Sunday, May 22, 2011

A little bit

So we didn't go to Spy Coast this weekend.

I took a hard look at the way he looked and pulled the entry. Otherwise, he was ready.

I guess it boils down to being picky. Sincere is still shedding out and gaining weight back from a hard winter. I'd rather show him at his best the first time out. He deserves that much. He handles really well on the triangle and in different situations he knows a lot more than your average just-turned-two-year-old.

The other thing that had bothered me about the entry was the rule stipulation that, mandatory, two year olds have to wear bridles with bits.

Let me clarify, at USDF shows, it's optional for two year olds. You can show in a halter or bridle (with or without a bit) and you see a lot of long two year olds sporting snaffles, usually stallions and usually at the major high-pressure shows. 

Sincere turned two less than a week ago, and would have been the youngest in the class. I wasn't 100 percent comfortable with a short two year old even wearing a latex covered french snaffle and being run around a triangle by someone who I barely knew.

Instead of showing, I started working towards the next one. I started walking him in new and different places, standing him up, and walking him out. He got his first (and several subsequent) bath since '10 and had his mane pulled. He's learning to be braided, and I'm learning how to do buttons... again.

The more he does, the happier he is. Even though he has a slight worrisome personality (more or less doesn't know what to do), he really does try and more importantly, wants to do his best.