FUN show

Bobby and I at last years Fun Show


The Fun Show is just that - a fun show. At this point in my life I am not financially ready to pay for a larger breed show. The open shows are geared mostly towards Quarter Horses, so I basically go to one or two smaller Morgan sponsored shows a year. I made the mistake earlier this year of going to an A rated show with Bobby. The show itself was great, but I really have a difficult time justifying the cost of the 3 day show considering the fact that I'm not trying to get to Nationals AND I'm only an occasional shower at this point. Anyway, last year Bobby and I went the MJMHA (Michigan Justin Morgan Horse Association) Fun Show and we kicked patootie. It's set up like a normal show for the most part, the same classes as the big shows are there - they just add in some fun classes like egg n' spoon and ride a five for FUN. Also, the placings aren't counted towards anything, it's all JUST FOR FUN! Bobby and I won every single class we went into, including 2 championships (one was a reserve). I even won the adult equitation on Snippy, a 30 year old Quarter Horse gelding. Never before had I known such sweet sweet success at a horse show! I know that it was just a silly Fun Show, but that is epitome of why I show horses. It's supposed to be fun. I hope that when I do have the funds to make it to the regional shows as well as Nationals, that I don't forget to enjoy it too. It's just too expensive not to.





Anyway, the Fun Show is coming up in two weeks, and I'm debating on whether or not to go. I did volunteer to help out, so if anything, I can watch everyone else have fun!

Stuff

I haven't blogged in a bit, but that's only because of all the fun I've been having! Last weekend, my mom, dad and I drove to Washington D.C. for my oldest and dearest friend, Laura's wedding.

On the way, my mom wanted to stop at the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania. Much to my dad's chagrin, we drove about 20 miles out of our way, through the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, to the spot where this ill fated flight touched ground. I was pretty indifferent to going to this site, but once we arrived, there was a sense of sadness, heroism and reality. I think everyone remembers what they were doing on September 11th several years ago. Being there really made it real for me. We spent some time quietly looking at the many memorials, thousands of trinkets and mementos people had left and then way off in the distance, the one American Flag that marks the spot of impact. The place that the plane landed is peaceful, serene and beautiful, which brought a sense of peace to the site. Although it felt somewhat morbid, it was worth seeing, if only to pay our respects to the poor yet very brave and heroic souls who lost their lives that day.

The wedding was great, Laura was beautiful and the reception was a B to the last! Everyone partook in the festivities - both liquid and physical (as in dancing), and at 3:30 in the morning, my parents and I stumbled up to our room and hit the hay. We woke up at 7:00 the next morning to a FULL day of site seeing. Even though we'd all been to DC before, we couldn't help but fit the description of full blow tourists. My dad in his denim shorts and USA visor, my mom with her camera and I, well, just being with them singled me out. We had a great time though, we moseyed to several monuments, ate lunch and hit 2 very crowded Smithsonian museums.
I have pictures that I'll post later.

In other news, I missed riding Gypsy last week, but the week prior I rode her in a Hunt Saddle. She took it in stride, and behaved like the superstar she is. The only issue with the hunt saddle is that it's difficult to get her to pick up her pace. This is a Morgan we're talking about here, so I don't know what gives. Sometimes I feel like I'm riding an elderly Shetland pony!

This weekend I will ride her western again and work on her cantering. She needs to slow down, balance out and relax, so I think I'm going to just canter using the whole arena and then gradually decrease the circles as she relaxes into her canter. I would really like to take her to a Fun Show that's coming up in September, but unfortunately it doesn't offer adult walk trot classes, and Gypsy is NOT ready for Canter. Not only is her canter very fast, but she doesn't like to go into the corners on her left lead, so I have this vision of Gypsy and I at an out of control pace, zipping around the ring taking out other horses, the judge, photographer and ring steward in one pass - YIKES!

BIG P.S. here, I also notice that there are a bunch of tacky Google ads on this blog all of a sudden. The other day I was fiddling around with the settings and trying to ad little extras here and there when I noticed an ad that asked if I wanted to make money from my blog. Well, being the blogging idiot that I am, I clicked on it, filled out the information and well, here I am. How in the world to I take those ads off? First off, there's no way I'm going to make Moolah on this blog - It's not interesting enough, and 2nd, the ads are hideous.

Friday Nights

One question as I sit here by my lonesome on a Friday night?

Is tonight a stemless night, or does it require a stem? I'm going with stem :).

I didn't realize that B was going to be working late on homework with some classmates at a pizzeria downtown tonight. So, I made my way home in good spirits. Anxious to kick off the weekend with my boy (B) and girls (dog and cat) in style. Will we play Wii? Will we drink some beers and sit on the deck? The possibilities were endless for this girl. I got home, finished my phone convo. with my good friend S, and waited for B to come home. I waited, and waited some more. I decided to check out a new blog I discovered www.dooce.com (love her), and waited some more. Finally, I called B who informed me that he told me yesterday that he'd be finishing up his school project tonight and wouldn't be home 'till late. Dang my memory, and dang his project. I couldn't help but sound disappointed to B on the phone, I know it's super selfish of me, poor B has worked hard all week with work and school - all I do is work, come home, and stuff myself full of any succulent morsel of food in my vicinity while watching episodes of Big Brother on On Demand. I am a bad baaaaad wifey! So, really, I owe B an apology for acting a fool when I discovered his foolhardy notion of actually studying on a Friday night! WHAT has the world come to? So, I chose a nice stemmed wine glass out of the cupboard. It's 1 of a set of 6 that we got as a wedding gift. Something about drinking cheap wine out of an expensive long stemmed wine glass, makes the wine taste just a bit better. I'm going to enjoy this quiet time, just me, my fine wine glass, Polka Dot Riesling and the girls.

