Taylor - 2004 Show Season page 1

Taylor's 2004 Show Season

We started off the year at Wilmington in March...tough show, cold weather, and Taylor was a bit buzzed! This will be a different sort of year for Taylor and I. In 2004 we plan to show at some different places, plus close to home, and this year we are adding a third person to our show duo...Courtney!
Courtney did well in showmanship at Wilmington, placing in both Novice Youth and 13 & under showmanship. Taylor and I hit a few shows on our own (in West Virginia and Pennsylvania), and then Courtney made her walk-trot debut on Taylor at Mt. Gilead over Memorial Weekend (See pictures here!). It was an 'interesting' show, and that story is better told in person!

	Next on the agenda was Kenton, and having Courtney get a good, clean walk-trot ride on Taylor! It was a good show for us, as Taylor won both her hunt seat classes and was very calm and easy to ride (gotta love that!)
	Now it's time for some last-minute advice before the walk-trot class. Taylor had gotten kicked in the line-up at the previous show, so we had to outline a strategy to get a nice calm ride in the class without sparking her new fear of other horses.

	3 weeks of re-training and practice paid off, as Courtney and Taylor had a wonderful smooth ride in their class!
	Courtney ended up second in her walk-trot, and with a big smile for such a great ride!

	Next on the agenda for the summer was Winfield, WV AQHA show July 2-3-4. It was a great show for all of us! Taylor earned 1 1/2 amateur showmanship points (placing 2nd and 3rd out of 13)

	We had some great rides in hunter under saddle. We showed in 6 HUS classes all weekend, and had 6 incredible rides (other than one class when she broke from the canter to the trot in front of the judge...oops!)
	We ended up earning 1 1/2 amateur HUS points, placing 2nd, 3rd, and 4th out of 10.

	Courtney showed in the open walk-trot. With 20+ in her class (and the majority of them adults and trainers!) she did great negotiating traffic and still having a clean ride.