Show season is finally here!

By Gayle Carline
Mysterious, Humorous, Horse-crazy Author

Back in February, when we were planning to go to the Show Me the Money horse show in Burbank, I was excited to get back to the LA Equestrian Center. Then it rained, just torrentially enough to have to "reschedule" the show. Knowing that Track One Events (aka Larry and Poncie Gimple) have to coordinate both the equestrian center's calendar and the AQHA's schedule, I'm not certain if that show will happen this year.

As you may know, I don't schlep Snoopy to every show. His leg moves differently with a plate and screws and a fused joint. I respect that, and try to keep him as sound and comfortable as possible. He and I do like to go to shows, so we try for one a month, with a chiropractor's visit soon after.

Last weekend we finally got to our first show, the Hollywood Charity Horse Show. It's kind of a big deal, because William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk) hosts a big shindig on Saturday night to benefit a therapeutic riding program. This year's guest act was Wynonna Judd - I didn't get to see it, but it's usually lots of fun.

How was the rest of the show?

Very fun. Although I hate getting up at 5 a.m. in order to get to Burbank by 6:30, it's totally worth it to get dressed up and go out in front of judges and try to learn one more thing about getting it right. So far, I've learned not to take my eyes off Snoopy at the gate, to ride every obstacle firmly and assertively, and... that I've still got a lot more to learn.

The first day, we did five obstacles really well and two obstacles really crappy. This was actually good news for me, since I've found that if I ride really well the first day, I do really badly the second, and vice versa. The second day, Snoopy was a little tired, so I had to be very aggressive with my legs, to keep him jogging/loping/whatever. It felt like I worked the entire course, almost as hard as he did.

We were rewarded with a 3rd place from one judge and a 4th place from the other. My (now retired) hubby caught our performance on his tablet. I'll leave you with a visual of how we did. Notice at the end, just after I've closed the gate and am switching hands on my reins - Snoopy tried to grab the gate, but I managed to correct him.

That's my Snoopy!