SendonWay’s competitors were busy on
June 10-12!

Some of SendonWay's group went to the show at Majestic Farm in Batavia, OH, while other riders competed at Grand Haven in Jefferson, OH. Here is some information on the two different shows:

Majestic Farm

The three girls headed out on Thursday, June 9th into the sweltering heat of Southern Ohio. Temperatures were close to 100 degrees on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, causing a lot of “swoddiness” and “swankles.”

In the Four-Year-Old Class, Toni and Panache performed superbly for Nancy! Both have improved dramatically, and Axel Steiner even told Nancy that Panache would have won the “Cutest Chestnut Mare” award. The judges also told Nancy that because of Toni’s amazing trot and uphill canter, they see he has a very promising career.

Although Banks was certain the food vendor tent was dangerous, the two made it to the arena every day and put in consistent, improved rides. Jennifer even gloated that one judge wrote “Nice horse!” on her test!

Because of technical difficulties (like her music not even playing when she entered the ring), Jennifer learned the art of “adlibbing” in the show ring! She had to quickly try to catch up her movements when the music did start to play! Way to go for being calm under pressure, Jennifer!

Sharon started out the competition on a high note, winning her 2-3 class with a 65%. But little did she know it was all going to be downhill from there! Although Ghardener is 6 years old, he can still act like a CHILD! During her freestyle on Saturday, Ghardener spooked at the sound of ice being dumped into a cooler, took off at a full gallop, and Sharon entered the ring when his tail was straight up in the air and he was grunting down the centerline. He looked more like an Arabian than a fancy Hanoverian!

Sharon rode her first-ever Third Level Test 1 on Sunday, and despite being traumatized by a shiny, mirrored trailer, Ghardener pulled it together (for the most part) and even got a 7 on his first half pass. He did, however, do two flying bucks instead of flying changes!

All in all, the three girls had a laughter-filled weekend. They were plagued by chigger bites and attacked by toads, and had a giant cockroach in the truck on the ride home! They learned it’s very hard to ride a bike AND carry glasses of wine and plates of cheese and crackers at the same time, found out being THAT sweaty all day can cause chafing, and last but not least, they learned the REAL identity of the Spookasaurus kidnapper! What a great weekend!

Grand Haven

This group was spoiled, as the weather in Northeast Ohio was perfect for showing (mid-60s and 70s). Lauren was the star of the show, averaging 70s on each of her tests! Tempi also “turned herself out” early one morning and jumped through the rings…clearly this is NOT a recommended method for preparing your horse for a morning ride.

Lauren’s favorite comment from the show was from the judge in Ring 4 (by the oil well), who said that Tempi was a lovely mare with “a clear opinion about fossil fuels.” Apparently, Tempi would NOT go anywhere near the corner of the ring near the oil well. Lauren said “I think that is a creative comment and particularly funny since Tempi is ‘green’”. HAHA

Jean said she learned a valuable lesson at this Grand Haven show as well – “The next time Mary Lou tells you NOT to switch a class…listen to her!!”

Basically, Wander “shut down” (according to the judge) during her Second Level Test 2 class on Saturday. So, to make a point and teach Wander a lesson, Jean decided to switch classes on Sunday so she could ride the Second 2 again.

Although Mary Lou suggested it might be a bad idea for Jean to switch classes, she did it anyway. This time, Jean was able to keep Wander cantering. However, he performed a few movements that are NOT required at Second Level, such as piaffe (the judge said the horse was tense…really!?). Wander received a lovely low score of 48%…earning them SendonWay’s Spookasaurus award for the lowest score of the weekend!

The SendonWay group also introduced Courtney to Rummy Bears (an amazing concoction created by Lauren and Nancy). Courtney said she will take the idea back to OSU…we just might see it in the school headlines – Rummy Bears Invade OSU!

Another successful show.

Congratulations to all of SendonWay’s competitors!!!