Last night, I rode Paisano for the first time in a new saddle that I have on trial. It's a Klimke Miller and really holds my leg in place. It seems to fit him better than others I've tried, so I set it aside to pack for the show. The only downside is that it's brown. And I don't really have the extra cash to buy it... Paisano got a bath after our ride and I put him in in a stall with his sheet on to stay clean and warm.

I went home, cleaned tack, boots, and located my show clothes. The only show shirt I could find was blue. I know that I have a white one and a striped one. Ah well... a blue shirt won't look so bad with my dark green jacket. It was just going to be a schooling show. It bugged me though, so I looked everywhere.... no luck.

So this morning, I wake up early, pack up the truck and trailer and drive to the barn. Lunch, check; water bottles, check; saddle and bridle, check; camera, check, etc, etc. Helper; ah, no helper...just me, and I'm tired. It would be nice to have support when I show. Note for next time... I fed Paisano breakfast and loaded him up. I was glad that we were riding at 11:40 and not 9 am!

Paisano was pretty up when I unloaded him. He was yelling more than usual and I was fully prepared to pack him and leave if things got hairy. I groomed him and tacked him up for some long lining warmup in the pasture where we were parked. He settled some and we walked in the long lines down to the in gate and around the parking areas. Then back to tack up for real.

He warmed up well in the arena with several horses. There were a lot of juniors there, so I was extra careful to watch the traffic and keep our distance, as a couple of them were oblivious to keeping out of anyone's way. One cut right in front of us when I was cantering. Oops! I'm glad that Paisano steers well!

There was only one arena, so we had to clear out and wait for our go. This meant walking up and down the drive and circling in the parking area. He behaved himself, except for calling out every so often.

In we went for our first test... He screamed a couple of time in the beginning of the test, which earned him "inattentive" comments. He did get an 8 for the trotting change of rein on the diagonal and a "Nice!" comment. The written remarks from the judge at the end said that he had "much presence." She would have liked him to be a little slower and more regular in his tempo. My goal was to have him well behaved, calm and forward. Placings were a bonus. He scored 60% and placed second! Last time we did this test we were third.

Then there was more schooling time during lunch. No way I could eat anyway. Whenever we walked past people outside, we got, "Cute!" and "Pretty!" comments and "What breed is he?" One girl thought he was a mare. ;)

The time came for our second ride. There was no yelling this time around - good. If I hadn't fumbled switching my whip (dropped it!) on the free walk, we would have gotten a better score. It made him move to the side and he got a "jigged" comment. We only got a 4 on that movement and it has a differential of 2X. He did get an 8 for his second canter depart, four 7's and another 8. He scored 59.13% and placed FIRST in this maiden class.

So I'm glad that I stuck it out, even though I was tired to start with... it was all worth it in the end. smile.gif We came away with blue and red ribbons and lots of nice comments. I can say that riding Paisano is certainly strengthening my legs! He has so much more movement than Lily and Cora do.

@ 2007, Simrat Khalsa.
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