The first horseshow of the year is always and exciting event. I had taken off work from The Edge Salon where I work as a hairstylist. So the day was so exciting knowing that I had the whole day to dedicate to the barrel race at Triple P on Decaturville,TN. This was the first horseshow of the year for My horse Fancy and I. This was not only my first show the year for me but my dear family friend Kylie this would be her first time riding in a show ever. Kylie has been working really hard with my horse Count at learning how to be a better rider as well as starting her path to Barrel Racing. Another exciting thing that was happening is my best friend Luke Tyler would be riding my 4 year old gelding Little Man that he is training and seasoning on the barrel pattern. I was so excited for the day and all it had to offer because it gave us three a chance to see where we all are at as far as reaching our goals for the 2019 year.

The day started early at 6:45 am. Kylie and I left the house in Ashland City, TN with the trailer of two horses Fancy and Count. We drove about 45 minutes to go pick up Luke and Little Man in Erin, TN . As we arrived we had to unload and reload the Fancy and Count out of the trailer because the The 4 year old Little man had not mastered backing out of the trailer yet. So for Little Man to be able to actually get out of the trailer when we arrived we knew he would have to be in front in the stud stall of the trailer so he would have room to turn around when we arrived at the show .

After we were loaded up and ready to haul we stopped and picked up breakfast at this little country store in McEwen, Tn . Where they had home made biscuits and an amazing selection of breakfast items to choose from. After our breakfast we hit the road for the hour and half drive to Triple P horseshow .

Upon arriving we knew the weather was calling for rain so we wanted make sure we parked in place that was set to just pull right out when we’re ready to leave . We also wanted to find a spot that would not sink the truck and trailer in the mud as it continued to rain. Once we arrived me and Luke spent about 5 mins trying to figure out a place to park after much trial and error and backing and rebacking the trailer we found the perfect spot. This spot would prove to be a good spot and the we were able to pull right out and leave when we got ready .

We arrived at the show around 10:45 am . They were doing open arena where you can take your horse in the arena and work them to get use to the arena or any drills you wanted to practice before the show. We hoped we would have enough time to ride in Open arena . However once we signed up for our classes training barrels had started. Luke , Kylie and I would all be doing training before the show. Kylie started off her first show doing training 3 times with Count. Luke did 4 trainings with Little Man . I had one training run I wanted to do with Fancy to get her ready and let her see the arena. This arena would be new to Fancy as she and I have never competed as a team there. I have previously rode at this arena before but it has been years since I had been back and this was Fancy first show of the year and I wanted to make sure she was prepared and knew what our goal was and what to expect when we entered the arena .

As we all three saddled the horses to get ready for our training runs the rain began and continued on and off till we left. However this did not stop us. We pushed through and made our training runs as it was completely dry once you made it in the arena because the arena was covered . They also have an awesome little covered warm up arena that we were able to warm the horses up in prior to our run. The trick was getting from the warm up pen to the arena without getting soaked we may have not been very successful at that but thank goodness for The north face rain jackets Luke was wearing and the rain jackets be and Kylie found in my trailer for shows like these that turn out to be a downpour. Carrying around extra stuff can really add up in the trailer but this is something I glad I had 3 extra rain jackets on the trailer to help us stay somewhat dry during the in between and untacking at the trailer.

Luke and Kylie made their runs and they both did amazing! Kylie’s future goals are to increase her speed. For her first horseshow and barrel run I could not be more proud of her and all the hard work she has put into being a better rider and barrel racer . Luke did 4 training runs on Little man . The first one was slow and just to give him the idea of what we was expected . The 2nd run he went a little faster , on the 3rd run he really pushed him and let him go at his own speed and the 4th run was to help him and Little Man school on anything they may need to work on or fix. They also did a great job in all their runs with just a few tweaks here and there . We also learned and concluded that Little man may be able to master the barrel pattern better and have more talent to show at running to the left as his first barrel instead of to the right of his barrel.

Little man has a huge heart for the any arena he is taken to. At riding arenas is where he truly acts the best and does his best riding for the 4 year old gelding .So we know he is going to make an amazing horse despite all the obstacles this horse has overcome. As a yearling Little man injured his left hind Digital Extensor tendon with a lacerated to his leg and eventually after a lot of vet work at Tennessee Equine immediately after it was discovered. His tendon could no longer hold after his leg was lacerated . His prognosis did not look good but with about year and a half of hard work ,stall rest , Dailey bandage changes and etc . He was able to over come his injury . That is a story for another day. This just gives you a back ground of what an amazing improvement this horse has made and how bright his future looks because this horse has a can do attitude and does not give up. So with that being said we have decided for the purpose of his leg he would probably be better suited to try to pattern the left first than to the right . He is a little weaker in his left turn but is really booking them on the right . So own next goal is to see if he improves running the the left vs the right.

My run in training went as I had planned nothing to vigorous just wanted to let Fancy see the pattern and the arena. I was happy with how training went for her as well . I rode her in a snaffle and I never do as she is quite strong and a very hot horse so sometimes as far as stopping the snaffle bit is not the best choice for her . I only had planned on goin slow so I knew this would be good to use to school her on the pattern before I made my real run in adult barrels and open barrels .

After the show finished training Kylie and Luke were down with their rides. I insisted that I sign up for open barrels as well against mine and Luke’s better judgement . I just figured I was off today and I wanted to make the most of the day and get the most runs in that I was able to do . Although in hindsight that may have not been the best decision. Fancy is a one run horse she will give you her best on her first run but after that she will test you on any runs after that. She certainly did that in our Open barrel race run.

