Next Show

I really hemmed and hawed about what shows to do in June.  On the one hand, I get nine weeks off this summer which makes showing super easy to do.  On the other hand, it's stinking hot in Bakersfield during those nine weeks which means most of our shows are farther away.  Showing more than once a month is also expensive.  Isn't that always the problem?  There's either time and no money, or money and no time.

My original plan for June, albeit a bit ambitious, was to do a two-day show in lovely Paso Robles followed by a schooling show at Hansen Dam.  I then planned to wrap up the month with a CDS-rated show in Tehachapi, an hour away.  When I started calculating the cost of the Paso Robles show, I just couldn't stomach spending so much money for a triple-rated show.  While I really want to earn my USDF Rider Performance Award at Training Level, I just couldn't justify the expense so soon after the Santa Barbara show.  And then, as luck would have it, the Hansen Dam show date was moved to the same date as the Tehachapi show.  I went from having three shows in June to just one.  Bummer.

I pulled up the CDS show calendar and discovered that Fresno CDS was hosting a two-day show the same weekend as the Paso Robles show.  I decided that I could easily afford one of the two days especially since I wasn't going to be able to do the Hansen Dam show.  As I was completing the entry, I noticed that the stabling fees were only $30 a night.  WHAT?  They were the cheapest stabling fees I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many), but compared to the $160 plus $100 for RV fees that I paid at Santa Barbara, they seemed downright blue-light special!  

I calculated the price of four rides, added in the stabling fees, and placed a call to the show secretary about the fees for camping.  When she told me that I could stay in my living quarters trailer with no additional fee, I told her I was in.  My total bill for a CDS/USDF/USEF two-day show excluding shavings and gas was only $296!  The stalls are actually permanent 12 x 24 covered pens so I don't even need shavings.  

Clovis, where the show will be held, is due north with zero mountains to climb.  It's an easy two and a half hour flat drive, and I've been to this venue three times already so my anxiety level is really low.  In fact, the last time I showed there, I earned a 72.5% at Intro B so I have good feelings associated with the venue.  And one of the best things about this show is that each day has a different judge so I have several chances to earn scores for the USDF Rider Performance Award. 

I sent in my entry the other day.  This will be my fourth triple-rated show of the season with one more to go, Regional Adult Amateur Competition.  Even though I have lots of time off this summer, the rest of the summer shows will be in Tehachapi, CDS-rated, and Hansen Dam, un-rated.  I am hoping those shows will give me lots of opportunities to firm up the Training Level tests so that I can possibly think about First Level for next year.

I can dream, can't I?!