Seeing the light in Western Pleasure. Owning Horsemanship.
This last show in Spokane, Wa was a blast!! I arrived at the fair grounds after I had snuck away from work a bit early - just in time to do my Western Pleasure class for that day. Actually I might have been able to do my Hunt Seat class too but I arrived 10 minutes to show time and I am such a headcase when I am rushing that I decided to let it go and just focus on Western Pleasure.
My trainer, bless his heart, had Stretch all cleaned up, banded and ready to go - and was even willing to help me prepare for Hunt Seat if I wanted to try and do that. But boy when I told him that "no - I wasn't going to do that to myself" he was so relieved and assured me that I had made the better choice. It gave me time to rush my tack over to the tack stall, tack up Strech in his show tack, and then rush back over to the my trailer and throw on my show clothes.
After a long conversation with my Wyoming friend via cell phone, I had convinced myself to do Horsemanship and Trail so to prepare for Horsemanship I memorized the pattern and put on my cream chaps matched with my light blue wstrn show shirt (this was also nice because it is one of 2 western show shirts I have that I can wear thremal underwear under - and it was cold out I needed it this weekend) topped with my straw hat, which is one of the few combinations I have that I could use in a novice horsemanship class.
Our western pleasure class went well - we won it, but there was only 2 people in the class and the other was my fellow barn mate, Marti, and she wasn't having the best of times with her horse. Its always hard to enjoy your win when it comes as the result of someone else's horrible ride. The ideal win is of course when everyone in your class has a good go and your horse comes out on top. I wanted to stop in the class and help her so bad - one of the many trainers who were keeping an eye on me (there were 3, my trainer Joe, his friend Todd, and his other trainer friend Carolyn Rice) - perhaps it was Joe I heard - I just can't be sure. They kept urging me forward even though Marti was stuck in the cornner with her horse "Stop looking back! Keep riding...show your horse!" I heard coming from the rail - so I did. But I did offer Marti a big hug on both days after the class, because you what, I have BEEN there and its not a happy place. I also stepped up and won the class the next day with one more person in the class, in front of my parents who stopped by to watch me and visit their beloved horse Patrick. I was as high as a kite! 
The Coup d'état
The whole time on friday I said nothing of a horsemanship class to my trainer or barn friend Kelly - because they had been pressuring me to do horsemanship since I bought Stretch (because they are right, he would be great at it - but that's not the point). I don't really like Horsemanship at all - I usually suck at the patterns, I think its boring and it seems to be in AQHA shows, where horses go when they aren't quite good enough to compete in Western Pleasure. So I have resisted it and refused to do it maybe more because I was being harassed about it than anything else. So because deep down I am NOT stupid nor that stuborn, I knew that they were right - and have been peeking at the patterns looking for an easy one to try. This weekend I found an easy one and had it memorized - and was ready to go - my plan was to surprise everyone and jump in the class.
But my evil plans were cut off at the pass by my trainer who didn't think it was the best idea and thought that if I was now interested in Horsemanship he'd like oppurtunity to tune up Stretch's stops and turn arounds before I jumped in the class. Of course the reaction I got was worth the effort of memorizing the pattern and actually putting some thought into what I was wearing. "Now wait a minute....wait a minute...you said..." was what I heard and he was very animated when he said it. I know exactly what I said before - but I've changed my mind. It was glorious! 
At least this way it was my idea and I owned it. I didn't do the class, it was bad enough I sprung it on him like that, I at the very least followed his advice and decided to wait - but I will give it a shot this year I think.
I know this would make me seem like an annoying client, but if that's the worst that i do - I think I am alright. And besided that's just me, part of being Stephanie.
Hunt Seat
Hunt Seat also went well, although there was only one other person in the class, and in the Novice and then in the next one that followed if kind of felt like Stretch would've preferred to have just been loping instead of trotting so I didn't feel like I could push him as far as i know he can go - so we did take the class or anything but we did well and the placings were very fair I thought.
I got to try out my new dickies that my friend Tracy made for me and I used the one Kelly bought for me for my birthday. Also my jacket fit so much nice after Tracy had taken it in. All looked very nice, don't know what I would do without my show friends. I continued to recieve comments about my light colored breeches...Todd says I need darker ones...and I have been looking its just that I don't have a lot to spend on new ones. So I guess if I come across a good used pair I will pick them up - other than that my breeches will just have to be a little lighter than what everyone else is wearing.
As it turns out - because the show was so small I was the only Novice that showed in more than one event under all four judges and I won the Novice Performance Catagory Hi-Point Award. A bonus horse sheet!! Yay for Stretch!
Man it was cold.....
Oh and I have to tell you it was sooo freaking cold that weekend...I had three layers on poor Stretch - two on Patrick (who isn't yet being shown and we are not trying to keep a show coat him) plus a hood. It actually snowed off and on - and it was real nice and windy to boot. Never got over 40 degrees the whole time. By the end of the show Stretch was so sick of all of his clothes and the stupid hood - he actually ran from me in his stall when i came at him with the hood! And when I got home my feet and hands just ached from being so cold all weekend. It was cold but it was fun - is that not what showing is all about?