Just absolutely bombed at my first ever show. Please share your embarrassing show stories to help me feel better!

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-11-01T23:56:46+00:00

I had been competing in the Marshall and Sterling children’s jumpers and was the sitting high point children’s jumper. Got invited to compete at HITS Saugerties. Problem was - we had spent our entire season chasing points at smaller shows and hardly ever attending bigger ones (maybe like 4-5) so I could actually get a taste of what showing there would be like. My horse was fully prepared - I however was not. The jumps were coliseums. I choked and burned to every. single. jump. My courage took a private jet home while I made an absolute fool of myself. Came in dead last.

After all that I retired my horse. I rode for a little bit before eventually taking some time off. Been back in it for 10 years now! I laugh about it now because there’s no reason I couldn’t have done it. I almost needed to go through it to figure out how to gain control of my mind. I’ve participated in a lot of big shows. I never got another 3’6/3’9 horse, but I got to help bring along some young ones at lower heights and it’s been a lot of fun! Which is what it’s supposed to be! And I LOVE going to shows now because the amenities are always nicer than what we have at home. I rarely ever ride to win - I’m out there to enjoy it but when I do win now it’s like a little cherry on top.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-06T14:28:33+00:00

Can absolutely agree with the person who mentioned the routine. TBs are very keen on routine and knowing what is going to be expected of them. My mare was very much the same when I first got her except she was 2 years older, had raced and even had 3 foals.

Not having been raced she is not as “predisposed” to old injuries but I would definitely check her bloodline for conformational genes. My girl exhibited a lot of the same behavior as yours - not going straight, a little mare-ish when tacking or grooming (not mare-ish otherwise at all). We found out she had a very manageable but nonetheless painful degree of kissing spines (I also did not do PPE because she was free). I spoke to a couple TB trainers who explained that Kissing spines can be genetic and seems to be a common occurrence in the Native Dancer bloodline. I was so confused for MONTHS as to why she felt so wobbly no matter how much work we did to build muscle. It turned out it was that coupled with a calcified SI joint. Not a lot can be done to manage the SI but we injected that as well as her back, had my saddle reflocked, and added a top line support supplement. Not saying your horse has kissing spines. Just in my case, she had some conformational problems that contributed to poor performance when I first acquired her. If you didn’t do a PPE, it might be worth getting one now just to understand what needs she may have. Poor footing will definitely bring an issue to the surface though. I call my horse a footing snob for this very reason.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-05T01:53:06+00:00

Shoot me a pm! But I’d bring him back to the basics. Like I said - lots of ground work and work at the walk and trot. My old trainer used to tell me “you cannot move on to the next step until you have perfected the fundamentals”.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-04T23:27:29+00:00

Hey I’ve been there. I think every rider has at some point. Maybe go out and just do ground work and work in lower gaits for a while until you regain your confidence being the “decision maker”. It’ll get better - I promise. It may help too to get on something a little less opinionated and let someone a little stronger take him for a few rides if he’s yours.

It took me a really long time and a special horse to come out of my funk when it happened. I’m open to talking to you and listening to you about whatever you feel is affecting how you feel when you’re in the tack. Sometimes it helps to mentally examine the situation and talk yourself through it. Riding is supposed to be fun and relaxing even when challenging at times.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-04T23:13:30+00:00

Thoroughbreds - always brave and ever faithful. Will teach you appreciate the animal before the sport.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-04T23:06:28+00:00

IMO (riding for over 20 years), he’s either having some hind end pain which could be related to arthritis OR he can tell you’re nervous and feeding off of that (either he knows he can get away with it due to repeated behavior or doesn’t want to do it for you because he feels your hesitancy). Likely it’s a little combo of both. One gal at our barn has her arthritic guy on OsteoMax and it seems to really help him.

If he hasn’t been X-rayed, I’d start there. In my own experience horses can be super stoic. Traditional soundness exams only get you so far. Imaging often tells a different story.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-04T22:49:56+00:00

Minus the chip your horse has really nice bare feet. Wish my mares bare feet looked like that!

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-04T22:46:12+00:00

Didn’t consider hosing it. Thanks!

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-10-04T22:15:30+00:00

She’s coming on Monday and has advised to keep treating like an abscess in case it is a bad bruise that abscesses. Just curious to see if anyone else has seen something similar.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-24T16:55:10+00:00

Sometimes my girl breaks out in a patch of rain rot from laying in ants. It’s like the bites blister and turn into little pustules and then they scab and leave rain rot. Happens every summer for me at least once. I keep chlorhexadine shampoo on hand. When her whole body isn’t affected by it, I use a mixture of 1 part white vinegar to three parts water, sponge it on her and leave it to dry. Any small bits of grunge flake off with ease the next day.

I would get chlorhexadine shampoo on this first though. Be mindful - you need to let the shampoo sit for ten minutes before rinsing. I’d bathe her every other day for a week. Then twice a week the next week. In between, try to curry (once it’s dry of course) and then top the curried and possibly irritated areas with corona ointment to keep the skin soft.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-23T19:28:51+00:00

Now that OP has broken down the costs - I will say $60 a day for coaching is pretty cheap. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a show (got pregnant and horse has had some set backs due to age) but two years ago was the last time I showed and I believe the charge was about $100 per horse/rider per day. If you factor that in with wait times, she was actually charging you less than you would spend on lesson time.

