August 14th... We loaded up Encore and Journey before 7 am. We of course forgot some things, and 15 minutes later had done nothing but drive
in circles.
We did eventually make it to the Norway Fairgrounds at 8 am. The horses unloaded from the trailer as well as they loaded
earlier this morning. They walked quietly to their stalls, and exchanged whinnies with all the familiar faces.
I saddled Journey in her stall and rode her out to the outdoor arena. She seemed very quiet and relaxed. Nice quiet w/t/c, neck
reining well, stopping perfect. Great back up, spinning nicely. She was sweating pretty good in just 20 minutes or so. I was
pleased with her behavior this morning so I cooled her off and returned her to her stall. I untacked her and groomed her. Being
that she was so sweaty, I returned numerous times to groom her again.
At some point this morning, Journey's sponsor, Ernest Beauchamp came to her stall and asked for a photo with her. I was
thrilled to meet this gracious man and gladly led Journey out of the barn for a photo op! He was pleased to finally meet "his"
horse.
The groundwork portion of the event started around 11 am. Journey and I were team one, but we showed our horses in a
random order. Journey and I went 7th.
In the groundwork portion, we had to tie our horses, then groom & fly spray, pick hooves, boot all four legs, saddle &
bridle, trailer load, mount and dismount from both sides (including mounting from a mounting block) followed by backing your
horse, and lunge w/t/c both directions. This totals 8 manuevers and counted for 80 possible points from each judge, for a total
of 160 possible points.
Journey and I scored:
Tie: 10 + 8.5 = 18.5
Groom & Spray: 10 + 8 = 18
Pick Hooves: 9 + 7.5 = 16.5
Wrap Legs: 9 + 9 = 18
Saddle & Bridle: 8 + 8 = 16
Lunge w/t/c both directions: 8 + 8.5 = 16.5
Mounting & Backing: 6 + 9 = 15
Trailer Loading: 8 + 9 = 17
Groundwork Total: 135.5
I find the scoring very interesting. I thought she stood perfect for picking her hooves and wrapping her legs. I would
have expected a better score on the mounting & backing as well. An outside opinion definitely opens a person's eyes.
I returned Journey to her stall and unsaddled her again. Once all the teams had exhibited their horses in the groundwork event,
I saddled Journey back up for the trail class. We were going 8th this time, so I waited a bit and then took her to the outdoor
arena again for another quick warmup. The trail class called for a right lead lope departure. I asked for it half a dozen times
or so and she only missed it once in the warmup. Unfortuantely in the class, Journey refused the lope at first, then picked up
the left lead several times before I got her on the right lead. She did the gate well, handled the logs with ease. Her sidepass
was beautiful. The backup could have been better, but by this point she was all nerved up from the lope over.
The trail course consisted of 7 obstacles for a possible 70 points from each judge, so 140 possible points.
Journey & I scored:
Right Hand Gate: 8 + 9 = 17
Logs/Bridge Walk Over: 8.5 + 8 = 16.5
Logs Trot Over: 9 + 8 = 17
Logs Right Lead Lope: 8 + 6 + 14
Right Sidepass: 8.5 + 8 = 16.5
Back Thru L: 8.5 + 9.5 = 18
Jog Serpentine: 8.5 + 9 = 17.5
Trail Course Total: 116.5
There were only 5 teams left to go after me, so I rushed back to the stall and rewrapped Journey's legs. I also
changed her saddle blanket and reins, added my flag and headed back to the outdoor arena for one last quick warmup. I was
rushing Journey and she wasn't waiting patiently after each manuever - entirely my fault. I came 7th again in the freestyle. I
only warmed up for a few minutes, then stood outside the arena and waited for our turn.
I did not cue Journey for her leads, and she picked up the wrong lead a few times times. I just ignored that and
continued to ride my horse. She performed beautifully. Allowed me to guide her effortlessly. She stopped and rollbacked, loped off
to the other end of the arena and stopped when I asked, but instead of staying straight she turned around, so I went with it,
and just backed her up from there.
I can't say how I scored on the freestyle, but we had 10 possible points from each judge.
At the end of the day, after the silent auction ended, the winners were announced.
Amanda Lane and Jazeera, Team 11, placed 3rd with a score of 234.5. (groundwork 117, trail 98.5, freestyle 19)
Rick Cornwell and Twinky, Team 4, placed 2nd with a score of 260. (groundwork 129.5, trail 113.5, freestyle 17)
When they called my name for first, I blocked everything else out, did not hear my score. But my groundwork and trail
scores totaled 252 so I got at least 9 on freestyle in order to win.
I was so overwhelmed with happiness, and pride in my little mare I didn't even hear the other placings or score. So
sorry folks! I give credit to every trainer involved for giving it their all with these horses. I think some of us had
tougher horses than others, and obviously some of us had our horses longer. Everyone did a fantastic job. I was extremely
impressed by the diversity in the trainers and the training. The change in each horse was phenomenal. When I seen them all back
in April I would have never guessed they would all transform so much. Kudos to you trainers, and thanks to Jill for giving
everyone this opportunity!
I am proud to be the 1st Annual Food 4 Ours Horses Trainers Challenge Grand Champion! I owe it all to my little mare,
Journey! She is by far the nicest horse I've trained yet. She has tought me so much about training, horses, and Arabians. I
truly love that mare. I'm choking back the tears as I type this. Nikki Stachowicz of Vulcan, MI is Journey's proud new owner.
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