Tammy Breckenridge
Well-Known Member
Ok well my best friend and I traveled out with our trainer Ricky Wardlaw of Cygnet Farms. We got there the day before youth started because her mare was being shown in youth classes.
When we got on the fair grounds my first thought was boy Im glad I just bought a new pair of New Balance tennis shoes this place is HUGE! My second thought was I wonder how much a golf cart costs?
So the first day I spent settling in my boys and we set up the barn stalls. By that time I was exhausted, I had been warned that this was a long hard show both physically and metally. They were not kidding!
The next day I spent the day watching the youth exercising my boys and starting in awe at some of the barn set ups in all the barns. My friends mare did really well in the youth classes those first few days. Then it was our turn! First off I want to thank Rachel Hall of Cygnet Farms for body clipping my boys, Lorrie Shipman for bathing at least one of them and Samantha Phipps for giving Ian the best facial he has ever had, it was truely worth the $20 it cost me to have Samantha do his facial.
Ok so into the ammy halter sr geldings over class we went, hehe well ok so I might have forgotten to show my horse a few times because I was to busy staring at the beautifull geldings all around me!!! And yes Erica won that class but did you see that horse? Well did you? OMG Its my new goal to have one by my 40th birthday which is only 2 years away so I better get to saving. Anyway back to the show, Ok so Ian didnt place in that class, and he didnt place in any of his open classes either but thats totally ok because just a year and a half ago he was in a trailer accident that left him with 2 plates holding his cannon bone together and a 5% of survival. So do I care that he didnt place, maybe just a little cause he is my horse, but when the horses that won look like they did you cant be to upset.
Next up was my driving classes, I was looking forward to these more than ever, my 35.5" blue roan gelding has only been in training since Jan. of this year so I was a little worried how he would handle the crowded arena. I had nothing to worry about, he was fine. We made the cut in ammy ladies country pleasure driving over, which I think is pretty impressive as there were close to 50 (i think) entries in this class. We didnt place in the end though but he gave me everything he had, in the end I ended up boxed in 4 deep and no way to get out. Totally my fault. I had lots of people come up to me and my trainer and tell me what a good go Conner had, which was very nice to hear.
So by now we are into day 4 or maybe it was day 5, they all kind of run together, when that evening my friends and I discover THE WATERIN HOLE! oh my bless their souls for their restaurant sized blender thingy full of strawberry frosty icey yummy goodness. Ok so a few more driving classes always make the cut never place, which bites, and maybe I get a little sad but its made some what better by a trip back to the good ole Waterin Hole. BTW Erica I would really love to meet you and your mom face to face one day.
Then I decide to enter a class just for fun, something my friend has always bugged me about trying but I never had the guts to. So I borrow a set of silks, learn how to braid ribbons ito my geldings forelock and mane, harness up and hit the ring flying in the Roadster 3 to 4 year olds over class! I took 4th out of 10, I placed 2 spots behind Larry Parnell the pres of AMHR! How cool is that? So Im getting me a set of silks this winter. It was fun really really fun. My friends wanted to take him into Roadster in hand so a few classes later in he went and came out with 6th. So the judges didnt like him as a Country Pleasure horse but he held his own in roadster. I was particulary proud because he had never been asked to turn on the speed before and he did. Then he was able to calm back down and go back into a golden age country pleasure class. Again he didnt place, but he is only 3 and Im sure he will get better with time. Was I a little upset and discuraged that he didnt place in any of his regular driving classes? Well sure, who wouldnt be but in the long run I discovered that Ricky has trained me a solid, sane, safe driving horse that wll give me 110% and is willing to try what ever his crazy mom thinks up.
Oh and I got to meet and talk to Patty Cloke *squeee* she is so nice. I loved watching her drive, such a professional. Then all of a sudden it was over and it was time to go home. So did I win? Nope, I figure those 2 ribbons cost me some where in the neighborhood of $2500 each. Will I be back? Oh yeah, I WILL have my turn in center ring, just you watch. So thats my trip to Nationals hope I didnt bore you to death!
