09/17/2024
2024 Mustang Classic recap
We moved into the Kentucky Horse Park on Thursday and Celesta settled into her stall like a champ. When it came time for our practice ride, she was scared of white rails, the fountains in the pond, and was really struggling with bending left and picking up her left lead. I focused mostly on keeping her relaxed and not on technicaities because I could feel she was already tired. I knew we had 3 classes within 24 hours ahead of us and I didn’t want to use up all of her energy in a practice ride.
Friday was dressage. I was very nervous right away in the morning and my anxiety grew as my ride time kept getting pushed back. The rain and gloomy weather worsened my nerves. On the way to the Rolex, she had a big scare by someone wearing a raincoat, which shook both of our confidence. At the warmup ring, Celesta bulked at the thought of moving forward and was getting heavy on my hands. Cue the nerves and anxiety skyrocketing. When it was our turn to go to the Rolex, I decided not to push her or force her into anything that didn’t feel comfortable and relaxed. She entered the ring calmly and I felt myself relax and even found myself smiling. As we did our last down transition before going down the centerline, I found myself tearing up and had tears of joy streaming down my face as we came to a halt at the center. Our ride was far from perfect, but she tried her heart out for me and I couldn’t be more proud of her. I had multiple people compliment me for how relaxed and prepared she looked, some even saying that she was the calmest horse they’d seen all day. Unfortunately, she was so relaxed, she didn’t have much impulsion(which I recognized, but didn’t want to risk getting her amped up by pushing her forward) and I wasn’t about to force her face into frame to look pretty, so we scored a bit low, placing 36th in the class with a score of 55.431%. I’m still super happy with our test and know that I gave my horse the best experience I could, setting her up for success at future shows.
Saturday morning started off with working equitation. I had no idea what to expect from this class other than it’s kind of a mix of dressage and obstacles. The course was a bit tight in places and there were a lot of transitions and potentially scary obstacles(particularly the bull line). I wasn’t sure how Celesta would do, but I went in hoping to get through without being eliminated(it’s very easy to make a small mistake and get eliminated - 3 of the 5 people before me got eliminated😬). She was a bit nervous with all of the obstacles, but kept it together - and did fantastic with the bull line. I was so focused on the obstacles and where I was supposed to be going that I didn’t ride my best and wasn’t cueing her clearly. Nonetheless, we completed the class. I didn’t think we scored very well, but it turns out I’m my biggest critic. We placed 3rd with a score of 62.813%! I was shocked when I heard the announcement!
Saturday afternoon brought us showjumping. We were entered in the 1’ class because I’m not a jumper and feel like a fish flopping around😆 It was very far from perfect and we almost knocked down half of the jumps, but it was fun! I couldn’t help but laugh as we tripped our way over the final jump, Celesta somehow keeping the pole from falling to the ground. Not to self: take more than one jumping lesson before the next competition😆 Despite our bobbles, we placed 28th with a score of 56.667%.
Out of 56 total competitors, we placed 28th overall. I’m not an English rider and learned as I went, so I’m very happy with how things went. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better partner for this competition. We had many hurdles along the way and I even thought about returning her to the BLM at one point, but something told me to keep going. She is the horse that has taught me the most about developing a horse under saddle. She is the sweetest, kindest, most forgiving horse I’ve ever met and I’ll forever be grateful for her patience with me as I learned.
And of course, I got very attached to this pretty little gray mare. Who wouldn’t? She’s adorable and has the biggest heart. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to keep her and find a new home for one of my personal horses. Welcome to my herd Deja Blue🩵
