Along with my plans for starting Disco, I'm making plans for a little baby show season for him this year as well. My big goal for him this year is to take him somewhere with a lot of presence. Ideally a rated show, with lots and lots of horses, and I won't say no to an indoor venue either.
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| Please, for the love of EVERYTHING, let Disco handle indoor shows better than his Uncle Connor. Pictured: Jesus-take-the-wheel'ing our way around the Majestic Farms indoor in February 2016 |
With that in mind, the perfect target for this year seems to be my beloved National Dressage Pony Cup, which is bringing back the in-hand breed show in conjunction with the big show this year, and holding both in July at the World Equestrian Center - Wilmington, less than a half hour from my trainer's barn in Ohio.
He'll get to take a 2.5 hour trailer ride and spend probably 3 days/2 nights there, depending on schedule. Just Going There and Doing the Thing is my only goal for him, but if he shows well and scores well, that would be nice too.
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| This again, but with Disco |
To prep for that, I'd like him to practice doing the sporthorse triangle thing with me, so I'm tentatively planning on showing him at the Indiana Saddle Horse Association show on May 20-21 at the Hoosier Horse Park. A familiar facility close to home, and an organization I love to support.
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| Ring stewarding for Lisa as she judged the sporthorse in-hand class at the 2022 show |
Soapbox moment: ISHA fills the missing gap so many locations have for an affordable, fun and big horse show that's competitive but low-key enough to be accessible to a wide range of income levels and a wide variety of equestrians. Classes are mostly $5-10 each and you don't need a single membership for it. I realize most of my readers are competitive English equestrians, but if you're not supporting those kinds of grassroots everyman shows in your local area already, please consider it. It's fun!
And finally, what show season would be complete without the Welsh show? Tentatively scheduled for October-ish, it would mean Disco shows once in the beginning, once in the middle and once at the end of next show season, which is perfect.
He's been so much fun to show so far, I can't wait to see what this year brings for us!
That sounds perfect! I know if I had a young horse I would be excited just to take them around to new places and let them have some low key experiences early on. I totally agree with you on the local grass roots type of shows! It's been fun to support the dressage circuit I've been going to.
ReplyDeleteYes! Everything I do feels like an investment in my future horse, which he is. I love your local Dressage shows, even our schooling shows aren't that low key here, which is good and bad.
DeleteLocal shows are the best! Nothing like turning up at a local show with an army of riding school kids and letting the little buggers loose to wreak havoc to their hearts' content. Excited with you to see what Disco does this year!
ReplyDeleteYes, lol, Disco could use more of that chaos in his quiet life.
DeleteEee! So exciting! I love this plan, plenty to see and do, and lots of time in between to marinate on the experiences.
ReplyDeleteAgree about supporting the smaller shows. I wish we had more around here. Even our small one day shows are rated and cost a small fortune to attend.
Come do the YHS show in Kentucky. There's a little bit of prize money, but it's always well run and the feedback is solid.
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