When in doubt... fake it 'til you make it!

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm taking Sienna to an APHA show the first weekend of November. Obviously, because of this, I've been working hard, riding every day, getting the both of us in shape and polished up.

Or... not.

I could go through and list my excuses, but they are just that- excuses. I'll be sitting at work, thinking how much I want to be home and riding, and then I get home and I'm exhausted by the thought of everything I have to do for school and etc. And so riding gets put on the back burner, over and over.

This is our first APHA show- oh, and it's the first show where I'll show Sienna in a riding class. I should be panicked, right? I probably would be, if it weren't for a ride we had a week or two ago. It was our first ride since all of my health issues. I saddled up and hopped on without longing, expecting to just have to sit back and hope for the best. And guess what? Sienna obliged me with everything I asked. We had to work a little bit on our canter departure, but she even seemed to remember that after a few rounds. We cantered all over the property, around hair pin curves, across straight-aways, through obstacle courses- and she never broke stride unless I asked her to. I was completely dumbfounded. It was such a good ride- is someone riding my horse during the day when I'm not home?

I know that it could have been a fluke, and we definitely need to practice like crazy before this show. But it actually gave me a small pang of pride- my girl is growing up and remembering how to behave. Maybe as she matures we will quarrel less and less. Maybe next time I pop on her, she'll throw me in a mad display of bucking. At least she has proven herself to be quiet and obedient at the different show grounds she has been to!

"What judge will hate me?"