The countdown to my first show is on. February 20th will be my debut in the showring. I am nervous and anxious. I picked a show that is 2 1/2 hours from home, where I don't know anyone. Shouldn't know anyone, hoping to not know anyone. I did this for a reason. There is a show series at my barn and all my peers will be there. That is alot of pressure to have it be my first time out. So this show away from home is 2 weeks before the first show of the series at home. It will help me get my feet wet, see what I need to work on and hopefully let me gain a little confidence. I am entering two classes - the green as grass (dumb as dirt) and the green reiner class. The entry fee is small, the biggest expense will be the gas to drive down. I have a month to prepare and to get my head right.
It will probably take me a month to get Semper clean. I have never had this much trouble keeping him clean. At the new facility they don't use shavings, they use the wood pellets and for the life of me I can not keep this horse clean. In hind sight buying a white horse was not the smartest thing I have ever done. I wouldn't trade him for the world, but life would be easier if he were a bay or sorrel or chestnut or .... anything but white. I have always been kind of nutty about keeping him clean, it is a pride thing I guess. I used to get a lot of comments on how clean he is and what it must take to keep him that way and up until now I never found it that difficult. Boy, that has all changed. He wears a blanket 24-7 and underneath he is clean, but his head, neck and legs are a mess. His long white mane is stained and we won't even talk about his tail. Yuck. If my old barn mgmr saw him he would surely give me a ration of crap about it. He used to give me a ration of crap for keeping him so clean, now he would be ribbing me for just the opposite.
We are back to our Wednesday night lessons. I worked on circles last Wednesday and Semper just floated around. He did really well. Then we worked counter canter. He is so sensitive that if I barely touch him he changes leads. Sometimes if he thinks I am going to ask for a lead change he just does it. BAD. The change is good the behavior is bad. So my homework this week was to "ride crazy" to try and get his mind waiting for me. We worked on it on Sunday. He really doesn't like it when I don't ride right. He just goes faster and faster the more I goof off. I lean from side to side, bounce, swing my arms around, bump him with my legs etc. He just hates it, his tail is swishing and his ears are cocked back as if he is asking "What the heck are you doing?". But when I go back to riding right, he really gets down to the business of paying attention. I am going to do a little more crazy riding tonight so that he is ready for our lesson tomorrow.
I picked up my filly from the trainer on Saturday. I will get some pictures of Ms Lilly and try to do her bio next. She is a bay roan, very small and stylish. I rode her for about 1/2 hour on Saturday in the indoor arena. Her first time in the indoor and she wasn't quite sure if she liked it. I let her walk around a few times and then she got right down to work. Her jog is just darn near perfect and the lope is just as smooth as silk. She collects up nicely and is really willing. She was at the trainer for 4 months and I am pretty pleased with where she is. I would like to board her at the same place as Semper but they don't have any available stalls right now. I am on a waiting list so hopefully something will open up soon.
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