sorry no pics from the show-too busy learning my classes
I’m not sure how I survived the last fifteen winters without ever attending an indoor jumper show? Maybe I didn’t have a horse at the time. Perhaps I stopped riding in the winters when I was young and had no body fat. There were all those years when I was in school. I probably didn’t have access to a trailer. The list goes on and on. Regardless, I sure was missing out big time!
Yesterday was my very first indoor jumper show, at Stoneleigh-Burnham School. Thousands of things could have gone wrong, which explains why I am always in panic mode before going to a show. Even though I have trailered horses plenty of times, I still to this day have a pain in my stomach when I think about how I am completely responsible for the lives of whatever horses I am hauling. Perhaps that feeling goes away after some time….but it still makes me anxious and overly cautious. Other things that could have gone wrong…one of my horses could have kicked the other one. I could have forgotten some of my tack. I could have had a flat tire. There are always things that can go wrong, and yet this trip, to my surprise, was smooth sailing.
So my friend and I show up around 1:30 in the afternoon at Stoneleigh. We walk inside to the viewing area and try and learn our courses. Jumper shows, and horse shows are totally different worlds from our little eventing world. People are yelling at each other where to go, and which jump to jump next. There are divisions, and classes, and jump offs, and power and speed rounds, and so much more. Furthermore, I noticed all the riders seemed to know exactly where they were going, and what they were supposed to do.
Valonia this summer
Luckily everyone was incredibly nice and helpful. At one point, I walked right in the ring as someone was finishing their round. I assumed she was done and it was my turn, so I picked up a canter. Only, she had a jump off to do still. Woops-sorry! This is new for me! She responded, no worries! Like I said, everyone was really nice and patient with the event rider who was out of her comfort zone.
I sort of thought this show was going to be very low key, with minimal pressure and very few people watching. HA! That was the not the case. Not only was I frantically trying to learn all of my courses, and jump offs, my heart was pounding. I was pretty nervous. There were several riders, all jumper riders from what it looked like, and plenty of people viewing from inside the office. The pressure was on. I did two classes on each of my horses, and my very first round I felt like a deer in the headlights. Crap, where am I going? Shoot, that was a long spot. ERG, I almost missed number 8-wait, yes I did miss number 8. DANG IT. Luckily the second round on each horse went more smoothly, and I learned from my mistakes.
Overall, the jumper show was an amazing experience and I totally understand why Denny tells us all that we need to go to more of these. For starters:
- It’s great to get in and out of the ring.
- It’s important to ride under pressure and out of your comfort zone.
- It’s good for your horses to jump a round, and hang out and wait to jump another round.
- It’s good to find out where you are at in your riding and training.
- It’s good to leave the farm from time to time.
- It’s good to jump more courses than you’re use to.
- It’s good to memorize several different courses all at once.
- It’s fun to have something to look forward to this time of the year!
There are hundreds of reasons why jumper shows are valuable experiences, and these are just a few. Can’t wait for the next show!
