Missed the Mark Completely

While the First Level Test 3 RAAC class felt wild and wooly, it actually doesn't look that bad except for one or two places. The judge sure nailed us on those movements though. We slunk out of the ring with a dismal 56.765% - nearly an all time low. I have some great photos, but I'll let you watch the ride first so you that you can decide if it was worth more or less than the 56% that the judge gave us.

Here's what the judge thought ... (click images to enlarge).

I didn't watch the video until late Sunday afternoon. I am glad I finally watched it because I drove home thinking it was a disastrous ride; it wasn't. Yeah, Speedy put up a serious stink at the first canter lengthening - did you see the buck? And that second canter loop on the left lead was a bit fussy, but all in all it wasn't horrible.

I have to give myself some credit as a rider. It looks a lot more pleasant than it felt. He was ticked off about that judge's booth and was letting me know it. The reason he gave a buck as we started the canter lengthening was because I had to dig my spur into him to keep him as close to the rail at C as possible. He wanted to dive in and bolt for A.

The aftermath of the "Great Spur Event" (photo courtesy of Edyta)

Oh, wait. There was more! (photo courtesy of Diana)

So yeah. It wasn't a perfect test, and I am kind of blaming Speedy for at least 60% of it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. The judging was tough, but that's what you get when you enter at A at a big USDF show.

Here's some eye candy. These photos are all courtesy of Edyta.

Just after the stretchy trot, getting ready for a 10-meter circle.

Just before our 10-meter circle at R.

I like how soft the inside rein is, but I don't know what's going on here. I think he might be getting ready for that buck I mentioned.

Start of the canter lengthening ...

Canter lengthening as it peters out - 5.5

Once again, we placed dead last in our RAAC class, but here's the funny thing. When we first showed at the 2012 RAAC, we won our Introductory Class with a solid 67.000%. The next year, we were dead last in the Training Level class with a 61.200%.The year after that, in 2014, we won the Training Level class with a whopping 72.600%. So really, things are looking good. If everything goes as it has in the past, we're looking really good for next year's First Level RAAC class!

Honor Round (photo by Chemaine). Dang! Isn't he cute? Those are Chemaine's DSB Silver Boots. Obviously I now need some.

We finished eighth out of eight riders, but we still showed up for the honor round and cheered on those riders who had a much better day than we did.

As Tracy so aptly said, "Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn."

Honor Round (we're on the far left) - photo courtesy of Diana

You're probably ready for some Izzy news by now, but I have one more post about the show to share. I really want/need to talk about all that I learned at this show. And it's a lot.

On tap for tomorrow... What I learned.