Our adult barrel run was so smooth and I could not ask her to work any better than she did. She has been off almost all of the winter and we had just started getting back in the routine to get her in shape to start running barrels again. I ran a 16.3 on a smaller pattern which was great the turns were perfect and she went in the gate easily which she sometimes does not do . Everything went as planned in this run.

The Open run was about 2 hours after the adult barrel run. The rain had started really coming and we had been back and forth from the trailer to the arena checking the horses we had loaded and unloaded the horses twice from the trailer to keep them out of the rain and our tack dry. At this point in the show everything was muddy and soaked . I think mentally I was over it and ready for my feet not to be wet and cold and I think Fancy May have felt the same Way . As we get ready for our Open run Fancy seemed to be her normal self . The run seemed a little slower and I think I got out of rhythm after we turned the 2nd barrel a little short and knocked it over . So as we cruised to the 3rd barrel Fancy felt off for her turn and I was right she turned it to soon which she has never done. I was about to save myself from coming off as I was not ready to make the turn so soon and she turn right at the barrel to where she appeared in the video to be ready to jump over it . I was caught off guard after the video I stopped I turned her around and made her finish the pattern. We were disqualified at this point because of the Second barrel being down. So I was out of the place thing or a chance of placing.

On a positive note at least this means she was able to think quick on her feet when she thinks something is in front of her by the way her half jump over the barrel played out. I try to think positive about all my runs there is always something to improve on or work on even when you runs your best you can always have been better .

This was definitely now my new goal with Fancy is to work on our transition from the 2nd barrel to the 3rd to make sure she gets past the 3rd so she does not turn it prior as she did . My goal as a rider is to not set up for the turn to soon as I think I did.

After Open run we loaded up and made the long trip back home. I drove home with my shoes and socks off bc my feet were so cold and wet from all the mud and rain we experienced at the show.

As we made our way home Luke and I rode home without our socks and boots. As the socks,boots, and our feet were both wet and freezing cold from the nonstop rain and we all  had a  collective amount of mud on our boots.  Kylie seemed to be fine and  did not seem to be as cold as Luke and I were. On the way home the defrost in the truck stopped working and Luke had to wipe the window several times as the condensation kept building up on the windshield. We then decided the first gas station we saw we would stop and get some paper towels to help with the window fogging up. As I got out and just put my wet boots on with no socks to go into the store.As I went in the store got the paper towels to help me be able to see on our drive home.Prior to the paper towels  we had been aggressively wiping the window to keeping clear since we had no defrost to help keep it clear. Within 5 minutes the window would fog right back up and at this point  we had about and hour and half left of the drive home. While in the store I found a bundle of socks .Three pair which was the perfect amount . I was so excited to have dry socks. I find sometimes that it is often the small things of comfort we take for granted like having dry socks  As we came back to the trailer I gave Luke and Kylie a pair of socks and these I labeled as our souvenir socks from the first Horseshow of the  2019 year . The reason I add this part in to my story is I learned the lesson that may  benefit my readers as well if they   Experience show like we had. The lesson  is that to always keep and extra pair of socks in your horse trailer and a pair of muck boots would not be a bad idea as well. I had to learn this lesson the hard way from experience but often those are the lessons that you don’t forget. My horse trailer now has 2 extra pair of socks and pair of muck boots  that will now stay in the trailer for when I experience shows with rain and mud like we had experienced . Keeping a Rain jacket and an Umbrella would be helpful as well. Rain can often be unpredictable when going to any show. Being prepared will help make the experience more enjoyable and comfortable despite any other obstacles that may come your way.

Overall despite the obstacles  the rain, mud , and the long drive we all had a great time! We  All look forward to what 2019 has to offer towards us reaching our goal with our equine partners .  The day was cold and rainey yes but the great thing is we were able to go to a show and compete at an indoor arena where we could pursue mastering our Ambition.I’m thankful that I was able to experience all aspects of the day even when things did not go as planned or when small problems came up. 

I want to shout out to the Products we used to help keep us safe and dry as well as our Equine Partners safe and dry. I would Like to mention that #THENORTHFACE makes amazing rain jackets to keep you dry and warm in these conditions. I would like to thank #Tough1 blankets an #Weatherbeta  blankets for keeping  the horses clean, warm and dry at the show. I would like to  thank  #ClassicEquine for providing quality boots to keep Equine Partners legs protected as we compete.We all competed in Classic Equine boots as we find their quality to be top notch.  We all three rode in different saddles and saddle pads .I want to thank the makers of the saddles  and saddle pads for providing quality and saddle security  to help us be able to ride our horses to the best of our ability. So  thank you #MarthaJosey for making the #MarthaJoseyUltimate which is the saddle Fancy and I competed in. The saddle Martha Josey is a size 15 and I rode with  a #Reinsman  high wither pad .Kylie rode in a 15in #BobMarshalltreeless with a #ClassicEquine pad . Luke rode in a  a 14.5 #ProRider barrel saddle and #5star pad.Thank you also to #LoganCoachTrailers for making quality transportation for our horses on the drive to the show and also #Chevrolet For making amazing truck that allow us to be able to pull our horse trailer. There are so many details that go into riding and these are some of the  companies ,products and details I did not want to leave out with out mentioning. 

Also it is very important that I  Thank you for reading my blog. I hope that you enjoyed the story of how the day went for our first show of 2019.I look forward to continuing to blog  about  my equine experiences, adventures , testimonials and topics that my readers would love to read about.