The Grand Champion....

THE SMILE!!!!
March 5, 2011 Gunnar Grace was in her first ever horse show. The show was held at Triton Stables, the barn where she trains. It was an early morning for us and of course we were running late. This is how our day started.....

I got up about 15 minutes prior to waking Gunnar. I knew I needed my coffee before I could start the day. I woke her up, got all her stuff and put it in her bathroom so she could change and brush her teeth and such, only to notice that the nice man at the polo store FORGOT to take the sensor off of her shirt that she had to wear!!! I was in a panic. I ran to the garage got the plier out and started going to town, determined to get that sensor off. After a few minutes I did manage to break it off, thank GOD!!! Really that was the ONLY glitch in the day.

We got to the barn on time and Gunnar got started on her work for the day, grooming, and tacking up her horse. She showed in 3 classes. The first was flat, which is walk trot. She ended with a fifth place ribbon in that class, and let me tell you she was a little disappointed with that. She was determined to place higher in her next two classes. Megan her trainer gave her some pointers and Gunnar took serious notes. The next two classes were the hunter jumper category. She did fantastic! The great thing about her, is the smile on her face started the minute she woke up til the minute she got off her horse. She was so excited to be there. I can tell she is really in love with this sport. She never complains about the long drive or all the hard work that goes into riding. She has definately learned it's not about looking pretty sitting up on a horse. It is HARD work and very time consuming. The work is paying off as she ended her day with two FIRST place ribbons in her jump classes and an overall GRAND CHAMP ribbon for the highest number of points scored for the day!! I was one proud mamma... with one really happy girl!!!