Wanda and I had the opportunity to compete in the Novice Horse division at the Difficult Run Pony Club horse trials for the first time as a team. I’ve been there a MILLION times with previous horses, since Frying Pan Park is my ‘home turf’ for all pony club activities, but this was a first for Wanda 🙂

Saturday I fulfilled my volunteer duties as a scribe for Helen Brettell, a VERY interesting British dressage judge. I have never had her as a judge before, so it was great to hear her comments about the rides. This was also my first time ever scribing, so it was a pleasure having someone who was patient enough to work with me!

Sunday was our ride day, and Wanda was a super star. Our dressage test went quite well, and we ended with a 27.0%, putting us in first place! We had a slight setback when I noticed her hind shoes ‘clanking’, so after a quick run to the farrier things were good again. Stadium went great with Gigi Winslett as our judge, and we pulled out a double clear round despite our very forward warmup session! She was a bit backed up cross-country, but jumped everything clean and pulled out the win for us 🙂

Dressage

Stadium

Cross Country

I was extremely lucky to have a huge group of supporters during the event. My mom, dad, and brother came, as well as my grandma, and two best friends! Plus, since it was the horse trials that my pony club puts on, the volunteers were all cheering for me. Overall it was a great time and I thank everyone for coming!!

-Brittanie