My First Ever Horse Show! | Horse Show Blog

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Welcome to my post, Chilli Beans!

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Psstt, my YouTube channel sees it first! Be sure to check that out because I usually post their before EA :eyes: .

I'm finally writing the show blog post! Not going to lie, I procrastinated quite a bit because the show wasn't exactly amazing 10/10 great stuff so I didn't really feel like writing it because of getting judged you know. I feel like the equestrian community is veryyy toxic which is really unfortunate. I'm glad to be surrounded by an amazing trainer and lovely other horse riders, but out of our circle it's quite daunting. The internet equestrian community is the most toxic I think. Everyone always has something to say and they always point out all your faults and it's just exhausting if I'm being honest. I don't mean to sound annoying or anything, but it's just how I feel. EA is quite a lovely and chill place so I'm glad to be a member so I feel alright to be posting this here. YouTube was a bit more daunting but I decided to just do it anyway.

I want to be real with you all so I feel not sharing anything won't be right, plus this is a great way to keep track of our progress. I just feel like when you are an equestrian that everything has to be perfect and the standard is so high that it kills the confidence and motivation of a lot of riders. People judge and hate without knowing the full story. We should welcome and encourage all beginner riders and be nice to everyone riding out there because it's a tough world. This is just my opinion and I thought I'd share it. Ahh, I'm nervous about writing this because it really wasn't the perfect day I thought it would be but here goes. I'm just glad I have Lily by my side because she truly is an amazing pony :heart: . Let's get into this.

I bathed, braided and packed the car the day before the show. Braiding was quite difficult but I managed to get them looking half decent. I just did her mane and forelock because tail was optional. Lily was a champ for standing there letting me do it. It was boilinggg that day and I was honestly exhausted by the end of it. I then slipped on her light summer rug so she wouldn't get dirty if she rolled.

Show day arrived and I woke up at 4:30am :relieved: . How lovely. Surprisingly I didn't feel that tired so I got up and got myself ready. I had all my show clothes given to me by my trainer and the amazing riders at the barn :two_hearts: . Thank you everyone for helping me out, that was amazing. I did my hair in a bun and put a lil red scrunchie around it. I then headed down to the barn and Lily was spicyyyy. She knew something was up and was shook. It was like 5:15am when I was loading her up so it was still pitch black. Lily loaded the second time because I did it wrong the first time and we then set off.

I was nervous and excited the whole way there and as we were driving my trainer actually ed us lol. We set up beside her which was nice so I said hi to all the show girls. I unloaded my spicy Lily and tied her up outside the trailer. I gave her a hay bag and some water. I entered the classes I wanted to and found ring 5 which was right near where we were set up. Uhm, we might have lowkey had a loose horse :flushed: . Skipping over that lmao, I then lunged my bean in a halter in one of the arenas. The ground was still pretty wet as it was raining the whole week leading up to the show. We thought it might even be canceled but it wasn't. So I didn't want Lily to canter because of the slippery ground.

I lunged her for quite a bit and she got a bit hyper when some of the horses were acting up. But she didn't try and canter, bolt or anything so that was fine. I then tied her up and waited for our first class. Oml, the waiting. I was nearly asleep before my first class started. It was over a two hour wait for our ring to even begin :sleepy: :sleepy: .  I think the wait hyped Lily up even more and there was tons of stuff going on. Finally it started and it was my over 10 handler class. I wasn't going to enter the handler class initially, but my trainer insisted and that actually was a great decision. I lined up with a few other people and it was heating up by now. My trainer very kindly gave Lily some checkers on her bum which she rocked :relieved: :relieved: .  Yass queen Lily.

The judge was a super kind guy and explained everything very clearly. We basically had to walk and then halt our horse, trot on, and then halt again. I walked off and halted Lily which she did pretty well but we I went to trot off she then sPoOkEd at a scary sign so I was like "ope-" I gave her a pat to calm her done and just continued like all was well :relieved: :v: . We got 4th place for that one which was alright. Lily did her best.

I then had to spend ages waiting for my Galloway Hack to begin. By that time it was hot my dude. Wearing a show jacket in that weather ain't fun. Due to nerves and stress I casually began throwing up the little food I had in my stomach :ok_hand: :ok_hand: . After that I wasn't sure if I should even attempt Galloway due to me feeling I would out at any moment, but my trainer was like just do it but don't canter. So I was like "oki" I jumped on Lily and warmed her up. Ngl, she looked hot af in that sheepskin show saddle pad.

At trot she was pretty alright. Doing her best to keep on my aids and such. I asked for canter and she was quite sassy and energetic so I was like "ope, no brakey brakes" So I did a smaller circle and she went back into trot so I was like "yey" I then asked for canter the other way because gotta keep everything even ya know. She did amazing this time and kept a great speed so I was like "good pon pon" and pat her. Lily was sweating quite a bit but that was defo from nerves and stress because we hardly did any work.

I entered Galloway Hack after some more waiting and poor Lil was quite nervous and stressy. She was doing her best to listen but it was such a long day and she wasn't feeling her best. The judged helped us out and he was so chill. We got 5th place for that one and honestly, I was fine with that. The day was so long and we were both trying to get used to this new experience. I then loaded the bean and we went home.

It was a crazy, long, funny day to say the least. Lily and I both experienced our first ever show together and I'm glad we did it. It might not have gone ideal, but we are still learning the ropes of the show life. I'm just glad to call this pony my own and I'm so proud of her. She never tries to put a foot wrong. She was just having a stressy day, we all have those. I know she can ride amazing and so can I so I don't care what she did that day, I know what she is capable of and that's fine. Lily is an incredible pony. I mean she's literally 22 years old and still going strong! Her coat is gleaming and her eyes are shining.

I'll be honest, is show life for us? Maybe, maybe not. I do like chill hacking days, liberty sessions, and the occasional lesson on her with my trainer a bit more. I just like to spend time with her and just see her happy. She's done so much for me so the least I can do is give her a happy life. This is not saying I won't ever show again, absolutely not. It's just maybe our priorities lie elsewhere. Who knows, anything could happen. Thank you for reading this crazy show blog, I really appreciate it. Comment down below how many shows you've gone too, if you haven't shown, would you like to? See ya beans :heart: .

#AussieArabSquad

#SpicyChestnuts

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Catch you later!

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