The first of the Summer Series Dressage Schooling Shows was on Thursday, May 8 and the 25th CDCTA schooling show we have hosted at Great Meadow since 2020. As in past years the show was full by closing date and we ran a full day with two arenas. Despite having more than a few shows under our belts Ildiko and I always have a little trouble remembering exactly how we set up the tented show office and it usually starts with struggling to get the tents up and lashing them down. Luckily our wonderful show secretary was there to give us a hand while she juggled last minute scratches and changes.
Jessi Whitmoyer had done a stellar job recruiting enough volunteers and for once I wasn't in a total panic worrying that we wouldn't have enough help to run the show. A huge thank you to all the volunteers, including two volunteer mom's who scribed for the first time and the judges told me what great jobs they did. On the subject of volunteers I would like to remind riders that come to our shows we always need more volunteers and even if you can only volunteer for three or four hours it will count as half a day. Several years ago I calculated how much class fees would be if we had a paid staff (judges are the only paid show staff) instead of volunteers and it would be over $100 per test!
Rain was in the forecast and we were mostly prepared when the heavens opened early afternoon, but luckily there was no thunder or lightning so the show went on. The dressage classes ran from Intro through Fourth level, including over four hours of Training level classes. Eventing classes ran from Starter through FEI Four Star. The judges Joanna Gray-Randle and Carol Thomas both remarked on the high quality of riding. We saw a lot of the 'regulars', but also a lot of new faces.
Ildiko, Bekah and I decided that in future we will not be quite as accommodating to riders who ask us during the show if they can change tests, horse, rider, times etc. because it creates a lot of extra work and often confusion. Just one change means we have to make changes to the scoring program, tell the ring stewards, find a replacement scoring sheet for the scribe, update the scribe on the change and update the posted results sheets. So our plea to riders is please, please double check your classes and ride times when Bekah emails them to you and make sure you have entered the correct class for the test/s you plan on riding.
Typically the lower level classes are at the end of the day, partly because a lot of kids who are just beginning to show will be in the lower classes and their parents want to come and watch them. One of the stars of the show was Allie Garret riding Alice Johnson's pony Mocha in the Intro classes. Not only was this Allie's first dressage show, but she also had the show high score of 78.750%. Mocha has been a show favorite for at least 10 years and guided many a kid at their first show thanks to Alice's generosity.
