Where have I been?

So, as I posted below, I went to Pacific Slopes last Sunday to show. I showed three horses in five classes and won three top fives, a Reserve Champion and a Champion! Very exciting...the biggest title I've ever won. Too bad none of the horses were mine! Anyway, I ran the triangle five times. The official triangle is 328 feet long for all three sides, and probably a little more than that since you run outside of the markers. So, five triangles is about a third of a mile, I guess? Plus you walk about 50 feet on each one. That's actually less than what I do on my regular runs at home, so that's good--that means I'm working harder at home than I do at shows, so showing should be easier.

I did manage to keep up with the horses even on the "lengthen" stretch, but I could still run faster to show the horses better. I did huff and puff embarassingly after each one, but recovered in a couple of minutes and in plenty of time to show the next one.

So then, Patience says, "You should come to Santa Barbara with me tomorrow to Region 2. You can show and groom for me." This would be a five-day trip.

"Ha, ha," I said. "Wouldn't that be nice?" So I texted my husband. "Patience wants me to go to Santa Barbara with her tomorrow. Ha ha."

"You should," he replied.

"Are you serious?" I asked. We went back and forth for a while on it...after all, I had no clothes with me, nor my computer, and I'd be leaving him at home with no car. Finally he decided to live without a car (or borrow Mom's when necessary), and borrowed Mom's to drive a suitcase and my computer down to me in Santa Rosa. I then drove to Patience's, spent the night there and rode with her to SB. He drove home from Santa Rosa and got caught in traffic...it took him 5 hours. Poor guy!

Anyway, so we drove to SB on Monday and set up and showed on Tuesday. I showed just one horse that day, which was the pre-show. We came in 5th of 9, enough to qualify for the championships. Wednesday I showed three horses in six classes (running the triangle six times). Again, I needed to run faster along the top part, but I did Ok other than that. I ran out of steam on the very last showing. The judge didn't like our horses very much, but we came away with three top fives and a reserve champion in the in-hand.

So now, Patience says if I want to show at Region 3 in August, I have to lose 10 POUNDS! Oy, that's a lot...but at least I'll be grooming at the main ring region 3 in Reno next week, and that always helps as far as weight loss goes! Really need to keep up on the running before and after that and watch what I eat! She wants me svelte and fleet next time. oooook!