We left off after the last show with three run outs and one 8th place ribbon. In summation a rather crappy show for us. But at this point in the season I was getting point hungry and qualification for Championships was in sight. So I went into the weekend hopeful to advance our standings a little more.
Summerfest Trillium was held at Pickering Horse Centre. Like the previous show at Pickering Horse Centre there was a hunter derby on the Saturday. Unlike the previous show I laughed in the face of my anxiety and signed up.
The derby was the last class of the day to run, it took up two rings and you got scored on a single round. There was a course set in each ring and the rings are connected by a shoot. You enter the lower ring jump a few fences and then go up the shoot to jump a course up top, come back down the shoot and finish the course by jumping a few more in the lower ring.
Over all we had a pretty good round. Tucker gave a good look at the first jump which had quite a few flowers and a lot of brush in front of it. But I added leg and he jumped it without a problem (see photo evidence above). We had one bad/long distance up top which the judge remarked to my coach later that it was too bad because he would have liked to have marked us higher (squee! The judge like my horse!).
I think that we ended up scoring a 68. There were 32 entries in the derby and we went close to the beginning. So we had a long time to wait and a lot of rounds to watch before we’d know if that was good enough to pin. Pinning would mean a pretty neck ribbon and a victory gallop.
About 8 rounds to go we were still in the ribbons so I ran back to the barn, threw tack on Tuck and brought him back to the ring to wait. 4 rounds to go we were still in the ribbons so I mounted up. 2 rounds to go we’d for sure have a ribbon. We ended up coming in 8th place. So proud of my boy!
And then it poured.
Sunday was when the adult amateur 2’6″ hunter division ran. It had rained all night and was still pouring first thing in the morning. Have I mentioned how much I hate riding in rain and mud and puddles? I get so nervous and backed off and make stupid decisions (photo evidence below).
I made dumb mistakes and rode like crap. I asked him for a long spot that would normally have been fine but in the mud resulted in the above picture (believe it or not we cleared that jump) and a number of chip strides.
There were only 7 entries in the division so we went back to the barn, grabbed his rainsheet and went back to the ring to wait. I assumed that I’d be jogging in 7th for all three rounds but when the first jog order was called I was 4th. Wait what?!?! And then 3rd and then 2nd. Ummm how?!?! So we might have had some yucky spots but I guess everyone else was also thrown off by the weather.
And then we hacked. Our hacking had been getting better and better but he’s still a draft-cross and not the best mover. I assumed we’d be getting the 7th place ribbon (ribbon by default). And then we got called 6th. Say what?!?! Our first real hack placing!
This show had highs and lows and a lot of riding that I wasn’t happy with but overall a good learning experience.
Really cute pictures! It’s so funny, my draft cross almost never adds and ALWAYS takes the long distance unless I’m super diligent about getting her to the base. I think she thinks she’s 100% TB. But we struggle in the hack too- I’ll take jumping over flat classes any day!
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Thanks! Tuck has no problem taking the long (when it’s not muddy and I’m riding properly). The problem we have is that he is on the short side giving him not as big a stride. I like the flat because I like to try to improve as much as possible.
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I’m definitely hoping to try some eq flat classes, I think it would be really good for us to work on our precision 🙂
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Ugh! I am not an eq rider. But I try. Last year we didn’t do any eq classes. As I have now been bitten by the ribbon bug I plan to add eq flat and over to our show schedule.
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Hehe the ribbon bug gets us all!
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Sounds like a show where you had some success, but also learned alot. Even though those can be tough mentally, I feel like after you have time to decompress and think about them, those types of shows end up being the most beneficial!
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It’s true. As much as I hate to admit this, it’s not all about the ribbons. You can have a ‘bad’ ride but still learn from it.
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