First Show of 2010

B and I had our first horse show of the year on March 13th & 14th. It was truly one of the best times we have had. Considering the many hurdles we had to get past. We had to do this show solo as Dad was working an outage and wasn’t able to go with us. Due to B having a game scheduled on Friday evening, we decided to take the horses up on Friday morning to get them settled in and set up the trailer for spending the weekend. We usually try to get to shows on Friday so we can practice and get the horses familiar with their surroundings. On Friday morning we were going to tie up loose ends so I decided to let B go to school a little late, but she had to be present so she would be eligible to play Friday night. The forecast was calling for rain so I told her that if it rained and they cancelled her game she could go with us. Just before time for her to go to school we received a text from her coach saying the game was cancelled. So B got to stay home and we loaded up the horses and headed to Camden. .

Since my truck driver was not able to go to this show with us, I would have to drive the trailer home from the show by myself…..something I have never done before. We have a 3 horse trailer with living quarters. It is pretty big for me. Yes, I drove to Camden for practice and R followed us in his car to help us get set up. We arrived safely, got the horses settled in and started hooking up the trailer. Water immediately started pouring all over the floor. We ended up with a broken water pump. Of course, there was not one to be found anywhere. So that meant we had no water. No big deal. We’ve camped for years so we are no newbie’s when comes to a shower house.

We got everything squared away and R left for home. We hung out with our trainer Roey Mobley and others that were showing with her. It was so much fun being “barn buddies” with them. There were a total of 4 horses in our stable showing together. Gus, Moonie, Mya and Missy. We all did very well in the show ring. B and I both got a 4th and 5th place ridding Missy.
We are looking forward to our next show in Raleigh. Oh, and by the way, my drive with the trailer… piece of cake!

A Fair Day

This weekend we made our annual trek to the N.C. State Fair Horse Show at the James B. Hunt horse complex. This year, in keeping with our effort to reduce costs, we did not overnight which saved quite a bit with no stall fees or camping charges. We also only showed one horse (Missy) and kept a short class sheet, which was helped somewhat by a limited selection of options for our particular niche in the Walking Horse world. By far, this was the largest crowd we have seen at the fair horse shows since we have been going. And that not only in participants, but in spectators as well. Although we only participated in three classes, the smallest class we were entered in contained 19 participants. Our first of the day was the Non-Trotting Go As You Please English or Western. B and Missy finished a very respectable 9th place out of the 19 entries. In the Non-Trotting Pleasure English or Western (No Canter) she came in a solid 4th place out of 21 riders. To wrap up an amazing day, B participated in the Non-Trotting CHAMPIONSHIP English or Western (No Canter). Of the 26 entries in the class which included some very formidable competition, B shocked us all with a super 4th place finish. WOW!! A Fair day, if I do say so myself.