Musings After a Horse Show

     Ah, the Monday after a horse show.  It's a time to reflect and reassess.  It's a time where I spend way too much time looking at pictures and watching videos instead of doing laundry and putting horse show things away.  It's a time when I can really realize how lucky I am to be able to ride and show dressage.  I can appreciate how awesome my horse is even when he's not perfect.  So let's reflect on how lucky I am. 

     Let me start by thanking my support team.  I had friends and family show up to support me in person and in spirit.  You all are amazing and appreciated beyond measure.  Grace, you were an amazing groom and photographer and I cannot wait to share some of those pictures.  Steven earned some major husband points by being with me literally every step of the way from Friday morning helping me bathe Mort and load the trailer, to Sunday evening making me dinner because I was too tired.  He's officially joined the ranks of Horse Show Husbands. 

     Now let's talk about Mort.  I couldn't be more proud of how he handled the weekend.  He always travels well, but this was our first trip for a full weekend.  He wasn't spooky about anything and I could have trusted Steven to hand walk, bathe, groom, etc.  He took everything in stride and was a happy, albeit sometimes bored, camper.  Thank you racehorse world for creating good travelers. 

     I'm not going to lie and say we put down perfect tests all weekend.  We sometimes struggle with tension at home, so finding it had followed us to the show was no surprise.  I'll do a full recap this week, but it's safe to say that both show mornings started out with some tension and trouble connecting him back-to-front.  Both afternoons showed dramatic improvements in scores and relaxation in spite of being technically harder tests.  Saturday we went from a 62% to a 65% and Sunday we went from a 56% to a 64%.  Both afternoons I left the arena proud and satisfied. 

     Mort's afternoon rides were a real pleasure.  I lost him a couple of times but each time he came back to me.  This is tremendous for us--especially in a show environment.  He stayed connected and listened to my half-halts.  I could lift him up to bring him back then release a bit to help him relax.  If I can find that horse more and more often we'll really be able to start laying down some fun tests.  I'm proud of being the one who has trained him thus far.  In spite of all of our shortcomings we're learning to have fun together at home and at shows. 

     All-in-all it was a great weekend.  Mort earned some time off while I try to prep for my half-marathon this Saturday.  We may not have been technically perfect and we certainly didn't earn any high-point awards, but I have a fun horse and wonderful friends who make life great and that's what really counts in the long-run.