You win some you lose some
Lightning and Ivan were lent out to the National Pentathalon competition today. I brought them by myself to Airdrie and competed in the Owner's stakes; a competition to showcase the horses for their prospective riders and to compete for cash prizes.
The weather was terrible. There was a huge downpour right before I arrived, which had let up to a drizzle by the time I was warming Ivan up. I was first out on course and set the pace with a clear round. The course was tough - very tight turns and awkward distances. The maximum height was 3'3" - a baby step for Lightning and comfortable for Ivan.
I sped back to switch saddles onto Lightning and get him out there to warm him up. He was rarin' to go. He started out quick; no problem when we're against the clock. But (begin horse lingo) he got too heavy on his forehand and barreled toward the 4th fence - when he decided it was spooky I wasn't there with my leg and he ran out the side (end horse lingo). I was shocked because Lightning never refuses fences! Serves me right though, for getting slack and thinking I could just sit pretty. A small turn and we're over it on the second try, but he knocked the top rail off. No placing for us today. The rest of the course was kind of hell-bent for leather, Lightning's honesty and responsiveness played a big role in clearing the rest of the course, though of course I smartened up and actually rode him after that. Kind of a kick in the teeth, since we would have had the fastest time hands down, which means that the 300$ first prize purse would have been ours. Again, serves me right for getting slack and using auto-pilot.
Ivan's pace wasn't quit fast enough to win it - I didn't think it would be. I rode him cautiously, determined not to drop any rails. It was good enough for 3rd place - 100$ isn't anything to complain about! Plus we get 200$ per horse, so my sister gets the money for Ivan, and I come home with a grand total of 300$. Not too bad for a day's work!
The weather was terrible. There was a huge downpour right before I arrived, which had let up to a drizzle by the time I was warming Ivan up. I was first out on course and set the pace with a clear round. The course was tough - very tight turns and awkward distances. The maximum height was 3'3" - a baby step for Lightning and comfortable for Ivan.
I sped back to switch saddles onto Lightning and get him out there to warm him up. He was rarin' to go. He started out quick; no problem when we're against the clock. But (begin horse lingo) he got too heavy on his forehand and barreled toward the 4th fence - when he decided it was spooky I wasn't there with my leg and he ran out the side (end horse lingo). I was shocked because Lightning never refuses fences! Serves me right though, for getting slack and thinking I could just sit pretty. A small turn and we're over it on the second try, but he knocked the top rail off. No placing for us today. The rest of the course was kind of hell-bent for leather, Lightning's honesty and responsiveness played a big role in clearing the rest of the course, though of course I smartened up and actually rode him after that. Kind of a kick in the teeth, since we would have had the fastest time hands down, which means that the 300$ first prize purse would have been ours. Again, serves me right for getting slack and using auto-pilot.
Ivan's pace wasn't quit fast enough to win it - I didn't think it would be. I rode him cautiously, determined not to drop any rails. It was good enough for 3rd place - 100$ isn't anything to complain about! Plus we get 200$ per horse, so my sister gets the money for Ivan, and I come home with a grand total of 300$. Not too bad for a day's work!