Today was a pretty exciting day for Woodie and I! Just to give you the short story, my time has been very limited since Woodie came into my life as a yearling (1 yr old)....I started him under saddle and have basically trained him, but I can bet you that in the last 2 years since I first started him, I probably have less than 90 rides on him, the majority of which were more than a year ago...I thought last year was going to be our turning point....I started budgeting more time for riding, and had high hopes of hauling him to some local shows, putting some more miles on him under saddle, and polishing him up for higher levels of competition....it didn't quite work out that way tho....we went to a small show nearby, and another a couple weeks after that....he competed at both on the flat and did very well....I was starting to get pretty excited! After that second show though, he got hurt....he got his shoe hung up in the fence....a struggle ensued and he ended up pulling his shoe, along with about half his hoof off with it....he also damaged something internal to his foot in the process and was lame for 5 months...I put him in a private paddock for an additional month just to be sure he was in the clear....then, it was winter...I am a fair weather rider and can't brave the cold like I used to...it really gets to me, so then he had even more time off! This last 2 months I have put him back to work...riding him about twice a week at first to be sure he was 100% healthy...he did well, so in the last month or so I've put about 3-4 rides on him per week....I even started him over fences a couple weeks back and I am really excited about his potential! He seems like a natural and really likes to fly! Here's a shot of him trotting his course today...
So, today was his first show after a whole year off....I did not have high expectations, but he surprised me! We did better than expected overall...of course I have a lot of homework too....we HAVE to get our canter transitions down better....they are too rough and he gets anxious in the process....there's always something to work on! The Oldest Brat came along and got some great video of the Woodster over a couple jumps too...see for yourself!We ended up with two 3rds and a 4th in our jumping division....we also won two 1sts and a 2nd in our hunter pleasure (flat) division, for a Division Championship! Way to go Woodie!
I was in really good company today!...besides the Oldest Brat tagging along, there was a whole gaggle of my former 4H'ers there riding too! What fun to hang and ride with this wild and crazy crew!
Here's a shot of one of my favorite young ladies, on her Woodie look-alike! Can you tell us apart? She's the skinny one without a drivers license!!! hehe
Here she is again on her pony...what an adorable pair!
This was also their first show jumping and they did great!!!!
This is another sweet girl, and one of my favorite young ladies best friends....this was also HER first show jumping too!!!! Her horse was all about it too...she is going to be doing some great things this year!
I was in really good company today!...besides the Oldest Brat tagging along, there was a whole gaggle of my former 4H'ers there riding too! What fun to hang and ride with this wild and crazy crew! Here's a shot of one of my favorite young ladies, on her Woodie look-alike! Can you tell us apart? She's the skinny one without a drivers license!!! hehe
Here she is again on her pony...what an adorable pair! 
This was also their first show jumping and they did great!!!!
This is another sweet girl, and one of my favorite young ladies best friends....this was also HER first show jumping too!!!! Her horse was all about it too...she is going to be doing some great things this year!
This horse has a trot to die for....If only Woodie had that stride.....sigh
She got a little extra coaching from the resident trainer before her classes....Marty is the owner of Amber Hill Farm and sponsors this show series....she is also a 4-H Leader, which is how I met her! Great lady!
Aren't they the purtiest pair?!
After my classes I got a chance to sit back and hang with all the show moms....what a fun bunch of nags....hehe.....hey, I can say that, I'm included!
Before we left, I wanted to get a few shots of Ashley, one of our boarders, showing her horse Allie....here she is with her super polished show mom taking care of business before her class!
Such a pretty duo...and great form too!
SO, the plan is to stick with the Amber Hill Show series this year, and the Baby Green jumping division in particular....we are about a year behind where we wanted to be at this point, but better late than never! Stay tuned for updates each month!
She got a little extra coaching from the resident trainer before her classes....Marty is the owner of Amber Hill Farm and sponsors this show series....she is also a 4-H Leader, which is how I met her! Great lady!
Aren't they the purtiest pair?!
After my classes I got a chance to sit back and hang with all the show moms....what a fun bunch of nags....hehe.....hey, I can say that, I'm included!
Before we left, I wanted to get a few shots of Ashley, one of our boarders, showing her horse Allie....here she is with her super polished show mom taking care of business before her class!
And there they go! This is Allies second year showing and she is jumping 2 ft courses...
Such a pretty duo...and great form too!
SO, the plan is to stick with the Amber Hill Show series this year, and the Baby Green jumping division in particular....we are about a year behind where we wanted to be at this point, but better late than never! Stay tuned for updates each month! Happy Horse Shows,
Leah
PS...Congrats to all the girls on all their 'first-times' and personal bests today!
PPS...Yes, those are my new boots! Yeah!
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