Friday, October 24, 2014

"31 for 21" Special Olympics Horse Show

A weekend away and my life goes to crazy!  I've dropped the ball on too many posts to really call this 31 for 21 but I'm going to try to fulfill my goal even if it takes until Christmas!

The Special Olympics were awesome!  Cate loved the horse show and she did so well.  I was amazed at the composure she showed in a new situation with so much going on and so many people watching.  She ended up competing in 3 events (Showmanship, Dressage, Trail) and did great in all of them.  The amazing part besides how well she did was that it was in spite of a lot of waiting and uncertainty.  The hard part about any big event like this is that you can never be sure what time your "performance" will be and normally with Cate that can cause some unrest (see how nicely I put that - I'm sure many of you can imagine what that really looks like).  Of course having horses everywhere you turn helps that situation a lot then add about 6 teen age/college age girls to give you lot of attention - now waiting is just plain fun! 


Cate's first event was dressage.  That was by far her hardest event given the complexity of the pattern and the seriousness of the sport in general.  But she put on her game face, sat up perfectly straight and performed like she'd been doing it forever.  I was so proud of her.

 

She won a silver medal in her intermediate one group! Not to bad for a first try, huh!!!

Sorry I don't have better medal pictures but they all have other kids in them so I won't post them here.  On Friday, Cate also did showmanship, which is where she leads the horse in a pattern.  She remember everything herself with no help from her buddy and did a great job getting Major to cooperate.

Our barn was awesome - they had us set up with snacks, drinks and tents so the waiting wasn't so bad!  Both girls loved the opening ceremonies but I'm afraid they are going to want to trick ride like some of the girls in the show now!

On Saturday Cate didn't have any events so after a lazy morning we got to experience a little more of the Special Olympics setting - everyone had lunch together and the girls spent some time in the craft area making some treasure to take home.  The highlight of the day though was the dance.  Lucy wasn't so sure about the crowd and the noise but Cate was in her element.  She dance with the buddies, she danced with her daddy and she even danced with a judge!  She had a blast.

Sunday was a rainy day but spirits were high in our camp because Grandma & Grandpa made it to see Cate in her final event - the Trial ride.  In this one she had to trot her horse around a barrel (with a helping on the lead rope) then by herself maneuver him over some poles, across a bridge and into a square to stop.  This was the one she practiced the least amount but she still remembered everything and did great.
 


So our first experience with Special Olympics was really good and we are already looking forward to next year when we aren't such novices at the whole adventure!!

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