On Sunday we were once again reserve champions to Illinois and now they are tied with us for the lead overall in the region. For placings in the fences classes, we took third and fifth in open, third in intermediate, and third in novice. For the flat classes, we took second in open, first and fifth in intermediate, three thirds and a fourth in novice, third, fifth and sixth in advanced walk trot canter, fifth and sixth in beginning walk trot canter, and sixth in walk trot.
My Ride
I was the walk trot point rider for the team on Sunday. The horse I rode was named Bart. He was a good ride, approximately sixteen hands (or 64 inches to the base of his neck). He was a little sluggish so I had to carry a crop and keep some leg on him to keep him going but overall we had a good ride. Jerry was also happy with my ride when I went to see him after I finished. He thought I would have placed higher than sixth but it's a subjective sport so it's all about what the judge is looking at, what they see and when they see it. Getting that praise from Jerry really made the color of the ribbon not matter so much to me. I was just happy that he was happy with the progress I have made this season. I will still be working to constantly improve my skills for the next show which is at SMWC on November 23rd/24th.
Show MVP
The show MVP for Sunday is Callie Van Ingen who rides in beginning walk trot canter. She is a senior and fourth year on the team. Although she has been on the team for all four years, she has only shown once or twice in that time because of a combination of nerves and frequent illness. This was her first show since she was an under classman and she was nervous but we, as a team, were able to talk her down and prepare her to go out and ride with confidence. It was really meaningful for her to place in the top six in this show because she proved to herself that she could do it and it boosted her confidence immensely. Last semester, she was so sick that she only took one lesson and didn't show the entire semester but she has made a fantastic comeback this year. The people who are in lessons with her say that she has been riding really well in lessons and that was what we used to talk her down before her ride. Coming out of the arena after her show and being announced for sixth place, Callie looked like a whole different person than the nervous person who entered the arena. Amazing what winning a ribbon can do for a rider's morale!
Next Post
The next post will come out either later today or tomorrow and will be one of a two part post just like this one. It will cover day one of the third and final horse show of the semester at SMWC.
Team picture after day two at TABS
My ride
Show MVP, Callie Van Ingen
No comments:
Post a Comment