Happy National Pink Day!

My favourite day of the year :)

If you don't know me, I have pink hair!



I'm a big fan of pink! So I really wanted to do a blog post today. After much thought, I've decided to showcase pictures that are a combination of two of my favourite things: pink, and poodles!









Now, who would do this to their dog, I have no idea... but it's kinda cute :) And just for fun, some adorable pink poodle cookies too:



Enjoy Pink Day!

Show!

Well, we survived... barely :)

Gia freaked out as soon as we got to the show, and literally DIDN'T STOP freaking out ALL DAY. Seriously. When my shipper came to pick us up at 3:00 in the afternoon, even SHE mentioned how bad Gia was freaking out. She basically threw herself in circles, whinnying like a banshee for EIGHT HOURS... except for about half an hour where a fellow competitor took pity on us and let us use one of her stalls.

I was too dumb to reserve a stall and by the time we got there, they had none left-- a mistake I WILL NOT make again. We kind of holed up in a corner, doing our best to hang on to a screaming, jigging, pawing beast. Trust me, putting hoof polish on her was a nightmare, and switching from halter to bridle and back again (without having her break free and hightail it out of the barn) was a carefully planned, lightning-fast mission.

Luckily, thank god, the classes were not judged on behaviour!

I had a good look around at our competition... it was quite busy, lots of entries, and some super-nice horses. But I was pleased to see that we fit in quite well... I was afraid we'd be ratty-looking, but Gia was gleaming and lovely. I looked like a pink-haired drowned rat because of the rain, but at least the horse looked good!

All in all we did really well! We got a 2nd and 3rd in our dressage type classes, and a 3rd and 4th in our hunter type classes. I was happy to see that the classes were placing pretty much exactly how I thought they would, which meant that my eye for conformation is not as bad as I thought it was. In every class, we placed just below the fancy (and, I'm sure, expensive) warmbloods. Most of them were offspring of a particular stallion, and I was so impressed with them that I'll have to look up the stallion himself. Not that I have any intention of breeding... but if I DID, lol...

Anyway, the show was tough but great. I can't wait to do it again in the fall. I'm so proud of my beautiful girl!

Pics... not many, unfortunately, my husband was only able to stay for one class. But here you go!

In our little corner...





Walking through the barns, trying to keep a psychotic Gia calm



In lineup... setting up!





Being judged



I am so glad to be home, and I'm sure Gia is too! I'm going to sleep well tonight, with the help of some ibuprofen to help my poor sore knees... spending a whole day walking in circles on concrete is murder on the joints!

Nervous!

I can't believe I'm still freaking out about this show tomorrow. I haven't been this nervous about a show since the state dressage championships in 2006 (which, for the record, I won!) I am sitting here bored at work, thinking about everything I need to do today to prepare. It's going to be a long day, and an early morning tomorrow!

I want to take my mind off of tomorrow, but I can't think of anything else but horse shows, so I'm going to post our planned schedule for the rest of the summer:

July 10th: Sunnyside Saddle Club hunter show
July 24th: Willoughby Saddle Club show
August 28th: Sunnyside Saddle Club hunter show
September 23rd-25th: BC Sporthorse Fall Show

Also, Jessy and Moira plan to do the CVP Horse Trials August 12th-14, and we are toying with the idea of sharing Moira at the MREC Hunter/Jumper show over Labour Day weekend. We'll see on that one.

So... my goal for Gia was to do two big shows and one schooling show. After this weekend, I will be most of the way to that goal (having done one schooling show and one big show).

I also intend to start taking lessons. I have a hunter/jumper trainer coming next week for a trial lesson, we'll see how that goes. I don't know what Gia wants to do yet... hunters? Dressage? Usually I can tell pretty quickly but not with her. So we'll let an experienced H/J rider tell me what she thinks.

Well, back to my obsessive list-making about what I have to do and pack tonight... okay, can't forget the hay bag, treats, oh and of course the bridles...

Horse shows. That is all.

It's only Wednesday and I'm super nervous about the show on Saturday. I don't even know why... I am normally NEVER nervous at shows (I've been to so dang many they just don't bug me anymore). Plus, it's only an in-hand show, so I won't even be riding... hardly any risk of bodily harm this way :)

I think it's just that I think I really have something special in Gia, and I'm kind of afraid that the judges are going to disagree. I wouldn't want to hear that she's actually really badly put together and isn't worth spit. I'm not a great judge of conformation, I admit it... but I THINK what I see when I look at her is pretty good.

I guess we'll just have to see! What's the worst that could happen-- they'll tell me she's built like a donkey and moves like a Buick with a flat tire? In reality, that isn't very likely to happen... more likely is that we'll just go in all of our classes and get nothing out of it. But it doesn't matter, it won't make her any less valuable to ME.

