Fun Show Fun -- A Return to the Show Ring!

It's been nearly 13 months to the day since I set foot into a horse show ring, and let me tell you, I'd accumulated a lot of baggage in that time. The mere mention of the words "Horse Show" brought back a flood of memories of snapping leg bones, fear, pain, ambulance rides and the following months of disappointment and frustration.

But I had plans to get back into the show ring this year, if only for one show, because, by God, I wanted to do Pleasure Driving (item #1 on my "Bucket List"). That opportunity will (hopefully) come up in a week and a half, but in the meantime, what should come up on the calendar but the June 2008 Twilight Show at the Northwestern Michigan Fairgrounds! My friend, Sandy, provided the transportation for me and the horse, and even though we're both quite rusty compared to where we were in the summer of 2006, it's a fun show, it's a benefit, it's informal, and heck, I wanted to go!

Last summer I'd planned for Quzqo to make his Western Pleasure debut...well, that obviously never happened. Better late than never, we aimed for that goal this time around. Fortunately for the Twilight Show series, proper tack is optional, so I was able to get away with my hornless trail saddle. Yep, looking at my picture above, that looks like the stereotypical redneck trail rider from these parts. All I need is a can of Bud Lite in my hand.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. We trailered in to the fairgrounds around 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday evening, delayed by Sandy's truck being in the repair shop all afternoon. They didn't find out what was wrong exactly, just that there's something wrong "in the back end". Being a chauvinistic repair shop, they wouldn't tell her what specifically was wrong, just that they'd tell her husband later, and it was probably okay to use the truck just to go to the fairgrounds and back. It did make a dramatic groaning/rubbing sound, but it disappeared once she got up to speed.

Quzqo hadn't been to the fairgrounds since 2006, and let's just say he was excited to be there (ha ha). Thankfully I managed to tack him up without breaking any bones this time around, and after two or three times I was able to mount up, and riding him through the jungle of horse trailers, trucks, and equines towards the arena was kind of like sitting on a stick of sweaty dynamite. Other than a few inside-the-skin spooks, and giving the hairy eyeball to a traffic cone, we arrived in one piece. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't as tensed up and nervous as he was. Strength? What's this "strength" thing one hears about? I had rubber noodle legs and overcooked linguine arms, a chest encased in concrete, and a persistent imagined need to use the restroom!

We had about 40 minutes before the riding portion of the show was to begin (they start with Showmanship in an adjoining arena), so there's plenty of time to warm up. Quzqo doesn't need to warm up. He was plenty hot already! We trotted, we walked, we tried to canter, but I couldn't get more than a few strides out of him. The arena got pretty crowded with riders and horses, we managed to avoid getting hit and hitting, nobody got kicked, and after 15-20 minutes or so, both the horse and I had relaxed and gotten into "the zone".

Show started, my Huntseat class was first of the evening. I think we were 3rd into the ring, trotting smartly, on the correct diagonal, head on the bit nicely. About then ALL the strength drained from my legs and arms, and I concentrated on just keeping a grip on the reins. The judge kept us trotting...and trotting...and trotting....and trotting. What the hell? I can't recall having to trot for that long...guess she was having trouble making up her mind! From the trot she called for a walk...Quz just ooozed into the slower gait like a pro, I was proud of him! He walked nicely, neck arched, constant prodding from my spurs to keep him in a forward direction.

She finally called for the canter, and after a few trotting strides Quzqo picked up his left lead...hoorah! He'd been having "issues" with that this spring...even on the trail, if I asked for a left lead, he'd go ahead and pick up his right lead because it's his favorite. But not then, he cantered on SO nicely. Not quite "rocking chair" but it felt fine to me!

We walked, we reversed at the walk, we cantered again (he did beautifully, only half-slowing once, and was motivated back into stride with a spur without breaking gait), we stopped, we backed five steps, we walked on in and lined up in the middle of the arena facing the announcer's stand.

(A cute note: when the announcer called for "Stop!", Quzqo jammed on the brakes on his own, not waiting for me to cue him! Argh! He learned that on his own, because I don't use the word "stop" for him to stop, I use "whoa"...danged hyper-intelligent Arabians!)

I was VERY proud of my boy, no matter what the placings were, he was #1 in my book for doing so well after such a long vacation, and the fact he CANTERED all the way around the arena, multiple times, and on the correct lead!

They announced the placings, and I was doubly-thrilled to take Fifth Place out of 8 entries! That might just be a Twilight Show record for us, considering our only two other placings at a Twilight Show was a 3rd (out of 5) and a 4th (out of 4)! WhooHoo, we beat three other people!

Had maybe half an hour before our next class, our Western Pleasure debut, plenty of time to get back to the trailer and do a tack change. Managed that without breaking any bones (believe me, my main goal was to NOT end up in any form of pain!!), and headed for the practice arena. There I discovered all our neck-reining training had flown out the door, and it was a struggle to keep Quzqo into a jog trot. I knew we were doomed to fail, but I'd paid my $5, we were there, it's all in fun, and for a good cause (to benefit the fairgrounds), so if they don't like it, they don't have to look at it!

My niece, Heidi, had arrived with her kids in tow, and she provided the photos for this installment. Was nice to have a cheering section!

Western Pleasure, 19/over arrived, we managed to jog trot into the arena...well, an Arabian jog trot. We weren't exactly in the proper Arabian western frame...we weren't anything near it. But, ask me if I care. There were quite a few Arabians from the local show barn there, all prancing around in their collected little frames, with their necks hooked and their chins in their chests...no thanks. I promised Quzqo I'd never do that to him. No lunging with the reins tied to the saddle, no draw reins, forcing a position just because it's "the style" of the day. Looking back at old issues of Arabian Horse News from the early 1960's, the horses had a natural frame in Western Pleasure...a Quzqo frame!

As for the class...well, let's just say, I've had worse rides, and have embarrassed myself more in front of larger crowds, and it's not a surprise that we didn't place in Western. When he wasn't crapping out at the jog trot, he was stopped and refusing to move, he was veering off towards the middle of the arena and there wasn't anything I could do about it (did I mention he won't neck rein?). He did pick up his leads, and seemed to be enjoying the hell out of cantering! I'll admit I enjoyed it too, we just flew around the inside of the ring, passing everybody, sometimes twice, but at no time out of control. Just being an Arabian (er, an Arabian with no formal training, and no big honking spade bit in his mouth).

Hm, I look pretty good there, don't I?

We cantered, er, loped, we reversed, we stopped and backed five steps (again, Quzqo did wonderfully there), we lined up, and we didn't place. But two others didn't place either, so I wasn't the only one.
Here we are in the line-up, that's my friend Sandy next to me, on her new QH Gelding, "Spike". They did much much much better than we did. No surprise there.

Quzqo ended up the evening giving pony rides to my niece's kids, and loaded back in the trailer like a pro. We returned to the barn, tired and hungry, but for me, at least, satisfied with our performance. The horse picked up his leads, he cantered for sustained periods of time, I stayed out of any ambulances, and most importantly I was able to get rid of a lot of that baggage I'd been toting around all year.

When's the next show!