Too "Green" for the Green

Well, the good and the bad to report from Congress. The good, Mocha behaved WONDERFULLY. I could not ask for more with his disposition and behavior at the biggest horse show of all horse shows.. a green, three year old stallion at his third horse show ever, that just happens to be the Congress! The horse I trained held his own out there, definitely looked like a Congress horse, and many said he should have made the finals. Unfortunately, in the open green western pleasure class, he was one of the very few three year olds, more than likely the only three year old to be under saddle for less than a year, and likely the only horse to be at his third horse show! So, despite being super quiet and on his best behavior... there were still things to look at. Even though his neck did not move the whole time, occasionally the head would look inside, look outside, etc. Very, very subtle, but still, when you're at the biggest horse show with the best of the best, the little things can kill you. Also, the majority that placed were NOT better movers than Mocha.. however, they were just slow, slow, slow. Did not come off the rail, did not put a toe out of line. For a Green western pleasure class, the horses were darn broke. Mocha had it rough, he was in the 5th and final split before the finals. Therefore, the judges had already seen the best of the best in his class by the time they reached his split, and likely would have already made up their minds. They only picked THREE from his split, and had no semi-finals. You never know how he would have made out if he had been in the first split or two... oh well!



It was a great experience and after showing at the Congress, he should do well at ANY horse show. It takes an amazing minded horse to go from injured and unbroke this time last year, to showing at the Congress in an open WP class this year... while being a stallion to boot. I believe Mocha will be one to contend with in the future, and I'm very excited to see what's in store for him. With how quickly he's racking up the points, he may easily make it to the World Show next year! I bet by the time that arrives he will be a flawlessly broke western pleasure horse. I'm also excited to announce that after the big bucks spent on showing this year, he will be returning home for awhile to give my wallet a break... meaning that he and I will again be partners and finish what we started together. We will also add western riding and trail, I can't wait!



In other not-so-hot news from the Congress, Tator has decided to sprout a hair coat. If you've ever had a palomino, you probably know how hard it is to keep their coats in tip-top shape through the winter. After I sent him away to prepare for Congress, there was a big cold front, and I guarantee that's what happened. Gone is the beautiful, deep gold, dappley, shiny Tator from the summer. Now we have a poofy, dull, cream colored, dapple-free Tator. :( He also has developed a cough, possibly the horsey version of "Congress Crud". So... I'm sad to announce that his showing in the Western Longe Line on Oct 23 is now up in the air. I have too much pride in my show stock to let him go in the pen looking like he was pulled from the pasture and sent to Congress. He had a chance to win this class or place very high up. However, I haven't totally given up hope.. we're going to see how cleaned up we can get him, and if his cough fades... maybe his moves will still garner the appreciation he deserves while in the class. He may not place as high as he would of... but if he can still at least place at the Congress, that would still look good on his show record. So... I guess we will wait and see what we have in a week. If he does show, and if you are a Tator fan and will be at the Congress, we'll need a big cheering section to help show that his haircoat doesn't matter, LOL!



Stay tuned...

~Amy