Kentucky Summer Classic Day 2

Horse showing is a roller coaster – one day a peak, soon there’s a valley.

Here we are yesterday (photos by Shawn McMillen Photography)

We awoke to a lovely, cool morning and I was reminded, as every day, how lucky I am to see this face waiting for breakfast…

Note the pallet ingeniously placed to keep Bart from interfering with the neighbor’s hay. It hasn’t worked very well. Bart is bored and their Canadian hay is delicious, so his door is closed most of the time.

Kris rode Derry this morning. Alas, he has fractured his humerus falling over a saddle rack, so he felt he couldn’t really do what he wanted to do in terms of improving her flatwork. He is supposed to be in a sling, but is too busy for that! Derry enjoyed her walk up to the Rolex annex, though I can’t say she enjoyed her flat session!

Bart showed in the 1.10 meter Adult Amateur jumper class, and he was superlative! Double clear, and we had a great day. I rode more forward than I have in many years, and felt that I laid down a good, fast jump off, but my perception is a little warped. Alas, the timer malfunctioned, so I don’t know how accurate the time was, but when I saw the video I could tell I should have left out several strides. Nonetheless, in a class of 24, Bart earned a 7th place ribbon. I am ecstatic.

Jane and Derry did the Low Schooling Jumper class, which was in the Covered Arena. It went later in the afternoon, always a challenge for us, as fatigue sets in. It was not a good day. Derry stopped (she was not the only one) at an oxer away from the gate. Jane managed to get her around the course clean after that, but it was not what we had hoped for! Our goal for tomorrow is to BOTH have a good day, and maybe both earn ribbons.

Worse than a bad round, Kris insisted on changing Derry’s tack (putting her in a rubber snaffle) and then gave Jane a school in the jumper annex ring. It was HOT by this time, and I don’t know how Jane did it. I got heat exhaustion just watching! But it was fascinating to see how much Kris improved both Derry and Jane with relatively simple exercises. And everything they did corresponded to what Bart and I need to improve, too. So it may have been an ordeal for Jane and Derry, but I think it will turn out a benefit. Anyway, they survived.

We had a little time to visit the myriad shops up by the hunter rings, then fed Bart and Derry and went to charming Midway, Kentucky for a memorable meal with Jane McClaren in which conversation hardly even touched on horses!

Now to bed, exhausted, and hoping for better news tomorrow, but still feeling very fortunate to be old ladies horse showing at this level.