Donuts in the sandbox

First show of the season is in the books!

I wish we had had the chance to get out to a schooling show first, but it just did not work out that way. Hampton was a LUNATIC the week leading up to the show. I thought about scratching because I just could not control his behavior. But I decided to suck it up and see what happened.

Turns out, he magically turned back into quiet, normal Hampton at the show. When we schooled on Friday he was a bit hot and squirrely, but not bad. By Saturday he was calm and collected.

A good boy!

Our first test was Third 1. I am just going to give up on this test because we ALWAYS bomb it. He was actually well behaved, but there was some rooting and tension. The judge was generous to give us a 59. 

Unfortunately, Hampton is quite rein-lame in all the lateral work (shoulder-in and half pass).

This can come and go at home, but all weekend it was very pronounced. It pretty much slaughtered our tests. I have no doubt we can pull a 65% at Third if we can just fix this "unevenness." He is totally sound going straight. I believe it is an issue with locked shoulders and a locked neck, and lack of engagement behind.

A tad above the bit, but that's OK when it's Hampton. I will take it!

Early morning graze

Our next test was Third 3, far more difficult. It went pretty well and we scored a 62% - giving us a qualifying score for regionals. He was more ridable in this test, but still not very supple. And still rein lame. But many good moments.

Left half pass in where he is most rein lame (on the left front)

Please excuse my show clothes. They are HUGE on me and I look sloppy.

I had a weird breakdown in February in which I lost 20 pounds and did not eat for DAYS. Obviously I can't afford brand new show clothes so I am hoping these will fit again soon.

Sunday morning was again Third 1. It actually went ok. No major bobbles except one late change.

This judge gave us a hilarious 54%. The rein lameness destroyed us. Also, I think that I am going to have to accept that some judges just are not going to like us. Hampton has a "unique" way of going, and sometimes looks like a stiff QH. Some judges just are not going to score him well.

Extended walk looking pretty good

Pretty uphill for Hamps!

Can we talk about the dapples on his butt?! :)

Sunday afternoon we did one more Third-3 and it rode quite well. My coach said we were still very crooked, and I felt like Hampton was not very supple. We got dinged again for rein lameness, but had many 7.5's. We ended up pulling out a 62%+ and also reserve high point AA Third Level for the day. (The judges were scoring very low all weekend).

So we are all qualified for regionals!

Good effort from Hampton, but we still have occasional moments where he dives down.
Once he can maintain the balance, his mediums are going to SMOKE the ring.

So overall, a good show. The scores don't really reflect that. I had my moments where I thought maybe Hampton has topped out.

If this rein lameness cannot be fixed, he can't move up. It would be a shame because he has talent with changes, and the 3 Ps. But we are just going to keep working at it and see what happens. I suspect he is just going to need much more strength and suppleness due to his conformation.

If anyone has suggestions on how to fix rein lameness within the lateral work, I am all ears.

His uphill balanced has improved, but still isn't 100% consistent in the ring (see above photo). He is still searching to find in balance a lot of times, too. Sometimes I forget that he doesn't even turn 8 until the end of June. He is still young, and big, and still has awkward moments. And it's ok. 

In other news: I got really drunk with Austen from Guiness on Tap, and also hung out with Jen from A Cob Jockey. These two gals are AWESOME. 

Austen had really great rides as well, and is in general a total badass. Guiness is such a nice horse and they are going to do great things. I was bummed I missed her rides but they were smokin' from what little I saw in the warm up rings. I am really going to miss her around the show circuit. 

And Jen is about the nicest person ever. Because I was white-girl wasted (well, for a 35 year old. haha), she let me crash on her couch. She and her hubby also cooked dinner which was probably the reason I wasn't as hungover as I should have been on Sunday morning. I was amazed I was able to sit the trot without yakking.

Than you ladies for such a fun evening! I felt like I was in my late 20s again. Until I drank too much wine and quickly waved the white flag.

So ... what's our plan now? More lessons, and more schooling shows. I need to be able to really ride him in the ring. Sometimes we both "walk on eggshells" in the ring and it just results in tension.

It will probably be a couple of months before another rated show, so hopefully we can improve our scores. :)