HorsePower Fun Show Recap

Formerly known as HandiRiders of Sioux Falls, HorsePower, the group putting on yesterday's fun show, provides equestrian therapy and programs for people with physical, emotional and cognitive challenges.  The show is an annual fundraiser for them.  Given the turnout, hopefully they did very well.

Not taking the boys meant that although I was still up before the sun to make it to the show for the opening class, I did have an extra hour or so to sleep.  The rain had mostly stopped by the time I pulled in to the show grounds, and Eric and co. had the six horses he hauled settled already and were starting to bring in tack.  I exchanged good mornings and made myself useful filling water buckets, taking the opportunity to study the turnout as I did. 

Horses and riders of all shapes and sizes were represented - QH, or at least stock-type predominating, which wasn't surprising.  I was surprised to see only one "traditional" still spring-shaggy (and adorable) pony, although there were a couple of really lovely POAs.  There were also appaloosas, a Gypsy Vanner, a number of Arabs and half-Arabs, paints, and I think a couple of Morgans.  Competitors ranged in age from toddlers to gray and somewhat more creaky, but everyone regardless of age had a smile on and seemed to be having a great time.

Classes were full for the most part, with the number of adult riders equaling, possibly even surpassing, the number of kids.  The pace, with only six horses and most of them going western which was later in the afternoon, was more relaxed for Eric's crew, and the there was plenty of time for visiting.  The horses munched hay and dozed, even the one newbie that Eric hauled along strictly for an introduction to the show atmosphere.

The announcer was... let's call him quirky.  He chatted informally over the loudpeaker with the judge, cheerfully mangled names of horses and riders, and had a habit of berating any riders who weren't right on the heels of the previously entering horses in their class.  His chief concern seemed to be pushing forward as fast as possible to the part of the day involving games. I've never been at a show at which the next class was being actually called not just to the gate, but into the ring while the horses from the previous class were still lined up and waiting for placings to be called.

Apparently it's a more common practice at the local open shows, but if the exhibitors and the gate person had paid attention, it would have resulted in some serious traffic jams given the size of the classes.

The judge - well, the ways of judges are baffling and mysterious at the best of times.  And there were some tough classes.

There were a LOT of equitation classes, generally split into at least three age groupings, although which were going to be judged singly and which on the rail was difficult to predict in advance.  Watching the classes that Sunny and I would have been in was interesting and educational - the ring was crowded, with 10+ horses being the norm.  It would certainly have been trial by fire.

The push throughout the day to hurry to judged classes along in order to get to the timed events and games to me, at least, seemed like a case of misreading the turn-out.  Stalls started clearing almost immediately following the first (and most competitive) game, egg and spoon. I'm not sure exactly how many exhibitors stayed around for the speed events, but the number was definitely small, and the spectators had for the most part cleared out, as well.  

All in all, the show organizers did a great job, and I sincerely hope they turned a profit for their cause - if nothing else they certainly succeeded in providing an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday.

Beautification Day

Not that the horses haven't been getting prettified right along, but Wednesday at Eric's place was hard-core pony-spa day.  I arrived at two o'clock (and left at seven) and Eric and crew had been hard at work for hours when I arrived and showed no signs of slowing down when I left.

Eric and I both rode Buddy (he's showing him, too) but it was only about a half hour total - just long enough to get all three gaits in in both directions for both of us, make sure my show tack was properly adjusted, etc.

Then it was bath time for Buddy.  Ham that he is, he strrreeeettchhed and wiggled his nose and just generally enjoyed his scrub.  He wasn't nearly so keen on the vet arriving to draw blood for his health papers.   The others tolerated being stuck with perfect equanimity.  Not Buddy - he had to crane sideways until he almost tipped over.

Meanwhile, the other crossties were occupied by a couple of incredibly patient victims - sorry, horses - getting their final clipping and shaving.  Body clips have been done for a few days, but muzzles and eyebrows get shaved, ears clipped, and diamonds clipped into faces to make their dishes more pronounced.

