Teacup Café XVIII

[elven dragonrider]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

Oh, that's too bad about the steroids That wasn't the case when I was showing - but that was 30 years ago! I guess they're "specializing" now.

BTW, are there still bareback classes? I used to do well in those.

Yes, some ribbons are just special, aren't they?!

My favorite ribbon was the one I never got - We were in a large class and it had been eliminated down to 7 horses/riders, and there were 6 ribbons. They called a counter-canter RIGHT when I was on the tight inside turn (a smallish ring) I should have cut the corner off and cued him to a counter-canter, or waited just a few more seconds, but I didn't, and he took the correct lead and was eliminated It was totally my fault (in combination with the bad luck of being on the curve) because he knew how to counter-canter I just rode out of the ring and dismounted and held him around his neck and cried and told him I was sorry because I knew he could do it (you realize horses understand what we say, right? )

Ah, no need to get quiet, I love hearing it! I sure hope I can start my daughter soon - there was a perfect place to start her back in California, then we moved to Arizona ...

Terribly 'specializing'! It is awful! I can barely show my horsemanship/showmanship/western riding/western pleasure horse in the english classes! And he is 15.3! All the horses that are bred 'english are getting to be 17 hands now. The whole thing is ridiculous. The classes for the five and under kids are even worse... the kids are all kids of the top trainers and go out there in 8000 dollar outfits and ride around on 350,000 dollar horses. That is horrible. I mean the kids are not even five yet! There are three or four of them that really get on my nerves, because the point of those classes is to encourage the other little kids and bring them into the breed. Then those kids go out there with them and any encouragement is destroyed. It is awful. Not that your daughter won't be fine, because these are just at the giant monster circuit shows like Congress and the one in Florida and stuff.
My mom showed thirty years ago to, and is doing kinda the same thing you are. She just bought a horse of her own and is going to World this year, something she has wanted to do since the first World show!
Ranting again, sorry, I apologize.
There are no bareback classes at the quarter horse shows, but they have them at the paint and appaloosa shows. I love to ride bareback. When they say, drop your stirrups/irons, I actually calm down in the classes, because I know I can blow the competition on that. I wish we had bareback classes at quarter horse.
That is too bad about the ribbon. Some are special, aren't they? I agree. I did that at a show once. My first horse has bone spurs in his hocks, and cannot lope very well. I was parnoid about this lope that we had to do, and I ended up picking up the lead three trot strides after I was supposed to worring about it. Part of the reason was because he had changed leads with me the year before, and all my friends were there again that year, and I was upset about emberrasing myself again. So waht did I do? Oh well.
Do you like living in Arizona, we live south of there, but here it is so humid and muggy and everything is so green... I get sick of it sometimes. I travel around a lot, with the horses and everything, so it is not that bad. If I lived hera all the time and never got out I think I wouldn't be happy with it after a while. The humidity gets me. When it is 105 degrees (fahrenheit) and 85% humidity I give up. I was about ready to move along with everyone else around us in 2003. It reached 117 that year..... it was awful.
Of course horses understand what we say! Don't worry, I believe you on that. (to a large extent at least)
I am sorry I didn't reply sooner, I have been galavanding around the country with the horses. Happy Horsing!