TheSwirl.org

Sunday we went to BHA Hunter Show and Eric went in Lead line Equitation and Lead line Suitability versus his buddy Trevor, and two 2 year old girls: Trevor’s sister Maggie and Andrea’s Julia.

Rachael holds the horse and Eric keeps a hand on Maggie. Everyone was happy that Maggie stayed awake this time.  In a show a month earlier Maggie fell asleep in the warm sunshine as she was being led into the class despite Rachael and Eric’s best attempts to keep her awake.

Below our neighbor Andrea holds 30 year old Katie, who holds two year old Julia.  Julia was ready to rock & roll- she kept telling Andrea ‘RIDE’ while waiting for the class.  The judge asked Julia what her number was (a three digit exhibitor number pinned to her back) and Julia patted the mare and said ‘KATIE’.  In the Lead Line Suitability class (where the horse was judged), the 30 year old Katie took 1st place.  Good for her.

Below Eric shows a smile (and missing teeth) during one of the laps around the ring on Onyx.

Eric got a 2nd prize in equitation - a red ribbon and a coloring/sticker book.

It starting raining as we finished our classes.  We posed quickly for the picture below and then beat feet. They ended up canceling the rest of the Hunter Show.

Eric and I went into leadline classes at the Barneveld Horseman’s Association (BHA) Hunter Show courtesy of Ellen and Trevor. Friday afternoon Eric practiced riding Onyx at a walk and Sunday we joined Ellen’s barn at the horse show to participate in two lead line classes. Eric and Trevor had a lot play time before the classes and it was a trick to keep them clean.

Rachael gave Eric some help tucking his coat sleeves.

Even three year old Maggie was ready to show. Unfortunately she fell asleep horseback as we were all entering the class and couldn’t be wakened to participate.

Eric and Onyx on the way to class.

This is why they call it lead line class.  Believe me- it was a hot day to wear a dark sports coat in the full sun.

The judge asked each rider to drop their reins, touch their nose and then pick up their reins again to determine if they knew how to get proper hand position and length to their reins.

Fortunately the judge didn’t make us parade around in the circle very far.

Eric got a 4th in lead line equitation and a 2nd in lead line suitability along with a candy bar and a model horse.  Onyx got a carrot.  In this picture she is looking for the remnants in my hand.

Sunday Eric got invited to a horse show by his buddy Trevor. Eric had never been in a horse show - or even ridden. He was very apprehensive and told me that he was concerned because the horses were so big. He was much relieved when I told him that we would be doing the leadline class together. Ellen provided a helmet, saddle and pony, Addy. There were two leadline classes - a walk only and a 2nd class where each contestant is asked to walk away from the judge, turn and trot back to the lineup. Prior to the class Trevor said he was ready to trot. Eric and I decided we would walk only as he had never ridden before. The kids rode holding the reins in one hand and holding on the saddle horn with the other. The horses were basically guided by person leading, although the judge rewarded the kids that were trying to pilot their own steeds. During the lineup in the 1st class the Judge asked Eric if he could back his pony up. Eric replied “No, not really”. There were 7 entries in the class and ribbons were handed out to all kids. When Eric got a ribbon (and model horse) as a prize from the 1st class he decided he wanted to try to trot as “We do good if we do what the judge says”. He lost a stirrup and bounced a lot during his trot but the judge praised him for his effort and he got rewarded with 5th place ribbon. The boys had a blast and talked to each other through out the classes. Eric is ready to go to another horse show “if Trevor invites me!”. More pictures are at: http://www.theswirl.org/Pictures/2007_07_22HorseShow/EricHorseShow.html

On Monday I hauled my borrow trailer to Lowville, loaded up Lotza Hot and traversed Route 26 to Vernon where she was examined by one of the better vets in NYS for issues of lameness.  I lunged her in their sandy arena, Pat did flexion tests and then we took x-rays of her front feet to examine the amount of navicular degeneration.  On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being healthy and 10 being the worst case he had seen, Pat declared her an 8 - pretty bad.  Her small feet and upright conformation coupled with usage have left her quite lame.  I hauled her back home to Lowville and reported the results to her caretaker.  Too bad because in a lot of ways she is a very nice mare.

Saturday morning I went to look at a horse. Lotza Hot is a 9 year old AQHA mare that is western pleasure bred - by of Hotroddin Zippo who is by Zips Chocolate Chip and out of a mare by Hotrodders Jet Set. On her bottom side she is out of a mare sired by Speedy Pine Glow. She is a nice size ~15.2H, cute, quiet and nice to be around. This coming week I am hauling her to a vet to be examined for lameness issues.