Tammy
When we got on the fair grounds my first thought was boy Im glad I just bought a new pair of New Balance tennis shoes this place is HUGE! My second thought was I wonder how much a golf cart costs?
So the first day I spent settling in my boys and we set up the barn stalls. By that time I was exhausted, I had been warned that this was a long hard show both physically and metally. They were not kidding!
The next day I spent the day watching the youth exercising my boys and starting in awe at some of the barn set ups in all the barns. My friends mare did really well in the youth classes those first few days. Then it was our turn! First off I want to thank Rachel Hall of Cygnet Farms for body clipping my boys, Lorrie Shipman for bathing at least one of them and Samantha Phipps for giving Ian the best facial he has ever had, it was truely worth the $20 it cost me to have Samantha do his facial.
Ok so into the ammy halter sr geldings over class we went, hehe well ok so I might have forgotten to show my horse a few times because I was to busy staring at the beautifull geldings all around me!!! And yes Erica won that class but did you see that horse? Well did you? OMG Its my new goal to have one by my 40th birthday which is only 2 years away so I better get to saving. Anyway back to the show, Ok so Ian didnt place in that class, and he didnt place in any of his open classes either but thats totally ok because just a year and a half ago he was in a trailer accident that left him with 2 plates holding his cannon bone together and a 5% of survival. So do I care that he didnt place, maybe just a little cause he is my horse, but when the horses that won look like they did you cant be to upset.
Next up was my driving classes, I was looking forward to these more than ever, my 35.5" blue roan gelding has only been in training since Jan. of this year so I was a little worried how he would handle the crowded arena. I had nothing to worry about, he was fine. We made the cut in ammy ladies country pleasure driving over, which I think is pretty impressive as there were close to 50 (i think) entries in this class. We didnt place in the end though but he gave me everything he had, in the end I ended up boxed in 4 deep and no way to get out. Totally my fault. I had lots of people come up to me and my trainer and tell me what a good go Conner had, which was very nice to hear.
So by now we are into day 4 or maybe it was day 5, they all kind of run together, when that evening my friends and I discover THE WATERIN HOLE! oh my bless their souls for their restaurant sized blender thingy full of strawberry frosty icey yummy goodness. Ok so a few more driving classes always make the cut never place, which bites, and maybe I get a little sad but its made some what better by a trip back to the good ole Waterin Hole. BTW Erica I would really love to meet you and your mom face to face one day.
Then I decide to enter a class just for fun, something my friend has always bugged me about trying but I never had the guts to. So I borrow a set of silks, learn how to braid ribbons ito my geldings forelock and mane, harness up and hit the ring flying in the Roadster 3 to 4 year olds over class! I took 4th out of 10, I placed 2 spots behind Larry Parnell the pres of AMHR! How cool is that? So Im getting me a set of silks this winter. It was fun really really fun. My friends wanted to take him into Roadster in hand so a few classes later in he went and came out with 6th. So the judges didnt like him as a Country Pleasure horse but he held his own in roadster. I was particulary proud because he had never been asked to turn on the speed before and he did. Then he was able to calm back down and go back into a golden age country pleasure class. Again he didnt place, but he is only 3 and Im sure he will get better with time. Was I a little upset and discuraged that he didnt place in any of his regular driving classes? Well sure, who wouldnt be but in the long run I discovered that Ricky has trained me a solid, sane, safe driving horse that wll give me 110% and is willing to try what ever his crazy mom thinks up.
Oh and I got to meet and talk to Patty Cloke *squeee* she is so nice. I loved watching her drive, such a professional. Then all of a sudden it was over and it was time to go home. So did I win? Nope, I figure those 2 ribbons cost me some where in the neighborhood of $2500 each. Will I be back? Oh yeah, I WILL have my turn in center ring, just you watch. So thats my trip to Nationals hope I didnt bore you to death!
Tammy
