I had a really great time showing though. I rode a horse from work that we call Dazzle. We had our moments where I definitely wondered why I was showing him, but all in all I think it gave me a great experience while also making me a better rider.
I also did halter for the first time. It will be interesting to see how the year end awards pan out here.
This was the only area of showing that we were really competitive... Under saddle we struggled a bit. He had never been shown under saddle, and was a bit green in general. He was trained very differently then I learned. I have always asked for the canter when the horse has a nice bend to the inside, but he was trained only to pick up the canter with haunches in. At the beginning of the year he had no right lead canter. By the end of the season we would get the right lead canter 100% of the time at home... But about 70% in classes. That was most likely me most of the time, if I knew he was acting fiery I would tense up because he is more likely to explode on his right lead. =]
Since he was bred to be a halter horse, and was a stallion for 9 years, he struggled with extreme stiffness. We spent a lot of time bending and stretching, trying to loosen up. He hasn't been able to hold a great frame for an extremely long period of time, but he did to the best of his ability which is all I can really ask for. He isn't really the most pleasurable horse to ride. I like to say his canter is like riding a pogo stick. His owner hates his trot because she rides western pleasure, and he has a lofty trot. But I am so used to english horses that I didn't mind his trot to much.
Overall this year was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to riding one of my horses next year though. Riding a challenging horse is a good thing, but I think my horses have their own set of challenges and I am excited to start exploring that!
