A Fresh Start

Everyone knows horse people are crazy.  That's the real reason parents pray so fervently that "it's just a phase" and "s/he'll grow out of it."  As a horse person myself, I have to concede the truth- I'm a little crazy too.

Which is how I found myself on my (relatively green) (6 year old) mare (for the first time in months) (at a horse show (for the first time in 3 years)).  Add in the parenthetical statements one at a time, and you go from "fairly reasonable" to "bordering insane" pretty quickly.

The good, the bad, and the ugly fantastic
The bad news is we have a lot of work to do.  This isn't actually news in any sense of the word, and is in fact part of the reason we went to a show at all- to give ourselves a starting point.  So far, we've determined that months off and a busy show environment don't mix, even if the class we chose was well within our comfort zone.  The first class (English Pleasure Walk/Trot Warm up) was PACKED with people warming up for all of the English Pleasure classes.  Ms. Mare spent the entire class tossing her forelock from one eye to the other, which made for an unpleasant walk and an impossible trot.  Note to self- pull mane and braid before the next show.  She also had a very itchy bridle path and was rubbing her head on ANYONE who stood next to her, so I'm going to be looking for a bridle that is padded or a single piece or both.

The good news is we didn't die or make a total spectacle of ourselves.  Of all the onlookers, only a couple that know us well could tell it wasn't going well out in the ring.  Of course, for me it felt like the end of the world, but apparently we make the end of the world look okayish.  The other good news is that we managed to find workable attire for the show- who knew that 3 years ago, I was 2 sizes smaller?  I found breeches that were too big the last time I wore them that fit perfectly, picked up a new jacket at a tent sale the morning of the show, and managed to jam my calves into my boots for one last go-round- suffice to say, this was their last show with me.

The great news is we actually placed!  We brought home a very pretty (and undeserved, I'm sure) pink 5th place ribbon out of 7 entrants for our Adult Novice Walk/Trot class.  We tucked in our forelock, which dramatically decreased the head-shaking, and had a much smaller class, and it went so much better.

So,what are we going to do about it?

Once upon a time, I could decide to go to a show, load Ms. Mare, go, and do well.  I'd like to get back to that point, but I recognize that involves going to lots and lots of shows, and I'm not sure I have the financing for that just yet.  But we'll see.  I figure it's more reasonable to start with a week, a month, and a year goals, and add as needed.

This week's goal:
Get back in the saddle, so to speak.  Interact with Ms Mare every day (more than feeding and turn-out/turn-in).  Longe, ride, work in hand- something!

This month's goal:
Find our gaits- walking and trotting under saddle for sure, straight and balanced.  Correct canter on the longe line, at least- we'll figure it out under saddle in May.

This year's goal:
My goal for the year is less about Ms. Mare, and more about me.  I want to find my confidence again.  On a certain other black mare, I would happily go cantering through the woods, jumping anything in our way and having a BLAST.  On Ms. Mare, she shakes her head and I fall apart.  I have no idea why.  I want to stop feeling that insecure, because it's definitely going to negatively affect her and nobody needs to be this level of neurotic.