Saturday seems like a crazy blur in my mind, it all happened so quickly! Maybe the time went by so fast because my watch died en route to the show (I kid you not- talk about bad timing, har har), and so I had very little grasp on what was happening when.

Dressage
After getting to the show and letting Foster munch on some hay for a few minutes (he doesn’t eat in the trailer, but digs into the same hay net at the show- weird?), we got tacked up and boogied on down the road to the show arenas. The horse I had for the day was surprisingly fresh, and just a little tense. Still, I liked the energy I had, even though he was being a little fussy in the bridle. I decided to post the trot to allow his back to come up and release some of the tension in his topline, and I think this was the right decision.

Our test felt pretty good. The couple places I know we could improve are in one corner that I didn’t prepare enough for, and those dern canter transitions. The stretchy walk didn’t have its usual stretch either, partially because Foster got distracted by the jumping going on right in front of him. Looking at the test, the judge nailed us on this- just think of what our final score would have been otherwise! Also, you’ll notice that he decided to step out in our final halt- bummer! On the bright side though, I thought the test was more forward than CHP and that in general, he was straighter and more obedient to my leg. The test earned us a 31, good for 3rd after being trumped by a stunning 20 and 24 in 1st and 2nd place.

Showjumping
Showjumping is the most blurry part of the day. After being distracted by the comings and goings of the day, I didn’t find time to walk the course before jumping. Go figure that it was probably the most intense showjumping course we have done to date. Serious bending lines, intense roll backs, and no less than 2 one-stride combinations. What the what?! I thought we were doing Novice! Walking the course was pretty much vital here, but I did without. Where I regretted it most was in the rollback from 5 to 6AB (a one-stride)- you can actually hear my “Geez!” trying to make that turn and get straight into the one-stride. Because of our disorganization, he didn’t find his spot to the first fence and then brought down the second element rail with his hind end. Add to that, a sprinkling of cross-canter, because that’s what Foster does at shows, and that was our course.

Leg needs to be more forward, but otherwise getting better! Also.. does this look big for a Novice fence to anyone?

Cross Country Schooling
After all of the memory-taxing activities were over, we went out to the cross country course! I wasn’t sure how many jumps would be available, since the Fork seems to employ mostly portable XC fences in their course. There definitely was not an endless supply of fences, but there was enough to play over, given that Foster was already somewhat tired from dressage and showjumping. So we played around the water complex for a while, and Foster was an absolute champ over everything. I felt like I was actually riding, instead of coasting around to the next fence like I had done in showjumping. With a smile on our faces, we called it a day and headed for home.

Upbank combination:

Water-upbank-fence:

More water complex fun:

Impression on the parents
I think it’s safe to say that Foster redeemed himself this weekend. He put on his game face for sure, and showed off his chill demeanor and sweet disposition. While you can hear my mother’s gasping and um, other exclamations on the videos, she was impressed by his rideability and quietness. Bonus, that Foster did right by my sister as well, even ponying her back to the barn. I wish my dad was able to meet Foster, but it was not meant to be. Also, unfortunately, Foster managed pulled off both front shoes in the water complex, so he will be having the next few days off anyway- he earned it!

All of us with Foster at the end of the day