It has been a long-time dream of mine to have a leadline kid - I've wanted one for like the last 20 years. I guess it took me having kids of my own to make it happen! The kids have really taken an interest in the horses this summer. They have learned the basics of grooming, tacking up, leading, and of course, riding. Nolan decided he might want to try a horse show this summer, which I was more than happy to oblige. We headed to Eau Claire on Friday to start the getting ready process, and it's a good thing we did. Elliot was a dirty, dingy mess. It was going to take some serious elbow grease to get this grungy old gelding to look like the show horse that he once was. We started by brushing him and getting the first layer of dirt off. Then I went after him with the clippers - to say that had been a while was an understatement. He had big billy goat gruff whiskers and super wooly ears. I shortened his mane and bit by bit he started to look like the Elliot I used to take to horse shows.
Saturday was bath time. It took three full shampoos and five people scrubbing to getall the dirt off of him. I attempted my first banding job in over eight years and am pleased to say it wasn't a disaster. We put his jammies on and got him tucked in for the night.
When we woke up the morning of the show, Nolan was pretty nervous and wanted me to cancel. I was able to calm him down and we repeated the mantra, "I am scared, but I am brave." By the time he saw Elliot is his cool "night ninja" pajamas and got to load him in the trailer, the fears subsided and we headed off for Bit & Spur. When I was showing years ago, Bit & Spur shows were hyper competitive, often featuring 20+ breed show quality horses in a class. When we arrived, it looked like a ghost town of what it used to be. There were maybe 25 horses there in total, and mostly 4H level quality. It made me kind of sad.
We got Elliot tacked up and Nolan and I donned our duds for our class, but when it came to for Nolan to mount up, he panicked and went into a full out anxiety meltdown. He did NOT want anyone to watch him, cheer him on, or go in the ring. He would not get on the horse. I tried all of my Nolan tricks, but remained unsuccessful. I told Mom that we should go get Livi ready because it looked like she and I were going in the class instead when Nolan all of a sudden decided that he was gonna go for it.
He got on his trusty steed and decided things weren't so scary after all. That is, until the saddle starting slipping. It slid way back - several inches behind El's withers. Mom and Annalyse decided to try to pull it forward while Nolan was still on board, but Elliot decided he was NOT having that. It must have pinched him and he started to balk and back up and looking like he was going to rear up. Within 10 seconds the whole ordeal was over, but it had rattled our brave little rider. Big crocodile tears welled up in his eyes, mere moments before the start of his class, and I made the decision that we were just going to go in because I knew if he got off, he might never get back on again. Grandma Marcia walked next to him holding his hand, and El was back to the steady, reliable guy that he usually is, and within a few seconds Nolan was smiling again. Once we were about halfway around, Mom slipped away, leaving just me and Nolan, and surprisingly he had no issue with that. When the judge asked us to come to the center of the ring to lineup, she told Nolan how very brave he was. Then she asked him to back his horse and walk him forward again, which Nolan did absolutely flawlessly. He ended up placing third out of the three horses, almost certainly because Mom walked with him at the start of the class, but he got an amazing prize with a first place trophy, medal, and a bunch of snacks and fun things. Nolan thinks he won first place, which in my book he did because he soared over so many hurdles to get there. He was so very brave and I am immeasurably proud of him for beating those many fears. Congratulations on a job well done, buddy! And thanks for making one of Mommy's dreams come true - an opportunity to share this love of horses with you!
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