We went to our first ever show today and it went really well.I was a bit 
about how dpony would react,because the people we bought her from never took her to any shows and she can be grumpy at times.It took me until 10 o'clock last night to polish all the tack, bath 2 ponies,two children and me and we were up at 6 this morning so I have huge respect for anyone who regularly does this.
DD2 did the lead rein class and there were only 2 of us in the class,neither of us had shown before,but the judge was really nice,we did our little shows as the heavens opened but we kept going.Just as we'd finished,the rain stopped and 5 more competitors arrived,at least 20 minutes late,so we had to do it all over again.We came 6th,which DD1 was very pleased about as her first attempt,and the judge complimented us on our turnout,so at least we got that right.
DD2 did First pony and came 4th,she got a clear round in the jumping too.She had such a good time,in fact a lady in the collecting ring commented to my mum that she'd been watching DD2 all day and all day DD2 had the biggest smile on her face the whole time,and that every little girl needed a pony like dpony.Dpony to her credit,despite refusing a jump in the family pony class,behaved impeccably,which surprised me because she can be an awkward old thing and very stubborn.DD2 got a lot of compliments on her riding and jumping,which made her day.So all in all,they had a lovely time,came back with their first ever rosettes and are already looking forward to the next one.Personally,I really didn't enjoy the lead rein class and am hoping that DD1 doesn't want to do it much longer,but if she does,I'll put on the tweed and a smile and get through it.
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The tack room
The mini-Mirage's show post mortem.
Mirage · 24/06/2012 17:14
bum. That should finish 'through the horror of lead rein tweed 
'
Sounds like they had a great day! I hope you are having a relaxing evening to recover, sounds like hard work!
Thank you all.It was an early night here last night,and the jodhpurs are still in soak to try and get the mud stains out.DD2 is off on a 4 day outdoor pursuits trip with school today,so she'll be dead on her feet.
2 weeks until the next one.
Thank you Callisto and Butkin.
Best of luck for the qualifiers Butkin.We are hoping to take the DDS to watch HOYS this year,so all being well,might be able to see your DD in action!
Well done your DD Callisto,she sounds like she is really enjoying her new pony..I know what you mean about eye candy ponies sadly.I was surprised that a pony who bucked and spooked in canter was highly placed in our class,and the winner actually fell off when doing her show.I also noticed that all but one of the highly placed ponies were plaited and I seem to remember someone on here commenting before that natural M&M's loose out in favour of plaiteds.But we had fun,I learnt a lot [not least of things was to have some elastic on my hat to keep it on next time after I nearly lost it in a gust of wind whilst doing our show.] There is a lot we can improve on and will have another go next time.
Thankyou both,it is all very interesting stuff.Our next show is a gymkhana/horse show and affiliated ponies are not allowed in the showing classes,so it will be interesting to see what we will be up against and how many are plaited/not plaited.
Next time I'll keep newboys grass reins on until just before we go in the ring,on Sunday the little swine kept putting his head down and trying to snatch grass,which no doubt got us marked down too.I'll try and post a photo,do if anyone wants to post a critique,I'll be happy to hear any suggestions/comments.
[gah! I swore that I wouldn't get competitive,but I can't help it.]
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