We left Thursday afternoon for Spanaway, WA. This was a big show with a total of (6) judges over three days. Here's a glimpse of our weekend!
Thursday:
-Drive to Spanaway
-Unload; check in with Lola; Get stall drapes etc. up
-Exercise horses; practice
-Head to hotel and bed
Friday (3) Judges:
-Up and at the barn in time to see Karli in English
-Exercise horses; then make sure they are clean and tacked
-Get dressed and ready to go; Warm-Up Pleasure
-Kerry did the Novice Youth and 13-and-Under Western Pleasure
*Novice Youth: (1) 2nd and (2) 3rds
*13-Under: (2) 3rds and a 4th
-Watch Joy and Wyatt in the Amateur Walk/Trot classes
-Get dressed and ready for Horsemanship; Practice Horsemanship pattern
-Kerry did the Novice Youth Horsemanship (first time doing this)
*Novice Youth: Didn't Place
-Take care of Lola; she wasn't feeling good; gave her a bath
-Early night, head to hotel for bed
Saturday (6) Judges:
-Up early and at the barn to get ready
-Exercise horses; get dressed for Showmanship; Practice Showmanship pattern
-Kerry did the 13-and-Under Showmanship (http://youtu.be/8nWBPflN2x8)
*13-Under: (3) 4ths, (1) 5th and (1) 6th
-Lunch Break; get dressed for Trail (first time doing this)
-Warm-up on the Trail course
-Kerry did the 13-and-Under Trail (http://youtu.be/FbKLlBeis6U)
*13-Under: Didn't Place
-Wrapped up the day; took care of horses
-Group dinner at Joy's trailer
-Back to hotel and to bed
Sunday (3) Judges:
-Repeat of Friday with (3) new judges
-Kerry did Novice Youth and 13-and-Under Western Pleasure
*Novice Youth: (2) 4ths and a 5th
*13-Under: (3) 4ths
-Go get changed for Horsemanship; Practice Horsemanship pattern
-Decided not to enter the Horsemanship class; back to barn and got changed
-Untacked Lola and gave her a bath; took her out and rode bareback and chilled out
-Packed up for the trip home, loaded horses and hit the road
-Got the barn, unloaded horses and made sure they were all fed, watered
and blanketed, then headed for home
It was a long weekend but a good one. We learned a lot of things both about Lola and about
ourselves. We learned what to look for when Lola doesn't feel good (Kerry knew right away that something wasn't right!). We learned our daughter is an amazingly strong, confident young woman and rider who when faced with adversity, held her head up and completed her pattern. We learned that Mom was a nervous wreck and Dad was a rock! We learned that our barn family are some of the greatest people! We learned that we look forward to the next Show! We couldn't be prouder of Kerry!
