Show Ready

In the spirit of do-all-the-things-before-I-have-to-stop-riding, I am entered in two shows this coming weekend! 

On Friday I showing Intro dressage at my local All-Breed show. They are only offering Intro B and Intro C for English and since we can't do the canter in Intro C yet I am also entered in Western Dressage Intro C and Intro D (both only walk/jog). 

Looking like the QH that she 3/4 is

On Saturday it is halter and western performance classes at the All Breed show so I am whisking Naia off to Lethbridge to ride in the Ride-A-Test Day put on by the CC/ADA. This is technically more of a clinic than a show, but Doreen Horsey is judging. She is the only senior EC dressage judge in Alberta so getting feedback from her and supporting my local dressage club at the same time seems like a major win-win. 

Finally on Sunday I am back at the All Breed Show to compete in walk/trot English Pleasure and English Equitation. I originally had only planned on doing the dressage day of the All Breed Show but they were looking for more walk/trot entries, clarified that it was for either novice riders or novice horses, and waived the late fees for adding classes so we are now doing them. I already have a stall for the weekend so it was very minimal extra cost, and being in the ring with other horses is more good exposure for Naia.

The arena for the All Breed Show, 
it can be a bit spooky with the bucking shoots and grandstands

 

I rode yesterday and ran through 2 of the 3 dressage test patterns that I will be showing this weekend. I have been practicing individual movements for the last couple weeks but these were my first run throughs start to finish. To my somewhat surprise, they were actually pretty good! Sure, we could be quicker to trot out of the first halt, and keep straighter on our free walk diagonals, but those are pretty minor. I mean yes, they are intro tests so they are pretty basic, but I'm still pretty shocked at how ready I feel for these shows. There are so few dressage shows in my area that I generally find I am still trying to fix things down to the wire (not ideal, but if I waited to enter a show until everything was confirmed, I would never get to show). This is Naia's first show season and I was prepared for it to be exposure only and possibly some scratched classes or abysmal scores. She is only 5 and these shows are both at brand new venues for her so that may still happen, but I know we are well prepared and I feel more excited than nervous.

As well as the training being in a good place, I was also able to line up vet appointment, saddle fitting, and hoof trim all leading up to the show so everything is in tip top shape. However, I do still need to wash my show shirt and do a lot of tack and boot cleaning (the disadvantage of showing both English and Western, twice the tack and boots to clean and pack!) so maybe we aren't fully ready after all!