You guys... Steve-O went to his first horse show!
This is a big event in any horse's career. For this horse, it's an especially big milestone!
Steve-O hasn't exactly been the easiest horse to train. He is an AQHA quarter horse I purchased sight unseen as a barely broke three year old from Texas off of a Facebook post! While he is INCREDIBLY athletic, dressage doesn't always come easy to him... to his body OR his brain. Steve-O is also a Hancock, foundation bred quarter horse. If you know, you know! Ha!
But after a rough, trying first half of 2023, Steve-O started to grow up just a little (he's only five!) and we were starting to have way more good rides than sketchy rides. So how do we celebrate? Let's go to a show and see what we're made of!
So Steve-O and I packed up and went to Hansen Dam Equestrian Center for the CDS LA Chapter holiday dressage show! We kept it simple and entered Training Level Test 1. It's ALWAYS a good rule to compete at a level well below what you're schooling at home. Shows are stressful enough. Set your horse up for success by only asking him to perform things he knows inside and out in the show arena!
Steve-O was certainly stressed and some moments of tension came out in our test (you'll see in the video below) but I am SO proud of my little horse. Despite some inconsistencies and moments of tension, he still had solid scores in the mid 60s and totally held his own against all the big, fancy warmbloods!
So cheers to all the non-traditional dressage horses! Dressage is truly a sport where ANY horse can be successful! Because dressage is a way of training based on rhythm and harmony between the horse and rider. Develop the partnership and harmony with your horse, and you'll have a successful show ring partner!
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