Preview Show Friday

Susan arrived yesterday, swelling the ranks of old ladies horse showing. Susan is a young old lady, but still part of the gang.

Today was hectic, and started without the usual “varmint barking” as Cedar announced she was on duty. That sound has heralded every morning for the past eleven years. It was a sad, quiet start to the day.

The cats have their own morning announcements every day, as I come out of the house, and they were some solace.

Bart was not sure he wanted to come in. It was a beautiful morning and the trailer was waiting to travel.

Stone made faces at the gate, exhibiting his damaged front teeth. That imperfection made him undesirable enough that he was destined for auction if we passed him up. Harry loved him, but I was skeptical. Jane convinced us to give him a try, which has proved her wisdom. I am grateful every day that we took her advice.

I took Bart to the horse show, then Harry and Weedy picked me up and we went to get our flu shots from pharmacist Denise, who is retiring today. We were had the distinction of being the last vaccinations of her career, and we will miss her.

The show schedule ran more efficiently today. We had a loyal group of old lady friends, who joined Harry and Weedy to cheer us on. Bart went first in the class of 9 entries. I arrived at the second jump on a bit of an angle and had a rail. Then, I overrode the last line – getting very deep in nine strides to a one stride in and out, causing Bart to jump way high. That made the in and out quite long, so Bart did his trademark add in the combination, jumping out clean, but with great embarrassment on my part. We had a less than perfect round, but I was thrilled with Bart. He jumped really well in spite of me. Ash was a great help, and did not berate me for my mistakes, but advised me on a different strategy for Derry’s trip.

Derry warmed up well, after Jane rode her on the flat for me. Oh, she was on fire in the ring, jumping well, and very much in the game! She jumped a clean round, and then was very quick in the jump off, but I overrode the final five stride line and had a rail at the last jump. Greedy again.

Susan and Galatea were the final old lady team to go, and they produced a double clear round. Teah was very fresh and enthusiastic. Their time was beaten by some youngsters, but they earned a decent 4th place in a competitive class. Derry was 5th, with the fastest four fault round, and Bart was 7th. It was a blast. Louise was a star to video us all, providing the illustrations taken off video.

And that was it for Bart and Derry. We will watch Susan and Teah this weekend, I hope, but Saturday and Sunday have obligations that preclude horse showing for us. We will return next week for The St. Louis National Charity Horse Show. Derry is resting up after jumping many jumps today.

I am so lucky to ride these two game chestnut Irish horses! Home again, Bart and Oisin shared a scratch and compared tales of their horse show exploits.

Be safe, be well. Slava Ukraini! Peace.