Testing Day!!! 7-27-13

So today was Testing Day!!! I had butterflies like no other while I was waiting to get my horse. I got #114 Belle. Never had her before but everyone was telling me she was great. So my butterflies died down a bit. I had to have a wrangler help me find her in the pasture, she showed me a dent on neck. That's how you find her easily because she has no socks, just a small star. She was great for grooming, didn't fuss at all. I was not in the first testing group. I was #16 so I went later. Her gates are not very smooth though. Very bumpy. We did some work in pairs and fours. It was very fun. I always love working in fours and pairs because it requires a lot of team work. Belle was fantastic. She turned sharp and quick. Barley even have to touch the reins. When it was time for testing everything started out fine. When we started loping though we had problems. There was a group of riders in the middle waiting and Belle is very much a herd animal! She darted into the middle and started rearing! They told me to stop pulling back, so I did. But Belle was putting herself in the perfect position to get kicked. Anytime I tried to turn her she bucked and reared. Then they told me to reach towards the bit and yank her head to the rail. Don't be gentle. I got her loping again and stopped her from doing it twice, but it probably either helped or killed my score. I don't know... Doesn't really matter because I didn't sell 20 tickets for annual show anyway so I won't be considered for a top 10 tenderfoot. After my test they moved my group into the Moore Arena with T9. We were playing tag! It was very fun, I was it and was loping all over the place! I tagged 1 JI (Junior Instructor) and almost got a girl on my team. After that they taught us about tail's in. We put our inside leg a little more forward and our outside leg behind the cinch. This makes the horses tail turn into the arena a bit and sets them up for the correct lead. So we did lots of loping! Belle tried to go to the heard again but I anticipated it and kept her from going out of control Then we dismounted and watered the horses. Then we headed to the Mountain View Room for Oral Testing. There was like 6 instructors waiting to test. I nailed every question! After the question was asked less than a second passed before I answered. I studied almost every day so I would be prepared. At least I know I did good on the oral test. Only 2 rides left until graduation! It feels like I just started my Tenderfoot year. Overall I was very satisfied at the end of my ride. Here is a picture of Belle

Belle