Wrapping up at the J-6

IMG_1817-3, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Time to wrap up this week of pictures and tales from the J-6. I have tons of favorites and love all of the pictures of my girls, but this random shot photo is my most favorite one. I think it sums up what a full day of riding in the J-6 event will do to all of the riders regardless of their age. This little guy rode his heart out at the event, and when he needed rest his very loyal horse made sure he got some.

I hope that everyone has had a great week, and that there is a wonderful, restful weekend waiting for all of us.

Cheyenne at the J-6

IMG_1739, originally uploaded by torri_g.

Cheyenne rode Pi for the J-6 riding event this past Saturday. Pi is a gaited horse and her and Chey have a lot in common...they both have attitude! I don't mean that in a bad way either by the way. If it is possible for a horse to love a person then Pi loves Cheyenne and in turn Cheyenne completely loves Pi. They are a perfect match.
Chey won 2 first place, 2 second place, 1 third place, and also won the high point division champion ribbon. Cheyenne was very much all about supporting her sisters and the other riders on Saturday, and I'm very proud of her for that. Oh yeah and all of the ribbons that she brought home too.

Paige at the J-6

IMG_1506, originally uploaded by torri_g.

I know that she isn't on a horse in this picture, but this is one of my favorites of Paige from this past Saturday. I mean look at her...just perfectly comfortable looking standing inside the practice arena, watching everyone warm up.
Paige being my complicated young woman is actually off of the horse because the huge crowd made her very nervous and upset. Which lead to it all getting her in brain, which lead to her horse Bob feeling her anxiety, which lead to Bob being fairly hyper. I was very proud of her though because she got off of the horse and talked to Dad, and talked to Mom and spent some time just watching and getting her mind settled. I took time to talk to their teacher/coach and then she spent extra time talking and calming our Miss Paige down. It is funny to me that Paige who doesn't let many people in finds great comfort with her teacher. Which was truly a
blessing on Saturday.
Paige won 2 third place, and two fourth place ribbons. She had one time thrown out because of the back end of Bob crossing the timer plain, which disqualified that time for the ride. I think Paige enjoyed the comfort and encouragement from her sisters, her teacher, and Todd and I enough to not let that one ride set back get her down though. Her teacher was very proud of her for getting back up on Bob and riding though, and for pushing through the whole day. I think everyone needs to look out though because now Paige knows what she needs to do to prepare herself for the next riding event.

Stephanie at the J-6

IMG_1787, originally uploaded by torri_g.

As promised I am back and going to start oldest to youngest with posting pictures and tales of how they did.

The events were the Clover leaf barrels, washington poles, hour glass, gated keyhole, and cow barrel. Stephanie rode Valentine for all of her events on Saturday. If you rated horse on an alphabetic system Valentine would be about a "J" for needed skill level. Stephanie is the only one with enough consistent ability to put on Valentine for the whole day. Plus Valentine gets a bit of an attitude with the other girls every now and then because she isn't quiet a finished horse.

Miss Stephanie brought home 2 second place, 1 fourth place, and 2 fifth place ribbons on Saturday. Turns out Steph was more about the equitation on the horse during the even than being about the speed. Their teacher/coach is now hoping and planning on getting her ready for fall and English riding events where all that equitation will pay off well.
Funny thing about my Miss Stephanie is that her favorite ribbons are the fifth place one's because they are pink! I have to give my girl credit though, when it came to sitting in the saddle and looking almost perfect at all points in time form wise...she nailed it!

3 G Girls

3 G Girls, originally uploaded by torri_g.

The girls rode in their first J-6 riding event this past Saturday, and oh what a great day it was! Being Mom I could not have been more proud of my girls than what I was Saturday, and not just because they brought home a ton of ribbons. Their support of each other over the course of the day, their support of the other competitors, and just watching how much they have grown in ability over the course of the last year. WOW is about all I have for that.
The flip side of it was the photographer in me was in pure joy overload with all of the beautiful horses to photograph. Over the course of this week I will post favorite pictures of each of my girls and share how each on of them did, and of course post some of my just favorite pictures of other horses and riders.

Feline Friday

Lucy, Perry, & Mina, originally uploaded by torri_g.