Hard Work Has It's Pay Offs!

Yesterday was a big show day for Rosie and I.  All I can say is my big mare ROCKS !!  We went to the annual Starry Nights Dressage Series show.  The first show is always in July.

Rosie was perfectly calm from the moment she stepped off the trailer to the end.

I'll give ya'll the run down:
Walk/Trot/Canter Dressage Equitation (judged on the rider no matter what horse does) - 1st place (by default I was the only rider).  While some competition would have been nice I got a good 5 minutes with the judge at the end with her critique - Canter - I'm stuck not my horse!  She gave me some pointers to help will be working on those to see if they make a difference.

Intro A Senior- 72% - 1st Place
Intro B Senior - 72% - 1st Place
Intro C Senior- 67% - 2nd place

Intro C introduces two canter circles - first one was great.  Second one... not so much.  Rosie decided she was more interested in a cute gelding outside the fence and turned-on the after burners, started calling out to him, no focus on me at all.  Blowing through every aid I had.  Before asking for the canter I did normal half halt - no response.  I did another half halt increasing pressure by 5 pounds - just barely a flicker of an ear to me - so I did a full body halt but with my legs on.  That woke her up and when I put my leg back for canter she gave a hop and attitude so I shortened that circle to a 10 meter instead of the 20.  When I asked for downward to trot I really had to apply brakes again but she listened.

The rest of the day... well here are some photo's that show what a lovely team we are becoming.

Gah! Whip Hand Salute

Straight!

Free Walk

20 Meter circle at A

Trot!

Canter

Looking at these photos I am so emotional - we've come a very long way.   At this point Rosie is ahead of me in her training and I need to catch up.  That's the way it goes though isn't it.