A Long Wait…..But Worth Every Minute

Saturday was Annabelle’s first “real” horse show.  She had participated in a practice show a few weeks ago, and that was fun, but now it was time to get serious.  As far as she was concerned anyway.

She practiced the pattern on foot outside in the pasture the day before. She ran and ran until she was too tired to practice anymore.

She was up early on show day, chomping at the bit to get going.  The show started at 9:00, but we didn’t get there until 1:00.  I wanted to minimize the waiting time because there is not a lot to do when you are waiting for your turn at a horse show.

Auntie Kris had ridden Chic in an earlier class, so he was all warmed up, brushed off and ready to go.

We got him saddled up in Annabelle’s gear.  Auntie Shane let her borrow a very fancy blingy saddle pad for the occasion.  It looked great on Chic, and very beautiful with Annabelle’s saddle and breast collar.

We went into the outside arena and practiced the pattern.  I stood in the middle, using hand motions to remind her which way to circle and spin.

After a couple of practice run throughs we went inside to check on the timing. There were still lots of classes to go before it would be our turn.

Annabelle sat on Chic for quite awhile watching.  Then that got boring.

She stood with him and kissed him and watched.  That got boring too.

About 4:00 Desperate Hubby arrived with Batman.  Batman and Annabelle played in the dirt for awhile.

When I broke it to Desperate Hubby that it was still a couple of hours away from Annabelle’s turn, he packed up Batman and left.  No matter how much dirt there is to play in, it was impossible for Batman to entertain himself for that long.  And Desperate Hubby doesn’t like to play in the dirt at all.

Horsecrazy  Annabelle amused herself by sitting and chatting with the girls.

She sat on Kristy’s lap.  Kristy is a trainer out at the Lucky Run arena where the show was held, and Annabelle thinks she is super cool. So do I.

After awhile she moved over to Auntie Kris’s lap.  She was getting a little tired of waiting around.  She was getting really tired of getting her picture taken.

Kristy came to the rescue.  She had to go get a horse ready to show and she let Annabelle tag along.

Annabelle watched Kristy catch the horse to get him ready.

Kristy taught her how to roll the polo wraps so she could wrap the horse’s legs.

She even let Annabelle pick the saddle pad the horse would wear in the show. Annabelle picked blue, because the horse was a boy.

Told you she was super cool.

When we got back to the arena there was more waiting around.  Annabelle played with one of the resident dogs, a very handsome Beauceron named Cyrus.

The day dragged on.  It was 7:00 pm before it was time for Annabelle to get back on her horse.  If you recall, that is six hours after our arrival time.

My little darling had eaten a large frosted donut, two bags of Cheetos, a piece of crumb cake and six red licorice strings since we arrived.  She was a little cranky.

I was trying to be patient, but the wait was wearing on me too.

Annabelle told me she thought she’d rather just do rodeos.  There was more action and she would get to ride all day long.  I understood where she was coming from.

Things looked up when the other kids in her class got on their horses.  At last, friends close to her own age.

They rode and chatted for the forty five minutes until their class started.

I made them stop for a group picture.  Aren’t they cute?

She was having fun now.

Annabelle was the last to go in her class.  The other girls did an awesome job running the pattern and managing their horses.  Annabelle wanted to do well too, and she did.

She went out and ran a beautiful pattern.  I was so proud of her.

You can watch the video of her run here:

When she rode out of the arena the results were announced.

All the girls had done so well it was a three-way tie for first place!  They all received an award. Annabelle got a new green mane and tail brush, and the other girls got horse treats and a body brush.

As we walked out of the arena, my little girl was positively glowing.  She said, “Mom, I LOVE horse shows.  I can’t wait to do it again!”

It was definitely worth the wait.

On an additional note:  I would like to say a big thank you to Annabelle’s adopted “Aunties” who make it possible for her to do these shows.  It does take a village, and we are so glad you are in ours.