Oh boy, back to back to back pony weekends! What a rush! After Mane Event, we had a few days to recoup and get organized to take Ritchie to Ponoka to our very first show together. The PAADA hosted an EC-sanctioned sliver rated show at the new facility and boy was it ever fantastic!
 |
| PAADA Ponoka |
Originally I'd planned to take Ritchie just down to Maple Leaf Meadows for their schooling show, but they'd cancelled the show on Monday :( Fortunately I was able to get the boy into Ponoka on very short notice. I booked my hotel and off we went! Ritchie was fantastic. He was a little tense and unsure, but handled the environment exceptionally well for such a young horse. He didn't even spook at the judge's tables. We rode conservative tests on Saturday earning a third and fourth place ribbon but Sunday we were ready for more. We rode solo in our two hack classes, but again, good experience. When we headed back down centreline for our first-level test 1 after the hacks, he felt relaxed and confident. We rode to a 66% and FIRST PLACE!!! I cried I was so excited for him! A fantastic experience and environment. I absolutely recommend the PAADA shows in Ponoka to anyone who's looking for a silver or bronze EC show for their horses. So well run, fantastic!!
 |
| AJYR day 1 |
Ritchie and I got 2 days off and then straight back to work with a reset of his shoes and off to Red Deer for the AJYR dressage show. I registered to ride training and first-level tests on Friday and Sunday as I had a first-aid clinic to teach on Saturday. The weather wasn't in our favour and the entire environment at the Westerner was so overwhelming and BIG that Ritchie and I had one heck of a time finding our balance together. Thursday's ride actually found a BUCK during our schooling ride! Fortunately for me, it was one and he stayed under me. The wind came up, horses were moving around, broken tents were flapping away in the wind and my confidence was seriously shaken. We worked and worked and finally found a happy place to leave our ride for the night, but Friday saw me back in the same place, feeling unsure on a distracted young man. The gods, however, smiled upon me and sent me an angel in the form of one of the best friends a girl could ever ask for. We double checked the rule books with the Steward and show office and Renate got up on the pony for me. After about 10 minutes of hacking him around, she handed him back to me and we were both way more relaxed and focused. We had scratched our first 2 classes (training test 1 and our 4 year old Materiel class) because I didn't feel confident that morning, but we were ready for our first level test one. It wasn't our best ride, but it was consistent and earned us a 67.7%!!!! HOORAY!!!!
Saturday Renate hacked the boy while I taught my course and I took him for a walk with a few tricks in the evening when I got back to the grounds. It was so windy, but good for a change of pace.
Sunday was off to a fantastic start and our warm up felt so good that I was sure we could take our training level test, until a gelding walked past us in a 2-tone scrim sheet that Ritchie just couldn't get past. It was so odd, but he was totally disturbed by that sheet! It broke his concentration significantly and shook my confidence again. Immediately we had to go in for our test and our ride suffered. We came out with a 54%, 2 4's on our score sheet for terrible halts (and they were!) but a 3rd place ride in the end. He went back to his stall to settle down and get back to zen, which he did, thankfully!
 |
| First-level test 1, two tests, both first |
When we brought him back out for our first-level test, I had Mr. Dependable back! :) We rode a far more determined test and had some bobbles (but good baby bobbles) in our lengthen trot (canter steps) and our lengthen canter (a clean flying change - totally my fault!) earning us 4's again, but all in all a far better test. We finished with a 64% and another first-place ribbon! I'm so glad we got to finish on such a high note.
I had the pleasure of not only having one of my very best friends come to help me ride, braid and otherwise be mom 2.0 to Ritchie, but Anthony surprised me and came home from work early and spent the day with us at the show! He even bought the boy a new bridle, which looks just fantastic on him!!! It mean the world to me to have him there to watch and cheer me on.
Now, a short week of rest as we take a mini family vacation down south to Okotokes. It will be great to have some family-focused time together. I think the next show on the calendar is the bronze show at High Thorn on June 7. Sounds like a good time!
Happy Horseing!
