Hot!

It was a very hot day for the second SMDA dressage show of the season. My friend Lydia came along so that was fun, and she was also able to hand me my coat just before I entered the ring so I didn't have to wear it for very long. She was a HUGE help!

Otis wasn't feeling like being a show pony in this hot weather so he was a bit resistant and not as attentive as usual. He seemed to be paying a bit more attention once we started our Training 2 test, but as we rounded the corner at C he spooked at an umbrella (that we had already walked by multiple times). We were able to recover quickly and finished the rest of our test. He was still a bit resistant through the test but we ended up with a first place ribbon and a score of 65.99% much to my surprise! This was a couple points higher than our score in May so I was feeling better about our ride after that.

Otis was much better for Training 3. Both of our halts were pretty crooked, but I know we need to work on those. The rest of the test was pretty good and we ended up with a second place ribbon and a score of 69.8%! I was SO HAPPY with that score, such huge improvement over our 64.4% score from May.

Even though it was a super hot day, we still had fun, and I am just so happy with our progress!