Sideways.........
Beauty pageant time!
After our return to dressage, it was time for a return to 'showing' and agricultural shows. So I enlisted them in the Athlone agricultural show. It was taking place at a new site this year, which felt like you were half way to Mullingar by the time you actually got there. Groom In Training (GIT) arrived ahead of us to get the numbers as we'd a busy day ahead. I also had my friend Laura joining us to groom and give a helping hand for the day which was great.
Fred was entered in the lightweight hunter, novice working hunter (WH) and an RDS side saddle qualifier (more about that in a bit). Cu Chulainn a wee(CC) was down for ridden coloured class, in hand coloured class, novice and open WH......we were going to be busy!!
My friend Dani is super at showing and has done lots of side saddle, so I suggested she try Fred side saddle. We'd meant to try it on him a few times but things clashed and it just never happened. Next thing it was Thursday before show day and it was test day! She didn't get a chance to ride him in a normal saddle, just straight up with the side saddle. Legend that Fred is though, he didn't baulk and was his usual gent self. Afterwards I rode CC and Dani got to pop up on him too. He was lovely and chilled and luckily didn't mind her dog going between his back legs!
Flash forward to Sunday. Fred was up first. The morning started on a bad note as I somehow managed to miss his class, and got progressively worse. We were walking around the medium weights when the steward noticed my number was wrong. I never heard the class being announced, and I was ready for it. Grrrr. I stayed in it in the end, might as well. He came 5th and got a rosette. Such a pity as he went lovely for the judge and would have done well in lightweight. Oh well.
It was a ridiculously hot day and there was NO shelter from the sun. I had gallons of water with me me for the boys, although I found a water area at the end of the day 😔 I had a while before my next class so I helped a friend with their horse in the racehorse to riding horse class. Then it was time to walk the WH course.
Fred would go first in the novice class and then he'd be finished till side saddle. He had one refusal and one down, but not too shabby considering I'd only done a few with him on Friday for the first time since February. I swopped over to CC then. We were just walking around the warm up about to start warming up and we got called for the in hand class, in another ring. Queue a rush down there, untack him and run in. He was not impressed and he showed it. He came 3rd in that. I threw his tack back on and we went back to the WH ring. They were putting up the course for the next class, so we had a quick two jumps and in we went. He went clear, but he was so wired that he didn't do well in his show piece. They put up the course and we went in for the Open class. He'd one down in that because his head was melted, between the heat and all the running to and fro. Then it was straihgt in to our Coloured class. He was still wired, I was too hot and wrecked and the class was huge. So I took the executive decision to leave and call it a day. It was time to get some proper food and drink loads of water. I got hit with hayfever in the afternoon. I hadn't had any in months, so I had no tablets with me. My eyes were stinging like crazy.
The side saddle class was the last of the day. Dani was in the intermediate class before it, so I warmed up Fred for her. It still hadn't cooled down and I watched the class hiding in the shade of a jump. I had a headache from the sun and still stingy eyes.
They went beautifully together and he went really well for the judge. They came 8th overall and I was so proud of them. Next year we'll give it a proper go.
I left Athlone at 8pm, having arrived there just after 9am. We were ALL exhausted. Luckily I didn't have Rusty with me. Conditions were not for a dog.
After our return to dressage, it was time for a return to 'showing' and agricultural shows. So I enlisted them in the Athlone agricultural show. It was taking place at a new site this year, which felt like you were half way to Mullingar by the time you actually got there. Groom In Training (GIT) arrived ahead of us to get the numbers as we'd a busy day ahead. I also had my friend Laura joining us to groom and give a helping hand for the day which was great.
Fred was entered in the lightweight hunter, novice working hunter (WH) and an RDS side saddle qualifier (more about that in a bit). Cu Chulainn a wee(CC) was down for ridden coloured class, in hand coloured class, novice and open WH......we were going to be busy!!
My friend Dani is super at showing and has done lots of side saddle, so I suggested she try Fred side saddle. We'd meant to try it on him a few times but things clashed and it just never happened. Next thing it was Thursday before show day and it was test day! She didn't get a chance to ride him in a normal saddle, just straight up with the side saddle. Legend that Fred is though, he didn't baulk and was his usual gent self. Afterwards I rode CC and Dani got to pop up on him too. He was lovely and chilled and luckily didn't mind her dog going between his back legs!
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| Bitta leg yield |
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| Pony thief! |
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| Hugs |
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| All clean and shiny |
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| Shiny shiny |
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| When all your rugs are gone to be cleaned...... |
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| Out they go for the night, easiest way to keep them clean |
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| Fabulous morning |
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| Aaron and Andi in the Racehorse To Riding Horse |
Flash forward to Sunday. Fred was up first. The morning started on a bad note as I somehow managed to miss his class, and got progressively worse. We were walking around the medium weights when the steward noticed my number was wrong. I never heard the class being announced, and I was ready for it. Grrrr. I stayed in it in the end, might as well. He came 5th and got a rosette. Such a pity as he went lovely for the judge and would have done well in lightweight. Oh well.
It was a ridiculously hot day and there was NO shelter from the sun. I had gallons of water with me me for the boys, although I found a water area at the end of the day 😔 I had a while before my next class so I helped a friend with their horse in the racehorse to riding horse class. Then it was time to walk the WH course.
Fred would go first in the novice class and then he'd be finished till side saddle. He had one refusal and one down, but not too shabby considering I'd only done a few with him on Friday for the first time since February. I swopped over to CC then. We were just walking around the warm up about to start warming up and we got called for the in hand class, in another ring. Queue a rush down there, untack him and run in. He was not impressed and he showed it. He came 3rd in that. I threw his tack back on and we went back to the WH ring. They were putting up the course for the next class, so we had a quick two jumps and in we went. He went clear, but he was so wired that he didn't do well in his show piece. They put up the course and we went in for the Open class. He'd one down in that because his head was melted, between the heat and all the running to and fro. Then it was straihgt in to our Coloured class. He was still wired, I was too hot and wrecked and the class was huge. So I took the executive decision to leave and call it a day. It was time to get some proper food and drink loads of water. I got hit with hayfever in the afternoon. I hadn't had any in months, so I had no tablets with me. My eyes were stinging like crazy.
The side saddle class was the last of the day. Dani was in the intermediate class before it, so I warmed up Fred for her. It still hadn't cooled down and I watched the class hiding in the shade of a jump. I had a headache from the sun and still stingy eyes.
They went beautifully together and he went really well for the judge. They came 8th overall and I was so proud of them. Next year we'll give it a proper go.
I left Athlone at 8pm, having arrived there just after 9am. We were ALL exhausted. Luckily I didn't have Rusty with me. Conditions were not for a dog.
Shame about the conditions and the rushing but seems like you did well regardless. Sure it's all experience at the end of the day. Gorgeous pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks a mill!! It calmed down a few weeks later, but there's more mania to write about :)
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