Swiftwater Invitational 2017 June 13th-17th

One of my favorite show grounds, this Cascade Horse Show, is beautiful, and the trails are always pleasant. My first show after school got out; this show was filled with laughs and memorable moments. Danner and I competed in the children's horses, and we were our most consistent yet. Although we haven't been top placings every time, we've learned more and more about how to work successfully with each other each round. Each day, we improve on from the day before, and I was the most confident I have been showing Danner. We enjoyed the beautiful trails provided by the park and a very relaxing time aside from showing in the ring. I am delighted with how much Danner has taught me, and I'm more than excited to see where we will go in the future.

Western Family, Thunderbird, 2016

What a fun show this was; it was my first time at the Thunderbird Show Park, and I was very impressed. Even though I was in the muddy pony ring, the experience that these showgrounds provide is like none other. I rode Milo in the medium rated ponies and the pony equitation, and I rode What's up Doc in the small rated ponies. The weather was not on our side this horse show; we had rain every day with only short breaks of clouds. Both Milo and What's up Doc schooled nicely in the mud, but I had to learn to adjust my ponies step so they would keep impulsion without getting heavy or breaking in the footing. 

Equitation day rolled around, and Milo was as responsive as could be, and I went into the ring confident. Overall I was thrilled with how Milo was for me. We were second in our first equitation over fences, third in our second equitation over fences, and we were second in the flat. I couldn't be happier with how Milo was, and he got us a reserve champion in the pony equitation. Saturday, showing was good with the ponies, and both were very consistent and responsive, earning us some middle of the road placings that I was happy with. The next day, Milo was jumping out of his skin, and Doc got almost every lead change. In the first round of Milo's classic, he won the class with a 78 and some phenomenal jumps. What I was most happy with Milo is that he was soft and responsive without getting quick and rushy. With Doc, he had his best round yet in his second round of the classic. He jumped everything beautifully and got all but his last lead change, earning him a 79 in the second round. 

To review, I was delighted with how both ponies performed, and I had a lot of fun at this show. These show grounds are a must-see for competitive equestrians as they are gorgeous and very well run. I look forward to my next visit to these grounds.

Alpine Preview, 2016

Right after school ended, I headed to Cle Elum, Washington, to show Milo and Doc at Alpine Preview. As usual, I did both ponies in the rated ponies and Milo in the 2'6" open low hunter. First schooling day was pretty good, Ruel came to school us and all went well. On the first day of 2'6," schooling went super, Milo was fabulous, and we ended up winning one class and getting third in the second over fences round. I'm super proud of how we did because it was out of 18 entrees, including professionals, and the judge decided should Milo be on top. The second day of schooling 2'6", we came out with a second and a third and we didn't do the flat. I was sitting where our tent is set up, and I see my trainer bike down with a champion in her hand, and she points to me and says, "good job," and I was so confused. We ended up champion in the 2' 6" schooling hunters!

The next day, equitation started, and it did not go how we wanted. We cantered in for our warm-up hunter, and it went pretty well, we ended up second; but then, we went for our equitation over fences, and we started with two beautiful jumps, and we turned the corner for a bending line, it was raining and windy, and Milo saw something from the corner of his eye and spooked to the right, past the jump. He did that two more times, and we were excused, I was devasted: but it happens to everyone, and not every round can be how I want it to be. Next two days, hunters. First hunter day went awesome; Milo jumped everything, got third in our under saddle, and was super rideable; we walked back with a first, second, and third. Second hunter day went great as well, we got second in our first classic round with an 80, second in our second hunter round and first in our second round of the classic with a 79, winning the classic. After points were calculated, Milo ended up Reserve Champion in the pony hunters!

Doc and I didn't have a quite as a successful show, but he was equally excellent, we did the schooling 2'3" but didn't place in any classes due to some missed lead changes. In our first hunter round, we had a couple missed lead changes, but he didn't try to pull through my hands at all, a huge improvement! The second hunter round, we got all our lead changes, but I held him back too much to the single oxer, and we chipped it badly, but he was excellent with his lead changes! In the under saddle, he got a second under Malena Delgado, thanks, Malena! Overall, Alpine Preview was a considerable improvement for Doc, and I could not have asked more from him.

Alpine Preview, 2015

The Oxers are no problem for 21 year old Memory Lane

Alpine Preview was my second show ever. I rode Memory Lane "Mimi" in the children's ponies and was reasonably successful. Mimi is a schooling pony at Blue Heron Farm. She is an excellent pony to learn the horse show schedule on. She is not challenging to ride, but she isn't push-button either. This show, we got two firsts, a second, and a third on our equitation as well as a Reserve Champion! I could not have been happier with how we did. My first show (at the same show, a year prior) Didn't go as well as I had hoped, and I did learn a lot, so to come back from that and get a Reserve Champion, I was so proud of myself and my pony. The next two show days consisted of yellows and whites and pinks, all placings that I am very proud of. Even though we didn't place the highest, We did the best we could have done, and I would not have asked for more.

Besides showing, we explored the trails and had barn family dinners and overall had a ton of fun. These showgrounds are one of my favorites, even though it can get a little hot. Congratulations, Aiden and Erica Smedley, on their Reserve Champion in the short stirrup and Malena with Effortless and Hana with Pharlee on their champion and reserve champion in children's horses. Thank you, Ruel Johnson and Tara Devlin, for letting me ride such an awesome pony and keeping me at my best for my second show ever.