Last weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Sep 5 – 6th, Hanz went to his very first horse show down at Southern Pines at the Carolina Horse Park! The Friday before was very hectic because I was also playing a show with a new band I was putting together. I arrived at the barn at 6:30 am (Yikes!) and it always takes me about an hour to get to the barn from Raleigh, so I was actually leaving home around 5:30 am! I really need to live closer to the barn! As I got in, I gave Hanz his Ulcergard and my ride with a friend at the barn showed up at around 7:30. Hanz was a saint to load on the slant step-up trailer! We made it down to the horse park and Hanz was active and alive more than usual! This is pretty normal, though, for a younger horse who is going somewhere new on a new adventure! Hanz never gave me a sense that he was seriously uncomfortable about his surroundings; he was mostly just very excited to be at the horse park! I was thrilled but made sure to stay as calm as possible and relaxed and work the aids just like at home to help Hanz feel welcome and safe. As we arrived on Saturday, we planned on schooling for jump stadium and cross country. Hanz spooked like crazy at the judge stand with people inside of it watching! We were working the long line from jump 3 to 4 – 5, which was right next to the judge stand. I tried to keep him as civil as possible and let him observe the stand. We finished the course with no problem, and my trainer told me to hand-walk him near the stand after schooling! We made our way to XC and Hanz was a dream! We kept the schooling very forward and efficient so that we could beat the heat coming in for the day. Hanz made it over every jump nicely and smoothly and cantered on the backside in a very civil way! I couldn’t be happier with how that went. My trainer was absolutely thrilled as well. Hanz decided to spook at a statue of a horse in a rearing position near the water obstacle. Unfortunately, this caused some drama in the field and we spooked another horse and caused a rider to fall. Luckily everyone was okay and the other horse was fine, but that was a great lesson learned: a calm horse isn’t just safe for you, but safer for everyone involved. The show day was magnificent. Hanz was cooler and more together as he adjusted to his new surroundings. We showed dressage at 12:39 pm, and I thought the test went amazingly for his first time out. I could have had more connection and acceptance of the bit, but that is a technicality I need to sharpen up. My trainer can get it instantly, but I have to experiment more before I find it. Hanz’s forward rhythm was incredible and he got a solid 8 on freedom of movement! I was so happy about that. It’s really important to me that the horse finds using their body in a healthy way fun and enjoyable! We made our way to the jump stadium at around 1:40. In the warm-up, Hanz was a happy camper and we made our way around the warm-up with no problem. He was a little “looky,” so I made sure to give Hanz a job with lots of turning and bending. My trainer was correcting me to not go so far away in the jump arena since it was large and wasn’t very crowded. Hanz jumped the course in a beautiful way, however, we picked up 7 time penalties as I think we took a little bit too much time getting around the bending line from jump 3 to the judge stand line jump 4 – 5. Hanz was super on the aids and jumped well, and I was so thrilled with how well behaved he was all weekend! I felt like we had a personal win as horse and rider in the bonding/trust department. It was a great way to test that teamwork, and all I need to do is sharpen up some of the more technical aspects of the dressage and jumping! Nothing that happened can’t be fixed for the future! All I can say is how proud I am of Hanz for being such an amazing horse to ride and work with! I can’t wait for our next show!
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