An exciting first day met my hopes and goal for the past two shows, to finish first in the dressage competition. As planned, I took Ginger out first thing this morning to find that she was not as fresh as expected, so I completed our preview ride after fifteen minutes, headed back to the barn, and waited to get ready for the real deal. We warmed up twenty-five minutes before our test and she felt on, exactly what I was hoping for. Right before she went in I got her a little more expressive and took her in the ring to show what she had. She was great from the first step to the last. It was a test I had been practicing for for the past few months. She was so fun to ride and made each movement better than the last. I had the greatest time knowing that she and I have been learning and improving. When I first began to ride, I had a great horse named Ranger. He didn’t care much for dressage because he preferred to run fast and jump all the jumps in his sight. Ginger has really taught me to enjoy the dressage court and taught me to be a bit more of a diva dressage rider when showing her. She has taught me to command attention with her presence in the ring, something that Ranger didn’t care for. Needless to say I had such a great time and feel so thankful for the bit of “diva” I was able to experience today. I am putting this test in the memory bank and locking it up because tomorrow I have to focus on our cross country. One jump at a time, I hope that Ginger and I will be able to complete our test with success. I am nervous, but excited to be challenged and take it on tomorrow.
Until next time,
Ginger and Lauren
