Wow, it’s been quite a crazy week! I just ended my first show season EVER and we went out with a bang! This weekend I competed in the Region 9 SWDC Championships and it was a lot to take in! Daytona was a doll the entire time (even when we were outside), and gave her all! We had a few open shows where we got some pretty ribbons to add to our collection. We qualified for the Intro B JR/YR Championship Class and ended up getting 5th! We got to run around in the awards ceremony and took home a big pink ribbon! It’s been a whirlwind of a year and while I’m glad it’s over, I’m also really sad! I learned a TON within these past few months showing, and I’m excited to take it with me into the next show season and learn even more!

Going into this last, big show, all I wanted to do was place. I knew that winning and even getting reserve champion was probably a stretch as there were some people scoring in the 70’s and we’ve never scored that high (we being Daytona and I). In our last test, you could tell that we were really struggling when we started going to the right. That is without a doubt one of the bigger things we need to work on because I am so weak without my leg. At the last halt we got a little happy and kind of forgot to halt, but all is well with me. We ended up with a 62.5% and it felt like that kind of test. While we executed our left 20 meter circle a little better, and our precision was a lot cleaner, it did feel a little sloppy. But, I’m still ecstatic that we made it this far, especially since I didn’t think we would qualify for anything at all! I’ve only been riding Daytona for about 6 months now, and we’ve come a long ways!

Thinking back to when we first got paired together, I was super excited! She has taught me so much about how to ask for things, when/if you’re asking too much, how to sit an active trot, how to stay calm(ish), and most importantly, how to be confident in the saddle. After riding Cappi and feeling like nothing but a failure because we didn’t get along, I was honestly very discouraged when I started riding Daytona, and my confidence was at an all time low.  Daytona is a huge horse at 17.2 and that can be very intimidating for someone who just got out of a bad relationship with another horse. Daytona has taken care of me every step of the way! The main things I can remember in our training is our canter work, suppleness and sitting an active trot. Our canter is slow going and I’m always apprehensive as I’m not the strongest at cantering because I have no strength in my hands to hold on. It took a long time to figure out a way to ask for the canter properly. I would always use my leg too much or too hard, pull on her mouth too much, move around a lot or just not get it at all. The funny thing is, I can get the canter better on my right side (missing leg) than my left side! Daytona would always tell me when I was pulling on her mouth too much by shaking her head in disagreement. Through trial and error I found just the right amount of pull that I need to give when I’m asking for a canter on either side.

As well, I’m not great at using my whip. I’m just not! I can never get the right contact with it which renders it useless! It always hits the saddle, or don’t use it hard enough so then I just become this annoying thing tapping her and she doesn’t get it. Daytona also taught me that horses pick up on your nervous energy A LOT more than you think! Pre show I would always be nervous (who isn’t?), and my heart would be racing, adrenaline pumping through my body, and my hands would get clammy. Riding like that, is not good. It took a lot of deep breaths and positive reinforcement to get me in a place that I could ride without feeling like I was out of control. When I was getting nervous and my body started working harder and faster, Daytona would start working harder and faster, which would make my body work harder and faster and so on and so forth. It was like we were feeding off of each other in a negative way and that does not work for anyone. Trying to stay calm in stressful situations like that is not easy for me. On top of that, you have all these other riders and their horses that you have to be wary of and focus also on what they’re doing so you don’t run into them, or get your horse too close if their horse is freaking out. It’s all this stuff you have to think about, while also trying to stay focused and calm for your own ride, which I’m not used to doing!

Another thing we’ve been working on since we started, is riding rounder and more supple. Daytona takes a lot of work to get her on the bit and supple. I can get her supple, but keeping her there is a struggle for me because my hands give out and she needs constant contact which I just can’t physically do. She amazing when you keep a soft rein on her and let her mouth be and keep steady contact here and there. We’ve worked so hard on that especially in our transitions as that’s where we lose it most of the time. All in all, it has been an incredible show season and I’m so lucky to have been apart of the NTEC team and experience this first hand!

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