Cowfeathers Farm to Foxcroft Farm: The Whip- Dressage and Show Jump Rally.

"The Whip"
On my way to work this week, I called my mother on the cell phone. This is the only time I seemed carved out that I can have a conversation with my mother. The best time to talk might be illegal, but I do put on the speaker phone, and sit the phone on my lap....
Anyway, I described how my life is right now with the analogy of "The Whip"; the childhood game that involves everyone joining hands and running around the center point, with the child in the middle staying in one place and the one on the end flying around until the grip is lost and the child is hurled into the air.

This is the painting, by Winslow Homer, of the very game. But, like the other famous piece of art.....

Groundhog Day....

I seem to interminably be the one on the end in a repeatedly hurled state.

Thus, I will not share the everyday flying of my life, but some of the more exciting parts of the flight.

This past weekend, Middlest and I traveled north in the company of her teammates to compete in the Regional Pony Club Show Jumping and Dressage Rallies.

We bunked in a tent with a fellow Pony Clubber and her mom, great tent mates, they were, and although I could've spent quite a bit more time sleeping, the schedule did not allow.

Home, sweet home.

Friday night was cold, and the girls toasted marshmallows over my camp stove. But Saturday was beautiful!
Huz and Youngest left pre-dawn to travel up to the event and watch Middlest do her jumping rounds.

This is the pair in the "neutral zone", an area where parents are allowed to fraternize a bit with the competitors!
The day starts out with a briefing for all the competitors, followed by a long day of working hard to make sure they are turned out spotlessly, their barn area is kept equally spotless and safe, and they ride to the best of their ability.

This is, I think, a hug.

7 am briefing. Horses fed, stalls clean, ready to start the day!!!

Nell and Middlest navigate the course, photos courtesy of fellow Pony Club Mom- Jennifer Hilaman. Her jobs were Chaperone and Photog, my job was Coach. Didn't have much time to pick up my camera, so I'm super-thankful to Jennifer!!

The two Hunters Run Pony Club teams did a great job all day, and were rewarded at the end with some pretty ribbons to commemorate the achievement.

The extra blue ribbon in the photo is for the Equitation award- the top equitation rider on the course all day. Go KZ!!!!! We also had a third place Equitation rider and an Eighth. NICE.

Back to the tent to fall in and crash hard in preparation for another 5 am start the next morning for the Dressage competition.

First to come is the Formal Inspection, where each competitor is carefully judged on their turn-out. In this photo, team Stable Manager, McKenna, makes sure there isn't any dust on Middlest's boots. Also note that the straps on Middlest's dressage girth are not in their keepers- this she noticed and rectified before her turn-out judge spotted it. Good Save!

Middlest finishes her Formal Inspection with no faults, and "exceeds the standard". A great start to the day.

More excellent photos of Middlest in her dressage tests, courtesy of Jennifer Hilaman. The resolution isn't as great as it is in reality, as I copied these off Facebook. So, FB friends, you have seen them already, in high-def! Middlest rode Intro B and Intro C tests, the latter being her first dressage test with canter. She did a great job, and Nellie looked beautiful. She turned out the fifth highest score of the day in her canter test, scoring a 78. Wow. This is 78 points out of 100. An astronomical score!

The girls gathered for awards, late,late,late awards....and again were full of rewards.

The first Hunters Run 3-man team bringing home a third in horse management and a second overall.

And the other Hunters Run 3-man team bringing home the blue in Horse Management. This win rests largely on the shoulders of the Stable Manager- the one in charge of all things HM at the stable area. This team had a great one in McKenna, the petite blondie next to Middlest, who worked tirelessly all day. Top Notch Job!

And consistent high scores garnered a third place finish overall for the team.

Extra individual awards were given for the stars of the Musical Freestyle competition, where a competitor designs a dressage test to music. Our team had two Musical Freestyle entrants, and the Training level winner was none other than our K.S.!

The first level and above competitors were judged against one another, making the competition fierce.