"Someone Almost Died and He Wants Us to Do What?!"

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments about adopting a cat into our family. After reading what you had to say, it occurred to me that every summer I usually foster a litter of kittens or two. In the past, I've had to find homes for all of them. This summer will be different. I'm going to sit back and wait to see what happens. If I foster a litter, two kittens will already have a very good home!

Okay. Now I'm going to switch back to horses. Most of you know how much I love Tango and most of you know that I show him dressage. Tango is a very versatile guy. I rescued him from an Amish background and driving is in his blood. He moves like a dream and loves every minute of it.

I thought I'd share a pleasure driving story for you. Yep...that's Tango and me in the photo above. The judge was actually offering high praise. Below is a partial article that I wrote for an equestrian magazine. There's never a dull moment when it comes to animals, and a day without just a little excitement could even be called boring!

Here's the partial story:
The last show of the season was...let's just say more than competitive. What I had always believed to be true, was. Tango held up under pressure. He was better than good, he commanded calm and exhibited his true nature.

We were in the show arena and had just switched from a walk to a park trot. Tango was responding with ease. We had just rounded the first turn in the arena when I heard a banging commotion from behind us. A young woman had lost control of her horse, fallen to the floor of her cart, and was wildly flying back and forth and around and around the arena. It seemed there was no stopping her horse.

The second time the runaway cart went by us; it clipped the back of our cart. I asked Tango to move forward and stand. He did.
Three minutes of chaos seemed to last forever. Other horses in the arena were clearly upset and unruly. Who could blame them?

Tango's calmness kept me calm. I remember thinking, "Should I get down and try to help or just stay here?" But by that time, lots of other people were in the arena. Common sense took over. I decided I'd do the runaway driver and horse more good if I just stayed out of the way. That's what I did. Rather, that's what Tango allowed me to do.

Finally the out-of-control horse was stopped. I was shaking from the inside out and ready to leave the arena when the announcer barked, "Resume park trot...resume park trot."
"He's got to be kidding," I thought. "Someone almost just died and he wants us to resume park trot???? "

The saying "The Show Must Go On," applied here. The show went on. I was numb but not Tango. His extended trot was more beautiful than I've ever seen it. I felt like we were floating through the air. The only thing that took away from our first place finish, was concern for the driver of the other cart, who luckily was not hurt.

Our win was the icing on the cake. That day...that moment....the bond between Tango and me grew even stronger. He trusted me and I trusted him. Yes, Tango was and is a winner for sure...in more ways than one.

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Fun. That's What It's About for Tango and Me!

We're back and we had a grand time. I felt like a sponge each time I completed a class and looked at the comments. For those of you who aren't familiar with dressage, I was interested in the points not the ribbons. We did, however, place in every class. Tango received two third places, a fourth place, and a second place. The second place was in our last class and we were an eighth of a point away from first.

You'll never believe where I scored the lowest...at the walk! I need to learn to walk my boy with more energy. At my age, I know all about low energy and I treat myself with caffeine. Now I have to figure out how to energize my boy's free walk and medium walk substance free. I've been given some ideas, but would welcome suggestions from you since espresso isn't an option for Tango!

The entire weekend went so well it was unbelievable. There were only three mishaps and they were minor. Tango pulled my friend's headband off her head twice while she was holding him near the mounting block. He's an oral horse and I guess her headband looked tasty.

Then, when I was in the practice arena, Tango's low energy walk turned into a full-of-energy trot and in an effort to avoid a collision with another horse we jumped the letter "C". My boy can jump!

At any rate, it was a good show. I learned a lot and Tango did great. He seems to love the excitement and attention. Here are the final written comments from the judges in the four classes where we competed:

1. Cute horse - Keep him marching forward with energy and pep. Obedient fellow.
2. Would really sparkle with more energy. Ask for bolder walk work.
3. Lovely horse! Ride forward! Many points lost to lack of energy.
4. Well done!

Well done indeed. Tango's a blue ribbon winner in my books. He gave me exactly what I asked for...I just need to sit back more, hone my skills, work hard, and depend on my good boy to strut his stuff! Will I ever get too old for this????

P.S. My dogs are glad the horse show is over. They think I've been spending way too much time with Tango!

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