Virtual Brush Box

Show Report: ETSA Spring Classic, Cleveland, TN

And the winner is ~~Sam~~ Willie. In the morning, it was decreed that I would ride Sam. However, halfway through the day, Lola decided she’d Had Enough. She was done showing and no one was going to change her mind. The resulting horse shuffle put me on Willie. After a quick swap of pre-ride visualizations, I was good to go.

The only problem with the first class was that Willie’s trot is so smooth, I couldn’t for the life of me see or feel my diagonal going in. It must have been correct, as we won the class.

Omens where good for a second win. In the previous Academy divisions, the judge had shown a fondness for pining the second class in the same order as the first. Now that Willie and I had gone around once, I saw what an old pro he is. I realized I could leave him to his job and really concentrate on getting my hands up, bending my elbows, sitting back, and so on, and so on. I tend to be overly busy, so I tried to sit still and quiet.

Given equal equitation, the judge had also shown a preference for horses who were rocking on. In leaving Willie to his own devices, I may have dialed it back a notch too far. Even the most seasoned performer likes to hear cheering from the peanut gallery. Willie was still lovely, but perhaps more Ferdinand and not enough Fiery Steed. Nothing major, just enough to slide me into second. So, my next goal is to figure out how to encourage the horse without fiddlin’ and fussin’.

Blue and red ribbons. The streak continues.

Photos By Nat
ETSA Spring Classic > Saturday Morning > Classes 61/62 Academy Equitation/Showmanship WT-13 & Over. Brown jods, yellow vest, helmet. As before, please click, enjoy, but do not download without paying, from this or any photographer’s site.

While you’re over there, check out Saturday Evening > 81. Open English Pleasure Walk-Trot, Any Breed, Stake: a saddleseat Friesian, an ASB, a huntseat Friesian, and a saddleseat Belgian. One of the Friesians & the Belgian were also in 63 Open Pleasure Driving, Any Breed, Stake.

Mother, daughter, & horse get ready to show. — Mother, daughter, & horse ready to show.

Old Dog. New Trick.

This weekend I uttered a sentence I have never before used in my life.

Proper saddleseat turn-out mandates make-up for female riders. Although I have only worn make-up a handful of times, I submit to this requirement with my trademark quiet dignity. I made sure to take the lipstick with me to the ring for a pre-ride touch-up once I inevitably chewed it all off. After the show, I was digging around in a pile of ribbons and gloves and what-not. When someone asked what I was doing, I said … pause for dramatic effect …

“I’m looking for my lipstick.”

You may now fall about the floor laughing.

Spotted at the Bookstore

Horses at the Galleria

Foto Friday: Pollen

Reply Hazy. Ask Again Later

Seems I don’t know who I will be riding this weekend: Sam or Willie.

At my last lesson, I rode both and the instructor gave me a choice of who to show. I’m torn. Willie is easier for me to get goin’. Although the class is judged on the rider, you always look better on a fancy-moving horse. Just as obedient foals always have better conformation in a halter class. Sam can look just as spiffy, but is harder to shift out of lesson-horse mode. If I chose him, I could leave him to trot about while I concentrate on my position.

On the other hand, what if I choose the flashy horse and we have a come-apart? What if I choose the reliable horse and we get lost in the crowd, or I work too hard to keep him going [Sorta]? Ultimately, I left it to my instructor to chose. She knows saddleseat, has experience with saddleseat judges, and can see what I look like on both horses.

I told her that if I lose, I will hold her responsible for picking the wrong horse.

Who would you choose as your dance partner?

[Saddleseat posts.]

In Defense of Frivolity

I’m having trouble getting past the latest ghastly news. It’s hit me square in the what-is-the-world-coming-to. I have no specific reason that this horrible event should resonate worse than any other horrible event. Yet it keeps bouncing around my head making distracting echo-y noises. Every time I try to plot out posts for the next few days, I think, ‘A horse blog? Really? Who the f**k cares?’

After 9/11, the first book I was able to sit down and read was from Lawrence Block‘s Evan Tanner series. These are goofy, well-executed, over-the-top adventure stories. A potato chip book, my grandmother would have called it. It was the first thing that really distracted me and made me smile that month. My writing may never affect another person like that. It may and I may never know. I may only amuse myself. That may be enough. Life is cupcakes as well as broccoli.

Tomorrow a return to levity and horse frolics.
Allons-y.