Post One of Two: TABS Horse Show Day One

I'm sorry it took me so long to get this post up for the second horse show weekend of the semester. The second horse show was TABS which is the Taylor University and Ball State University horse show. It was held at their home barn which is Blackdog Farm in Marion, Indiana.

Overview
On Saturday we were reserve champions, coming in second to Illinois. However, we did keep our overall lead in the region. In open fences, we got third and sixth place and in novice fences we got one first place. For the flat, our open riders took first and second. For intermediate, we got first. For novice, we got two firsts and a second. For advanced walk trot canter, we got two thirds, a fifth, and a sixth. For beginning walk trot canter, we got first, second, third, and fifth. And finally, for walk trot we got first.

Show MVP
The show MVP for the Saturday show was our walk trot rider, Ericka Lewin. She won her class which was the last class of the day winning seven points to add to our team total. This was her very first time winning a class but even more than that, what really makes her the show MVP is that when she joined the team she had never ridden a horse before. The Purdue Equestrian Team makes itself available and doable for people of any riding level from very advanced to never sitting on a horse in their life. She has come such a long way since she first started on the team in September 2012 and is becoming a great rider. She has worked hard and come to love the sport and she brings a lot to our team. She had an awesome ride at the show.

Next Post
The next post will be the recap of the second day of the TABS horse show and I hope to have it up by the end of this week.


Team picture at the end of day one

Show MVP, Ericka Lewin

Our team, reserve champion, ribbon and cookie cake

Post Three of Three: SMWC Horse Show Day Two

I apologize for the delay in getting this third post up. This will be the last post of the series of three from last week, the recap of the second day of the SMWC horse show.

Overview
For the Sunday show, we were the high point team and took the lead as the regional champion for the season so far. In open fences, we took fifth and third place. In intermediate, we took first place and in novice fences we took second and fourth places. On the flat, our open riders took first and fourth and our intermediate rider took second. For novice we placed first, third and fourth. Novice had four subclasses this time but unfortunately all of our riders drew the same class. It's better to be spread out so we can have a strong defensive team in each class but it's all about luck of the draw. For advanced walk trot canter, we placed second, third and sixth. On Sunday we didn't have a rider for beginning walk trot canter. For walk trot which was my ride we placed first and sixth. I placed sixth and Kelsey won the class.

My Ride
The name of the horse I drew was Rennie. He was probably about sixteen hh (hh = hands high which is the measurement for horses from the ground to the base of their neck. One hand is four inches so a sixteen hand horse is sixty-four inches or 5'4". Overall, we had a pretty tense ride. After I was mounted and we were walking along the rail of the arena waiting for the other riders to enter the ring, a big truck drove by. We were riding in the outdoor arena. He spooked at the truck and almost threw me off in the process. I stayed in the tack, handled the situation well, and tried to calm him down before the show started. I managed to relax him somewhat but I couldn't get him all the way back. Also, as we were riding I determined that my stirrups were about one notch too long for me. I had an okay ride but I definitely looked better in lessons and I did learn from that experience. It's better to have my stirrups a bit short than too long. If they are too long you don't have a lot of control and your form isn't as good.

Due to the extra circumstances with the truck, it's difficult for me to decide whether Rennie was a good draw or not. For my specific ride, he wasn't because he was the only horse who spooked at the truck but without the spook I think he could be a good draw.

Show MVP
The show MVP for Sunday was Kelsey Braaten. She is a junior, this is her third year on the team and she is my big for the team bigs/littles. She was the other Purdue rider in my class. She won the class and pointed up into beginning walk trot canter. Riders in walk trot only have two years of eligibility before they get bumped up into beginning walk trot canter. Kelsey had schedule conflicts her freshman year so her first year as a riding member was last year, same as my first year since I didn't join until my junior year. Since she pointed up she qualified for the regional horse show that will be held in March. Walk trot is a difficult class to point up in because there is a wide range of skill levels from people who haven't ridden horses before to people who have ridden but have never ridden competitively, to people who are in their second year and have been riding in intercollegiate shows long enough that they are getting ready to point up. That's why Kelsey is the MVP this week. Qualifying for Regionals is a huge accomplishment.

Next Post
The next post will come out ASAP. We had another show this past weekend which was the TABS horse show so the next post will be a recap of day one.


Team picture with our first place ribbon and our individual ribbons



A couple pictures from my ride


This is one of my favorite pictures of the weekend. Kelsey and me riding together. She's the one on the rail and I'm to her left.



Show MVP, Kelsey Braaten

Pretty awesome walk trot team!

Post Two of Three: SMWC Horse Show Weekend Day One

Overview
Each show day in a weekend is a different show. Most of the teams in our region are smaller than Purdue's team so they generally have the same riders both days but for our team we usually have a different team for each day with the exception of a few people who ride both days. The decision for who gets to go to each show is up to our coach, Jerry, and our assistant coach, Kristin. Last weekend I rode on the Sunday team but I went Saturday morning and stayed the whole weekend to support the team.

The Saturday show was also designated as the Halloween show so in between the fences and flat classes we had the coach/horse Halloween costume. SMWC won the costume contest with their coach, Krista, dressed as Miley Cyrus at the VMA awards and the horse dressed as Robin Thicke. We got third place with our 50s poodle costume.

We had six riders in fences on Saturday; two in open, one in intermediate, and three in novice. Our open riders took first and fourth, our intermediate rider took third and our novice riders didn't place. For the flat we had two in open, one in intermediate, six in novice, two in advanced walk trot canter, three in beginning walk trot canter, and two in walk trot. Our walk trotters didn't place but everyone else did. For open we took fifth and third. For intermediate we took third. For novice we took three firsts, one second, one third, and one fifth. The reason we were able to get three of the same place is because for novice since there are so many riders there are multiple sub-classes. Usually there are four or five, at this show there were four, A through D. We had riders in three of the four classes. For advanced walk trot canter we got second and fourth, and for beginning walk trot canter we got first, second, and third.

Show MVP
For every show I will have a rider who I think deserves special recognition. This rider will be the show MVP. The show MVP for Saturday's show was Erim Demirel. He is one of our new riders this year who won first place in novice flat class A. Previously, he competed in jumpers shows in Turkey which is where he is from. PET is his first experience with equitation. Assuming jumpers works the same in Turkey that it does in the United States, the goal is to get around the course as fast as possible without knocking any jumps down. Equitation, on the other hand is all about technique. It's not timed but riders must look as flawless as possible when going around the arena in a flat class or jumping a course in a fences class. For those riders, it's a completely new mindset that they must adopt in order to be successful in intercollegiate hunt seat riding. The reason I picked Erim for this show's MVP is not only because he had a fantastic ride and won his class but because of his reaction after. He was filled with emotion when he left the arena after being announced for first place and his reaction both when leaving the arena and when he got back to the team in the stands were priceless.

Next Post
For the next post, which will be up sometime later today, I will do the recap for Sunday's show. The next post will be the last one regarding last weekend.


Team picture at the end of the Saturday show with our reserve champion ribbon


Halloween coach/horse costume contest. Purdue 50s poodle on the left and SMWC Miley and Robin Thicke on the right


Our costume was the cutest if you ask me!


A few pictures of the show MVP, Erim Demirel.