July 10th Spur of the Moment Horse Show

Equestrian Girl and I love doing the Spur shows.  We have lots of friends there and the announcer loves us and makes a really big deal when we win.  We like that.  This show was going to turn out to be a hot one though so we planned on getting done early by Equestrian Girl skipping western classes.

First up was Showmanship Sweepstakes.  These two girls rotated first place every show last year but then Mac moved up an age group this year so they haven't been competing...until today!  But the judge really threw them for a loop when she started asking questions after their pattern.  Mac won.

But Equestrian Girl still had a great pattern and made the judge laugh.

Our little purple princess friend also did VERY well this show and was letting Alvin know it.

These mom's and grandma are at every show to watch and help.  The two on the left are mother/daughter.  They are so sweet.

This is their kid/granddaughter.  She's sweet too.

This is her horse.  He's sweet when he's not asleep.

I had a new friend in my classes this show.  Rachel was riding Sheri's 3 year old, Walter.  Rachel is really a hunter jumper rider so she wasn't about to do the western thing.

Another old friend showed up too! Suzie used to take lessons with me WAY back before either of us owned a horse.  She bought Jackson just before we bought our first horse.  She's still riding English like we both learned but I'm more comfortable doing Western now.

My equitation is improving!  My legs are ALMOST back far enough!

But Rachel's equitation was better.  I won pleasure but she won equitation.  She's a lot younger.

Stanley is such a good boy.  He puts up with all this show foolishness with no complaints.

It was hotter than h*ll but we looked crisp and cool in our pink shirt, didn't we?  Same one Motocross Boy wore a few weeks before when he did his one class!

By midmorning jackets were optional because of the heat so our friend Sheri shed hers in favor of a long sleeve shirt.  She looked crisp and cool too.

Equestrian Girl kept hers on for this class but dropped it for the next one.

Then back into the black for trail where she kicked butt as always.  Look at Stanley just going along with what she's asking.

Sidepassing the log.

Lope over the poles.

Big finish along the scary woods but Stanley wasn't afraid.  He had his girl with him.

Then is was my turn.  Now he looks confused.  What the heck is she asking me?

Better on the bridge.  That's a no brainer:  walk forward.

And we came trotting around that last cone only to find out we had skipped one whole section of the pattern!  Oops!!!!  My bad.

Lead Liners!

Equestrian Girl actually took these pictures.  I was at the far end of the arena getting ready for my class.  I guess like me, she got distracted and starting taking pics of whatever was in front of her.

OMG I could eat this little guy for lunch he's so cute!!  So serious!!

Smart Momma's making their babies wear a helmet.  Even if they are too big.

The purple vests are adorable!  They match perfectly!

Cool as a cucumber in her white shirt in the roasting hot sun!

And they match up perfectly too!

Friends doing Trail Class

We have another friend that lurks around my blog that might be surprised to find herself featured today!  Yes, this friends of Equestrian Girl has a new mare - a pretty palomino!  She hasn't been trained much yet to do trail but we snapped away taking pictures just the same and got a few good shots.

Getting her lined up to BACK into the L which was facing away from the judge was pretty tricky for all of us.

But Miss K and Val took it slow and easy and did just fine.

Walking over the poles was pretty easy except Val wanted to go a little faster than Miss K.

She was quite happy when she got to trot off.

And even happier when it was cantering time.

All done!  Doesn't it look like they did great?

Racing in the City

Okay, Birch Run isn't much of a city compared to Detroit or Chicago or even Cleveland but when most of the tracks are in the middle of nowhere, this was city.  The owners of Baja Mx built a track in an empty plot of grass next to the Birch Run Expo Center and across the street from one of the biggest outlet malls in the state.  I-75 literally runs along side the track.  Interestingly, the noise from the track was almost quiet compared to the express way traffic noise so maybe having tracks in the city is a good idea.  Nobody minds the noise like they do in the bucolic fields of nowhere.

My wonderful little family on the starting gate.  Equestrian Girl likes going to the races much more this year than she did last year.  There are BOYS there.

And they're off!  MB is about in the middle of the pic behind the kid in red.

Taking the outside but screaming fast - he might have taken the hole shot.

It's that darn Mr. Rainbow again still wearing those stinky clothes!  LOL - hopefully his mom has washed them by now.  The battle is on!!

That blue roof behind the trees is a Harley dealership.  Definitely in town.  There's a Culver's across the street. YUMMMY!

Taking a small lead in front of Mr. Rainbow.

First lap is done and Mr. Rainbow is nowhere to be seen.

I love when he passes close enough I can almost see the whites of his eyes.  He is my baby after all.

He's baaaaaack.

And maybe taking the lead....

But Motocross Boy/Man takes it back!

But let's Mr. Rainbow take the inside!!  Baaaad!!

Now where did he go?  Look close.  Can you see him?  This is cool.

He's RIGHT next to him!!  Love, love, love this zippy shutter thing  on the fancy camera.

Side by side with Mr. Rainbow.

NO!  He gave him the inside again!

But maybe, just maybe....

Or maybe not.

Crap.  He's going to finish in front of Motocross Boy by a nose...

Or maybe a little more than a nose.

 Another disappointing ending but as they say, any day of racing is a great day!