Live Show Games Part 2

     Yesterday I talked about the games I have played with myself at live shows when showing got a bit stale. I challenged myself to show sidesaddle in as many classes as possible, because when you are gifted an awesome sidesaddle, you find multiple ways to use it (at least I think so!). Today we are going to talk about the time when I was mostly out of OF Performance but showed a Strapless model in English performance at an OF plastic only show. You might be wondering what the big deal is. So I showed in OF performance because that was what was available in the show. Well, the new challenge for myself was to show in all the classes as therapeutic riding entries. I put all of my performance gear for the day in a shoebox and brought this one horse. It was awesome. 

     This particular class was trail. I may have made this trail mat for this show, or it may have been something I already had, but the documentation talked about a sensory trail. Which was something we had at the therapeutic riding barn where Travis rode and where I volunteered. This particular piece of the trail had different footing, which would make different sounds when they horse went over it. There would also be the brief change of position when the horse stepped up on the bridge. It was definitely not a typical trail entry, but it definitely worked. 

      For Other English I went a bit outside of the box and set up an entry that I also participated in in real life. This was testing a new horse for the therapeutic riding barn. Therapy horses often have to deal with sudden movements, being bumped, sudden loud noises, strange objects, and many other scary and unexpected things. And they need to do it calmly so they can take care of their riders. So we had a rider (who was the owners daughter and a very accomplished rider) on the horse, she shook the reins, changed her body position every now and then, and made loud noises at times. The rest of us on the ground would sometimes bump the horse, talk unexpectedly, toss things to the rider, or touch the horse with objects. We paid close attention to how the horse was reacting to things. Some horses don't mind this type of behavior at all. And some just can't deal with it. Anyway, for Other English I set up that type of entry and my documentation note states this is what is happening. 

      I also put in an English Games entry. We did sometimes play musical stalls at the barn. I think my "stall" is just a bit large, but it still worked out. You can fit the entire team into it. If I was to set this entry up today I would potentially add the ramp I made and the tiny radio I bought. After all, you need something to play the music so the music can stop. 

     I had several other therapeutic riding themed entries in this division, but I can't find photos at the moment. This was definitely a fun personal challenge. Therapeutic riding has been very important to me since Travis was small and took lessons at the PVTRA. I have been setting up therapeutic riding entries since then, and this was just an extension of it. It was definitely a lot of fun and some day, if I ever get bored at a live show again (if I ever want to go to one again) I might have to do this again.