A tremendous thank-you to all the volunteers, supporters, and participants of our January winter schooling show! Even with a significant wrinkle in the morning when an entire wing was flooded out from a broken pipe, enough stalls were found to house not only the displaced boarded horses, but all the incoming participant horses as well, and it’s not without the intense extra work and effort of the Willow Ridge Stables management, barn staff, trainers, and club volunteers… so a HUGE thank you for all those who made it work in the end!!
We had a great turnout with about 50 participants — so much we really did have to limit class sizes. Dressage was held Saturday night and Krystl Ahrens was our judge. She brought her considerable experience and knowledge about competitive dressage and gave some great feedback and supportive comments to all competitors, who looked great out there! There weren’t any dressage freestyles this time, as the two entrants had to scratch after spending the whole morning rearranging soggy stalls. Next time, they promise to be there, and expect to not be the only ones!!
On Sunday was the bulk of the show, with experienced ApHCC and SHF Heritage judge Dave Roberts as the judge. The day started with showmanship at halter, and then moving on to the English classes. There were no entries in the 3’0 or 3’3″ over-fences classes, but every thing else was packed.
The musical freestyle was again dominated by reining and western riding, and again it was Nicole Brown vs Michael Yingbull. Nicole was sporting a grey beard and hillbilly outfit, riding to the tune of “White Lightning” on a pale cremello stallion. Michael caused a stir in a grass skirt on his buckskin mare, dancing across the arena to the Chipmunk’s version of “Witch Doctor”. Both competitors are planning to get more creative yet for March, and again, they want more to join them!
The day wrapped up after the Western rail and pattern classes, including the ever-popular trail class, and of course, reining.
The next show will be March 20-21, 2010. Dates have been changed so we don’t interfere with the SHF Annual Conference in Regina. There is another change to the format. Dressage will be on Saturday, and Sunday will open with Showmanship At Halter and then move on to the Western classes. English classes, including over-fences with a match-the-clock jumper round, will follow the western classes. If you have any requests for different classes to be held, just let the club know — if we get enough requests, we might be able to make it happen. Registration deadline is March 8 and the forms are available. As with any winter show, show stalls are mandatory. If the last show was any indication, get your entries in as early as you can, as stall space is limited, and so are class sizes.
Contact Lynn Sander at ml.sander@shaw.ca if you are able to volunteer at the show or for administrative duties prior to the show.
