Gracie's First Show

Wow!  Ok, so I'm gonna tell ya'll flat out...I know NOTHING when it comes to the world of showing horses. Seriously...I make sure the girls show up with boots half chaps, helmets, and food, lots and lots of food. We've been blessed with an amazing horse family and a trainer, Anne Warner, who takes them under her wing and nurtures them along. She tells me they have natural talent...What I know is they have an all consuming love for horses. So much so that they would rather be mucking out stalls than anything else, when they aren't riding, of course. 

So today, the past year and a half of hard work culminated in Gracie's first show. She did awesome!  We had one little blood sugar issue (after amazing numbers all weekend long). Her first ride went really well, she finished and came out of the ring. I thought it may be a good time to do a finger poke since it would probably be at least 15 minutes before she rode again, so right there as she's still sitting atop her horse, just like at any normal lesson, she tests...uh oh...36!!!  Seriously???  I ask her how she feels and she says she feels fine. She chews five glucose tablets, which give her 20 grams of straight glucose, and never misses a stride. She gets down, walks around, drinks some water, pets one of the dogs, then back on her horse to ride again. This girl never ceases to amaze me!!!  The quiet strength and dignity with which she lives victoriously over her diabetes is truly beautiful. 

So, back to the show...she rode, she jumped, she smiled, she beamed actually, and she, along with her partner, Double Clear's Leap of Faith (we call him Daddy:) went on to win 2 1st place ribbons, 1 3rd place ribbon, and 2 4th place ribbons. Pretty darn good for the very first time :)  Of course, Daddy is an old pro at this and took it all in stride. He is an amazing guy...retired race horse, rescued off the track by Anne Warner, brought into her program and has proven himself to be probably the most versatile horse around. He can give beginner riders the confidence they need to progress, help growing riders mature and develope into really good riders, he jumps like nothing I've seen before, and according to my girls he is just a pure joy to ride. Gracie and Hannah LOVE our horse family (we all do:), and moving into this new phase - going from only lessons to also showing - is a blessing beyond  what I ever imagined...AND IT'S SO MUCH FUN :). I mean seriously, it's all about being with horses as much as possible, right ;)  CONGRATULATIONS GRACIE!!!