A Yearling Takes Grand Champion

As most of you know, I took two horses to the State 4H Horse Show. Keeno was entered in the training project level one. Vegas was entered in everything except poles. I was not sure what was going to happen at state. I did not know what the competition was like, or how my horses would react to the new surroundings.

When I unloaded the horses and walked them to their stalls: Vegas spooks, Keeno’s fine, Vegas jumps away, Keeno just walks, Vegas won’t step in his stall, Keeno jumps right in. That is what it was like leading two horses through rows of stalls that were filled with other horses, tack, wheelbarrows, people, etc. Now I suppose I should tell you what I did after the horses were settled in.

I walked Keeno in the arena that he would be competing in from 10:00 to 11:00 pm. Then I got up at 4:30 am and walked him till 6:00 am. Next I bathed him and then got ready to show. I was going to be the first one to show at 7:00 am but then got bumped back to the 8^th person to show. I walked around the Agstar building rehearsing the questions that I thought I would be asked. Then I was called in. I walked to the judge and asked Keeno to stop and square. He did. The judge asked me the first question and Keeno started moving in circles around me. I explained how I was going to correct his nervous behavior. I answered all of her questions plus every other thing I could possibly think of. She told me to stop talking because it was taking too long. She asked me to do some maneuvers with Keeno and  then tie him up. When I was done I did not know what the judge thought of me. I must have done something right because I got first place out of a class of 17 people. I could not have asked for a better way to start the show.

Then to top that, I got a 9^th and 10^th with Vegas in Western Horsemanship and in Western Pleasure. It was a great first 4H State Horse Show. Hasrd work really does pay off.