Star Spangled Classic

The weekend of July 20-22nd we traveled to Monroe, WA for the Star Spangled Classic APHA show.  Kerry spent Thursday night with her friend Karli so that they could go to the barn and help pack up the trailer and load the horses for the trip.  On Friday she rode up to Monroe with Karli and her Mom, Nicole.

Lola

Micheal and I left late Thursday afternoon hoping to avoid rush hour traffic.  We got to Monroe, checked into our hotel and then went to the show grounds.  Everyone was settled in and the girls had already ridden.  It was a fairly early night as the show started early Friday morning with the English classes.

We arrived at about 8am on Friday and got to watch Karli and Slick ride in their English classes.  Kerry got Lola lunged and bathed and ready to warm-up.

Kerry and Karli wait for their turn

During the shows its sometimes hard to plan because things can move quickly or very slowly depending on the types of classes and the number of entries in each class.  So its often a chaotic mix of rush-rush-rush and wait-wait-wait.  So you eat when you can, run to the restroom when you can and try and be ready for anyting!

Oma and Opa were coming to show to watch Kerry and Lola.  We were all excited to see them and were glad that their being in Vancouver, B.C. meant they could make the drive down.  This was the first APHA show since Lola had another 6-weeks of training.  Kerry was looking forward to introducing them to Lola.

Time to wake up, Lola!

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful mare who is sweet, calm and who loves her kid!  She and Kerry have a special bond for sure!

Team Lola was showing in Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, Showmanship and Trail.  Each time they compete they are better and better and this show was no exception.




The best moment was in Sunday's Horsemanship class.  This was only the second time Kerry and Lola had shown in this class.  Horsemanship is a pattern class and the judges are scoring the rider on their poise, posture and completion of the pattern.  Kerry and Lola received two 2nds and a 1st!  Kerry's smile lit up the arena!

It was a great weekend, a great show and everyone on the Ambition team did great.  And even though there were a couple of very late nights and everyone was tired, we're excited to go home and prepare for the next show in Idaho!

Open Show - Ridgefield, WA

We attended a 2-day open show in Ridgefield, WA.




It was close to home and a good way to give Kerry some more practice in Horsemanship and to gauge their progress as we get ready for the APHA show in Monroe.

Waiting for Showmanship

Kerry's and Mom are tired..

We were also moving this weekend, so it was busy for all of us!

... Lola's tired too!

All their pretty ribbons!

Photo Shoot at Ambition Performance Horses

Savannah (our wonderful trainer) had made arrangements for a photo shoot at the barn.  It was a beautiful day; sunny and warm with blossoms on the trees.  The Ambition ladies all showed up in their best western shirts ready for a great shoot with Jessica of Red Fred Productions.  Here are some of our favorites!

                                                                   The Ladies of Ambition                                      
                                                         Kerry, Karli, Joy, Alexis, Alex and Emilee









                      Our beautiful girl!  Howdy!

Emilee, Alex

Joy, Kerry, Savannah, Alexis

Karli

                                                                          It's definitely love!
                                                                   
So next up for Team Lola is an open show in Ridgefield, WA on June 30-July 1.  This is a great opportunity for Kerry and Lola to get in the arena after this past month of focused training.  Then they work with Savannah on the final preparations for the next big APHA show in Monroe, WA on July 20th.


**Please note that these photos are copyrighted and made available courtesy of Red Fred Productions.

APHA Birthday Bash - Spanaway, WA

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!

Human-Equine Bonding (a.k.a. Horsing Around)

While there is never a dull day at the barn, there are some times when its nothing but laid back, fun and good times with your horse.  We have really encouraged Kerry to have down time with Lola, without the pressure of training or lessons or shows.  Its just a natural part of Kerry's personality to want to "love" on her horse and she's taken advantage of it by riding bareback, spending extra time brushing and handling and even running around the arena while Lola tears around bucking out all her energy!


This week Kerry took a couple goofy pictures!

We have three weeks until the next APHA show and a lot of work and fine tuning to do.  Kerry and Lola will be showing in Showmanship, Halter, Western Pleasure, Trail and Western Horsemanship classes this time.  

Slide For The Cure - APHA Show

This past weekend was Team Lola's first breed show and it proved to be just as exciting as anticipated!  It was held in Albany at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center.  It was a busy week leading up to the show.  There were lessons/training to sharpen up everyone's skills, tack and horses to be washed, scrubbed and shined, braids and bands to be put in and finally everything loaded into the trailer for the haul down.

Lola was her usual calm, cool and collected self while we all bustled around getting her prettied up and ready to go.  Kerry handled all her preparations like a pro; excited to be finally getting to use all of her show tack and clothes!

Friday:

Load horses and haul to show grounds
Unload/Barn Chores/Exercise Horses
Dinner/Bed

A busy day of loading and unloading, getting all the horses taken care of and signing up for the weekends classes.  Fun group dinner then to the hotel and bed.  Gotta get up Early!

Saturday:

Happy St. Paddy's Day!
A.M. Chores
English Classes (Karli and Emilee did great!)
Trail Classes (Kerry got to practice on the trail course; did really well!)
P.M. Barn Chores
Cancer Benefit Reining Horse Competition
Dinner/Swimming/Bed





Kerry was a huge help all day, making sure her team
mates were ready to go and helping with barn chores
for all the horses.

After the day's showing was over and all their chores (including giving Tyler a much needed bath!) were done Kerry and Karli went back to the hotel for a well deserved swim!

Sunday would be an early morning as everyone would be participating in the Western classes that day.





Sunday:

A.M. Chores
Clean Legs/Tails
Warm-up Horses
Get Dressed for Show
Western Classes
Load Up Trailer
Head back to the Barn
Unload Horses
P.M. Chores
Unload Trailer
Go Home!

                                                                                 

Sunday came early and it was cold!  We got a little bit of everything weather wise (rain, hail, sleet, snow and wind) but thankfully we were inside!                                                                                  

Showmanship was first up, followed by Halter, Western Pleasure and Horsemanship.  


Kerry and Lola did both Novice Youth and Youth 13 and Under classes in Showmanship and Western Pleasure.  There were 11 horses in the Novice Western Pleasure class and she placed in the top six with all three judges!  

I think everyone came away feeling very pleased with their performance.  I know we did.  We are so proud of Kerry and thrilled with how she and Lola have progressed. 

Hip Hip Hooray! Open Show

Team Lola's show season opened with an open show at the Mt. Hood Equestrian Center in Sandy.  This was a benefit for a local trainer so we knew that the turnout would be good and the classes big.  It did not disappoint

Kerry and Lola took it all in stride and for their first outing came away with a two firsts, a second and three thirds.  It was very exciting!  Now its focus time as we all prepare for our first breed show in March!