Anticipation

Just when my faith had wavered and I had considered other plans for the weekend, my entry has been sorted out and I have ride times. The princess and I are off to our very first sanctioned this weekend at UNH.

My first reaction was relief. Relief that I had not managed to botch things so badly that I would miss out. Turned out that there was some confusion over who I was, since I go by one name but my name in the USEA paperwork is something else. I hadn't thought of that. Live and learn.

Now I have moved on to my second reaction: nervous anticipation. There is definitely a different feel to going to a horse trial, as opposed to a schooling show. I need to go pick up a battery for my watch, for one. Time will count. I also need to pull out all the bells and whistles. Hunt coat, leather gloves, hair nets, the whole thing. I got my new saddle pad today that I ordered as my show pad for jumping. It's black with light blue trim, white cord, and a monogram of a silver tiara for the princess. No one outside of my barn will get it, since her show name is Can't Drive 55, but I like it. A little individuality in my rather conservative show get up.

Saturday will be spent primping and prepping. I need to finish pulling her mane, get her bathed and clipped, and braid her up. My tack needs to all be cleaned and packed, along with the rest of my equipment. It will be an all day show (I don't go on XC until almost 6pm) so I will need to pack food and water in order to survive.

I know I'm looking at a weekend with very little sleep and a lot of stress, but right now, all I feel is that nervous jitter of something exciting coming up. We've worked so hard for this, and I finally feel like we're ready. Just in time, since it's time for us to go.