What my summer weekends used to be like...before vet school.

The start of horse show season...sleepless nights, hotel rooms, aching feet and back, arguing and waiting, all for a lousy 20 cent ribbon. Some people might call it crazy but I call it sheer bliss. The one and only horse show that I was able to attend this year happened over this past weekend. Friday morning I drove to Roscoe, IL to help set up. This all starts with driving the horses and all the equipment to the horse show, dumping it, and then putting it all away. This process can take anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours (depending on who is working and what horse show it is). I was impressed with how fast Zack and George set up on Friday. Here is the after picture: (They were too quick for me to take a before picture).

Yes, there are curtains involved, tables, chairs, sometimes fencing and fake plants. We really get into it. Anyway, so after setting up usually comes working the horses. I rode Ace in the ring so he could get used to it and anything that might be considered "scary" to a horse, he could get over it. Usually after working the horses comes the endless tack cleaning but thankfully that was done the previous day at home (meaning the barn). Therefore, I was free to go home and get some rest because Saturday I would be waking up at a time that no one should be waking up at on a Saturday or Sunday.

6:30 AM rolls around Saturday and I am up packing all my things which include: show clothing, hat, blankets, lunch, doggie items, and purse. Now, I am a very efficient person and so most of these things were packed in the car the night before, so there was not that much to do in the morning and hence could sleep in later. My mother and I drive the hour it takes to get there through "exciting" scenery and arrive right on time.

The beautiful Illinois scenery. You have never seen such flatness.
Exciting...I know.

This is what I drove an hour through. That is the horse trailer ahead of me which I was supposed to keep 6 paces back. I didn't know what that meant so I just kept my distance.

To sum up my classes in a nutshell and to non-Saddlebred people this might seem confusing but just go with it. There were 4 different western classes that I went in over the weekend; 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. In both classes on Saturday I got cut off by another horse which wasn't so bad in the first class but in the second class my horse tripped in the process of stopping and fell to his knees with me almost going over his head. I say 'almost' because I didn't fall off because my horse somehow got back up. I swear I had a sign on my back that said 'Please cut me off!' Despite all of this, I got 2nd in the first class and 3rd in the second class.

Sunday morning started pretty much the same way. I was in the first class of the morning and there were 15 horses in with me- 15! That is huge in the tiny ring we had to show in. Ace was more tired that day (makes me wonder what they all do at night) and so we got 5th out of 15. The second class we totally blew because of pilot error and took the wrong canter lead in front of the judge. We did not place in that class. Overall, I thought it was a great show and I am going to have to remember that judge's name because she really liked Ace, despite all that happened in the ring. Unfortunately, I am a terrible picture taker and those are the only 5 pictures I got the whole weekend. Sorry. (Although I must say that is more than what Saskia took on her NY trip.)

I am going to miss yet another show season but I guess it is worth it because in another 2 1/4 years when I start showing again (hopefully with another horse + Ace) they are going to be calling DR. Karen Dangieri as the winner.

Until next time...