Horse shows!

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 extended trot
The Shoulder In on the Centerline
The Extended walk
Lana gets a pat at the end of the test.

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.

Megan salutes the judge at the start of the test.
Denver’s expressive passage.
The Extended walk
The last horse I watched was Carlucci , owned by Barb Sinclair and ridden by Lynsey Rowan in the Intermediare 1 test. The photo above shows them warming up.
The extended walk.
The extended canter.
The canter pirouette.

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.

Comments

16 responses to “Horse shows!”

  1. seekingdivineperspective Avatar

    One benefit of all the restrictions in the past year and a half is the way we all appreciate and enjoy the things we may have taken for granted before. 🙂

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Yes indeed!

  2. JohnRH Avatar

    Beautiful photos of beautiful animals and riders. Quite the workout in rain, I imagine. You must know some Olympians, too.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      My coach Belinda Trussell is a two time Olympian 2004 and 2016. Also Megan Lane rode for Canada in 2016. I’m glad you liked the photos. Thank you for commenting.

      1. JohnRH Avatar

        👏

  3. Amy Avatar

    How exciting to be back to the horse show again. Great photos of these graceful movements.
    Thank you for sharing the joyfulness with us, Anne! 🙂

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you Amy! I have to admit I was surprised at how excited I was driving to the show on Saturday morning!

  4. firnhyde Avatar

    Lovely photos!

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you. It was fun to be back taking photos of a show even in the rain

  5. Oh, the Places We See Avatar

    Thanks for sharing all these lovely photos and for expressing your enthusiasm for the “re-opening” of horse shows. It truly does mean we are getting back to what we loved doing before the pandemic. Although we live in the state for Tennessee Walking Horses, we’re in the east end, not the middle where the majority of shows are held. I don’t know whether the shows are coming back already or not, but I’m hopeful that they are. Thanks for joining us this week with your interesting photos.

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you for the challenge and for responding to my post!

      1. Oh, the Places We See Avatar

        My pleasure! It’s great to hear from someone who loves horses.

  6. Diana Avatar

    That’s AWESOME!! I’m so happy things are opening up a bit and even in dull weather it’s a fun filled day. Your photos are beautiful. There is one photo the second to the last extended canter at first I thought Lynsey had a long ponytail, and on closer inspection I realized it’s the tail of the horse warming up. It looks pretty, even though I know you can’t have a long pony tail coming out of your helmet, it’s one of those shots you couldn’t have lined up better. All the horses are so beautiful!! So happy for horse shows again!! ❤️

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Well spotted! that is actually another competition ring. They had some lower level classes in that ring. Lynsey does have long hair but in dressage it must always be neatly put together in a nice little bun. You know everything has to be disciplined in dressage , even the riders’ hair!😄

  7. scrapydo2.wordpress.com Avatar

    So glad you could go out to this competition. You could enjoy watching the riders and horses as well as taking these lovely photos. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Rupali Avatar

    Great show.

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