Hunter Creek Classic 2025: Pro Days

 Our summer show plans were slightly interrupted by Cinder's shockwave sessions. We had originally planned to haul in to one of the local rated shows for a day or two the week of her first shockwave, but USEF rules prevent the use of shockwave 3 days before showing. She got shocked on a Wednesday, so we would have been ok to haul in for Sunday, but we decided to wait to see how she'd handle the shockwave. And it was a good thing we did because a massive storm rolled in that weekend dumping rain and dropping temps by 25 degrees. 

All photos from McCool Photography. This show charges a $50 per entry photography fee and you get all digital downloads for free. It's one office fee I'm happy to pay. Cinder and Trainer M

The only other rated show series in Oregon cancelled their two weeks of showing, and our local venue picked up one of the weeks. They were already scheduled to host an outreach show that weekend that I was planning on going to, but I decided to switch to the rated show to give Cinder more experience. This would be her second rated show and since (spoiler alert) we're going to Tbird next week, I wanted to get her out at a rated venue for the exposure. 

There was one other amateur showing at the rated show from our barn, so the two of us took all our tack and show set up over on Monday and prepped the stalls. Both of us had work commitments and couldn't make it out on Tuesday so Trainer M hauled the girls over and schooled them for us. I got a report that Cinder spent the first 15 minutes rearing and spinning, then was perfectly well behaved once she started jumping. 

Trainer M entered Cinder in the USHJA 2'6" hunters on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as a schooling round before the division classes. Wednesday was the hottest day of the year (so far) so the show tried to start early and Cinder's projected show time was 9:40. I busted my ass at work for two hours then drove like a madwomen the 1hr+ to the show, only to see that people hadn't gotten their asses in gear and her class had been pushed back an hour. Which of course created a conflict with the other horse from our barn who was showing in the jumpers. After sweet talking the back gate people, we got our order of go settled and everything worked out. 

Cinder warmed up well, and their schooling round was pretty nice, earning an 6th out of 12. In their second trip, first round for the division, Cinder spooked at people clapping and hooting at the derby ring and bolted across the diagonal line. In her third trip, she spooked at a guy on an electric bike, stopping and then running sideways, causing Trainer M to have to circle. I told her as they came out of the ring that she's supposed to get better with every round, not worse. But that's why we came to this show, to get experience and to get her out. 

Thursday Cinder seemed a little more settled and they again had a schooling round and two division rounds, plus the under saddle. They pulled out a third in the schooling round, but missed a lead change in each of the division rounds. They did manage to snag an 8th in one of the rounds. But Cinder didn't spook and was much more comfortable in the ring which is what we were going for. The under saddle went really well and she earned a 4th out of some very nice horses. Despite her antics the day before, I was happy with how much Cinder learned and grew with each round, and with Trainer M's rides. 

Bedrock Finale Show: August 2022

 Cinder and I went to our second show of the year last weekend. We joined up with Trainer M and her clients and had a great time. We didn't get the results I wanted, but we learned a lot, had fun, made friends, and have a better idea of what I need to do to set Cinder up for success.

The week leading up to the show didn't go to plan, as I was supposed to have a lesson on Monday, followed by A schooling her Tues/Thurs, then shipping over to the show Friday. A's dog was pregnant and decided to have her puppies a week early, so my lesson on Monday turned into me just flatting her and A had to cancel her training rides. I unfortunately had other commitments and wasn't able to swing going up and riding, so Cinder had Tues/Wed/Thurs off. I did free lunge her on Friday before heading to the show, and that was a very wise idea. 

Not thrilled about the small tent stalls

Cinder actually settled in pretty well at the show. We let the horses chill in their stalls for about an hour before M had me and the two other hunter riders tack up to school in the hunter ring. I was a little nervous, as this was the first time I would be doing all the riding at the show, and not having a pro school her first. And this was her first time at this showground. 

We started in the warm up arena flatting, before moving into the hunter ring to jump. I let M school the other two first, letting Cinder take a nice long walk around the ring before we jumped. The two juniors were doing the cross rails while I had signed up for the 2' so after a couple times over an x to start, M raised the fences and had us do a course. Cinder was a little looky but jumped everything and I was really happy with her. 

