Show Tomorrow

As long as it doesn't rain like it has for every other show this year.

Sadly because of the rain we aren't even at the height we were in June, for SM we were supposed to be a 2'9" to 3'. This time we're at 2'.
Oh well, I don't mind to much since 2' is still a good height for Pony but it gives us a bit of a break to make more mistakes and she won't have to be exactly perpendicular to the jump like she likes to a the bigger heights. I have no idea how high we'll get to, but I don't think it will be more than 2'9".
If I remember right, the 2' class is actually 2'-2'3" and then 2'6"-2'9".

It's supposed to be a pretty small show, there's about 28 people entered. But the 2' class is usually the most popular so the warm up ring sucks ass. It's always packed and everyone is in everyone elses way (and there's less of a chance of getting a ribbon). Plus since I've never had Pony in a jumper warm up ring, I have no idea what she's going to be like when the other horses are that close to her. K has only ever taken her in dressage shows and she's said Pony is not exactly spooky, but things catch her attention a bit more than they do at home.
We're also bringing one of her stronger bits, since her owner has told us she needs it at jumping shows. That's great, makes me so much more confident going into this [sarcasm :)]. Hopefully she'll be good and we can ride in the normal bit. She has a few different bits and one of them is insanely harsh looking. I can't remember what it's called, but it's two separate skinny bars, each twisted and when it bends it looks like a W. We aren't taking that one and I would never want to use it, but even a normal snaffle can be harsh in the wrong hands.

A few things to remember for this show:
She doesn't like sand hitting the jumps, so be ready on the land after a box or plank
She looks around more at shows than at home
Think of her as a spring and remember to collect her but not lose speed/compulsion so she can extend again if she has too
Try and get her as straight to every jump as possible
Speed doesn't count in the first round, just go clear

I think that's all the advice she gave and all that I can remember. And my child slave has abandoned me!
My sister, she's got a big babysitting job so she won't be at the show to help out. Once I wrote a social presentation on the advantages of child labour. It was a joke of coarse, but my sisters friend presented it in her class and got 75%. Good stuff.

Fingers crossed all goes well tomorrow.

My all time favourite advice from a pro rider about showing (sadly I can't remember his name, so lame) "if you stop getting nervous you should go find a new sport". Maybe it's just me, but it's nice to know even the pros get nervous before a show.