Emmy and I embarked on a huge adventure – enter a schooling dressage show up at the Saddle Club on Sunday. We are lucky – we can just hack (ride) over there from her barn. I didn’t sleep the night before. I was worried that her excitable self might be tough to manage and that we’d end up being more of a rodeo ride than a refined dressage duo. I had visions of her jumping the rails and ending up outside the court, being spooked at the boxes with letters on them and flowers (one of my favorite videos is “dressage horse freaks out at the Olympics” with exactly this unfortunate scenario) or me falling off. Thankfully, I returned home alive to my children and husband, and none of these bad things happened! (I realize, though, that if they had – I might be richer for it if the YouTube video went viral – so either way, it would have been fine. Provided I was still alive.)

Enjoying some relief after our test – yay! We did ok! Thank you Kris for joining us and sharing Emmy with me (foreground, Emmy’s new owner) and Jenni (standing next to Emmy) for coaching me while Janet was away showing Havana. 

Warming up in the schooling ring before we go do our test.

Kind of not amazing position, but that is a strong horse to manage and we were barreling around! The next transition came up super fast. I couldn’t believe I kept her inside those rails 🙂

This particular Ride and Review affords you a chance to ride a test (a sequences of gaits and patterns), then receive coaching, then ride it again and try to improve your score. I really enjoyed the whole experience, especially getting another crack at the test and some expert advice from someone who has never seen you ride before. Thanks to Jackie Chipman (Saddle Club President) and Rebecca Parker Black (judge) for such a great experience! Will remember this one a long time 🙂