Another Lost Day

I am not real happy with Gunpowder Stables and I told them so. I will never understand why Bouffe was turned out this morning when Tricie knew I had a lesson scheduled with her first thing. But as I pulled in the lane, there was Bouffe, being turned out in a field whose lower part consisted of thigh deep mud and muck of old bedding, which after trudging through it, made it physically impossible for me to go any farther to catch Bouffe and then bring him in through the same mess. So, my planned day of training for Sunday's show was lost and instead, I am now looking for somewhere else to board Bouffe.

Then The Rains Came

The sun finally came out from behind the clouds as it rose on the eastern horizon this morning. It had been raining, sometimes with torrential downpours since Friday and I had not ridden, or even been to the barn, since my lesson on Wednesday. 

But all had not been wasted. During this down time I managed to buy several well needed items and an older Crosby Prix de Nations, which is my favorite saddle of all time. I have been riding for a long time and until recently I always sat on a close contact or an exercise saddle. No matter the saddle, I have had three different ones, I do not feel comfortable on a dressage saddle. The high cantle is not only difficult to get my leg over when mounting and dismounting, but it also pushes me forward and I no longer feel balanced, like I do in this "new" Crosby. After riding for just a few minutes today, I decided to sell my Wintec dressage saddle, which is now listed on eBay.

Now the Crosby didn't fit Bouffe as well as the Wintec did, but the problem can be solved with a withers pad, which was one of the items I bought today. The other was a crop. My legs are just not strong enough yet to continually encourage Boufee to trot and also be able to use them for the other aids. I need some help and I hope the crop will be the answer. 

One other thing I purchased was a pair of rubber riding boots, which will help me get through all the mud I experienced today while bringing Bouffe in from the field. They will also give me an idea of how riding in tall boots will feel. It has been so long since I rode on boots I have forgotten. 

Well tomorrow is my regular lesson and I have a lot of things to work out with Boufee for the show on Sunday. I rode him today in a standing martingale, which did bring his head down enough that I hope it will be something I won't have to thinking about, while I am getting him to walk, halt and trot in the show on Sunday.

Checking Out The Compitition

The show started at 8:30 this morning and my wife, Barbara and I left our house at 7:30, which gave us plenty of time to make the trip from Lutherville to BelAir. 

It was going to be a hot day, as the temperature was already in the eighties when we arrived. Now, the heat doesn't bother me as much as most people with MS, but I still had to be careful and set my folding chair up in the shade of a large tree that was conveniently located between the two rings.  

The show information mentioned that proper dress was required. It has been so long since I was in a show that I wasn't exactly sure what "proper dress" would in tale. I found out as soon as the first class entered the show ring: dark colored coat, white show shirt, white breeches, and black boots, along with the required head gear. 

I had all of these items except the show shirt, which I could fake with a white oxford cloth button down shirt for the time being. At least for the schooling shows I was planning for Bouffe and I to be in.

Being a retired elementary school teacher, Barbara really enjoyed the lead line classes, which were part of the early classes that Steuart Pittman was judging.

All the horses were very well turned out and I knew Bouffe could look just as good. I was most interested in the walk, trot, canter, (WTC) classes and in watching them I could see Bouffe would be OK but I had a lot of work to do.