Early morning walkies

There were three different 2' divisions (open, short/long stirrup, and an eq division. I just entered the short/long stirrup as I don't want to kill my horse with that many rounds) going first thing Saturday morning and we were scheduled to go middle of the order. I took Cin out for a long hand walk and watched some of the earlier rounds go. When we finally got on, she felt a little more up than she had on Friday. The schooling ring was a bit chaotic but she settled and I felt ready going into our two rounds. Cinder decided the far end of the arena was pretty scary, and stopped at fence two. I don't think she was scared of the jump, just the extra poles and gates stacked along the rail outside of the ring, plus whatever was in the trees behind them. I let the stop get to me and didn't ride her forward enough on the second attempt and she stopped again. 

One of the two 2' fences we made it over

I was determined to come into our second round and ride better. The first fence felt great, and as we were cantering to fence two I thought we had it. But we had to go past the in gate, and Cinder decided we were done. She popped her outside shoulder and tried to spin left and exit the ring. I managed to stop her before leaving, circled, and she pulled the same move. I did manage to get her away from the gate but my nerves were shot. M had us jump a few fences in the warm up, then we discussed our game plan. The cross rail classes were going later that afternoon and we decided to enter those. The goal at this point was to get her in the ring and just go around. If she still pulled crap with me, M would get on her, but M felt like with I could handle her, especially with smaller fences that we were planning on trotting. 

Unfortunately the hunter ring was moving slower than molasses, and the jumper ring finished early, so the cross rails and trot pole classes were moved to the jumper ring. I was disappointed we didn't school in the jumper ring on Friday, and that we wouldn't be able to try again in the hunter ring, but getting Cin in the ring and going around was the goal. When we came out hours later for the cross rails, Cinder felt much more settled and tired and warmed up really well. She was still a little wary going into the jumper ring, but didn't spook. We jumped everything even though she tried to run out the gate after our last line in our first round, which was an outside line heading directly towards the in gate, while I tried to do a nice courtesy circle. She got spanked on the shoulder and my outside heel shoved into her ribs plus some growling, but she didn't pull that move for the rest of the weekend, so lesson learned. Our second round was very nice and I was happy with how we ended the day. We placed 4th in both cross rail rounds out of about a dozen. 

Realizing horse show life is hard

 

We decided to scratch the 2' on Sunday, and stick with the cross rails. The cross rails were first thing on Sunday morning, back in the hunter ring, and I wanted to get some good, solid rounds in and felt like I was more comfortable doing that with the cross rails. Cinder came out tired and quiet in warm up, but I didn't let that fool me. When we went in for our first round I took a nice long tour of the ring to let her see everything. She spooked a bit on the far side, like I expected her to, but we were able to get around both our courses. I was still trotting everything, because I didn't trust her to not stop or try to run out the gate. I thought our rounds were decent, but we didn't place in either of them. I was still happy that we ended on a good note and got around the spooky hunter ring. 

learning to hurry up and wait

I know if I had had a pro get on her and school her we probably could have gotten over the spookiness faster, but I want to show my horse so I have to learn how to ride her through it. This show had the biggest atmosphere of any show she's been to, and she's still a baby, so it makes sense she'd be a little wary. I'm still getting comfortable riding her through naughtiness and riding her away from home, so hopefully next year we'll come out better prepared and ready.

Team NW Bedrock Show July 2019: Day Two

So day two of the show really started after my rounds on day one.  Trainer and I were back at the stall untacking Peebs when she told me she wasn't going to be able to make it up on Sunday.  Originally when I entered the show she wasn't going to make it Sunday, but then thought she would. I don't know if it was the adrenaline of being in the GP ring, or a bit of heat stress (it was in the 80s and humid for Oregon), or what but I almost immediately started internally panicking. All night I gave myself a stern talking to.  I've shown plenty of times by myself, but never over courses this complex and built up.

Sunday's jumper course

Our classes were first thing Sunday morning so after I fed Peebs I wandered down to the ring.  They were just finishing dragging and setting the course so once the tractor left we could walk.  It honestly looked like a sea of oxers and big fences even though I know it wasn't. The turn from 3 to 4 was almost a V and I spent a long time trying to figure out my plan for it. When I went back to tack Peebs up I felt slightly sick and anxious over it. Both Peebs and I were tired so I didn't do much warm up, trying to conserve our energy for the ring.  My plan was to have a good rhythm and pace and not have a death grip on his mouth.  But doing that and starting with a long approach to a single oxer wasn't easy.  I basically picked up a canter, put my hands forward, and let Peebs figure it out. Which, bless him, he tried to do but when he added a stride we ended up crashing into the fence.

