Sorry it has been so long. All is very busy here in the wonderful world of Winters.
The Championships were great! We all had such a fab time and we all did really well. To see the photo's from the annual show click here. All were taken by Scott Stanley.
My week started off great, then went bad, then went back to great. My warm up class and USDF freestyle class on Thursday were nice rides. Except MP was a little spooky especially in my freestyle ride. She still hasn't gotten over the sound system screeching from CNDC in Sept. But my tests were good enough to earn my a 2nd place and a third in two big classes. And the freestyle class had pros and matures in it so I was very happy.
Friday brought a different set of circumstances. It was windy, I got nervous and I paid for it. I didn't properly pin down my stock tie so right after I halted and saluted it flew up and hit me in the face. And also spooked MP so she lurched forward. First boo boo. Then I got so flustered by my stock tie that I went the wrong direction at C and started riding the wrong test. Big boo boo, minus 2 points. Then as I was doing the walk work I tried to fix my tie and over shot the letter I was supposed to walk to. Third boo boo. Then in the canter work I started half passing too late. Fourth boo boo. So needless to say I rode a crappy test and my score showed. I think I received a 62% on that test. That placed me 9th in the semi final.
The day being a disaster ended with one final disaster in the way of my CDS freestyle. The wind really picked up and the judges tent was flapping. So I could only ride in the lower 3/4s of the court. This made my timing off with my music so it wasn't pretty. I placed 7th overall in the class. Oh well!
Saturday was a new day but the pressure was still getting to me. The fact that you only have one chance to ride these tests meant that I over analysed everything to my own detriment. My USDF class on Sat started off well, but I rode conservatively and then when it came time for the halt rein back, I blew straight through it. Minus 2 points. But the test was good, and I felt good about it. I watched Eva's test and she did the same thing so we were declared the no halt rein back queens. Even with the errors and conservative performance I placed 5th and Eva placed fourth, so we got to ride in the honor round together. That was fun!!
When I woke up on Sunday I could tell that it would be a good day. For the first time that entire weekend, I felt confident. When I was tacking up, warming up and then right before I entered the arena I had a clear tactful mind. I knew what I wanted MP to look like and I knew how to ride again. The test was great. Besides a few little things like not halting square, the test was darn near as good as it could be. Everyone else thought so too. The test was the final for the CDS Championship and it was good enough to move us up from 9th to 7th.
The rest of our groups did great as well. Katie D was the USDF 1st level Champion and was Reserve Champion for CDS. Katie A placed 7th in the CDS Championship class and Eva placed 9th. We had a blast and many of our family members and friends joined us. I can't wait until next year!
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