August Schooling Show

On the last Sunday of August, I took Falcon, and Rachel with Gitano, to the last EI Schooling Show of the season.

The primary purpose for taking Falcon was to see if doing a full show campaign next season would be in the cards. Falcon has been doing solid work in his training the past couple of months where he began to get over his spookiness/nervousness and really started to show off. He's gone from a horse I knew I could get around at walk/trot/canter with no problems for me, and his owner Alanna Danna, to a horse that I know will be competitive at the lower levels. If I can put changes on him, then maybe even the upper levels.

I took him out at First Level for the first time. Minus being a little "nervous" getting off the trailer, he settled down once I started our warm up. I just kept it simple and it paid off. He went into both classes, minus a minor spook here or there and a pretty funny whinny, like a seasoned pro. He scored 70% and 68% for his tests. I figured if it were a rated show, the scores probably would have been in the mid 60's.

How far this horse has come over the past year or so is truly remarkable (from a completely petrified horse who was scared of any work under saddle to a horse that is beginning to trust himself and really show off some solid gaits).

So, we have the winter to polish things up with him. Look for us to be showing at First Level and Second Level next season. A big thanks to Alanna Danna for her patience with her horse and letting me work with both of them!

My groom Rachel, went into the show ring after some time off from showing and put in a solid 2-4 test on Julie Bennett's schoolmaster Gitano. The little guy, at 19, showed he still can put on a game face and was happy to strut his stuff. They both looked sharp! We are still looking for a care lease situation for Rachel in her pursuit of making a Young Riders team in the near future.