The American Royal Wednesday

The American Royal is a venerable old “heritage horse show”, a remnant of  the old days, when there were fewer horse shows, and the special ones , like the Royal, were anticipated with excitement.

I first attended The Royal as a spectator, in the 1970s.  It was quite a thrill to see the famous jumper riders of the era, and the huge crowds.  The most popular classes were the five gaited Saddlebreds, which topped the evening, following the Open Jumpers.  It was a real show!

Later, Harry and I came here to show.  What a thrill to ride in The American Royal!  In 1991 we were fortunate enough to see Rox Dene in the flesh as a First Year Green Hunter. Considered the Hunter Of The Century, it was amazing to see her here in the middle  of the country.  I will never forget her impeccable style, as she won every class she entered.

I have many memories of the Royal over the years, and as the sport of horse showing has become an industry, much has changed.  One thing we don’t see as much any more, is a venue in the middle of a city.  Kemper Arena, now HyVee Arena, is right smack in downtown Kansas City, with train tracks in use at the edge of the parking lot. The Royal is not horse friendly – there’s no grass, nowhere to trail ride or hack.  But it does still feel special, and it is an event, if not quite the bash it once was.  And it is so uplifting to see crowds of children being exposed to horses…

It reminds us how very fortunate we are.  I can remember being one of those children in awe.  I never expected I would actually have a life with horses and I never want to lose the sense of wonder…

We are really enjoying being in the Kirin Farm aisle.  The Allie and Allie team work hard, and are always so nice!

  

For we old ladies, horse shows are to some extent social occasions.  We have so much fun connecting with people who share our passion for horses, especially old friends.

So, we enjoyed the morning, took our horses for a light ride, and were ready to show at 1 PM.  The jumper classes are well filled – in the .95 meter class there were 20, and our class, at 1.0 meter had 28 entries!  Bart and I were at the top of the order, second in the ring.  The course, by Philip DeVita, was straightforward, but it was a speed class.  We were aiming for an introductory trip around the rather intimidating ring, not planning on being fast.

Yikes – Bart greened up after warming up like he was ready for the big jumps, he suddenly felt very impressed by 1 meter!

We galloped down the first line as instructed, and really covered the six strides to the oxer / vertical one stride in and out.  I took it for granted, leaned a little bit at the out , and Bart did TWO strides.  He was clean, but I was quite embarrassed (I also added a stride in the next line, because he jumped SO HIGH over the next oxer.  But at least that add was planned!!  A clean round, but out of the ribbons.

Jane went tenth, and she rode beautifully down the first line.  Then, Derry stopped at the third jump.  Aaargh!  Not a good start to the show for Jane – but she regrouped and finished beautifully.

We were both somewhat discouraged by today’s class, but we must soldier on to remain #oldladieshorseshowing! Tomorrow, Bart and I will attempt 1.10 meter and I will wear bigger spurs.   Jane and Derry will do two classes – .95 and 1 meter.

We went to Cafe Gratitude after showing, with another old friend, Sarah Good.  The best vegan food around, we have been looking forward to this restaurant as much as the horse show.  It was a very late lunch, and worth the wait – great, healthy food and fun conversation.

We watched the Grand Prix this evening, with 28 impressive jumpers.  Bravo and Hunter Holloway were trailblazers, and they were double clear, finishing eventually in 4th.  Two of Christian Heineking’s NKH horses were first and second, ridden deftly by German import, Mattias, who made it look easy.  Brooke Cudmore was 3rd on Igor, who jumped out of his skin.  We are hoping that some of the upper level skill will have wafted in our direction and the old ladies will have a good day tomorrow…