Beautiful Bodie!
Bodie and I had our last show of last season right before Thanksgiving - November 18. It was the biggest and toughest show we've ever been to in terms of the level and seriousness of competetion and judging. I mostly wanted to go for the experience, for both of us. Bodie had been terribly spooky at shows for much of the year, only improving in the fall when I started bringing him two hours early and hand walking him around for an hour, in the ring if possible (during breaks). I really thought this big show would melt his little brain - but I thought it would be good for him; the only thing that will make him steadier is mileage - exposure to scary things and new situations until it becomes more routine for him and he settles down. And good for me, too; you really have to learn to compete, and I'm not all that experienced - most of the shows I've been to are very casual. Not that I'm aiming for the Olympics or anything, or even any sort of really serious competing - I'm not interested in that - but I enjoy doing it as a way to measure our improvement, and I'm lucky that I live in a very horsey area, and there are lots of shows quite close to my barn (most of them casual schooling shows).
My times were early in the morning - 9:20 and 9:40 - and it was cold (in the 30s), very windy, and damp; at one point during my first test I noticed snowflakes falling onto Bodie's ears! We didn't score particularly well, not as well as I'd been hoping, and that was disappointing. On the other hand, though, the judges' comments were fair, so I couldn't complain about the substance (just the numbers *g*). And I felt really good about my riding - felt like it was the best we've ever done at a show. And the show gave me a much clearer picture of many things, particularly areas I need to work on. So overall I felt very positive about it.
And best of all, Bodie was a champ, solid as a rock - no brain melt even with the wind and all the people and horses and excitement; even when, just as we were about to take our very first step into the warmup area, another horse bolted, threw his rider, and galloped away across the fields, causing all the horses to start jittering and jigging and hopping around. He put his head down and did his job, listened to me, kept his head... Not a single spook. I was so proud of him!
Because it was such a big show, there were videographers and photographers there. I had my rides videotaped, which was good (even though it's not always fun to watch :-O) - it let me see what we need to work on, but also, happily, how we've improved since last time we were videotaped, a bit more than a year before this show. I didn't know the still photographer was there until later; he and his people took pictures of everyone, but I didn't know they were being taken at the time. So they're all candids - and some of them make me squirm; oh that terrible leg position, or my floppy elbows, or look how he's falling on his forehand, or he's too low and overbent in the poll - argh! And I'm all pink from the cold! *g* But some of them are pretty good, too, and in some of them at least he looks very handsome, so I figured I'd share a few...
This is one of my very favorites, because it's such a wonderful picture of Bodie - his pretty "my little pony" head and his kind eye and his ears, and his cute little forelock braid. I love the way it's framed. It's after we'd just finished our second ride, and I'd saluted the judge, so I was all done for the day and was feeling very pleased and very happy with what a wonderful boy he'd been - I had patted him on the neck and was getting ready to walk out of the ring. He looks pleased too! :-):
Some trotting:
I like this one because you can see his legs crossing so nicely in the leg yield:
Saluting the judge (well, judges; these are from two different tests). He looks like he's so nice and square in these pictures - but no such luck; in one of them his haunches are left and in the other one hind leg is forward. I've decided square halts are against his religion. :-) But he's standing nicely, at least!:
My leg and foot placement in the stirrup in this one are terrible (my right leg/foot is something I struggle with perpetually :sigh:), but I'm including it anyway because it gives a such a perfect view of the funny marking on his right haunch. It's a square of white hair, or white interspersed with the chestnut; it shows up much more some times of year than others. We call it his "Sponge Bob" because it's kind of shaped like Sponge Bob, a little bit! It's very cute - maybe like a birthmark or something. He has another much smaller one on the other side, but this one is very...square.
And some close-ups, walking; I love how nice his neck looks with his braids in the first one:
And one more, just because it's such typical Bodie - he's such a clown, and he loves to tilt his head like this and make funny faces. It's not good form - doesn't win us any points - and I try to prevent it in shows! But it's cute. Here he sort of looks like he's winking. He has a wonderful disposition - he is a very kind and willing horse.
