Here We Go.....

Tomorrow is the dressage schooling show. I did not end up entering Savannah, which was a rather crazy thought to begin with! But I did enter Tokaj and we are entered in Training Level Test 2. I was going to do more than one test, but then decided that between volunteering at the show, and lack of real preparation due to having houseguests for the last two weeks... I think one class is going to be just fine.

I am trying not to be nervous and so far have been successful. I don't know, there is something both nice and cowardly about going unprepared. On the one hand, there is no pressure to be awesome so I can chill out, on the other hand... it is kind of cowardly to have a built in excuse as to why it is not going to be good. So I will work on that next time and try to be prepared to wow the judge!

Other immediate plans include Tokaj's first cross country schooling session and first schooling horse trial. All that madness will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of May. I will amp up our training sessions the next two weeks so that we can make a decent showing at those outings.

I have found a prospective jumping coach and look forward to getting my first lesson with her in the upcoming week as well. I chose to try a hunter/jumper trainer since she is local, but also VERY good. Although she does not do cross country jumping, hunter riders are masters of creating an optimal jump each and every time. I have prided myself in the past on being able to stay out of my horse's way when jumping (like not yanking their mouth over the fence, or bumping their backs), but there is a lot more to it, and HELPING the horse a bit rather than being a polite passenger would sure be nice! I will write about our experience after we have it.

I better get out there and give Tokaj one last ride, and a nice cold bath (poor thing... but what do you do with a nearly white horse?). She is going to look lovely tomorrow even if our performance is just so-so!

Later....