Daffodil All Arabian Spring Horse Show.......... Hat Retrieval 101.......

Part 1

As soon as the realization dawned that I wasn't wearing my cowboy hat, momentary panic set in. The class in the ring was a hunter pleasure class and the one following mine was a country pleasure class. There were no western pleasure horses in sight except for those in my class and the rule clearly reads a cowboy hat is required in western pleasure.

I don't know what the penalty would be for inappropriate attire now did I want to find out. I sure didn't want to be making any fashion statements either. I think I already do my share of bucking the system. Showing in a baseball cap was not on my agenda and I sure wasn't going into my class that way.

My mind raced with the possibilities. The stalls seemed miles away at this point but I guess in the big scheme of things the location of our stalls was probably the closest on the ground for this kind of error. I didn't know if I had enough time to get there and back or not but I was going to have to try. I had not plans of testing the waters to see what they'd do if I tried to enter that class with my "Scandalous Legacy" baseball cap perched on my head.

I can't even tell you how many times over the years I have seen someone trotting their horse across the asphalt. My reaction to such sights has been less than kind. It never occurred to me they might have some reason to be in a hurry so I certainly never volunteered any assistance. I just thought they were blooming idiots.

Now, I was the blooming idiot jogging my horse across the asphalt headed back towards the barn. I pushed Legs up at the jog wanting to get as much speed as I could get without causing the horse to slip. As long as his feet felt firm underneath me, I figured we would be all right for the short distance we had to travel.......still I felt uncomfortable even though we were still clearly travelling at a jog.

I passed Quinton Des Fontain in my hurry and told him my problem. Quinton's stalls just happened to be on the same aisle as mine and he asked if he could help. I was relieved to have some help and not to have to explain where my stalls were located. Quinton wouldn't know where to find my hat but he did know exactly where my stalls were.

I jogged along with him giving him detailed directions to the location of my cowboy hat inside the tack room. I figured if I could get my hat quickly and avoid having to mount and dismount I might just make it back to my class so I actually even went right into the barn with him. . Being right there with Quinton, I knew I could answer questions and avoid any delay in him finding my hat.

Quinton did ask me a couple of questions before he located my cowboy hat so I was really glad I had made the decision to ride into the barn. Did I happen to mention that riding in the barn is one of those things I have little tolerance for as well? Now trying to get my cowboy hat and still make my class I was throwing out all kinds of my little rules.

As I saw my silver belly Stetson coming towards me, I breathed a quick sigh of relief. Plunked that thing on my head. Turned my horse around and headed back to the arena...........and yes, I was jogging my horse across the asphalt again like the blooming idiot I was.

As I got closer to the arena, I could see the western horses were still lined up on the runway. It's not that this was a big class, only four horses but the fact this is a concurrent show with two judges can make the presentation of ribbons take a while if the judges picked different winners. I figure that's what happened in the hunter class because I really had expected my class to be in the ring while the paddock announcer called my number searching for me.

As it was I had time to get my horse onto the ramp and collect myself, my thoughts and my horse before we entered the arena. I didn't know what kind of jog I was going to get after our trip jogging across the asphalt at a rate faster than I've been trying to school my horse. Would Legs go on auto pilot doing the thing we'd just done to get my hat or would he gear it back down to what's normal for him?

I guess I was going to find out soon enough. The gate to the class was opened and the paddock announcer called the purebred Arabian western pleasure open class into the ring. All I could think about as I entered was reasons why amateurs shouldn't show in open classes and I was really hoping I was going to be looking like a blooming idiot again.........



To be continued............

Riding the Open Western Pleasure.....

This is my very first foal, Dandy. I remember very clearly how he let me cradle him in my arms as I dried him off. The Arabian horse may have come in with an attitude but he also appreciated attention right from the start.



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