And we thought that we were going to blog from the show? HA! We were having too much fun exhausting ourselves just being at a horse show to blog.
First there was the six hour drive to get to the MSU Pavilion in East Lansing. After we walked and watered the dogs, we got busy setting up. Have you ever been the first one from your stable to arrive and have to figure out which horse goes where, which stalls need bedding, and which stalls need curtains and which ones don’t? That’s when the fun starts. Fortunately we didn’t need fans this early in the year so we weren’t climbing up and down ladders and untangling extension cords trying to get connected to the (usually) one electrical outlet which is kinda too bad, because the Pavilion has plenty of accessible outlets. We did such a great job that we were actually able to have a real dinner and get to bed by 10 pm, and that included parking and setting up the new Above Level camper at its first horse show.
The next day was spent grooming horses, cleaning stalls, (finding a cigarette lighter – there’s a sad story there,) working horses, visiting with friends, and meeting new people. Some of the stables attending Showtime included Triumph Stables who ended the show with an impressive display of blue ribbons (there actually may not have been ANY other color,) Crystal Farm, Damian Hyde Stables, Morgan Valley Farm, Northern Winds Stables, Hillcrest Stables, Showcase Stables, Aljak Acres, Elizabeth Ann Hall, PAL Morgan Service, Sterling Training Center, and O’Gorman Stables @ Cedar Creek Farm. Black Eye Beth actually spent some time working on show results to post, but you can tell that they never made to Above Level from the show. We also made it to bed, with a full belly, at a decent hour that night.
Friday was Showtime! There were 117 horses entered this year and Gerry Rushton of Gavilan Hills, CA had the honors in center ring with Debbie Keogh as show photographer. Photos were available for viewing at the show almost instantaneously and are on her website, Photo by Debbie, now. I had my first class of the new season and although we had a few rough edges, we managed to win the blue. BEB had even more of a challenge with her trojan horse and placed a little further down the lineup. However, they more than made up for their first class over the next two days. OKC, here they come (if things continue on their present course.) Northern Winds Stables graciously offered an ice cream social to everyone present to conclude our first day of the 2008 show season.
The Saturday schedule was full of classes for novices, junior exhibitors, and us old lady amateurs to work out the kinks of the winter break, in addition to the open classes. Look for the video of Kristin Beard on her lovely buckskin Morgan mare in the Novice Trail class. The schedule moved along well with a minimum number of holds on the gate thanks to exhibitors arriving at the in-gate on time. The Park Saddle Stake during the Saturday evening session was exciting to watch with three real park horses in attendance. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Eglb28AI__g" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
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