Bobby's Antics

I know I've written about Bobby before, but I'd like to talk about a horse show that he and I attended earlier this summer.



I've been riding and showing Bobby now for quite a few summers. We started off riding huntseat, and now after a year of working on it, are in the western pleasure division. The reason I switched is because Bobby isn't as flashy as a mover as many Morgans are in the hunter division. You should see it, many of the winning Morgan hunters look fresh off the English Pleasure division. It almost seems that the higher their action, the better they do. I personally don't quite get it, it really pushes out the Morgans who aren't cut out for Saddle seat but are still talented horses right out of the loop. It pushed Bobby and I into Western Pleasure, but not all horses can pull that off either. Bla - that's getting a bit off topic.



So, this summer rolled around and Bobby and I had been working diligently on getting back into show ring shape. He's just such a cool little horse, he is smart and willing most of the time. But, the year prior he started pulling a little stunt while in the show ring. I know that it's my fault, and I can pinpoint the exact moment that he learned he could get away with this little shenanighan too. More on that later though. So, here is Bobby's little ummm....bad point. We enter the show ring at a jog (customary in Morgan Western pleasure) Bobby goes along splendidly, with a beautiful head set, nice pace. He transitions wonderfully into the walk, lope and then when we reverse, he pivots and continues on like a champ. HERE is where the funny stuff begins though. Bobby knows that once we reverse, it's only a matter of time before we line up and leave the ring. I can always feel the tension building in the stinker pot. I can always keep him under control while we walk and lope, but once the announcer calls for the jog, Bobby knows it's coming, he can't wait, he knows the announcer is going to say "jog your horses into the center and line them up," any moment now. This is where he shoots off the rail in excitement and attempts to cut into the center before he's allowed. I attempt to keep him busy on the rail so he doesn't think about it (it doesn't work), if I grab the rein closest to the rail and pull him back over, he tosses his head and starts with the whole "I'm gonna' buck" routine. He is downright NAUGHTY.



So, Jill (the trainer) and I had spoken extensively on what needed to be done. She said that if I needed to blow the class to discipline Bobby, to do it. So, the final class we entered, Bobby was great - right up until the final jog. He began acting antsy and sure enough, pulled away from the rail. With that, I grabbed the outside rein and spun him around while giving him a good smack with my heel. He agreed with me after that that we should return back to the rail, but when we got to the opposite side of the ring - BAM- he tried it again. So, once again I spun him around a couple of times a knocked him with my heel. We finished the rest of the class without issues after that, but it was a very embarrassing and humbling experience for me.



A few years ago, at a Morgan/Saddlebred show, Bobby stepped off the rail for a moment deliberately. I thought he spooked, so I allowed him to cut across the middle of the ring so that it would appear smoother for the judge. THAT moment right there was when all of this started. It just goes to show that if I give Bobby and inch, he'll take a mile. Horses are smart and this horse took me for a ride.



So, I am contemplating getting back up on Bobby and giving it another go. I needed to really sort some stuff out and think about my plan of attack for this horse. He is for sale and has been, but he pulled this stunt in front of many trainers and potential buyers. Him pulling that just makes him look unsteady, not honest and full of problems, which he's not. I'm very sad about it, because it's my fault. Now Bobby is sitting in his stall, when he should be underneath some little kid who dotes and loves on him all of the time. I would say that Bobby is best for a 12 year old + rider, and would really excel in the Jr. exhibitor division. Although he and I have quite a few blues, champion and reserve champion ribbons from the Amateur ring too :). Well, this is getting quite long -I'll keep the blog posted on what happens. We have a FUN SHOW coming up that Bobby went undefeated at last year, maybe I'll take him back this year, it was fun!

The picture above doesn't quite do Bobby justice - and check out my Chair seat - blah! Here's a youtube video of Bobby if you want to see how he moves in real life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBLOjncsTZ0

Today

This is me - see my pastiness? It's the bane of my existence really, but things could be worse. BTW, it looks like I'm topless, but fear not, I'm wearing a tube top.

Today, I'm sitting by a pool NOT tanning. This is what I do ya'll - I burn and freckle. No worries though - we'll have some cold ones and lots of sunscreen and all will be okay with the world! I like to drink Mich Ultras at the pool! What about you?



We've had such a mild summer so far this year, and it's so nice to finally have some sunshine + heat up in here. Tomorrow will be perfect barn weather too. It's going to be 78-ish and sunny so I can ride Gypsy without dying of heat stroke. Lucky her and lucky me!