I am excited about 2009. Happy New Year to everyone. With the New Year there is a new pony at the barn. After several trials and a long time looking we have finalized a lease. “Happy Days” aka “Ritchie” is a medium pony that is just perfect! We just returned from the final test…. The Holiday Classic Horse Show in Raleigh. Ritchie was Short Stirrup Hunter Champion!!
The last time my mom and I posted we were about to leave for Atlanta Georgia to visit two ponies. Several of you emailed me to find out what has happened to the other ponies I had. My mom and I thought we should explain how the leasing and buying of a pony sometimes works. Sometimes when trainers are looking for the “right” pony for a rider they ask for a trial period so that the rider can spend some time trying out the new pony in different environments. Sometimes the trial periods are for a week or a couple of weeks or sometimes a whole month. After a trial with Amber my trainer felt that she would need a little more work than we had time to give before the show season started so the search was on again with only a few weeks until the first show of the season. I was very nervous!! I was starting to think we might not find the right pony! Then my trianer Lisa decided to contact a friend of hers in Atlanta and they told us that there were two ponies there that we could try. So off we went ont he search for another pony!
The trip to Atlanta took seven hours. I watched my DVD player in the back seat for the whole trip. We got to Atlanta about 8 pm and had some dinner then checked into the hotel and got some sleep. I had butterflies in my tummy the whole night. Then next morning we packed up and made our way to Jamie Terhune in Peachtree City, Georgia. The farm was really great and Jamie was waiting for us to arrive. After getting my saddle from the trailer we started with Ritchie. He was wonderful and I just loved how pretty he moved. His trot felt very big and his lead changes were so easy. After trying Ritchie, we went back to the barn to get Barbie ready. She was a gleaming copper color. I thought she was so pretty. Barbie was also very fun to ride and had a great jump! It was a very hard decision and my mom told Lisa she should decide which pony to take back. Lisa picked Ritchie. After packing his things and talking to Jamie we got loaded up and started the trip home. It took eight hours to get home with Ritchie.
We let Ritchie settle in for a couple of days and then I went out to ride him. It was a great ride and I told my mom that I thougtht Ritchie was a keeper! Ritchie had one more test to pass. He has to go with me to the Holiday Classic in Raleigh. I have had very little showing since all the problems with Skittles and so I knew it would be a challenge for both me and Ritchie. Guess what though, it was no challenge for Ritchie after all! Ritchie was perfect! I on the other hand had butterflies and had very little practice with Ritchie before going into the Schooling Pony Division the second day at the show. Even with me worried and nervous Ritchie took 8th out of 14 in Schooling Pony and 4th place in the Under Saddle/Hack. I started to feel really good about Ritchie!
The next couple of days we had several Short Stirrup classes and Ritchie proved to be a star again. The first day I was still getting used to Ritchie but he was ready to shine. We took first place in the equitation on the flat and second in equitation over fences. The next day we earned two first places and a second. Ritchie was the division champion! Each day I felt better and better with Ritchie and now I know I have a partner again!
Speaking of partners, some of you are wondering what Skittles is up to…. well stay tuned because he is in Aiken SC at the AA horse show debuting in the green small ponies division. I cannot wait to see the results. I will keep you all posted.
I will have more photos posted next week. In the meantime, it is off to cleaning out the car and putting away all of my show things so that they are ready for the next show in three weeks. Ritchie and I will have several lessons before the next show including seeing Harold and Jenn the second weekend of January. Be sure to check back next week and regularly again. With a new season starting and a new pony there will be lots of updates!
Congrats on getting a new pony and being successful with him! I love your blog by the way, it’s very cute and so well written. Good luck to you and your pony with the next show!