Once Buddy was shampooed, conditioned, de-tangled, and spritzed with ShowSheen, I got to sort through the large bag of Sleezys (lycra/spandex for horses - better them than me!) and find one that fit him before slipping his blanket back on.

The next to go under the hose was a petite bay mare who sighed when the warm water hit her and leaned into the massage as I worked up a good lather.  She also got the full spa treatment and a Sleezy to finish.

My last bathe-ie was a huge half-Arab palamino gelding.  This will be his first show, too.  Eric's comment as I pulled him out was, "Don't get flat - he's only had a couple baths."  Hmmm...  He does like to joke.  Golden boy didn't twitch an ear.  He even relaxed and unclenched his tail and made oooh-that-feels-so-good-faces while I worked the shampoo in and made sure that all the dust, tangles and shaving-particles were rinsed out.  His bath wasn't completely without incident though.

Unfortunately, the one sideways step he did take resulted in his left front foot catching the edge of his right front shoe...  When he picked the right hoof up... the shoe remained pinned under the left hoof and the right foot landed naked on the floor of the wash rack.  Eric might have been irked about it, but since he was back and forth past us multiple times he'd seen how quietly the gelding was standing.  He just shook his head and said the nails must not have been clinched solidly.  No damage to the hoof - the nails all just pulled straight out, so it should nail back on without too much trouble.

I still have tack to wipe down, but my fleece pads are freshly washed and fluffy and the check marks next to all the items on my list of to-be-packed is slowly growing.

Someone else is finding the packing process a lot more relaxing than I am!

Mabel, that's really NOT a cat bed

Now streaming live...

Good thing I hadn't planned on riding today - a brisk and chilly north wind made the upper 30's, even with sun, feel pretty darn cold.  I took a bridle along, just in case I was wrong about the wind chill, thinking maybe I'd work with Thunder.  But my ears were protesting after only a few minutes out of the tree grove's shelter, so no-go on that.

Wormed both boys and hung out for a while.  According to the weight tape, both of them weigh what they did in December, give or take a pound or two.  Then headed over to J's and wormed Rufus.  For once even Sunny was fairly cooperative, but it's still good to have that chore out of the way for a while.  Vaccinations are due next month....

The Scottsdale Arabian show started yesterday, and it's streaming live on iEquine through Feb. 26th.  So far I've caught portions of junior rider performance classes, but age doesn't have much bearing at all on how impressive the riders are.  Wow.   Fun to see the horses all shined up and glossy, too - although comparing them to my furry yaks is sort of depressing!  Is anyone else watching?  Cheering for someone in particular?

An outing

This weekend was the county 4-H horse show, and our friend C was showing English for the first time. (She ended up high-point rider for the day - maybe because she was the only one brave enough to take on the English classes?) Not only was it her first time showing English, but it was also Bubbles' first time - and the pair's first time in an over-fences class.

In spite of a slap on the wrist from the judge for lack of quite-proper-enough English attire (time to go tall-boot shopping!), I think they did pretty well.

Although they both looked a lot more comfortable in their more usual gear! And right at home heading through the gate on the trail course.

The bridge was no problem...

The worst obstacle of the day for almost every rider was backing through the triangle cone set-up.

Walking the course

The cones may be innocuous looking - but they were set pretty darn close together. For most of the bigger-bodied horses the 45 second time limit kicked in a bit too soon.

This little gal was the only Junior to tackle the trail course, and she had a challenging ride. I didn't get pictures, because I was busy along with the rest of the spectators holding my breath!


But she stuck with it, and came back to take a purple in the Western Equitation pattern - a tough pattern that only one of the Senior riders conquered. Pretty horse, and a gutsy rider.

Heading back into the ring
to hear the judge's critique after trail...

It's been a long time since my 4-H days, and I was really surprised by how technical everything has gotten. There were points off right and left for minor stuff, and apparently tapping a pole or a cone at all is cause for a DQ these days. Goodness! But I did like the (I think) local show attire requirement that had all the competitors wearing white shirts. A good way to keep costs down for parents and level the playing field just a bit!