Banquet with a Bonus, ASHAA Awards for 2018

Adventures in Saddle Seat

We take a break from New York City adventures for a short trip to Lake Guntersville, Alabama.

This year, we arrived too late for the outdoor scenery. [Spotted at the Banquet]

I had to settled for the indoor scenery.

American Saddlebred Horse Association of Alabama
2019 banquet for the 2018 competition year
Lake Guntersville Stare Park Lodge
Saturday, January 5, 2019

Champion Academy Driving
Champion Academy Open Hunter Pleasure Walk/Trot
Champion Academy Open Hunter Equitation Walk/Trot
Third WTC Showmanship Adult
Third WTC Equitation Adult
High Point Academy Rider Adult

Or to look at it another way:
Driving Championship – Snippy & Whiskey
Two Hunt Seat Championships – Milton
Two yellows – Tigger, Sam, Joanie, & Whiskey
Thank you to the wonderful horses for their work and to their generous owners for sharing.

The Loot

My haul was five ribbons, three bags, and one jacket. I won the adult high point despite losing the adult division due to points from the other three divisions.

For a dash of perspective, my year-end placings reflected the nature of my classes over the year: small classes, solo performances, & last places, the latter of which I shall think of as participation awards. Driving was a division of two. Hunt Seat Academy was a solo. In Adult Academy, I was last of three. I’m not complaining. If you’ve read any of my show posts, you know I love me some ribbon. Gotta keep it real.

The Barn
Stepping Stone Farm
High Point Academy Rider Juvenile
High Point Academy Adult
High Point Performance Rider Adult

High Point Barn Academy
High Point Barn Performance
High Point Barn Overall

We won everything but High Point Performance Rider Juvenile. In the divisions themselves, we won over 25% of the Performance High Points (9/35) and half of the Academy High Points (11/22). Go, Team Awesome!

The Last Echo of National Academy

At the banquet, my missing trophy came home, wagging its tail behind it.

The Napkin Check

After Christmas dinner one year, my uncle suddenly intoned, out of the clear blue sky, the words “Napkin check!” He had us all hold up our dinner napkins. It was fascinating to see the condition in which each of us had left our linen: folded, not folded, stained, not stained. It has become a family tradition.

In that spirit, I give you our banquet table after dinner. Which one do you think was me? I promise, I did not stage my napkin for effect. The idea came to me when I saw the table while I was packing up.

The Coda
[List of banquet posts]
First banquet was 2014. Six years of High Point. If I were to move up to suit, I’d have to kiss it all good-bye: the ribbons, the trophies, the titles. Be a long time before I could duplicate my Academy record in the far bigger pond of Performance.

Thank you for reading.
Katherine Walcott