Going North to South Farm, and, Band #1!

I feel like I don't spend enough of my time with the horses, and yet, I feel like an inordinate amount of my blogs feature horse related activity. Where is the rift?

In any case, this weekend was another horse-related activity, but not solely thus, it was also a band-weekend (the other thing prominently featured in our fall schedules!)
I was the horse- mom, and Huz was the band-dad.
Middlest's marching band had their first competition of the season, and they pulled off an amazing show, as they seem to do annually, receiving the Class Winner award, Best Auxiliary in their class, Overall Best Music, Overall General Effect, Overall Grand Champion, and the only band at the competition to be awarded a Superior Rating, and qualify them to compete in the Ohio State Band Marching Finals.
I have to say that I watched a bit of practice on Friday, as I waited for the correct moment to collect Youngest from his school and head off to his competition. I parked the car in the lot with the windows open to listen to the music. Which, is ah-mazing. It is Gershwin, and I know I think this every year, but it is my favorite show so far. Sitting there, I also got to listen to the band directors. And, I think I discovered the secret to the success of our band. Don't do anything wrong, and the directors won't let you know you just did something wrong. Now, just give the kids incredible music and complicated, seamless marching drill, plus the will to not hear their name over the loud speaker, and ta-DA; perfection.

I waved at Middlest atop her podium (she may have seen me, but I guess one mini-van looks like every other mini-van, so why wave back at a woman in a suspiciously familiar mini-van.) and headed to pick up Youngest.
He was part of our Pony Club's D-Rally Eventing Team for our Tri-State Region competition. It was held up near Cleveland, and our friends, and teammates were giving Sonny Girl (Cheez-It) a ride to the affair. He had everything, clean, labeled and packed in the car, except the pony. This is remarkable for a few reasons. The list of required items is exhaustive, everything must be clean- really, really clean, plus in good condition, and he did all cleaning, labeling and packing in one afternoon/evening. Preparing for a rally is best done over several days, so I had my doubts. But, he pulled it off.
Our friends stopped their rig on the road, and we loaded up the mare for the long haul north. I didn't really know how far north until we got out of the car and realized it was COLD. I also should point out here that as we got closer to the ironically named "South Farm", I was thrilled to find we were surrounded by the Amish- a fascinating canyon in our 2014 timeline. I am not one to want to chase celebrities about , but I think I could be an Amish paparazzo.

Despite my neck whipping about to see every buggy, buckboard and scooter, we arrived, got the ponies all tacked up and headed straight out to the cross country course, because for this special event they allowed the kids and horses to school the course prior to the competition the following day. This greatly increases the chances of success on course, as the horse has seen the obstacles, and this, usually, makes them less scary for the horse. We had a wonderful schooling session. Youngest was entered in the Intro level for the competition but went ahead and did some of the next level up fences while we were schooling. Great for building confidence, but also for realizing you need to work more in order to feel comfortable stepping a level up!
The kids then organized their competition tack room, and got their horses put to bed for the night. And it was night. A late supper and then an early morning start. Youngest and I slept in the car. Well, he slept. I tried, unsuccessfully.
But, morning comes.
And with it we were off! I was one of the coaches for the team, sharing duties, thankfully, with another experienced eventing Pony Club mom. Each competitor presents themselves and their horse, tacked up and ready to ride, for Formal Inspection. This is mostly a check for appropriateness and safety for the lowest level, but builds to quite a scrutiny for the upper-level competitors. It was made more difficult by a persistent, cold misty rain, with periodic downpours.

 In the indoor arena, Youngest tightens his girth under observation by the judge, while Horse Manager, Hannah, holds his pony. Then, to the dressage arena they go. The first of our team to compete was Katie and Scooter.

 The salute to the judge to begin the test.

They were followed by Riley on Falcon, with a very good test and McKenna and Starz, who are so adorable and flashy, everyone watches! I paused to watch the pair while I "walked" the Show Jumping course with Kelly, who was competing on a higher level team, and doing the Novice level. "Walking the course" is when the unmounted competitor (and sometimes the coach) walk the required course either on Cross Country or Stadium (or Show) Jumping. This is where you plan your ride, look at footing, terrain, count strides to obstacles, and plan your "line", or where you will guide the horse to go. It is also part of memorizing the course, so you don't screw up!
Last to go on our team was Youngest on Sonnygirl.

In the warm-up we worked on guiding the pony on a geometrically round circle, just the right size, and having a light contact with the ponies mouth. In this photo he has the pony nicely bending on a 20 meter circle.

For his final halt and salute, the sun came out!
I think it was because he had just completed a very nice Intro level test, being awarded a great score at 36.25! His work on getting a 20 meter circle round was awarded by high scores. I was very proud of him.

Next up was the Show Jumping phase. Kelly led off with the Novice course on Niki, pulled out a clean round, even though Niki is 24 years old and doesn't love murky footing...after all the rain the ring was pretty wet.

Then Katie and Scooter had a nice, clean, nearly la-de-dah round. A huge step for this inexperienced horse who tends to be less than brave.
Riley and Falcon were excellent, and little Starz, managed with not just a little encouragement from McKenna, to get over everything, despite short legs and muddy ground.

 After each competitor was finished with their show jump round,  they put on their safety vests and reported straight to the start at Cross Country. My coaching co-hort was there to get them on their way, and Horse Manager, Hannah was there to receive them at the Vet Box when they finished the course. I only got to watch from afar a few fences of the course. It looked like the going was tough. I could see many competitors having "hiccups" as McKenna sunnily put it. This included our own team.
The penultimate pair of the day was Youngest and Sonnygirl/ Cheez-It (for those of you wondering, Cheez-It is the show name Youngest chose for Sonnygirl, as she is reddish orange, and Cheez-Its are an excellent snack "food").
He was our Pony Club's only Intro level competitor, but he had the same course for Show Jumping, just at a much reduced height.

  The mare was a star, gamely- and safely- jumping every obstacle on course, finishing with a very pleased rider.
And off to the abbreviated Cross Country Course for the Intro level. The most difficult challenge for many ponies was the Amish buggies flying past on the road- black boxes chasing a horse. But, Sonnygirl was raised in a pasture next to an Amish farm, and she was unfazed.

 The pair as they canter away from fence #4. They swiftly accomplished a clean round with no faults!

And, after the Vet Box, there was Hannah, treating each horse and rider like they were Olympians.


After turn-backs (when each competitor is checked to make sure they have cleaned their tack, boots and ponies after the ride), scores were completed and the results were in!

The D team learned a lesson in promptness when they neglected to turn in their written test on time and were docked 5! points. They also lost one point for a pair of tall boots that did not have toe-trees (boot trees hold the shape of the leg shank of the boot, but a filler in the toe keeps the foot part from collapsing when they aren't being worn). This -6 points put them in 4th place in Horse Management. Oops! They also came in 4th place in their division- Cross Country penalties of -40 points.On the surface this seems, perhaps, like a poor result- but it was a triumph in many ways. I am very pleased with the riders for challenging themselves and their mounts. For their kind riding and their positivity. They are all moving forward together, and each pair grows every time I have the privilege of seeing them ride. 
Kelly's team ended in better stead. They earned a first place in Horse Management and a second place in their division.
Youngest was a leading scorer, placing in 4th place overall. He was properly pleased with himself and his excellent pony! 

Youngest, McKenna, Katie, Hannah, Kelly and Riley- Way to go team!!