Hoping to be back at the barn by the middle of November if not sooner! Not leasing yet though, she has changed the prices for pretty much everything so we are just going to do the "pre pay for 5 lessons" (which costs as much as the lease did originally), then when April comes around and exams are finished, I'm hoping we'll be able to start leasing again until September or so. Since I'll probably still be at the liquor store I should be able to get a few days completely off so that I can ride, and with any luck show.
If I do get to show this summer depends on a few things, like the lease price, I can't remember what it is now, but it did increase significantly. So whether or not my dad still wants to help out paying for shows and for some of the lease since there's zero chance he'll pay for the whole thing with what it costs now. At least if I'm thinking of the right price.
It also is going to depend on the horse. Showing Kokanee is not an option. He's a sweet horse, with a great jump, but he looks lame!! His back left hip muscles are really stiff so when you're trotting/warming up he kind of hobbles along until he loosens up, so it looks like you're going to try and make your lame horse go around a 2'6" course. ...You'd probably be disqualified in some shows actually...
Rocky, I don't know if K even wants him to be shown since he's like 18. Which is another good reason not to show him! Light jumping lessons are fine, but a whole day at a show... if you did one class I suppose that would be okay, but even then, they have 3 divisions, which I suppose would be like a lesson if you had three go's around a course.
I'm not even sure if I want to show regardless of the horse. Maybe if it was Pony or even Spencer (without W messing him up of course) then it would something to consider, but clearly that is not the case. Most of the time I don't mind not doing a lot of showing but then you go to Amberlea or the River Valley Classic to watch/help out a friend who is competing, and it's like wow, I wish I could ride in this too damn it. But for both of those shows you kind of need a certain type of horse, which Kokanee isn't and Rocky isn't quite that anymore.
Rocky actually could do pretty well, despite being old and having bench knees and being a pony, because he will jump anything from nearly any angle and has these fantastic sharp turns....I do miss him!!
So I guess we're going to have to wait and see what happens over the winter, next term does look a bit better for riding time...sort of. Usually it's work that gets in the way, not school and I'm not sure how much she can move shifts around when you only work 3 days a week, there's not a lot of options. Plus, I don't really want to give up my already limited number of hours because travel isn't cheap and neither is university abroad...and possibly showing now to haha. We make surprisingly good money at the store, well over minimum wage, but when the max time you can work is roughly 22 hours, it kind is not enough money...because I also like to shop and buy way to many books!
On an excellent note though, I am down about 3lbs this week, so hopefully I shall be able to keep this up and see an improvement in my riding ability! Whenever I make it back out to the barn that is....
Showing is SO expensive! On top of all the other horses costs, of course. I tend to do a lot of small shows (between $10-25/ class), and then perhaps one big one during the summer ($35+ a class), but perhaps not stable the entire 5-6 days. Good luck with figuring it all out! Hope you get the chance to continue riding.
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