Show Weekend

I have to have the best friends ever(:  Last week we decided that we would go to a hunter jumper schooling show for the weekend after I got approved from my doctor to ride in boots again with no brace unless I was in pain! (PS my test results came back. Thyroid is fine, kidneys are fine, everything else is fine besides my Vit. D intake which was really low. which is weird considering  I am outside all the time.) The plan was to steal my friend Donny's truck after he unloaded and mom would drive his truck, get the trailer, get Pip, and go to the show all while I was working. Well Donny ended up bringing his trailer to get Pippi just as I am getting off work because his ball didnt fit our hitch. Like I said, I have the best friends, be jealous(;

Friday-
   After Donny got Pippi, I went to unload everything from the trailer that I had just put in there a few hours prior, to the car and drive to the show. When we got there my other friend Kole was on the phone all upset. Well by looking at her horse I would have been too. Her horse cut his eye BAD. It looked like he was trying to take off his eye lashes if he had fake ones on. Six stitches later he is just fine but no show for him. Anyways I decided school that night because Pippi is Pippi and she is a hot mess if not riden often and I had rode her twice this week. I tacked her up and off we went. Pippi hates to be lunged now, really always has hated it but now I figure it is easier to just ride the hot out of her then try and lunge it. Donny starts to watch us and Pippi is HOT WALKING around. This is not how Pippi was last year and Donny got a great kick out of it. He finally left me alone to get the Hot worked out and I rode and rode and rode. Finally I got tired of holding her back at the trot and I just hand galloped her around a few times. By now Donny has come back in and is watch our canter/hand gallop and has a smirk on his face and asks if I want the jumps raised as they are only at 18"/2'3 ish. I declined and kept running around. He left again and I started taking fences one at a time then stringing them together. Pippi was Running at them but we werent a total mess. So I hoped Off and raised them to around 2'6ish which we had not jumped yet even at home the whole 2 weeks we have been jumping again. haha. Again I start one line at a time and string things together. Oh I love my mare! Our spots were HUGE and we were speeding around but it was a consistent speed. Donny came back in and asked for me to take some jumps to watch. I did and he had the same smirk on his face.
Finally I said "what?"
He replies with "What am I going to ask you?"
UHM?
"Where were my spots? What Speed did I intend to take this at? Where was my half seat? How about a 2-point and a release? Does Pippi think she is a jumper this weekend and not a hunter?"
"No, what are you doing Labor Day weekend?"
Like I really plan that far ahead in advance.
"Delaware is having their Ride For The Ribbon show and Sherman and I are going, you and Pippi should go."
Delaware is the BIGGEST Hunter Jumper show in the State! Donny thinks if I work a bit on my legs and all that junk we will be ready for it. OH MY GOODNESS!

So I called it a night, fed and went to bed.

Saturday-
   Got at the barn at 6:30am to school again, feed, wash and chill before my division. Pippi must have gotten a lot a rest because once again we were a hot mess and ready for the race track. Oh Paint Mare, you are a PAINT not a OTTB! If you OTTB people saw her I swear you would start to wonder. She acts more like a OTTB then Sherman does who raced till he was 9 and just got off the track in February and was fit to race again in March. Schooling was not exciting, tho thinking back I should have schooled way more. I didnt want to loose Horse because I have little leg so I didnt over school like I should have. Then I fed her, and gave her a quick bath.

I decided to only do 2' and if I had plenty of horse and Miranda left for Sunday I would do 2' and 2'3-2'6. Well again Pippi and I were racing around at a consistent speed of FAST. But we got 3 firsts in over fences out of three classes with 4 riders in them. Whoooo. Like I said we were consistent and got most of our leads.  In my flat class Pippi had no head set, no speed control, nothing. We were trotting in place at the walk, hand galloping at the canter, hot trotting at the trot. URG. But we managed a 2nd out of 4 because thankfully we got our acts together the second direction.

Mom decided she wanted to do the english pleasure class. Well Pippi was still very hot and it didnt go as well as expected. 

Sunday-
   I got to the barn again at 6:30am and fed first because the course wasnt set and then schooled. I decided it would be better on my arms to just walk a few laps then canter/hand gallop around a few hundred times before trying to control the trot. I worked wonders. I schooled till we were just right. Then mom wanted to do the ground poles class. You can read all about her classes HERE!

For my classes Pippi was being lazy, not listening to my spots or my legs. We ended up having one refusal which was all me. I had my leg on her, leg, leg then my ankle gave and she was like UHM, WHAT?!?!?! and quit. Totally me. I probably should have only done one division again instead of pushing it. We even knocked a rail which we have never ever done at a show. WTF Pippi! It probably does not help that Friday I started to get sick with a cold so by Sunday it was roaring strong and I was having a hard time breathing at a walk let alone at a canter thru a course.

After the show I talked to the judge who has an ISHA team and an IEA team. She said I started out strong and had some really nice classes but then we knocked a rail or had to do a simple lead change which cost me. I ended up getting second or third in my classes. Here is a few courses that I approve of.

Please remember I have been in a saddle for a month by now, riding in boots for 3 days, and jumping 2 weeks. I now know that I forget to half seat at all while jumping! I dont know were it went but it was not there. And now I am having my friend Autumn, who does Dressage and Eventing, come get a flying lead change on Pip. I have tried everything and it just isn't working and she is really good at that kinda thing so she is coming Sunday. We must have a flying change by labor day so we can go to the show and kick butt!

Last night I rode her again and set up a single oxar to work on getting leads over the jump. This is our first oxar since February and it was great. LOVE MY PAINT MARE. Sunday starts boot camp with Autumn and hopefully it is a minor detail to get my flying change.