February Schooling Show, 2012 edition

I was really nervous about this schooling show. True, it was only a schooling show, but I really didn't like how upset Phil got at the last one, and we didn't even show! Still, we were entered and so we were going. We did the same thing as last time - drove the horses over Saturday afternoon, and had them spend Saturday night at the show stable. Then show on Sunday.

When I rode Phil on Saturday he was nervous again, but he seemed to be handling it pretty well. I was hopeful that Sunday would be fine. Like last time, I got to the show at 7 am on Sunday to lunge and ride before the warmup was packed. Again, Phil really seemed to have his act together. I kept up with the plan of not letting him blow through my hand, and we got to ride in the show ring a bunch. He spooked a few times, but he never bolted. Every time he spooked I just repeated the same "You cannot run though my hand" conversation. I did it calmly, and nicely, but firmly. Then he responded beautifully, and I praised him.

We did Intro A, and scored a 71.25%. No joke. My little boy was awesome.



Then Intro B. 68.13% Aww yeah!



He was great. I couldn't ask for anything more. He was calm, obedient, and wasn't completely freaked out. Sure, there is a lot to work on, like a more consistent contact, and a more driving trot at times, but overall it was just what I wanted. No major freak outs, and I didn't get bucked off. Mission Accomplished! Next show we will do Intro B and C. I think we should be fine.

Here's the awesome part. He won both classes! There were 13 horses in Intro A and 19 in Intro B. I'm so proud of him!

My friend Debbie rode Kaswyn in Intro A and B also. She did a fantastic job, considering it was her first dressage show, and she's only been seriously riding dressage for four months after just riding horses as a kid. Oh, and also, Kaswyn was so excited he could hardly contain himself. When they warmed up for her tests, Kaswyn started yelling. She said to me "Why is he doing that?" and I told her that he was excited. He just wanted everyone to know "Kaswyn in da hizzouse!" I figured he would do this, but I didn't know how bad it would be. Maybe a little screaming and too quick of a tempo. Not too bad, right?

Well.

Kaswyn made it a bit difficult for Debbie in their first test. He was all pumped up, and was trying to trot really big. Since Debbie doesn't know how to balance him in that big trot, he looked all wonky and uneven. He also picked up the canter instead of the trot in Intro A. *sigh* My big handsome old guy just loves to show! Her next test was much better, and she did a really nice job. If she lets me I'll post her videos too.

I'm just thrilled with both of my horses. They are both fantastic partners, and I'm so proud of them. I hope they had as much fun as I did. I'm sure Kaswyn did, but the jury is still out on Phil. We'll see what happens next month at the schooling show. We're already entered!!