Actually it was an amazing amount of fun! Starr Vaughn is such a nice equestrian facility. I arrived in Sacramento around 3:30 on Friday. Greeted by Hilary who was schooling some horses and was told to hop on Glare and head out to the jumping ring, and she'd meet me in a few. I found our stalls, and by the time I got my bearings, Beto had Glare tacked up and ready to go.
And go we did- the second he saw the Jumper jumps, he got pumped. A little too pumped. So Hilary and I took turns riding him for the next two hours until he was settled enough to go around a course in a way that didn't scare the pants off me.
Once we finished the ride, I passed him off the the grooms and he got a bath. I have never met a horse who smelled so good!
Hilary (trainer), Alex (assistant trainer), Taylor (rider), and I all went out to a late dinner then checked into our hotel. I met Hilary in the hotel bar for a late evening beer and we gossiped and chatted. Finally off to bed at around midnight. Ahhh- a TV and my own King sized bed!
Up again at 5:30 to head out to the barn. Glare was much more relaxed (tired?) than Friday, so we didn't have any problems in our warmup. Our classes didn't start until around 11am, so I hung around and cheered our other riders on. I rode on the Child/Adult 2'6" classes. Despite being a little quick to some of the fences, and swapping leads in two of the classes, everything was really positive. We even handled the rollbacks without any major upsets. In fact, the two fences after the rollbacks were probably the best of the two courses. A little disappointed that we didn't end up riding in any of the Jumper classes, but I'm not certain that Glare would have calmed down enough to do the Hunter stuff after, so I'm glad that we nixed it. I did come away with a couple of things to work on at home (quiet hands and legs during the approach to the fence), which is always motivating.
After the classes, I packed up my car, gave Glare tons of treats, and watched a few more classes before heading home to a nice dinner with Paul.
A good Show weekend!
A Soggy Glare
The Hunter Ring
Another shot of the Hunter Ring
Our Stalls
The Indoor
Beto, Hilary, and Alex helping Ginger and her pony warm up
Good Job Moy Glare!