In the meantime, I will continue to harbour my daydreams about winning... I'm not greedy, she doesn't need to win grand champion overall or anything like that... a reserve championship in her division would be just fine :)

Yesterday I practiced braiding her for the show... how can you blame me for thinking she's drop-dead gorgeous? Just look at her!





Perhaps I'm just really, really barn blind. Ah well <3

SUPERPONY!!

Saturday was the Campbell Valley Pony Club trophy show at Milner Downs. Jessy took Moira, we didn't have super high expectations, Jessy had a bunch of friends going to the show so just wanted to go have a good time. She did-- she and Moira got a 6th out of 12, a 6th out of 11, and a 4th out of 15... they were amazing!



I can't get over this mare. Last Thursday Jessy popped her over some jumps. She even taped colourful paper to one of the poles to make it "scary". You think Moira cared? Nope. She hops over everything, no sweat. Her temperament is so wonderful... this mare is seriously worth her weight in gold.

She and Jessy plan to do the jumping classes at the next Sunnyside Saddle Club show, then hopefully compete at the Campbell Valley horse trials in August. So exciting! Who'd have thought they'd come this far in such a short time?

I can't wait. Now, if only Gia would take a lesson from Moira and settle down a bit... :)

Few more show pics:

Sunnyside Video

Just a quick vid Jessy made of the Sunnyside show



There are a couple of clips of the Supermodel and I in there, and I was really impressed at how we looked. Yes, she was tossing her head around, but we didn't look like we were careening off the arena rails like a ping-pong ball... which is what it felt like :)

Go us!

Sunnyside show!

Well, we survived! I didn't get bucked off, and we managed to make it through both classes we entered. Yes, she flipped out and embarrassed me when we got there. As soon as Jessy took Moira to be longed, Gia figured she was going to die an immediate and painful death and proceeded to spin in circles screaming madly, while trying to trample me. It got quite exciting for a bit.

Beyond that, she had one medium-sized meltdown when I first got on her... threatened to bolt, skittered sideways, but we still made it into the ring and our class. The rest of our rides were typical green-horse stuff-- spooking, whinnying, random stopping and bolting. Her inability to walk in a straight line is pretty legendary. But... she had some lovely moments of softness, and when they called for the lineup she stood like a stone (which frankly surprised me!)

We entered two walk-trot classes and got a 3rd and a 4th. Not too shabby! I was just shocked when we didn't place dead last in our class!

The Superpony did pretty good too... they got a 2nd and 3rd in the walk-trot classes, and a 4th in the Green Horse. After the classes, Jessy schooled her a bit in the lovely big warmup arena, and popped her over a crossrail... she was a star.

All in all, a good day! The show was low-key, in a nice setting (Sunnyside's facilities are fantastic!) They have shows there all summer, and I'm sure we'll be going back.

Pics!

Getting ready to head out





Showtime!








Results being announced



Moira objected mightily to the ribbons, for some reason. Notice Gia standing there like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Very suspicious...





Next show... BC Sporthorse show, 2 weeks! :)

Balance

Yesterday I went to physiotherapy for the first time, for a longstanding back issue that has only been exacerbated by pregnancy and getting pitched off the Supermodel. It was very interesting, I learned a lot-- about how the way I hold myself and the things I do affect my back and neck pain. I was sent home with lots of stretches and exercises to work on to improve my core muscles, which is kind of exciting to me as it will only improve my riding.

I feel very positive right now, for the first time in my life I feel like I'm actively working toward both my physical AND mental health. It's not an easy road, and I have a tendancy to get overwhelmed and upset. Hopefully I can look back at this post and remember that it isn't always like that, and it WILL get better with work and time.

One of the very interesting things that was pointed out to me is that I am not very good at breathing. (How can a human being NOT be good at breathing, you ask? I know, right?) I have a tendancy to hold my breath at the slightest provocation. I have to learn to relax and breathe... which we all already know I'm not good at. :) That will help my mental state, and of course my riding as well. Yes, I tend to look at things from the point of view of my riding-- but it gives me a physical, concrete perspective on what I'm trying to accomplish or change.

At any rate. I will be doing my exercises diligently (in fact, my boss even put out an exercise ball for me in the office!) and looking forward to the results. In the meantime, our show is this coming weekend, so there's lots to do right now!

My big goal for the show: concentration and focus. Gia lacks both, and it'll only be worse when there are a bunch of strange horses around her. I expect she'll lose her little pea brain at all the excitement. So I want to work very hard at both of us maintaining our focus, not getting distracted and/or frustrated. Anything else is gravy.

I can't wait! (Oh, and cross your fingers for good weather, I don't want to be hacking to the show in the rain!)