Sophia was planning on riding in the October Hunter/Jumper show but her horse went lame the week before. They found a back up horse for her and that horse went lame the day before the show. Her coach came up with a plan the night before, she was going to ride the pony she used to ride, Ella. However Ella, aka the naughty pony, was already maxed out and she could only do one class with her. Her coach then decided she would ride Tyke who she never rode before and then quickly changed it to Keegan. Sophia has ridden Keegan a couple of time but he is a strong horse and gets very quick. Sophia doesn't really feel comfortable because he is hard to slow down. Sophia was willing to give it a try because her coach said they would have plenty of time to warm up. The day got busy and Sophia's coach did not find the time to warm her up. She did the first class with him, walk/trot and Keegan wasn't listening. Sophia pulled herself from the canter class, leaving the ring in tears. It broke my heart. We had told her coach it would be better for her not to ride than to ride a horse she doesn't feel comfortable with earlier in the week. Sophia was willing to give it a try but in the end didn't feel safe. She got on Ella to warm her up for the jump course and Ella was being her naughty self and they decided it would be best for Sophia not to ride her. Sophia was put on yet another horse to warm up but that horse took off cantering at high speed. Sophia and her coach called it a day. It was a disappointing day. I was pissed that Sophia was not given time to warm up for the flat classes. I was mad that the coach kept trying to make it work rather than just tell her she didn't have a horse for the show. I was proud of Sophia for doing what she thought was best. We were supposed to have an away show the next day. Sophia was going to simply cheer on her fellow teammates because the coach finally told her she didn't have a horse to ride. It rained that day and the show was postponed. What an emotional rollercoaster.
Sophia worked on her Halloween costume to be part of the costume contest at the MOHSS October show. She sewed a silk for Maverick because he is an off the track thorough breed. Maverick was lame so Tyke was a race horse at the MOHSS show and Angel was kind enough to let Denver stand in during the CHC party. Sophia had a few friends help her out during the CHC show.
Sophia rode her friends horse, Liberty. She is a big horse and Sophia did really well. Hannah took Sophia and Liberty to the field. Liberty got a big excited and ran off with Sophia. Sophia was able to stop her after she ran from the field down the path heading back to the barn. It was scarier for me than it was for Sophia.
Sophia did do the away show a couple of weeks later. She rode Tyke. She could only do the flat classes with him. She won 4th in walk/trot and did not place in the cantering class. It was a long day and Sophia was beat after the show.
The pets are all doing well. It is nice to see them snuggle together.
We went to the Washington International Horse show with the show team and lots of other people from the barn. This was a fun night out.
Sophia went trick or treating with her friend Ella and had a blast. She filled a pillowcase with candy. We estimated around 11 pounds of candy.
This is the last picture of Sophia as a ten year old. Where does the time go?
