Second Saddleseat Show

Results
2nd & 1st. As with last time, I was overly huntseat in the first class, which I corrected in the second.

First Class
The Good: I wasn’t “busy” and I didn’t downshift until the corners.

The Bad: Still leaning forward. When I do sit back, there is an near-palpable snap when I hit the correct spot. Sam certainly appreciates it when I ride right.

The Ugly: I developed a mental vapor lock about diagonals. I was suddenly convinced that I was supposed to post in time with the inner shoulder. A faint echo suggested I might be wrong about that. I spent the first part of the first lap randomly bouncing from one diagonal to the other. This wasn’t me getting the wrong diagonal, which I have done. This was me deliberately posting incorrectly.

Rise and fall with the leg on the wall

Second Class
The best part – aside from winning, which never gets old – was that I was not completely consumed by procedure. I was able to clear a little space in my head to think about stylin’.

Of course, showing off can bite one in the butt. When they called my second class, I was lined up at the gate with no one else around. So I went zipping in alone, banners waving, with the intention of making a good first impression on the judge. Since saddleseat starts at the trot and stays there, this move committed me to trotting until the class filled. As lesson horse par excellent, Sam did most of the Beginner classes. Short rounds, fit horse, no problem. No danger of running out of horse. However, we came darn close to running out of rider.