Cob Jockey

In terms of show goals, my only goal for Disco this year is "Do Pony Cup," and at some point I realized that I should, you know, do a practice show before then. 

Despite it being rated, Waterloo was the obvious choice: halfway between us, and we've talked about doing it together for years. Her dad lives silly close to it, and with the facility for sale, we weren't sure how many more opportunities we'd get to make that slumber party a reality.

For sale! Please buy it and keep it a showgrounds!

Entering was such an ordeal in pretty much every way possible, including Kate's vet giving us shot/Coggins records with just stable names on a receipt printed on a dot matrix printer, and not understanding why that wasn't enough, and me not realizing that pony class measurements were only held on Thursday night (we would be arriving on Friday).

That last one ended up being a blessing in disguise, but we'll get there.

Our two stallions stabled side-by-side

It was so, SO good to see this horse again, guys. I really didn't realize how much I miss him or how much he's grown on me in general.

But man, as of Friday night, as we crammed a lesson in very quickly before sunset, I was not entirely sure entering my first rated show in five years on my green five-year-old when I hadn't really ridden in years and had never braided him was a good idea.

(lol)

Look at me, riding my baby horse at a showgrounds for the first time!

He felt incredible, nothing like the baby horse I had given to Kate three months earlier, but I was riding like a sack of potatoes. I could barely turn him, and I couldn't figure out his canter aid. 

Another competitor saw JUST this view of the boys when Kate pulled up and asked if they were Welsh Cobs. I was gobsmacked. In all my years of showing Welsh Cobs, no one has ever properly identified them, let alone from this angle! She made my day.

And complicating things further, in the three months Kate had him, he'd completely outgrown his saddle, and it was tipping me forward badly onto my pubic bone. I actually ended up riding in one of Kate's saddles, a Stubben that worked out wonderfully for both of us, and it's saying a lot that I never noticed that saddle all weekend.

The Most Chill about show stabling. Still has never needed a chain anywhere we've gone.

I had an 8:00am ride the next morning, with Kate's ride a few minutes before mine so she wouldn't be able to coach me. After my lesson, I said "I really think I want to scratch that first test, I just don't think we're setting us up for success between the fact that you won't be able to coach me and having to braid him for the first time and everything."

Kate talked me off the ledge, saying lets stay entered and just see how he feels in the warmup. So that's what we did. To be continued...