Spring is Here!

Spring is officially here.  It may even be time to send the winter blankets for cleaning, but that seems like asking for an April snowstorm.

Practicing Bridges

The last few months were a little busy on the non-horse side of things, so I'm just now getting back into riding on a consistent schedule.  Huck is getting his sliders on this afternoon while I'm at work, so I look forward to trying him out tomorrow.  He's also getting a massage tomorrow and seeing the chiropractor next week.  He's so spoiled.

Yesterday we played on all the bridges and the ditch that will become the water obstacle.  He was SOOOOO good about everything.  He's now mastered the teeter-totter bridge from BOTH directions.

PLANS:
Showing!  We are hoping to attend several shows this summer.

We are taking a break from the ranch show series we've gone for the past two years.  I liked those shows, but they're two hours away and the shows are getting so big they last forever into the night.  Part of our decision not to show there this year is that the Ranch classes are getting so popular there are TWO series right in our back yard!

Circuit #1: brand new Ranch Horse 3-show series. Our first is May 26th and they're just 30 minutes north of Columbus.  Our entire barn is going so it should be a lot of fun.  There are no cattle classes at at these, which doesn't bother me at all, but there are some people complaining that "you can't call it ranch if you don't have cattle" and I want to point out that HUNTER shows don't have foxes.

There are 3 shows in the series and they're doing year-end high point awards for each division.  So I'll show seven classes in the Amateur division:
Trail
Reining
Ranch Pleasure
Ranch Riding (pattern like AQHA)
Horsemanship
Conformation
Showmanship

There will also be a Freestyle Reining at the August show.... already thinking of ideas for that... and there are Jackpot classes for each of the riding classes so I may show some of those.

Circuit #2:  Just 10 minutes from the barn.  We're hoping to show up to five of those shows.  They're under a new name and new management and they added more ranch type classes this year. It's your typical open show with classes in western and english that caters to the 4-H and amateur crowd, plus some trainers schooling prospects.  The first time we showed there in the Ranch Pleasure there were only two of us.  It's grown each show since!
At those we can show:
Halter (if I feel like it)
Adult Showmanship (mixed seat Adult and a $200 Open)
W/T Adult Ranch Pleasure  (and a $200 Open W/T mixed seat class)
WTC Adult Ranch Pleasure (Adult and a $200 Open class)
Adult Ranch Riding
Open Reining
Open W/T Trail