My Entry is In!

I have entered my first horse show of the winter season,a National show at White Fences Equestrian in Loxahatchee FL.  . It is always exciting to enter a show and now with online entry services it only takes a few minutes. Classes are entered, stall booked, number of bags of shavings ordered for the stall. Done!

Now the preparation begins. The show is the first weekend of February. White Fences is about an hour away and it is a showgrounds that Biasini and I have been to before. It has a very pleasant atmosphere, three competition rings, two warm up rings and they provide food for the competitors and those assisting them. A friend who also trains with my Florida coach Lou Denizard will be competing with two horses and Lou may also be coming with two horses. We will arrive on the Thursday afternoon, get the horses settled in and then ride in the rings we will be competing in.

The show runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I will be riding the Prix St. George test once each day.  Biasini and I have done this test before so this is not new to us. This season I am not trying to qualify for anything as I already got my USDF Silver Medal and my FEI Master’s Challenge Award last Florida season.

This year my goal is to improve our performance in the ring and to improve our scores. And before the end of the season I aim to compete the Intermediare 1 test which is the next step up from the Prix St. George.

Usually I enter a show and immediately begin to worry about things. But not this year. I have learned that I cannot just float through the next four weeks and hope to arrive at the show well prepared.  This coming week I will start by asking questions.  Do I have everything I need for Biasini at the show? Do I have all of my show clothes; breeches, tail coat, show shirts, black show boots? Did I forget anything at home in Canada?  I will go through all the check lists and make sure that everything is there and nothing needs to be replaced or repaired. I still have four weeks and there is lots of time to do that but if I leave it to the last moment it could be a panic . I don’t want to find out the morning of the show that I have no braiding thread to braid Biasini’s mane!  That sort of thing could really throw me off.

It is great fun to go to a show with friends and Team Denizard always has a good time! Also I  am looking forward to getting back into the show ring.  In Dressage we enter the arena at A  and go down the centerline to halt and salute the judge.

Enter at A.