Pima County Fair – Saturday April 17th

5AM wakeup again for the big day of Western Rider’s competition. Krystal was still a little difficult to get up, but she was ready well before 6AM. I wasn’t sure if anyone else would be down at the stable so I gave her a ride. I’m glad I did, since the place was deserted and the lights weren’t even on. After feeding, we went back to the RV to get ready for the day.

Her first competition was Showmanship. This showcases how well they can prepare their horse and control it from the ground. The horse has to be spotless, with hooves painted (or clear polish if the horse has socks), main flat, facial hair and ears trimmed etc…

Krystal got all prettied up in her black outfit and did a wonderful job. One of the things the horse has to accomplish is to pivot on one foot while turning, and Missy was perfect. In addition to the pictures here, you can see the video at this blog. They won the overall blue ribbon (First Place) in Showmanship.

The second competition was Horsemanship, They have to ride a set pattern in this one. Showing control from the saddle, they have to memorize the pattern then perform it in the arena. They change gaits, and change leads for direction changes. Once again, they performed beautifully and pulled out a blue ribbon (second place) for Horsemanship.

Her third competition for the day was Western Pleasure. This is one of the rail classes because they ride along the outside rail the whole time. The competitors are told when to change gait, change direction etc… This is supposed to show how pleasurable your horse is to ride. They had gone through several gait changes and direction changes already, when something spooked Missy and she freaked out. Krystal did a good job staying on until she felt like she may be thrown over the front of the horse so she bailed off to the side. She is still a little sore, but I think her pride took the most damage. She opted out of trying the trail course after her rodeo ride.