Crashing into fences has always been my biggest fear. Not so much because I worry about getting hurt, but because I worry about my horses getting hurt, or their confidence getting shaken. Peebs has never stopped like that, never crashed a fence like that, and I was immediately convinced I  had ruined him. Once they rebuilt the fence we circled around and re-approached.  Only this time I panicked and pulled him away two strides out. It was a very long, sad walk back to in gate. I told the woman running the back gate that I was scratching our second round and then cried the whole walk back to the stall. I knew I needed to get back on and jump something but I had to take a breather first.

Much easier than a jumper course

Our regular hunter ring was just off the end of the row of stalls and I watched some little kids do trot pole courses.  I checked the class schedule on my phone and decided to add a couple equitation classes later in the day. I hoped being in our normal ring with a simpler course would help both Peebs and my confidence. Luckily I had brought my show garment bag and had a white shirt and hunt coat.  I didn't have my hunter show pad, but figured Peebs could rock the old school just-a-half-pad look.  Then I remembered I had Peebs' blue sparkly brow band on his bridle and didn't have a regular one. The one tack vendor at the show didn't have just brow bands so I ended up getting a whole new bridle. Which I do like better than my current one but it still sucked having to spend that money when I really didn't need it.

We redeemed ourselves

I'm pretty sure Peebs was pissed when I pulled him out again but he warmed up well and didn't seem at all phased about crashing into a jump.  It was definitely my confidence that was shaken, not his. He was very tired though. Our first eq round was really nice, except that when I asked Peebs to wait to the first fence he broke to the trot.  We managed a 4th out of 7 for that. His energy was pretty much gone for our second round and he broke twice during it and we got some ugly short spots. We got a very fair 6th out of 7. But we jumped everything without any hesitation, I actually rode and made decisions, and most importantly got my confidence back and proved to myself that I can at least do the hunters/eq sans trainer.

Team NW Bedrock Show July 2019: Day 1

This past weekend we went back to our favorite show, the USHJA Outreach show held during the rated show.  This time we were going in the 0.70m jumpers.  In years past they've had one of the hunter rings dedicated to the Outreach show, hosting both the hunter/eq and jumper classes.  This year they moved the Outreach jumpers to the rated jumper ring.

It's very important to practice, practice, practice before a show

Originally in the prize list they had the jumpers still going in the hunter ring.  Which was perfectly fine by me.  That's our ring; Peebs and I know it well, and I'm perfectly comfortable in it.  I've never been in the Grand Prix ring, or even been on that side of the property much.  The lunging area is next to the jumper warm up and Peebs has been lunged there. We've also hand walked around the GP ring. But never been inside it. There's a bit more atmosphere by the GP ring, flags and banners waving around, and the spectator parking is right next to it as well. I was 99% certain Peebs wouldn't care about the change in venue, but I cared.

Our first round course.  Our second round was a speed round and it was the exact same course minus the jump off

During the rated and outreach shows the week prior, show management had been posting the back gate boards and courses on their FB and IG pages.  The rated 0.70m and the outreach 0.70m classes were exactly the same. I figured that would be the case for our show and it was. 

The show photographer had some medical issues so they weren't sure she'd be there for the show.  But don't worry I have more than blurry screenshots

I hauled up mid morning and hung out for a while before my classes went.  Both Peebs and I had lunch and I was able to watch some of the rated classes go.  My trainer got there about a half hour before we could walk so we hung out and chatted.  I was at the bottom of the order so the plan was to walk, tack up, warm up and show. I was super glad to have trainer there to walk with me because I was a little intimidated walking into the GP ring and trying to figure out which jump was where. It's been a very long time since I did a jumper class like this (ie not a quasi hunter course with a jump off). 

Fence seven, looking toward eight on the left. PC and bought from: Julie Ward Photography

We made a solid plan for riding the course and I tried to remember everything while tacking up and warming up. Peebs felt ready to go and we only did a few warm up fences before heading to the back gate. Of course people weren't ready and I was able to slip in early.  Our first round was me mostly trying to get over my nerves.  I took a longer line in the first bending line and rode a little backward to 3 and 4. The plan for the turn to fence 5 was to not let his shoulder drop and to wait to turn till after the timers.  I waited till we past the timer to turn, but his shoulder dropped and we ended up aiming for the inside standard of 5.  I circled and re-approached it better. Six to sever went ok and my instructions to 8 were to sit up since it was a slight downhill and I didn't do that but it still rode well.  I didn't get him quite straight to 9 and we added a stride in the line to 10. But we survived! Which was really my goal.

