July blog

It doesn't get any better than this. Sophia competed in the Pony Club Nationals competitions in Tryon, NC this month in the modified dressage division. She worked hard for months to prepare for this competition. She not only worked on her dressage riding skills but also on getting the horse, tack and herself ready. She gave Lucy the nickname of "Wash, Rinse, Repeat." That horse had to be clean to pass Pony Club's inspection. All Sophia's riding gear needed to be spotless. She needed to tend to Lucy and ensure that she always had clean water and a clean stall. They were rated on horse management and it was intense. Sophia had a perfect score for horse management, not an easy thing to do. Sophia and Lucy learned to work well together. They rode three different tests over three days and each day their scores were higher. Sophia and her team won first place for both horse management and overall scores (riding and horse management added together.) Tryon is an incredible venue. It was such an experience to be there. I am so proud of all Sophia has done with Pony Club.

The first night at Nationals they had a lip sync contest. Sophia worked with her friend Naomi to come up with a performance for "The Greatest Show." It is neat because that is one of the songs her coach has in her musical freestyle routine. The DJ did not use the version we gave them which caused a bit of a snafu in their routine but they girls covered it up well. They won second place and took home a check for $750 for the barn. You can catch them at 1:14:00 in this video https://tryon.com/article/live-streaming-uspc-championships-east-opening-ceremony-the-battle-of-the-barns-lip-sync-competition-live-at-630-p-m-est-on-thursday-july-25th

Sophia also did a team demo with her friend Emma for 4-H. They did a great job. I am sure it takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of a room full of people with two judges looking on and deliver a presentation. Both 4-H and Pony Club are shaping who Sophia is.

Sophia is working the Pony Pal Camp again this summer. She is a hard worker.

We are enjoying spending time with Leslie. On a weekend that Steve was away Leslie and I had some girl time. We got our nails down, had some dinner and watched TV. So glad we can see her frequently.

And all our pets are doing well.