Our show weekend started with hat shopping on
Friday. For as many years as I’ve ridden, and for as much time as I’ve spent
riding Western, I’ve never owned a cowboy hat. On Saturday, I test rode my new
head apparel and practiced my patterns for a final time. Ransom submitted to
the spa afterwards, emerging clean, soft, and sweet-smelling. I don’t think
about how big his blanket pattern is until I have to wash all that white!
We arrived at the
show grounds at the crack of dawn Sunday. The horses finished breakfast while Jamie
and I scouted the area. The arena lay nestled in the sequoias of the regional
park. This was the perfect environment for Ransom’s first show – small and relaxed
with only a few friendly competitors. Despite the low-key atmosphere, the
morning brought a host of my insecurities to the surface. For starters, I’m a
recovering perfectionist. Because of previous successes, I felt burdened
by the pressure of higher expectations. My self-esteem is too dependent on
comparing myself to others, and the whole point of a horse show is judging and
critique. Not to mention how awkward it is to be compared to friends.
Ransom, fortunately,
did not add to my nerves. Though he was a bit of a looky-lou, he was calm and
collected, taking everything in stride. We rode our two tests and I appreciated
his honesty – he was the same horse there that he was at the barn. For that I was
proud of him. We came home with a lot to work on, but I could say the show was
a success. Didn’t hurt to have a red ribbon, either.
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