This message is from: Dagrun Aarsten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Just had to write a little report from our schooling show at Gold Creek Equestrian center yesterday. It started out as a not very good day for team Knutsen/Aarsten. Peg and Erlend arrived about a millisecond before their Intro level B ride and didn't have time for either warm-up or....ahem....mental preparation. So halfway through the test, Peg suddenly started going the wrong way, and there was no way we could get her back on track! Even with me talking from the sidelines a lot more than good show manners would allow... So she made up an entirely new end of the test, finishing down the centerline with a smile on her face. Erlend was practically shaking his head. They eliminated because of more than 3 errors of test, but they did score three 7's out of the movements they did, so it could have gone well....
Then I entered my little Mustang mare who clearly didn't like being away from home and we ended up performing the first half of the test backwards/sideways. It was a complete disaster, although several people commented on how pretty she was when she moved forward and how solid my seat was on a rearing horse... After a long warm-up (where she settled down nicely) we attempted our second test, and when she went backwards instead of forwards after the first halt, I decided I had wasted enough of the judge's time that day and retired.
Our hopes were a little higher for Erlend and me in training level 3 and 4. Last time out we scored about 63 and 60% respectively, and he didn't quite stretch down in the free walk and in the trotting/ stretching circle. This time (after lots of stretching practice at home) he did that a lot better, and although he felt a little stiff in his neck at times, I felt we did a reasonably good job. In the training test 4 I particularly remember the free walk, where he really stretched and overstepped, then came back softly to the medium walk without bracing his neck or slowing down much, and I thought "that was an 8". His left canter also suddenly fell into place, instead of his right shoulder popping out, it stayed in one place and he really felt connected from back to front and light in my hand. In test 4 he did feel a little tired, though, so I thought my test 3 scores would be higher. It turned out we scored 68.3% in the test 3 and 70.77% in the test 4! And in the test 4 he scored 8 on gaits!! (I always felt he should get an 8 if we could show him to his best). We did also indeed get an 8 for the free walk and straight 8's for the left canter work. We won both classes!
What a superstar. Peg and I spent the entire evening celebrating what a fantastic horse he is. We can't wait for the next show!
Erlend's daughter OH Sadie also did a fantastic job, going two first level tests and one second level - very, very impressive!
Dagrun the dressage queen in Sammamish, WA
