Success!!
Despite a seriously annoying show management miscommunication that resulted in me not having shown/existed at all according to their paperwork, and thus no results, or ribbons, Dino's first jumper show was a grand success!
He trailered like an absolute dream, and marched right on and got off calmly every time, stuffing his face with hay while my barn owner's baby mare stomped and kicked and carried on. Once we got to the show, Dino just observed the craziness... not even batting an eye at all the people, trucks, trailers, new farm, and mini horses. He was totally chill. Needless to say the hectic warmup ring was a piece of cake for my little buddy, and he trotted around with his nose on the ground, ears up, just taking in the sights and sounds. He did, however, refuse the super-plain, boring, non-scary warmup jumps. Twice. I'm not really sure what his deal was with that, but he got a spanking, jumped the jumps, and then we headed down to the ingate to learn our course and wait for our turn to go. (Bonus: I remembered all my courses AND jump-offs!)
The first class was... a learning experience. I KNOW Dino doesn't do well after long breaks of standing around, but I didn't get him moving enough before heading into the ring for our first class, and he was more than a little cranky about getting up to speed. I had to use a lot of stick & spur to get him going, and he threw a huge buck about 6 strides before the first fence, but eventually we got going! He also trotted the entire triple combination. Whoops. But, we got around without faults and went double-clear, so I'd call that a rather successful first go!
Lesson learned, I trotted him up and down the path to the ring a few times before our second class and got him a bit more in front of my leg, and hit the "reset button" by backing him up a few steps before picking up our canter in the ring, and our second round was much more forward. Double clear!
The third round was by far the best. Dino was forward and looking for the fences, and the concept of the jump-off definitely clicked by the third class. He cantered right off for our last jump-off and rocked around like he'd been doing it forever. I was so happy with how he went!
Positives of the Day: Dino jumped his first liverpool, and a lot of other new, colorful jumps, without batting an eye, we got around each and every course and jump-off, we had no rails, I saw good distances all day, and Dino handled the show atmosphere like a total champ.
Things To Work On: Riding at shows like I ride at home. In the heat of the moment I tend to scrunch my legs up, jump ahead, and just get a little sloppy overall. I'd like to be as tight, cool, and collected as I am jumping at home. Now that Dino has made it through his first jumper show I'd also like to work on picking up the speed, getting a little faster, and not taking the scenic route around the ring. Cantering off without complaints after a period of standing or walking is also something we definitely need to work on!
Overall, it was a great morning, and I'm glad I decided on the 2' division for our first outing, as there were a couple iffy moments (*cough*trottingthetriple*cough*). My plan for next time is to do one more show at 2' to get Dino a little more solid, and then move up after that. Special thanks to Jess, who got up insanely early to help us at the show and was an awesome pit crew, my barn owner for letting us hitch a ride, and Michael for being an excellent show husband/photographer.
And now... pictures!! These are a couple of my favorites, if you follow us on Facebook you can find more there!
He trailered like an absolute dream, and marched right on and got off calmly every time, stuffing his face with hay while my barn owner's baby mare stomped and kicked and carried on. Once we got to the show, Dino just observed the craziness... not even batting an eye at all the people, trucks, trailers, new farm, and mini horses. He was totally chill. Needless to say the hectic warmup ring was a piece of cake for my little buddy, and he trotted around with his nose on the ground, ears up, just taking in the sights and sounds. He did, however, refuse the super-plain, boring, non-scary warmup jumps. Twice. I'm not really sure what his deal was with that, but he got a spanking, jumped the jumps, and then we headed down to the ingate to learn our course and wait for our turn to go. (Bonus: I remembered all my courses AND jump-offs!)
The first class was... a learning experience. I KNOW Dino doesn't do well after long breaks of standing around, but I didn't get him moving enough before heading into the ring for our first class, and he was more than a little cranky about getting up to speed. I had to use a lot of stick & spur to get him going, and he threw a huge buck about 6 strides before the first fence, but eventually we got going! He also trotted the entire triple combination. Whoops. But, we got around without faults and went double-clear, so I'd call that a rather successful first go!
Lesson learned, I trotted him up and down the path to the ring a few times before our second class and got him a bit more in front of my leg, and hit the "reset button" by backing him up a few steps before picking up our canter in the ring, and our second round was much more forward. Double clear!
The third round was by far the best. Dino was forward and looking for the fences, and the concept of the jump-off definitely clicked by the third class. He cantered right off for our last jump-off and rocked around like he'd been doing it forever. I was so happy with how he went!
Positives of the Day: Dino jumped his first liverpool, and a lot of other new, colorful jumps, without batting an eye, we got around each and every course and jump-off, we had no rails, I saw good distances all day, and Dino handled the show atmosphere like a total champ.
Things To Work On: Riding at shows like I ride at home. In the heat of the moment I tend to scrunch my legs up, jump ahead, and just get a little sloppy overall. I'd like to be as tight, cool, and collected as I am jumping at home. Now that Dino has made it through his first jumper show I'd also like to work on picking up the speed, getting a little faster, and not taking the scenic route around the ring. Cantering off without complaints after a period of standing or walking is also something we definitely need to work on!
Overall, it was a great morning, and I'm glad I decided on the 2' division for our first outing, as there were a couple iffy moments (*cough*trottingthetriple*cough*). My plan for next time is to do one more show at 2' to get Dino a little more solid, and then move up after that. Special thanks to Jess, who got up insanely early to help us at the show and was an awesome pit crew, my barn owner for letting us hitch a ride, and Michael for being an excellent show husband/photographer.
And now... pictures!! These are a couple of my favorites, if you follow us on Facebook you can find more there!
woot! good job you two! you both look amazing!
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