In the second day of the horse show, we were the reserve champion as a team. Over fences we took third and fourth for open, first in intermediate, and first, third, and sixth in novice. For flat we got first and third in open, first in intermediate, second, two thirds, fourth, fifth, and sixth in novice, first, second, third, fourth, and sixth in advanced walk trot canter, second and fourth in beginning walk trot canter, and fourth in walk trot. Typically for horse shows, those of us who stay both days stay in a hotel but this time I couldn't. I had to be back at Purdue to play in a band concert Saturday night so this weekend I did a total of eight hours of driving. Needless to say by Sunday I was exhausted but I was definitely excited for my ride at the end of the day.
My Ride
For this show I drew a white pony named Donnie. He was a pretty good ride. I had my best ride of my intercollegiate career on him. I placed fourth which is the highest I have ever placed in an intercollegiate show. Jerry was happy with my ride as well and so were the other riders on my team. Donnie was probably approximately 14 hands or so, possibly a little less. He was a cutie. He was a little stiff though because it was bitter cold that day and he had a few classes off so he was just standing in the cold which made his muscles stiffen up a little. He did ease up as the ride went on though and was well behaved. Typically I prefer drawing the horses as opposed to the ponies because ponies are known for having kind of a spunky attitude which isn't always good for showing on a pony you don't know but fortunately Donnie was a good boy.
Show MVP
The show MVP for Sunday is junior Darby Dyar. She is the point rider for open fences and flat and is the top rider overall on our team. For this show, she placed third in both fences and flat. This is her second year on the team just like me. We met at trial rides and have been pretty much joint at the hip ever since. She has been showing horses since she was young but showing in IHSA is completely different from what she has done the last few years. She competes primarily in jumpers which is basically "quick and dirty." You get around the course as fast as you can and don't necessarily worry about having perfect form. What we do in intercollegiate riding, on the other hand, is called equitation. Proper form is a major part of what you're judged on so she had to completely adjust her mindset to be able to ride successfully for the Purdue team. She had shown equitation before but not since she was younger. She has adapted well over the last year and a half to how the intercollegiate shows work and she has potential this year to be the all around regional high point rider which is a huge accomplishment.
Next Post
The next post will be my final one and it will be a post to tie in some of the loose ends that I haven't discussed yet which are just things that are important but didn't fit into the topics of any of the other posts.
Last team picture of the semester
My ride
Show MVP, Darby Dyar
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