Okay, enough - I could go on forever with the horse pictures. *g*
ETA: It occurred to me that non-horse-people might not know why he has foam around his mouth and might worry about this (I can't remember anymore what is specialized "horse" knowledge and what isn't!)... A moderate amount of white "lipstick" foam like this is actually a very good thing and what dressage riders aim for, a sign that the horse is relaxed and chewing softly and quietly on the bit, not overly tense or restricted in the mouth or neck, accepting the bit and the aids. So I was happy when I saw this in the pictures!!
My times were early in the morning - 9:20 and 9:40 - and it was cold (in the 30s), very windy, and damp; at one point during my first test I noticed snowflakes falling onto Bodie's ears! We didn't score particularly well, not as well as I'd been hoping, and that was disappointing. On the other hand, though, the judges' comments were fair, so I couldn't complain about the substance (just the numbers *g*). And I felt really good about my riding - felt like it was the best we've ever done at a show. And the show gave me a much clearer picture of many things, particularly areas I need to work on. So overall I felt very positive about it.
And best of all, Bodie was a champ, solid as a rock - no brain melt even with the wind and all the people and horses and excitement; even when, just as we were about to take our very first step into the warmup area, another horse bolted, threw his rider, and galloped away across the fields, causing all the horses to start jittering and jigging and hopping around. He put his head down and did his job, listened to me, kept his head... Not a single spook. I was so proud of him!
Because it was such a big show, there were videographers and photographers there. I had my rides videotaped, which was good (even though it's not always fun to watch :-O) - it let me see what we need to work on, but also, happily, how we've improved since last time we were videotaped, a bit more than a year before this show. I didn't know the still photographer was there until later; he and his people took pictures of everyone, but I didn't know they were being taken at the time. So they're all candids - and some of them make me squirm; oh that terrible leg position, or my floppy elbows, or look how he's falling on his forehand, or he's too low and overbent in the poll - argh! And I'm all pink from the cold! *g* But some of them are pretty good, too, and in some of them at least he looks very handsome, so I figured I'd share a few...
This is one of my very favorites, because it's such a wonderful picture of Bodie - his pretty "my little pony" head and his kind eye and his ears, and his cute little forelock braid. I love the way it's framed. It's after we'd just finished our second ride, and I'd saluted the judge, so I was all done for the day and was feeling very pleased and very happy with what a wonderful boy he'd been - I had patted him on the neck and was getting ready to walk out of the ring. He looks pleased too! :-):
Some trotting:
I like this one because you can see his legs crossing so nicely in the leg yield:
Saluting the judge (well, judges; these are from two different tests). He looks like he's so nice and square in these pictures - but no such luck; in one of them his haunches are left and in the other one hind leg is forward. I've decided square halts are against his religion. :-) But he's standing nicely, at least!:
My leg and foot placement in the stirrup in this one are terrible (my right leg/foot is something I struggle with perpetually :sigh:), but I'm including it anyway because it gives a such a perfect view of the funny marking on his right haunch. It's a square of white hair, or white interspersed with the chestnut; it shows up much more some times of year than others. We call it his "Sponge Bob" because it's kind of shaped like Sponge Bob, a little bit! It's very cute - maybe like a birthmark or something. He has another much smaller one on the other side, but this one is very...square.
And some close-ups, walking; I love how nice his neck looks with his braids in the first one:
And one more, just because it's such typical Bodie - he's such a clown, and he loves to tilt his head like this and make funny faces. It's not good form - doesn't win us any points - and I try to prevent it in shows! But it's cute. Here he sort of looks like he's winking. He has a wonderful disposition - he is a very kind and willing horse.
Okay, enough - I could go on forever with the horse pictures. *g*
ETA: It occurred to me that non-horse-people might not know why he has foam around his mouth and might worry about this (I can't remember anymore what is specialized "horse" knowledge and what isn't!)... A moderate amount of white "lipstick" foam like this is actually a very good thing and what dressage riders aim for, a sign that the horse is relaxed and chewing softly and quietly on the bit, not overly tense or restricted in the mouth or neck, accepting the bit and the aids. So I was happy when I saw this in the pictures!!