perform for me.  He was nervous about everything because it takes a long time for horses eyes to adjust to the dark from the bright so everything had the potential to be a mountain lion.  I was able to ride the test with a fair amount of accuracy on a rather worried horse.  The judge was very kind and told me after we finished that I had given my horse a very tactful ride.  Most of the comments were that he was tense.  Everything made lots of sense.  We got some decent scores on some of the movements and ended up 3rd in the company with a 65%*.  Great day to learn and take note of what can be improved.

*For those of you not familiar with Dressage scoring, its out of 100% (obviously) but getting into the 70s is a big deal.  60s are very respectable scores.  80s and 90s are for Olympians.  This was a tough learning curve for me from school.  65% is a D...  However, in Dressage, I am pleased with my 65%.  Very respectable and something to use to take forward!