Well, 2013 is still a bit slim on the saddle hours. We’ve had rotten weather and my work-load continues to be rather heavier than is ideal.
But, today we went by a show that some of our barn peeps were riding in to watch the competition. I am not very into the show world and I don’t think I ever will be, but it is interesting sometimes to see what goes down at these things. I try not to be an overly critical person, but I have to say an hour at a show is about enough to leave me sick to my stomach. The percentage of horses in that ring that were happy and relaxed was infinitesimal. People who looked like they were having fun was almost as rare a sight.
At any rate, I will not digress too far. We watched our girl ride in a handful of classes, and I found I am inept at judging these sorts of open shows. Apparently what I consider good horsemanship and what the judges admire do not overlap much.
After the show, we went out to the barn and had a nice little ride. I rode Steen. He’s definitely getting back in better shape, and was keen to go. So worked on loping a fair bit and some fun things like simple lead changes and hard stops. He seemed to be having as much fun as I was, which is always a nice feeling.
Ride Time: 0:45
Horseback hours YTD: 5:45