If you look closely you can see the rail coming out of the cups. But at least I kept his shoulder up in the turn to 5. Also bought from Julie Ward Photography

We had a couple of people go before my second round so I could catch my breath and talk about the plan for our second trip. It was really about making sure to get him balanced for the turn to 5 and straighter into the 9-10 line. And I'm proud to say we did that (and got the correct strides). But unfortunately Peebs and I were tired and feeling the heat so we had a rail down at 4. With 14 in both classes we didn't pin but that's ok.  We made it around, fixed some issues, and had solid trips.

Team NW Bedrock Show August 2018

The third and final schooling show in the Team NW Bedrock series was last weekend.  Having done the other two, my main goal was to try for the series champion in the long stirrup hunters. Going into the final show we were sitting in second place in the division. My second goal was to move up to the 2'6" pre-adult division and not die. Both goals were achieved!!

Peebs and Scottie love each other

 My friend A, whose place I haul over to for lessons, was going to be showing as well and my trainer was going to be there for us.  A leased Phoenix for three years, like five years ago, till we had to retire him. She's had her new horse for two years and this was going to be their first show together.  She was very nervous so we decided to haul up Friday so they could school and settle in. Scottie had a little meltdown in his stall when we first got there, but after we lunged and rode he settled in perfectly fine and was a fantastic show horse all weekend. Trainer had me school the 2'6" stuff on Friday night and other than having to pull up in the diagonal line because someone walked on the backside of the oxer as I was in the middle of the line (and after I called my line) everything was great.  It felt easy, I wasn't worried about the fence height, and most importantly, Peebs was more awake and forward over the bigger fences.

The boys enjoying a late night snack and walk

The show runs hunters on Saturday, and equitation classes with some open hunter schooling rounds on Sunday.  The plan was to show in the 2' long stirrup hunters Saturday to get points and then move up to the 2'6" pre-adult eq on Sunday.  Our long stirrup classes went pretty well.  I overshot the turn to the diagonal line in the first course and chipped in but the rest rode smoothly.  Other than having to do a simple change, our second course felt really good.  The only problem was Peebs was less than impressed with the fence height and I felt like I was working too hard to get him awake and around the course. Trainer said that he was bored and it was time to move up.  We got seconds in both our over fences rounds. We ended the division with the under saddle. The judge had us canter the first direction for almost four laps around a pretty good sized ring and Peebs gave up about three laps in.  He broke to the trot and when I kicked him back up he crossfired. So we had to come back down, reorganize, and try the canter again.  And of course, the judge was staring at me the whole time this happened. We pulled a 7th out 8 for that.  But our efforts paid off and we won the series championship!  We got tricolor ribbon and a box of fancy pony donuts.  I'm slightly pissed though; last year they gave out coolers for series champions and I really wanted to win a damn cooler! A box of fancy treats that are gone less than a week later is not the same as an embroidered cooler.

I forced my trainer to take a win pic with me. Also, they didn't announce awards till after I rode Sunday, which is why he's wearing his eq. boots

Sunday we just had two 2'6" over fences rounds to do.  I wasn't scheduled till around 3 so after A rode in the morning we hung out and watched/played on our phones.  A little before 2 the other hunter ring that the rated show was using ended and they started moving things around and resetting fences.  I thought that was odd and decided to check in with the back gate.  Good thing I did because they moved my classes from Hunter 2 to Hunter 1 and didn't announce it. They were starting classes in 30 minutes.  I called my trainer who had gone shopping and A and I rushed to get ready.  I felt slightly panicked as I've never ridden in Hunter 1, didn't know how the lines rode, and I hate rushing to get ready.

The show photographer got no pics of me, so enjoy this fuzzy screenshot from the video on my phone

I tried to focus on getting Peebs in front of my leg and forward in our warm up.  We had some waiting, pulling distances, especially off the right, but after a good smack with my crop we fixed that.  The plan for our rounds was to not stress about doing the strides, if we got them great, if I steadied for the add that was fine. Trainer just wanted a nice, whole number with impulsion. In the first round I was bit conservative to the first fence and the long approach to the single oxer at fence two got me.  I waited and buried Peebs at the base and it felt like he crawled over it.  But as soon as I sat up and put my leg on on the landing side something clicked in my head and I realized we had it. Peebs was going to jump no matter where I put him and not crash so why not go for it? We did do the add strides, but as long as I sat up with leg everything worked. And it was fun. I was surprised to get a third out of 8 for the round.

