This summer there are horse shows! This weekend there was a dressage show put on by Caledon Dressage at the Angelstone showground. When I got in the car and started out on the one hour drive to the show I felt quite exhilarated! A horse show! I felt like I was getting away from the Covid bleakness and was off on an adventure! My coach Belinda Trussell , her assistant trainer Lynsey Rowan and also Megan Lane were all competing. Andrew Woodley organized this show which was a National level show and also a CDI 1* (Concours Dressage Internationale) . The Covid requirements were not as strict as when I had been to Angelstone in the autumn but signing a Covid waiver was still required before you could enter the show grounds. And there were some spectators! These are the first spectators I have seen since the arrival of the Pandemic.
The first rider I watched was Belinda on Insterlana (Lana to her friends). When I arrived Megan Lane was helping Belinda and they had started to work on the pirouettes. There was a light rain falling.
Then it was time for the test, the boots were taken off and Belinda rode Lana into the stadium. Now the rain was a constant and heavier as you can see in the photo below.
The next rider I watched was Megan Lane on Denver. She was riding a test that is the introduction to the Grand Prix and has passage, piaffe and some one tempi changes.
The rain held off for the afternoon but it was a dull, grey day. Of the riders I watched however there was nothing “grey” or “dull” about their riding. It is always a pleasure to see these accomplished riders and to watch and learn from them.
This post is also my response to this week’s Lens- Artists Photo Challenge #157 Getting away During the Covid lockdowns so many horse shows have been cancelled in Canada so it was a real joy to get out and watch the riders and feel the “buzz” of a horse show.
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