This past weekend I rode Annie in her very first horse trial. The weekend didn’t go as planned but I will share about it in a few sections so bear with me for the long post – or just scroll through pics haha. First I will start with Annie’s general feelings about horse show life. She got of the trailer like an old pro and minus some initial hollering was settled in nicely. Her laid back demeanor about new places probably contributed to my underestimating her greenness. 
I officially am the craziest horse lady of them all and bought these cheap mat sets at Lowes to line the concrete stall floor with – that will definitely be a post coming to you soon!
both unamused by the bathing
Unfortunately for me it stormed on Wednesday and Thursday so the green horse was already going into the weekend under prepared.
Friday brought a dressage lesson where trainer suggested that while the nathe might work for us at home I had a very braced and stiff horse at the shows. I agreed and we ended up borrowing a KK which did seem to improve her rideability. On Friday Katherine rode her first Training dressage test and stadium round landing herself a solid 2nd place standing! To say that I was proud would be an understatement. I can’t wait to see where her wonderful horse can take her! 
I felt okay going into Saturday knowing that while dressage probably wouldn’t be beautiful it would be a good experience for Annie. Given that I am still getting used to my new dressage saddle I opted to ride exclusively in my jump tack.
real friends lend you their pants 😉
Dressage was truly anything but pretty however I was incredibly proud of Annie for keeping it together in a very busy arena with a stressed out ammie on her back (the zipper on my breeches broke while I was changing and I had to borrow K’s (thanks dude ILY!). 
The judge gave us a well deserved 45 and commented on all of the things that we need to work on aka EVERYTHING – I appreciated that she made kind remarks about the fact that Annie seems to have a lot of potential and thanked me for patting Annie’s neck when she was nervous. She also said that I was a tactful and patient rider which helped me to recover from the worst dressage score I have ever gotten.
this picture pretty much made my weekend
Between dressage and stadium I had to procure some new pants. Luckily I was able to find some good ones and I am hoping Riding Warehouse is as awesome as usual and will take care of me. Sadly the borrowed bit didn’t fit Annie properly and she had some rubs. This made for a super unpleasant stadium warm up with me running back to stabling trying to adjust my tack. Luckily last week I purchased these cool acavallo gel bit guards and that combined with a different bit had me riding the Annie I know and love.
loving my kastel show shirt
Her little brain was fried though and while fences 1-5 rode well the B element of a 2 stride was just a bit too much for green baby brain to handle and we were TE. I was really disappointed but it left me with even more determination to get a ton of lessons and come back even stronger for River Glen in 2 weeks. 
Given that our issues in stadium were due to greenness and not dangerous the judges allowed me to still run cross country the next morning. Annie warmed up very well and was super rideable. She was awesome to the first 3 fences but grabbed and ripped her shoe off and we ended up unable to finish the course.
Even though the weekend didn’t go as I had hoped I am still really proud of Annie. She tried her little heart out for me despite being very nervous. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this talented little mare and I.
Tomorrow I will announce the winner of the Annie’s Equine Elixir and Savannah treasures contest – until then I will be reading up on dressage legal bits I can try out!
Baby ginger is super cute
Combinations are a lot for baby brains!
She’s adorable. And amazing for being so young and green. Just think what an amazing horse you’ll have in a year or 2!
The letters are a bummer but as you said, she’s green and it will all get better and better with mileage!
There was certainly a lot to contend with! But it sounds like Annie was willing and okay with a lot of stuff for a baby horse–real bummer about the lost shoe.
Oh green beans! Sorry it didn’t turn out as hoped, but sounds like good experience anyways and both of your confidence is still in tact! Onwards!
sorry about the TE but sounds like it was otherwise a good time!
Boo about the lost shoe on XC! But sounds like you guys had a great time despite some of the mishaps. You guys are going to get better and better! 🙂
I’m sorry it was such a mishap! Luckily, you and Annie have so much time ahead of you- and it sounds like she was still an awesome baby horse!
Aw yay little red mare! That’s a lot of positives for her first attempt.
I saw you guys briefly out schooling on Friday! Annie is super adorbs!
Good job! She seems to be making really good progress and is adorable over fences.
Those gel bit guards seem really cool. I do wish bit guards were dressage legal.
Glad you had a decent first experience. It will all get better with time! And yay for friends that lend pants!
What a cute jumping baby bean! I have received many such a dressage score in my time, and it does get better, especially when you can see improvements based on the comments. 🙂
Yay Annie! So sorry we didn’t get to meet up. Next time!