Sometimes all it takes is burying your horse to the base of the single oxer to realize 2’6” ain’t no big deal #sorrypeebs #thanksforputtingupwithmyshit #goodboypeebers

A post shared by Molly Basney (@mollybasney) on Aug 29, 2018 at 12:54pm PDT

I only had a small break before my second round (one person went then I was back in) and I was still trying to catch my breath as we went in. First three fences were fine, but coming into the judge's outside line Peebs slowed down and we got a really awkward distance to the first fence. We landed in a heap and I couldn't decide if I should move up for the add, or wait and add two strides.  Which got us to the second fence at a half stride and I pulled Peebs out of the line.  We walked a couple steps to regroup then I asked hard for the canter and rode really forward to the oxer. We were getting over that fence no matter what.  It was mostly for my sake; Peebs would have jumped from where ever.  I just had to convince myself of that.  After that line it was back to the single diagonal oxer.  I didn't want to bury him at it like the first round so about five strides out I sat up and put leg on to push Peebs at it.   We got a slightly long distance, but had the impulsion to make it work. After that I could  relax going into the last outside line. After the course Trainer and I talked about the circling and we both agreed that I just needed more time. I felt rushed going into the round and didn’t have the pace and confidence I needed. I need more of a break between rounds to get myself together. I’m not happy that I pulled out of the line, but I’m not beating myself up over it. I’m glad I was able to go back and fix it, as well as the next fence. Not surprisingly we pulled an 8th out of 8 for this round.

Hard Work Pays Off

Things, for the most part, have been going really, really well.  If you follow me on IG or FB you've seen our last show results, but if not: Peebs is a boss.  We went and did a two day USHJA Outreach show and came home with champion in our hunter division, reserve champion in our equitation division, and I won the USHJA Outreach Bronze medal, my first medal class win. I just got a ribbon for the win, not an actual medal which I'm slightly pissed about.  My inner 12yr old wants that medal!

We did win a saddle pad for being champion

After our last show in April, Peebs and I had a little down time that involved me going to see my parents, and him getting his teeth done.  When we went back to work we focused mainly on flat work; really getting him in front of my leg and unlocking his neck. He tends to hold tension in his neck, and won't bend.  To really get him loose and bendy, I have to think about flexing his neck and making it soft. I also focused on not holding on for dear life with my inside hand.  We did some small cross rails and ground poles, not really putting anything together but only picking up jumps/poles when he felt connected and forward.  It was very clear when he wasn't, as I couldn't see a distance or what I did see was crappy. When he was on my aids everything just flowed so well.

Our first real jumping lesson back from the April show was awesome.  We did a little course and I was actually able to work on things like holding him out in the bending line, and waiting with impulsion to a short distance.  It was like a switch had been flipped and all of a sudden we could go do the thing. Even when I saw a bad spot, or didn't see anything, I could sit up and add leg and not worry that he'd stop or we'd crash. For me, that's huge.  It's been a very long time since I've felt like that. I even asked my trainer to put the jumps up!

The show photographer didn't get any pics of me, so no riding media from the show

The show last weekend was a culmination of everything we've been working on.  I had a plan for our warm-up, the jumps looked tiny (they were 2' which I know is tiny but I guess I underestimated how high we've been schooling lately) and, most importantly, I felt confident and relaxed.  Which I wasn't expecting, as I was by myself.  My trainer was out of town so I was flying solo at the show.  So to come home with a champion, a reserve, and a medal win was way beyond my expectations.  My only real expectation was to have nice, flowing rounds and to try and remember what we've been working on at home.  That's not to say we were completely flawless.  I still saw a couple super long distances that Peeb's rightly decided not to take. I cut a corner in our first eq round and Peebs decided he was really tired in our second eq round and trotted coming out of the turn to the diagonal line. We also cantered when we were supposed to be trotting in the under saddle. But I consider these to fairly minor issues, and nothing that we can't work on. 

My original show plan for the year was to skip this show series July show and do their August one, but the horse show bug bit me hard and I decided to do one of the days in July.  They're doing series champion awards this year, and while I don't normally consider myself a point chaser, I'm currently the leader for our hunter division and I want those points! I've never been a contender for a champ or reserve year end award and I really, really want to go for it. I can financially swing it, my confidence in my horse and my riding is at an all time high, and my horse is awesome. Why not go for it?

Team NW Outreach Show Day Two

After the success on Saturday, I was pretty pumped for Sunday.  Wile I was tired and sore, I couldn't wait to get back out in the show ring.  All my nerves from the day before were gone and for the first time in a long while I felt completely confident walking into the ring.

Before warming up I talked to Trainer about how on Saturday the lines rode in a 6.5 and I pushed him forward for the six.  I said I probably screwed up my math but once we looked at the Sunday's courses she said they should have been 7s.  As we were warming up she commented that Peebs' stride was much more open than at home, but he didn't look fast or quick.  Who knew he could have an effortless 13' stride?! We did plan to do the 7s, which were easier to get since he was a bit tired.

