Moving up To Rated Shows
I continued to show at Ponca Hill Stable for practice and did very well. We had a few clinics at our stable that I also took part in to better myself. Jim finally decided that I was ready for my first “Rated” event. We pre-registered for a “B” rated show in Freemont, NE. This was the neatest thing that I had been able to do thus far. The show itself was a few days long, so the horses had to all be truck there in the stable’s brand new 12 horse goose-neck trailer and then were boarded in collapsible, temporary stalls. The stable hung the Farm Curtains on display and I felt I was finally part of the team. My farm friends were all there with their mounts. Lee (the owner’s son) had brought his horse Brownie, Tracy brought Walnut, Mary (the stable owner) had taken Peaches. There was another lesson boy that showed Jody. Jody was great, because without fail, she would fart over every single jump. And Jeanine (the owner’s daughter) had brought Mr. Goodbar. That was a fun thing that she used to do. She would go out one day and pick any lesson horse out of the field that she wanted to play with and she would make it her show horse for that season.
Everyone was there and that was great fun. My mother braided my horse and we waited for our events. This would not prove to be a good show for me. Something was definitely off between Luke and I.
Everyone was there and that was great fun. My mother braided my horse and we waited for our events. This would not prove to be a good show for me. Something was definitely off between Luke and I.
Although I had worked really hard, I had never seen an event like this one and really didn’t know how good the competition was going to be. Our flat classes went alright, but they were huge and everyone was so good! The jumping...well,....not so good. For some reason we could not get around a single course of fences. In the first class he took the jump and I, just like our very first ride together, was left behind the motion and fell to the ground. OK. Embarrassing, but I would survive. I figured I had plenty of chances to go back in and fix what I had done wrong. The next over fence event I would DQ (disqualify) again after my horse refused the same combination line three times. (much like baseball, in show jumping, you get 3 strikes and then you are out) The third and final ride that I would have over fences would be just as ugly as the first. We were like a Wylie Coyote cartoon. We had a good approach to our jump and then at the last minute Luke decided to hit the brakes and swing a left. I guess I had decided not to let his decision stop me and I went right over the fence without him. Somebody needed to jump these jumps! By this time I was completely humiliated. I got up and held in my tears, until I was out of the arena. Some man was kind enough to bring me my horse’s shoe which had become detached from his foot during his grand refusal.
Later that weekend, Jim mounted Luke and took him around the course. He at least complete the fence work, but not without difficulty. Jim was able to determine with that ride what was going wrong and that it was not all my poor riding, but partly that my horse was just being an ass. I did learn a lot that weekend, no matter how awful it was. The showing itself sucked, but all the rest involved was fun and I got a chance to see what real competition was like and what I needed to strive for.
Later that weekend, Jim mounted Luke and took him around the course. He at least complete the fence work, but not without difficulty. Jim was able to determine with that ride what was going wrong and that it was not all my poor riding, but partly that my horse was just being an ass. I did learn a lot that weekend, no matter how awful it was. The showing itself sucked, but all the rest involved was fun and I got a chance to see what real competition was like and what I needed to strive for.
I dug down from that point with an immense determination to do my very best, as is my nature to do. I never let anything get the best of me and I was not going to let that sort of thing ever happen again. The farm was having a “rated” show very soon and I was going to prove myself worthy. I worked hard everyday with Luke and Jim to fix things and learn all that I could. Right before the stable’s show, the gentleman asked to judge, Mr. Coultor, held a clinic with us. I learned a lot from him during that afternoon, and one thing that always stuck with me. My horse was very heavy on his front end and on my hands. Mr. Coultor rode him around and showed me one very simple technique to right that behavior. It was as simple as backing your horse two steps every time you stop. This procedure teaches your horse to come back off of the bit, and it helps square them up for a flawless next transition. I still do that simple gesture every single time I ride, 24 years later.
The show date finally came and I felt that I was more then prepared. I don’t think that I won any classes that weekend, but I know that I placed in every single event. That is a monumental feat when you compare the two shows together. I went from tumbling tyke, to ribbon earning equestrian. That was a great feeling. Knowing that I had worked hard and in return reaped the benefits. My ambition would only grow from there, and I would start down a path of showing that was far greater then any I had ever imagined.
My show career would have to be put on hold however. Two days after the show at Farmstead, my horse was wrapped and loaded onto a stock trailer and shipped to a friend’s house in Poland, NY. I wouldn’t see him again for many months.....Another chapter in my life had ended.
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