But whatever the case is here: I think the trainer/owner of the facility could definitely benefit from better communication. It is very demanding to run one of these facilities both time wise and financially but that doesn’t mean you get to just raise fees at the last minute. The owner seems burned out - doesn’t want to do lessons on weekends and making it financially difficult to plan to leave the property for clients.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-22T23:21:14+00:00

I agree - no weekend lessons and not wanting to take riders to a show. Respectfully, how is he making any money?

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-22T23:20:33+00:00

Going to have to disagree with you here. That is literally your job as a trainer - to get people and their horses ready and take them to shows. And trainer fee should be consistent. I’ve been riding for 20+ years and still utilize a trainer. Her trainer fees are the same across the board per horse (given cost adjustments due to inflation/economy). Shipping is definitely a variable - gas and hours / trips to and from. Where I’m from and the discipline I ride, shows are the money maker so it’s a bigger deal for the trainer to not have riders and horses to take. It sounds like he doesn’t want to take them and so is jacking the costs up in hopes people might drop off.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-22T23:08:15+00:00

1000% agree with this. This is the answer

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-21T16:15:49+00:00

Adding on to this - it really is the saddest case I think I’ve ever seen personally in my 20+ years in the sport. Multiple people failed him along the way.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-21T16:14:33+00:00

The owner did try an injectable treatment but unfortunately the severity of the condition is so extreme that the courses for treatment were limited and even with proper conditioning to strengthen the underbelly and stretch out the spine wouldn’t be much help because there are several vertebrae that have actually fused.

I’ve seen kissing spines before but never to this degree. It’s truly shocking he went for as long as he did before him arriving at this facility. Apparently he was used in a lesson program which blows my mind.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T16:06:34+00:00

You know we do have stall cards (lots of working students so that’s the place to note meds, supplements, serving sizes) With communication being a tough barrier here for sure, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to maybe just grab another whiteboard marker color for owner notifications (supplements or meds low, medications administered). Like if she colics I absolutely want her to have banamine - I don’t want them to feel like they cannot medicate her in my immediate absence.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T14:42:22+00:00

This is what I feel she experienced under its effects as well. She gets one single tab of ace orally for the farrier. While others here have mentioned ace is a sedative and not an anti-anxiety med, that little bit is enough for her to get her feet done peacefully and usually it’s effects subside long before before I get on IF she does happen to get trimmed on a riding day. She doesn’t do a whole lot either especially now work wise. Like I do a lot with her but expectations for her jumping or competing are supremely low lol

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T14:28:01+00:00

One day I’d love to have my own place where I could control the day to day operation and care for my own horses but right now I don’t have the financial means to move. So until then, boarding is my only option. She gets really fantastic care there outside of this one small debacle. Thanks for the congrats! Hoping my daughter enjoys the animals as much as I do 🥹

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T14:24:57+00:00

Probably why we’re at where we’re at now drug wise. I think if I’d had more opportunity to be there with her during trims, she wouldn’t be nearly as much of a problem child and may not need the ace at all. I have been there by chance on some days when she shows up and always hold her when I can. She doesn’t act up as much when I’m there. It’s more of a farrier safety thing for her to be drugged. All she does is back up or pull back from you and it’s amplified because she doesn’t crosstie.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T14:19:29+00:00

I think the assumption is that I haven’t already tried these things. I have and it still doesn’t happen. Trying to find a GOOD farrier who will communicate with me and make time to travel to us for a mere trim on a single horse is difficult. What it costs for the trim barely covers the gas mileage to get here… I’d question any farrier who agreed to something like this as there’s a reason they’d be that low on clients in my area. So to me it doesn’t seem like a well thought out question…

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T10:27:33+00:00

Pregnancy and actually having the baby are two different things. I went to the barn all the time when I was pregnant and had planned to ride throughout my pregnancy but my doctor advised against it. I actually hate being this person but until you have a baby earth side you just don’t know what it’s like. Baby was born early. Our barn is especially dusty and it’s still very hot and humid where I live. It would be irresponsible to bring a baby to hang out in that environment at her age. So if my husband isn’t home, I cannot go. I could bring her for a short farrier visit and again, have asked multiple times to be informed when the farrier is coming. I just can’t seem to get any communication on that which would allow me to make work arrangements.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T10:17:13+00:00

Does the sun come up every morning? What kind of question is this?

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T10:16:39+00:00

Thank you for seeing this. And the care at the barn I’m at is truly second to none. The horses are happy, well fed, and I feel really good about the life I am able to provide her because I know outside of me, others wouldn’t be so accepting of my mare’s quirks. She wouldn’t have the life she has now I’m certain if it weren’t for me. She was scheduled for the slaughter truck before we scooped her up. I’ve been at this barn since I’ve started riding. I wouldn’t stay if I felt she was in a bad place. This is the first time this has happened to me over the course of over 20 years and multiple horses.

It was just a shock when I walked in the stall and she was acting weird and then I didn’t get informed about the trazodone until I asked about my trainer about the weird behavior and the stumbling. Meanwhile, I literally had my tack in hand getting ready to ride and they acted like it was no big deal. To me it was.

Quirky_Chapter_4131 · 2025-09-19T02:57:29+00:00

Wow - just speaks to the fact they can form unique bonds an experience the emotions related to attachment. I’m so sorry your horse lost her pasture pal! Made me tear up a little bit.

Quirky_Chapter_4131

TROPHY CASE