(Don't miss the Easter post I just did below this one!)
This Saturday, after just a few weeks of riding, Lorelai had her very first horse show. It was a nice local show only for kids that ride where she takes lessons. It was the perfect setting for her first venture into showing. We got her all of the goods...riding boots, helmet, jods. She was all set and super pumped.
The setting was a bit intimidating for her at first. We had to get her a number for competing and it was weird to her that someone was pinning it on her shirt. And then she wasn't sure why other girls were riding Squire (the horse she usually rides). I don't think she quite fully understands that Squire and Sweetie don't belong to her. lol And then there were other parents and grandparents there to watch their own kids, and they were riding outside, all of which is very different from when she's taking her lesson. But, after seeing a few of her older friends compete she seemed excited again. We went back to visit Squire a few times to give him some pets, and Miss Hannah made sure to stop by a couple of times and say hi to Lorelai. She was by far the littlest one there...I believe the next closest in age was a 6 year old.
She looks so tiny up on that big horse! But, she rides with such confidence. She competed in the Walk/Trot Lead Line group. Basically that means she had to be able to walk the horse, trot with the horse while posting (man do I have a whole new vocabulary!), and to guide Squire through turns.
You'll see in the videos to come down below that Lorelai speaks to Squire with such authority.
Lorelai is really working on posting which is hard for her little three year old legs to do when they're doing the splits on the horse. lol Miss Hannah helps to keep her focused by saying "up, down, up, down" as they trot around the paddock. (Lorelai is taking Saddle Seat lessons, which is a form of English riding, and posting is when the rider lifts themselves up and and down in the saddle in time with the trotting horse.) Despite being able to post on her own for very small bits she spends a lot of the trotting time being bounced up and down resulting in a bobble head look and a face like the one above. lol I'm impressed that she can even post at all...seriously. It's amazing.
At the end Lorelai was awarded a 1st Place "Champion" ribbon along with the other two kids in her group. Since they're all brand new riders they all got to win their group. Lorelai got cheers from the crowd every time she passed by. When she was done, so many parents told her how amazing she was, how brave she is, and a bunch of the older girls who ride were giving her high fives and telling her what a good job she did. It's a really great community to be a part of!
Look at her up there!!! Such a big girl!!! And a natural!
The wind was blowing something crazy the entire time, so I couldn't keep her hair out of her eyes in this picture, but she was so proud of herself (as she should be)! Brian and I are so proud and impressed with our little girl. She never ceases to amaze!
Here are videos of her ride (You may want to check your speaker volume because the wind is loud. Just don't turn it down too far so you can hear Lorelai using her commands.) Brian sweetly snapped several on my iPhone so those who couldn't make it could see it. :) At the end...when they're lining up to get their ribbons, Squire is attempting to graze. The first time Lorelai ever rode, it was on Squire and he pulled his reins and yanked her up onto his neck. It scared the dickens out of her (rightly so!). He'd been pulling on the other kids all day because he just wants to eat the grass so badly. So I told Lorelai, if he does that to her, to tell him "Squire behave!" So, that's why you will hear everyone laughing about her saying that during the ribbon ceremony.
Luckily, while in Dallas, I managed to take a few pictures on the day we visited Matt and family. We hit up the local park. I love this picture of all of the kids following Matt...like little ducklings.