A non-horsey friend came to watch and brought her dog Jack.  Jack was pretty sure Peebs was his new best friend

We had two Outreach hunter over fences, two eq over fences, and an eq flat on Sunday.  The Outreach classes had three or four while there were 9 in the whole eq division.  My first round went pretty well; we were a little short in one of the outside lines but not horribly so.  The second round was going well until the approach for the last line.  There were a couple people sitting in the grass in the shade at the far end of the arena and they stood up right as we were coming around the turn.  Peebs spooked sideways and I ended up having to circle. We broke to the trot to pass them as Peebs was convinced they had appeared out of nowhere and were going to eat him. The people stayed down in the corner of the ring, randomly walking back and forth then sitting down and getting up again.  They spooked a few other horses and one poor kid came out in tears after her pony refused to go past them.

Going into our eq rounds both Peebs and I were pretty tired.  My goal at that point was to not let him break to the trot, which we did in the last round. Cantering past the in gate was just too much and Peebs was sure he was done. I cursed myself again for signing up for the flat, and basically tried not to fall off.  We earned an 8th for it and I hopped off to wait for the over fences placings. 

We managed a first and second for the Outreach classes, and a first and fourth for the eq.  It was my first ever win in an eq class.  Because the Outreach division didn't fill (had to have 3 in the first class and there were only two of us) they didn't award champion or reserve, but we would have been champion. I was slightly pissed I didn't get a champion ribbon, but I couldn't be happier with how we did.  I in no way expected to end the weekend with a champion, especially after the disaster that was the show last month. Peebs far exceeded my expectations and I had so much fun.  I bought Peebs thinking we'd plunk around the hunters for a bit till I got my nerve back to go into the jumper ring but after having a blast in the hunters this weekend, I think we'll be staying in hunterland for a while. I can't wait to get back into the show ring!

Team NW Outreach Show Day One

Saturday morning came way to early.  I stuffed my feet into my paddock boot and ran out to the show to feed Peebs. He seemed totally chill and clean (I don't trust him to keep himself clean but it was too hot to put even a sheet on him overnight). My original plan was to lunge him, but since he was a complete 180* attitude wise from the last show I didn't.  I headed back to the hotel to pick up my parents, change, and get breakfast.

We got back to the show around 8 and wandered to the ring to try and guess when I'd go. My parents parked themselves by the ring while I went back to get ready.  I was doing two divisions on Saturday; an 18" USHJA Outreach Hunter and an 18" Green Rider Hunter.  The Outreach division had classes on Sunday as well, and I was also in the Green Rider Eq on Sunday.  The GR Hunter division had 9 in it, while the Outreach had 1-3 per class.  I was the only one doing the whole division. I had four over fences rounds and they had all four cards open before two under saddles.

Warm up went well, but I was still at bit nervous at how Peebs would be once we were actually in the ring.  I decided that we'd trot the first round then try cantering.  My goal for our round was to ride forward, not let my nerves get to me, and not pick at him.  The first trot round went fine, but I forgot to count in the lines.  I thought they should have been 7s on the outside, and 8 across the diagonal.  When we went back in to canter, the outsides rode in a 6.5 and the diagonal was 7. I pushed him forward for the 6 and it actually felt pretty good.  He was flowing really well, and the 6 and 7 came easy. I was kinda shocked at how easy and good everything felt. I figured I must have screwed up my math.  It was some of the easiest hunter rounds I've ever had, on any horse.  We did have to do simple changes since Peebs doesn't have flying ones yet, but other than that we cruised right along.
 

In which I'm cursing former me for signing up for the flat classes

We had a bit of break until the flats so I hopped off and downed a bottle of water. When I went back in for the Outreach u/s I was the only one.  Luckily the judge took pity on me and I trotted and cantered maybe a 1/3 of the arena each way. They also didn't make me line up. It was my first under saddle win!  I just stayed in for the GR flat which all 9 of us were in.  My left calf started cramping pretty badly about halfway through and I thought I was going to die. For this hack the judge had us do over a lap of trot and canter each way and I was in agony. Once we lined up I dropped my stirrups and tried to stretch my leg as much as I could.

We ended up placing in all of our classes with the first for our solo under saddle, a first and second in the Outreach over fences, and a fourth and a sixth over fences in the Green Rider and a sixth for the GR under saddle. I was super happy with how we did, especially compared to the show a month ago. Peebs was like a total been-there-done-that show pony and I could focus on what I needed to work on and not worry about what he'd do. I was kicking myself for every being worried about cantering him around at a show.

