Pics from Provincials!

Here are some more pictures of us in action at the Championships! Thanks again for all the congrats & nice comments everyone! I love sharing this stuff with you guys!

(The squarest halt we've ever had.... All thanks to a "dip" right at X! LOL)

The behemoth!

Tomato that is! Look at the size of this thing!! It's off of one of the "Hawaiian Pineapple" plants I think it must weight over 2 lbs!

But now I don't know what to do with it! Do I break out the salt shaker & eat it, all to myself? Do I make some fresh salsa for dinner? A tomato sandwich?

I'd better make up my mind quick!

Provincials & Regionals

We had a great 4 days, met all kinds of wonderful people and the weather even cooperated for us!

At Provincials (Thurs/Fri) we ended up in 3rd place overall. I think we might have placed a touch higher but our first test wasn't so great. I thought Brigit was going to jump out of the dressage arena at "A"! She was pretty hot & spooky but we still ended up with 66%. Our second test was much better and we had a score of 67%. On both tests we got the same comments "Not enough impulsion" which is usually not Brigit at all!

So I had a new found friend help me out and we went to work getting a feel for "more impulsion". Well it worked! On the first day of Regionals (Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba) we ended up 2nd with a score of 68.75% and for our second ride we had 67.6% and ended up Reserve Champion for our division!

A friend came out to take some photos on the weekend, this is the only one I have thus far but I'll share more when I get them.

Rotten news.

Just as I was heading home today, my uncle called to tell me that my grandmother had passed away suddenly. We were very close so it's been a real shock to the system and a rough afternoon. It's hard to imagine never seeing her or hearing her voice again. She was a huge influence in my life and supported everything I did. I'm really going to miss her.

Still deciding on what I should do. I should probably get myself moving and go to the show. There's better use than just sitting here being a leaky blob and I'm sure my grandma wouldn't have wanted me to sit around and pass up this opportunity that we've worked hard for.

Just a really sad day.

Ride Times

For those that are close and maybe want to come watch.

Thursday at 10:55 pm Outdoor Arena

Friday at 1:28 pm Covered Arena

Saturday at 1:50 pm Covered Arena

Sunday at 10:09 am Outdoor Arena

With only riding once a day, I'm not sure what the heck I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the time!! LOL Watching the upper classes probably and then maybe some shopping? Napping? Reading? Learning to knit?? lol

What am I forgetting?

I should probably be thinking about work but I'm having a hard time concentrating!

I just can't keep thinking "What am I forgetting?". I've got a list going that's about a mile long. Our weather has definitely turned to "fall" and it's really chilly out there, so there are lots more things to bring so neither I or Brigit is cold.

The one thing I always seem to forget is a darned wheelbarrow! Today I'm not going to forget one though... because I'm going to go BUY one and designate it specifically for the horse trailer/shows.

Brigit had her massage/adjustment at lunch and there were definitely some things out here & there, which should explain why she's been a bit difficult to ride lately. Makes sense, if your back is out or your sore, it's hard to do what you normally do.

This evening I've got to bath, pack my stuff, pack the horse trailer and get up to the show grounds, hopefully before 9pm! That's when they close the arena's for the evening and I'd really like to have some time to ride there tonight. Seems like so much to do!

So nervous.....

Thursday & Friday we're off to the Provincial Dressage Championships and on Saturday/Sunday we're riding at the Western Canadian Regional Dressage Championships.
I'm really nervous because we haven't been having any good rides lately. The simplest things (astride or aside) have felt like a battle to accomplish. For some reason everything is scary and results in breaking gait, counter bend and just overall rotten rides.
I have the chiropractor coming out tomorrow and I'm sure hoping maybe a miracle will happen and we can get back on track and put in some good rides this weekend.
How exciting would that be to do well at the Provincial or Regional level, riding sidesaddle?

Wish us LOTS of luck! I think we're going to need it!!

From sidesaddles to stagecoaches!

Gotta love anything old that has lots of history to it!

This past weekend a really good friend of mine got married and she asked me if I would look after braiding & polishing up the draft horses. So in the past few weeks I've learned how to do a draft horse mane roll (more of a weave than a braid). The mane roll's stay in SO much better than a running braid but they do take practice!

(no don't worry, I only wore the cowboy boots when I was around the horses doing touch up's on their manes. Didn't want my toes getting smushed if I got stepped on!)

Her father in law borrowed a friend's old stagecoach for her grand entrance to the wedding. It was absolutely amazing. They went from her Grandparent's acreage (where the wedding took place) into town to pick her up and back. They definitely turned a lot of heads!

I even got to go for a ride when they were all done pictures.

And the groom's father even let me take the team & stagecoach for a spin. So much fun!