Lost Shoe, Show Plans - 8 days To Go

This week got  off to a great start - Ben had Monday off, and Tuesday the trainer rode him and told me he had a great ride - which is awesome because that means at the very least I didn't ruin everything with my weekend of fun riding adventures.

On Wednesday, I was chatting with an old friend and we decided to plan to go to a local show that benefits a rescue group, Save a Forgotten Equine. This show is great because it offers English/Western, Dressage, Hunters/Jumpers, and Trail classes - and is very green horse friendly. So if you want to get your feet wet in a new discipline, the SAFE Show is the place to go. Also, its a 2 day show at a very popular horse venue- so it is also a great introduction for green horses to experience Donida  - a place they will likely be showing quite often in their careers.

And so, after we solidified our plans, I dutifully went online to register, pay my fees, and head out to the barn to see Ben. Turns out Ben had a busy day too - he and his buddy Finn decided to take a tour, or several, of their pasture, and completed the day by somehow each losing their left front shoes.

Awesome.

Ben loses out on a training day on Thursday too, farrier can't come out till Monday evening.


Which is great because I had the bright idea of signing us up for not only our Training Level tests (Saturday), but also the walk/trot division in the Hunters - complete with a ground poles course.

Have we ever practiced ground poles? Yes- but in a dressage-y kind of way - never between standards in a hunter-style course.

So today, while booted up, I set out our ground poles and stacked my cavelletti cubes as standards and we walked through them, together. Ben had no issue facing them head on - but it was when he saw the standards behind him that he had a mild reaction.

Next week we have to practice this...like more than once.

Despite the stress of his lost shoe and not being able to ride this weekend, I am still excited for the show. I think he'll be a bit of a turkey - but better to be a turkey now than at a bigger show down the road.