Show Up, Show Out
I had decided a while ago that I wasn't planning on showing this academic year. Studio, work (i.e. commuting), grad school applications, fraternity matters, and even this blog take up a decent amount of my time. Actually, not a decent amount. They take up all my time. Every second. Nothing left over at this point.
But then, at my first lesson back, Coach S asked if I was showing this semester. I said no, to which she replied, "But you're showing next semester, right?" Cue panic.
We had a practice show coming up on September 16, so she recommended that I sign up for it. I wasn't sure what the format would be, but it ended up basically being a regular IHSA show but with divisions instead of individual classes. She also added a test for each division since this show was entirely flat classes.
My draws were Ed, Kodi, and Murry. Kodi and Murry I've ridden before, but Ed was new, and he was my first ride. I was holding him for most of the day as well and happened to watch him have a not so stellar class with one of the more experienced riders. Ha, love feeling . . . terrified. I ended up having a great ride on him. Ed is an experienced equitation horse, just quirky. Our ride was straightforward, and the judge said that she liked my position but my open fingers affected my placing. Personally, I think my riding is still a bit messy and unorganized right now, and I need to think through my cues and movements. My ride with Kodi was pretty much the same as Ed; both of them got lots of "Good boy"s throughout the class. I placed 3rd on Ed and 2nd on Kodi.
The test is where things kinda went south. Murry and I started fine with our entrance and trot across the diagonal, but I couldn't quite get him off my inside leg for the left lead canter, so our transition was super late and super gross. We finished the rest of our test, and the judge commented that if I hadn't messed up the transition, I would've won the class.
I actually loved the test that she had us do. It was just the right amount of complexity for where I am physically and mentally with riding. I'm typing this post as I'm waiting to leave for my next lesson, and hopefully I can convince Coach S to let us practice it again.
Also, while I'm here, as great as it's been getting back into writing and riding and writing about riding, I'm thinking it'll be easier to do monthly vlogs. Actually, through the process of creating one for September, it's a lot more straightforward than writing out posts and takes less time. Shocking, I know. So I'll have one for September and see how that goes, then maybe one for October but definitely one for November. Time will tell.
We had a practice show coming up on September 16, so she recommended that I sign up for it. I wasn't sure what the format would be, but it ended up basically being a regular IHSA show but with divisions instead of individual classes. She also added a test for each division since this show was entirely flat classes.
My draws were Ed, Kodi, and Murry. Kodi and Murry I've ridden before, but Ed was new, and he was my first ride. I was holding him for most of the day as well and happened to watch him have a not so stellar class with one of the more experienced riders. Ha, love feeling . . . terrified. I ended up having a great ride on him. Ed is an experienced equitation horse, just quirky. Our ride was straightforward, and the judge said that she liked my position but my open fingers affected my placing. Personally, I think my riding is still a bit messy and unorganized right now, and I need to think through my cues and movements. My ride with Kodi was pretty much the same as Ed; both of them got lots of "Good boy"s throughout the class. I placed 3rd on Ed and 2nd on Kodi.
The test is where things kinda went south. Murry and I started fine with our entrance and trot across the diagonal, but I couldn't quite get him off my inside leg for the left lead canter, so our transition was super late and super gross. We finished the rest of our test, and the judge commented that if I hadn't messed up the transition, I would've won the class.
I actually loved the test that she had us do. It was just the right amount of complexity for where I am physically and mentally with riding. I'm typing this post as I'm waiting to leave for my next lesson, and hopefully I can convince Coach S to let us practice it again.
Also, while I'm here, as great as it's been getting back into writing and riding and writing about riding, I'm thinking it'll be easier to do monthly vlogs. Actually, through the process of creating one for September, it's a lot more straightforward than writing out posts and takes less time. Shocking, I know. So I'll have one for September and see how that goes, then maybe one for October but definitely one for November. Time will tell.
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