Team NW Outreach Show Warm Up Day

I had a half day at work on Friday so after loading the trailer and Peebs, we hauled out around 1 to the show.  Even though he seemed back to his normal lazy, non-spooky self, I wanted plenty of time before showing on Saturday to let him get his crazies out. Once we got to the show and got his stall set up and dropped the trailer I took him out for a lunge.

Ready to go!

They were working the lunge area and jumper warm up (they're next to each other) so once I saw that Peebs no longer cared about the water truck or tractor we went and watched the National Hunter Derby till they were done with the rings. Jumperland is at the opposite side of the show grounds from Hunterland and Peebs hadn't been over there before.  He looked around a bit, whinnied once when he realized he was alone (the rated show was very small and the jumper ring had finished for the day), then lunged fine.  I probably didn't need to lunge him but figured why not.

I took him back to his stall and tacked up to go for a hack.  The hunter warm up ring was full of International Derby horses and I felt out of place in my schooling breeches and t-shirt in the sea of shadbellies. They were working the arena I was going to be showing in and they said they'd open it for schooling so I only did a little in the warm up before waiting to school in the ring. Peebs was foot perfect in the show ring; we trotted and cantered a couple laps each way before popping over a fence.  My nerves were getting to me, the jumps were set 2'3"-2'6"ish and looked huge. I picked the smallest of them to jump and did it once at the trot and once at the canter.  Peebs, of course, didn't care.

To finish the day he got a bath, wrapped, and a big pile of hay.  My parents were flying in for the week, so I ran off to check into the hotel and then pick them up from the airport. On my way I got a text from my trainer that her daughter had gotten hurt and she wouldn't be able to make it Saturday but would be there Sunday.  That didn't help the nerves at all, but at that point I was too tired and hungry to really care. I figured if worse came to worse, we'd trot everything. 

Here, There, and Everywhere

I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, but the past week has been a crazy roller coaster. Between hauling horses, the show, crazy weather swings, and being shorthanded at work I feel like all I do is run around.

 Last Thursday I took Tia in for a uterine exam. The clinic was a little over an hour away, but they're one of the top repro vets in the state.  It had been raining off and on all week and cooler, in the 60s, but the day I was to haul her up called for 30-50mph winds.  Not exactly what I want to haul in.  Luckily the wind wasn't too bad, except for the last five miles home.  The exam itself went well; Tia was the picture of perfect uterine health. No cysts, no edema, no visible scaring. I did opt to do a uterine biopsy and culture just to be safe.  The culture came back negative but we won't get the biopsy report back for another week or so.  The vet recommended rebreeding her (hopefully next week!) and putting her on Regumate to make sure her hormone levers are sufficient to maintain the pregnancy.

Mare is not amused

Originally my show was supposed to be on Saturday, but because of the rain, they moved it to Sunday.  It was a USHJA Outreach show held during a rated show and show management was moving some of the rated classes around to save the footing. I was fine with the show being moved back a day, gave me extra time to prep and I spent most of Saturday getting everything cleaned and ready instead of rushing around Friday night.

Gelding is not amused

 But of course Sunday dawned sunny and hot. It was over 20* hotter on Sunday than it had been earlier in the week.  And of course my classes didn't go till early afternoon.  We got to the show around 8 and I was glad I had gotten a day stall.  We threw Peebs in and went and watched some of the junior/AO hunters and the jumper ring. We also grabbed lunch of delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and the teen from our barn that I forced asked to be my groom/ground person found a $360 hunt coat marked down to $20 that fit her perfectly. She's mainly a western rider but is doing English pleasure and dressage in 4H and open shows so she needed a coat. I wish I could find deals like that!

Unfortunately Peebs was not in a horse show frame of mind.  He was super looky and spooky and tried to take off with me in the canter during our warm up.  We spent a lot of time walking around trying to get his head on.  I didn't even think to bring a lunge line, but he could have used a nice long lunge.  I will for sure be bringing one next time and doing an early morning lunge just to be on the safe side. I was debating trying to jump him in the warm up (would it wind him up more or calm him down?) when there was an open gate for our ring.  I said screw it, I'm hot and they're 18" jumps, and I think getting him in the ring and focusing on something will calm him down.  So we went in with no warm up jump.

