This past weekend Caspian and I entered our very first horse show together. Although Caspian was in this show last year with Cowgirl Spirit, this was my first time ever showing. I wasn't sure quite what to expect, but had heard that the SAFE show is a really good place to take a greenie, just to get the show experience. No major pressure, no need to show off with the fanciest tack, etc. After seeing a post about the show on their website a few months ago, I figured it would be a really good goal to set for ourselves to get to a point in our training where we could feel comfortable enough with eachother to make it through the show without any major issues. So this was the goal I had in mind when we started working with our trainer in June. My main priority in our training, though, was to start at the ground up. I really wanted to feel confident in my ability to handle Caspian on the ground, as well as in the saddle, so I insisted on a good two months of ground work only. Our trainer was in complete agreement.
So from the middle of June up until just a couple of weeks ago, we'd been working on ground driving, lunging, round penning, bathing, desentisizing, etc, etc. His ground work will continue to be a priority in the coming months, but the show snuck up on us very quickly and so two Thursdays before the show we started saddle work. Now, I have had Capian under saddle in the past (but only a couple of times) and he came to me with about seven or so rides under his surcingle (instead of belt...get it? I crack myself up)...anyway...I knew Caspian wasn't going to pull any funny business under saddle, but I also knew that we also had a lot to work on in a very short time in order to be ready!
The classes I had us entered in were Halter, Walk Only English Pleasure Open, Walk Only English Equitation Open, and Walk-Trot English Pleasure "Rescue Horse". I was prepared to scratch ourselves from any of the classes if need be. The entry fee was only $8 and it went to a good cause, so I really didn't feel any pressure. If anything, I knew it would be good just to get the experience of the show envoirnment.
So, for the two weeks leading up to the show we worked at least every other day under saddle. The first session with our trainer was focused on Caspian standing quietly to be mounted (and me mounting quietly!). Then, I worked with him at the walk and the trot in between sessions. She came out again the Thursday before our show (as in two days before!) and gave me some pointers on my halting, posting, etc. All in all I felt pretty confident, but then the butterflies started later on that evening. More than anything I just wanted to show people that Caspian has a good home and that I was deserving of such a special horse. I started getting nervous thinking that people might see how novice I am and think "she doesn't deserve a great horse like that"! Silly, I know, but you know how you can get into your own head...
I got over myself though and mounted up for one last "pre-show" ride on Friday. I had taken the day off work to get Caspian ready and just spend some time with him. My mom also graciously came out and helped me bathe him...she (and Patches) also helped me get flower arrangements made for our benefit flower stand that night (more on that later in the post).
After a long night of flower arranging, Saturday morning rolled around and boy was I excited! Patches (the awesome friend that she is) came over to scoop up our sorry-no-trailer-yet-butts and we were off to the show!
Caspian loaded and unloaded great but once he got a good look around the show grounds he was definitely on "high Arab alert"! Spooking at this, snorting at that...I was thinking uh, oh...what am I in for??
It didn't take long to get him settled in his stall though...he was still on edge and pacing for a little while but calmed down slowly but surely. Finally, the barn cleared out a little and the commotion level dropped and we were able to spend some good one on one time...him munching on a little hay snack while I did his final grooming. I ended up scratching us from halter, which worked out really well. Especially since we hadn't had that much time to practice it. Plus, it was one of the first classes...by scratching that one, we were able to really get some good calm down time and then some good time in the warm up ring, which was much needed!
His "Arab Alert" was still in full effect in the warm up arena, but I totally expected it to be. A couple of freak out moments, a couple of cantering when he should be walking moments, but nothing unmanagable...thankfully. ;) All in all, I felt pretty comfortable with him, alhough I knew I better stay on my toes...or heels ;) After all, we'd only been doing "real" saddle work for about a week and a half! Can anyone say "unpredictable"?! Yep, wasn't quite sure what was in store for me!
Thankfully, we completed all three of our classes without me hitting the deck, which is always good! The first class was touch and go a couple of times. Keep in mind this was a "walk only" class. Well, something on one side of the arena was sure spooking him and we had a few "Arab Teleport" moments, as Patches calls 'em. You know...when you're in one spot one second and then you blink and you're on the other side of the arena? ;) The thing that made me feel okay, though, was that I could tell that even though he was nervous...it was just his lack of experience that was his worst enemy. Never during his episodes did I feel like he was intentionally trying to dump me. I think he just forgot I was there when his flight instincts kicked in! Thankfully, I kept my seat and talked him through it, took some deep breaths, and by the third class the monsters on that side of the arena seemed to have retreated back a little at least.
Here we are at the end of our third class, awaiting the results. This was the Walk-Trot English Pleasure Rescue class and there were a whopping 18 horses entered! What a great example of the potential of rescue horses! 
But we did! We placed 5th! Keep in mind, I came into this show with VERY low expectations. Not that I didn't have confidence in us, but I just didn't feel any pressure at all. I just really wanted to get the "show miles". I was absoutely flabbergasted when they called our names! I seriously could not believe it. That is a moment that will stick with me forever. Two greenies out there with not much going for us, other than a "still in development" trust in each other. Reflecting back on where we started in our training...just two months ago, I can't believe how far we've come in our relationship. I'm so excited to see what the future holds for us. My goal for next year's show is to enter all the English classes and complete the trails course.
We spent SO MUCH TIME getting cutting flowers and getting the arrangements together! Unfortunately, I just don't think it was the right venue maybe. I mean, the last thing you want to think about when you're loading up the horse trailer is where you're gonna stick your flowers! I was hoping that there would be more spectators coming down to the vendor booth area (and maybe buying flowers for the winners) but there was so much to watch with the show itself that I think people had more than enough to keep them busy. Oh well! At least now I have pretty arrangements all over my house! 
Oh hey, make sure you stop by Caspian's blog! I forgot to mention the "bribe your horse" class, but I think I'll let him tell you all about it as only he can! It's sure to give you a chuckle!!
I still need to cut the tops off of my cutting garden posts and put caps on!
But hey, at least the wire is attached! Oh, wait...I still have half the garden to finish attaching. Darn it.
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