It's Show Time!

OK... show time's over. But one of my fellow competitors said that right before loading their horse into the trailer on our way to the show, and I thought it was funny and would make a good title for this post ;)
Our schooling show last weekend went amazingly well! I admit, I was extremelly nervous about taking Smokey out into the ring again; I was not looking forward to a deja-vu of last February. However, things went much better than I thought they would have.

We trailered down to the arena where we would be showing last Friday, the day before the first classes started. We had gone to our trainer's barn at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon so he could help us clip & bathe our horses and get them ready to go. We finally arrived at the show grounds at around 6 o'clock. Once all the horses were settled in - six total - I took Smokey out of his stall and walked him around the big show arena so he could get used to things. He was very nervous and was always looking around, but he didn't do anything stupid, which was a very good thing!

Saturday was halter, showmanship, english equitation and english pleasure. Neither me or my sister were competing in ground classes, so we got to sleep in until 6:30 AM, which was a treat ;) We got to the show grounds just in time to watch my trainer and his wife's mare take second in their halter class. When the ground classes were over I talked to my trainer, who advised me that it would be best to leave Smokey locked in his stall all day while my sister's horse was out competing, so my horse could get over his "seperation anxiety". When my sister led her horse away Smokey threw quite a fit, and didn't stop screaming all day. Smokey's screaming didn't faze my sister's horse in the least; my sister and her horse went out and won fourth, fifth & reserve in their english pleasure classes. Congrats to both of them!
When all the classes were done for the day, I took Smokey out and schooled him in the big arena while my sister's horse wasn't around. He was extremelly hot, but with my trainer's instruction Smokey eventually settled down enough to jog around the arena without looking too hideous. Still, I expected that if I got in the saddle at all the next day, it would be strictly for schooling, not competition.

Sunday was driving, western pleasure, horsemanship, reining and trail. When we got to the show grounds and seven in the morning, we helped one of my friends and fellow competitors get her gelding hitched up and ready for his driving classes, in which he did extremelly well. Then it was the moment of truth; time for me to tack up Smokey and get him ready to warm up.
I expected the worst when I led him into the show arena, already filled with western pleasure horses, and let Smokey out on his lunge line. I expected Smokey to take off in an explosion of bucks and snorts, screaming for his friend which was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Smokey went off in a choppy canter, nickering for his friend without causing a scene. Still, I was surprised when my trainer rode up on his horse and said, "You can probably go ahead and hop on now." With eyes wide, I just stared and him, and then said "...really? Are you sure?" My trainer told me he was sure, and I took Smokey out of the arena and hopped on.
Surprisingly, Smokey didn't panic. He made sure to look around at all the new sights & sounds, but he listened to me shockingly well and didn't act like a "raging idiot", as we expected he would. Still, when my trainer told me to go in the walk/trot western pleasure, 14-18 age division, I was nervous. The girls in that class were all very good, and besides that, the class was coming up faster than I would have liked. Expecting the worst, I walked through the gate for the 14-18.
I was surprised when only seven horses entered the ring; usually this age division is a much larger class. Still, with the show only giving ribbons to fifth, I thought I didn't have a prayer in placing. And I didn't care; I had told myself all morning that if I stayed on my horse, it was a victory over Smokey's last show under saddle. So Smokey & I jogged around the pen, and Smokey acted as if he'd been doing it all his life. The only time he acted up was in the line-up at the end of the class, when he tossed his head and jigged around, nervous about standing still that long.
The first place winner was no surprise; her horse & herself had been winning ribbons all morning. The second place wasn't a shock either, nor was I surprised to hear that my friend took third with the same horse she had driven with earlier. I was, however, beyond shocked (and also slightly confused) when the announcer called my number and me & my horses' names for the fourth place win. How on earth had we pulled off a ribbon?! Whatever we'd done, the judge must have liked it, because, sure enough, me and Smokey placed.
When I exited the show ring, my mom and sister were waiting for me. Me and my mom exchanged confused looks while my sister collected my ribbon; we placed it on Smokey's browband and stood there, just beaming. I never though me & Smokey would get to show together, let alone win a ribbon. It may have been fourth in a walk/trot class at a schooling show, but I have never been more proud of Smokey, my green-ribbon winner.
I went in four more walk/trot western pleasure classes that day; novice horse, novice rider, junior horse, and solid horse. We didn't recieve any more ribbons that day, but I didn't expect to; all the other classes I went in were huge, with one boasting twenty-six entries! And besides, Smokey's ribbon in his first class under saddle was more than I would have ever hoped for.

At the end of the weekend, me & my sister loaded up our horses into the trailer and stuck our ribbons - a combined total of three; two green, one pink - on the dashboard of our Silverado. On the way home that night, one thing kept comng out of my mouth;

"I'm so proud of my Smokey-bear."