The Good, The Bad and The UGLY!

We (barely) survived the first show of the year. Whew. Glad to be home and warm and showered :) Next up... a glass of wine.

The Good:

Natalie braided her own horse both mornings!! How cool is that?? Saved us lots of dough. She did a GREAT job. Memo just stood there quiet as could be... she is all about the spa treatments.

Memo and Nat both looked ADORABLE! Doesn't Memo just have the sweetest little face ever?

She came out of the ring with smiles.

Her geometry was great.

She got an 8 on one of her free walks... 8's rock.

She got some 7's on halts! Not bad for the wiggly little Memo girl.

The show ran on time. Ride times were right on schedule. That is wicked cool.

Natalie showed a lot of integrity and character through adversity (see The Ugly).

It was fun to hang with Elise, and to have the greatest cheering section ever: Robanne, Hayley, Cassie, Lori and Sarah! Thanks guys! You are the best.

The Bad:

Memo bucked in two of her rounds. Bucking is not the best thing in the dressage ring ;)

It rained. Again. Will it ever end???

It was cold. Again. Will it ever end??

The Ugly:

The judge accused Natalie of whipping her horse! WTH??? When was that?? Nat sure as heck doesn't remember that. This happened in both of the rounds when Memo bucked. I can assure you that Natalie did not whip her horse. She is the most passive little girl about getting after her horse... she only gets after her when her trainers tell her to. Unreal. We decided that Nat would not carry her whip during her last round... and guess what? Memo still acted the same. We also decided that the judge either needs glasses or was on some powerful hallucinating- causing drugs.

Natalie received her lowest-ever scores. WTH again??? We heard from many people that the judge does not like Arabians. Um... this was an ARABIAN show!!! She much preferred the cross breeds... it was obvious the entire show.

White breeches. Who the heck decided it was a good idea to wear WHITE breeches while riding a horse?? Not a lot of common sense there ;) Gotta love dressage!

Early mornings. In the dark and cold. Nothing good ever came of an early, dark cold morning when I'm not asleep in my warm bed ;)

Jim just poked his head in the door... says that Nat is crashed in the truck :) It is 2:47PM. Poor kiddo. A little Mozart and she was out like a light. Sweet horsey dreams, Nat Nat. You rock, girlfriend.

More pics to come soon!! Jim rocks too :) What a good horsey dad.

Hayley said that she would tip me if I was ever her groom. Hopefully that means I was a good horsey momma too :)

Update: Check out Jim's photo website for more pics (link on the left side).