2011 All Breed Youth Show

After the FCC our horse show season was supposed to be done.  It wasn't.  We packed back up on Thursday and went to the All Breed Youth Show back at the MSU Pavilion where we had just left on Sunday.  The show had just been approved by APHA so the points would count towards year end...so off we went.

Since the show is on Halloween weekend they had a decorating contest for the stalls.  We didn't have time to get together decorations but the people next to us spread their decorations onto our stalls too!

We started the show not long after we arrived on Thursday.  It was a good thing we had just finished a show since we didn't have much time to get ready.  Stanley was already clipped and just needed a touch up.  Madison got a layer of lipstick and was ready for trail class.

And off she went to the arena.

The trail pattern was hard - can you see how it spells out YOUTH?  Lots and lots of poles to get over which are not Stanley's favorite - especially when his toes need a trim and he hadn't been able to practice them at all.

One of the hardest obstacles was the gate.  Normally this is easy peasy but can you see the raised pole between the corn stalks at the bottom?  And those corn stalks look an awful lot like hay...

Luckily Stanley was one of the few horses that didn't take a bit of the corn.  Some almost pulled over the poles that they were attached to!!  It ended up being one of their worst trail patterns ever, however, it was for everyone else too and they ended up with a 2nd!

The next morning was showmanship.  Unfortunately, I had to work so Equestrian Girl had to get ready without my help.  Her buddy was there though and they did a good job.

Good enough to get 1st place!

Abby the Wonder Dog came with us this show.  She kept a close eye on everything going on.

In both directions.

The classes were pretty big.  The APHA classes were 12-13 with the open classes often being over 40. The girls spent some time passing out coupons for a $10 discount to the APHA horses that don't normally show at the breed shows.

The stock horse judge was Tim Abler. He's always liked Stanley and Equestrian Girl and placed them well.  The biggest win of the show was in Western Riding where they took 1st place out of 21 riders at 12:30 in the morning!

Stanley was looking perky for horsemanship...

But he might have just been looking for a way to go home.  He was tired.

We also managed to find the "perfect" horsemanship shirt for next year that just happens to perfectly match the red chaps we already have.  It was a good deal so we bought it....