Results!!!!

Well the show was a success!!! We accomplished our goal of having a relaxed ride and there was no incidents. Romeo could not of behaved any better!!!

As far as competition goes we placed 6th out of 7 in our first class and 6th out of 8th in our second class. Considering that all of those riders have been doing this way longer then me and that most of those horses were high class horses.... aka, high dollar horses, we did pretty darn well!!! Our scores were very fair and higher then I thought they would be:)

Our day started off early.... horses were loaded at 6am... yes I said LOADED at 6 AM. We arrived at the how grounds around 6:30.

As one of the first to arrive we got the spot right next to the arena.

Tif and Jo were up first and had a great ride.

She rode at 8 and again close to 10. Then we had the pleasure of waiting in the horribly lovely AR weather, which was 94 and humid:-/ till my first ride at 3. In between we got to watch our trainer's other-half ride his lovely mare and one of her student's on her horse.

M and Jeeves:)

Usually Dressage shows are very prime and proper and require you to follow strict dress codes. However because this is just a local schooling show... (because this is AR and dressage is a foreign sport in this state and hardly anyone does it, so we have a local group that puts together somewhat cheap shows so we can practice in order to go to the BIG shows out of state where you pay ridiculous amounts of money. And yes I know this makes no sense and I won't even try to explain it because frankly horse people are known for doing crazy and senseless things all the time.)
All that to say... since this is a schooling show the organization does a tropical-themed show for June and July when it's crazy hot and we need some sort of extra motivation to get out. So no, normally the horses are not wearing silly flowers in their manes and the riders don't usually wear pick feathers on their helmets but we did have a lot of fun with it!!

Next up was Romeo and I!! But first let me show you my crafty side.... These are the browbands I made. One for Romeo, one for Ria. I sewed in the beads and such on them. They are super hard to capture on film. So much prettier in person.

The far one is mine and it has some blue crystals in, the near one is Ria's and it has some green crystals in it.

Here we are about to go in the ring, I stuck with the classy look and added a few flowers to his mane.  Love the completed look:) 

And here we are in the ring.

Trainer M had nothing but praise for both of us.

All smiles:)

Our second test was much better then our first as my nerves were settled. I was so proud of how well he did.

Tif had the best score of the day on her mare Ria.

And Trainer M's other student was by far the cutest of the day:-)

Overall it was a fantastic day and besides the heat it couldn't of been a better show!

Now it's time to get back to work... only 3 1/2 weeks till the next one and this time Romeo and I have to actually look like a dressage pair.
*Notice how he holds his head in the ring compared to the other horses.... we have to be there.... but trust me when I say it is way easier said then done and takes TONS of practice to get there.

My crazy, busy life: an update

I just went a whole week without blogging.... it's been awhile since that has happened.

I started 3 different posts last week but never got around to finishing any. I know, kinda sad, right?

Well life has just been crazy and really busy... really, really busy.

I like it busy, although sometimes I have to remind myself to stop and take a few months to breathe. And I did just that, yesterday morning.

 It has finally started to cool off around here. Hopefully it will stay that way and not return to that horrible above 90 degree weather that seemed to never want to end.

I have been riding 3 horses more then 3 days every week now for the last month and I feel great. Although all this exercising makes me hungry... all the time... and I mean its that stomach growling, starving feeling. I try to ignore it but it's kinda hard. I am hoping to lose more weight, and build muscle tone. So far no weight loss, which I attribute to A. the building of muscle (which I can tell) and B. the fact that I am eating more. I'm not eating unhealthy, well I was for a few weeks, but I nipped that one in the butt. So hopefully by Christmas I'll be down 10lbs.

Riding has been soooooooo good. I can't wait to see where I am come spring. It is so therapeutic for me. God has been doing some awesome things in my heart lately and hopefully in the next week I'll be able to write about some of them.

I never got around to counting my blessings last week (shame, shame on me)..... but I'm here now and that's what counts.

#426-447

It's fall... which means.....

Football games

Campfires

Cool, crisp mornings

Slightly warm afternoons

Perfectly cool evenings

Leaves changing

Bugs dying

Windows open

Music blaring

Horses fresh

Sweating to a minimal

Time for hoodies to come out

Good times for evening walks with friends

Still warm enough for flip flops

Yet cool enough for a jacket

Perfect mornings for a quiet time on the porch with a cup of hot coffee

A new season

Which means that last season is gone

A chance to begin again

A chance to leave behind old habits

Opportunities for new habits to form