Molly is not amused

We trotted into everything and cantered down the lines, and the first class was a shit storm. He was spooky, tried to run across the diagonal line, and wouldn't come back to the trot after our last line.  So I stopped him hard, made him wait, then walked out of the ring. I think that knocked some sense into him because our second round was much better.  Still jumper-in-the-hunter-ring like, but we actually got the correct number of strides, and decent transitions without having a battle over it. 

While waiting for our third trip and flat class they brought a water truck and tractor into the warm up.  Peebs lost his shit at the water truck and went flying backward and spun.  I hopped off to hold him and every time the truck came at us or close to us he'd try to vacate stage left. At one point he backed into a trainer who wasn't paying attention.  Luckily she was fine and I apologized profusely. I was really hot and done at that point so I scratched the rest of my classes and took him back to the stall.  I figured he was an ass in warm up and the first round but we redeemed ourselves in the second round and while I was pissed at him for being THAT horse at a show, I was never scared or felt like I was going to die.  I didn't get mad at him, tried to keep my hands down, and release in the half halts.  And the 18" fences looked tiny. Big wins for me! He was just not his normal unflappable Peebers self, but we survived and got better, at least until the water truck.

I wasn't expecting to place at all considering most everybody else in the class cantered the fences and we exuberantly trotted everything. But I checked the results online when I got home and we somehow managed a 2nd for our second round, out of 8.  I was shocked! Not shockingly we did place 8th out of 8 for the first round.

We're going back to the same show ground for a two day Outreach show in July and I will for sure be lunging him and avoiding water trucks!  Hopefully he won't be as much of a nutcase!

Team NW Bedrock Show Day One

This is what I saw Friday night before our show. Icky, nasty, poopy pony legs.  He got washed, twice, with Dawn and thankfully I didn't actually need to use the pony spray paint.

Friday night I spent at the barn, sleeping in the office/music room attached to barn.  My BO was out of town and had left their dogs in the office for the weekend for boarders to let out and feed.  By spending the night Friday, I could feed and let the dogs out and hook up and load the truck Friday and not have to do it first thing Saturday. They have a nice futon that I slept on, but I didn't get that much sleep. I could hear the horses moving around and at about 10:30pm one mare had a full on melt down screaming, running, and generally scaring the crap out of me.  I went out and checked on everyone, thinking there must be something wrong, but I couldn't see anything. Needless to stay I was pretty tired when my alarm went off at 5:30 Saturday morning.

I loaded Peebs and we headed off just over an hour north to Hunter Creek Equestrian Park, home to most of the rated shows in Oregon.  We were showing at a local show during the rated show.  When I got there, I didn't see us down on the stall chart so after finding somewhere to park the truck and trailer I scurried off to the show office to get checked in.  Apparently they were waiting to see how many stalls they had before giving me one, which seems a bit sketchy to me especially since I had already mailed a check for entries and stall fees. And of course, the stall I got had a wonky door that you had to kick the bottom of for it to close properly. 

But once I had the stall set up and Peebs settled in my trainer showed up and we got Peebs groomed and tacked up.  I was showing in the 12" trot-a-course and we decided to add a trot pole round before had to get him into the ring.  Which was not needed as Peebs couldn't have cared less about being at a show.  He was almost lazier than he is at home and other than giving the tree on the mound a good look, he didn't seemed fazed at all.

Tiniest jumps ever and scary tree

For our first round over fences, the plan was to trot in and trot out of the lines.  And it was pretty easy to accomplish considering Peebs never actually jumped any of the jumps.  He trotted over all of them and even managed to trip pretty hard on the first fence in the judge's line. I was told in no uncertain terms to add leg at base and make him jump for our second round.  I did, and we cantered the lines.  I hadn't paid attention to what they were set at and I know we added strides, even trotting in, but the lines felt even and flowed well so I was happy.  We had a under saddle to finish the day and let's just say that I have no idea how to ride a u/s class and Peebs will never win the hack.  We finished with a fourth over poles, a fourth and sixth over fences, and a seventh u/s. There were about 10 in the division, all freaking little kids on ponies, so I was happy with how we did.  Considering we were just going around to get mileage and confidence, satin is just icing on the cake!

I put the pony away, parked the rig, watched some junior eq and then proceeded to take a nap in my truck.  Trainer had to head back home for her kids, so once I woke up from my nap I cleaned tack and headed over to check into the hotel.  I then took another nap and went back out to feed and walk around 6.  Peebs seemed perfectly content and not at all upset by being alone at a show, which made me feel great. It's a great feeling to know you can trust your pony not to do anything stupid away from home, and they're going to be the same steady eddie at a show.