Awareness of the outside world. Did you know that horse tail ribbons have signifier colors other than red? Green for green. White for sale. And so on. I had no idea. Hat tip to D.
~~~
All horse show, all week. [How To Spontaneously End Up At A Horse Show]
No nerves. Didn’t even notice they were absent. I have theories.
Pre-show lesson went fine. Optimus in a cart is as low-key and as pleasant as a horse experience gets.
A bit of stress the night before, mainly once I started loading up the truck. Cart. Driving gear. Saddle. Riding gear. Changes of clothes for rain. Brace and extra socks for foot. Lunch. Water. And so on. Did I have it all? What else did I need?
A bit of nerves the morning of. There’s always going to be some nerves. Plus, as I said for this show last year, “Being at a certain place at a certain time is a skill I do not practice often, even prepandemic.” [Bring On The Show]
The small level of nerves felt balanced out by confidence that I had this covered.
I had already mitigated expectations. I might take two strides and decide, Nope not happening. I might find that I could walk and trot but for some reason had trouble waving my right leg about for the canter &/or canter transition. Coach Courtney was okay with the idea that I might I stink up the joint. Basically, zero pressure.
Once we arrived, I had a bit of concern that Optimus might object to the rain on the roof. I’ve heard stories that he has been know to react to weather noises while in the round pen at home. At the show, one of the kids warmed him up and he seemed fine.
Got horse and cart ready. Got in. I got this.
After the driving class, I was not at all, not in the slightest, concerned about the riding classes. To the extent that I did not even realize this until later. I can’t say I was busy worrying about my foot. It either worked or it didn’t. I was gonna get on. I was gonna ride. NBD.
The takeaway?
Nerves are from performance anxiety, fear of failure, the desire to be perfect, not wanting to disappoint people, yadda yadda yadda. So far, so standard. At this show, I was willing to accept whatever happened.
Another possibility. It’s been months since I’ve ridden either of my own horses. It’s been months since I’ve sat on a horse with a track record of blowing a fuse without warning. I’ve said all along that it’s not a confidence issue. It’s a trust issue. I don’t – deep down – trust the horse I’m on to keep it together. [Well, That Lesson Did Not Go The Way I Hoped It Would]
Maybe as I get farther from that, I am not as mentally braced for it? We shall see.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
”…willing to accept…”
That’s a big step!
Congrats!
Joan
True, but I think it was more due to the circumstances of this specific show than overall change.