New London County 4-H Fair

Today Kaleigh participated in the horse show for the New London County 4-H. Our day began as we left the house at 6am to head over to the barn. Kaleigh was a big help to me as I tried to get the horse trailer hooked up to the new truck for the first time. Then, she headed to the ring to lunge Pride, while I gathered all the tack, brushes and neccesary equipment. By the time I was done, it was 7:00am and we had a half hour to get him sparkling clean and load him in the trailer. We were rolling out of the farm about 7:40am. We safely arrived to the fairgrounds at 8:30 and had about a half hour to get registered and set up for her first class, Showmanship.



She didn't do too well in Showmanship. The judge thought Pride looked fat and greasy. So our new nickname for him is Guido. At least Kaleigh learned the things she needs to practice before the next show.

After Showmanship, she tacked Pride up and headed over to the trail ring. She got first place for her performance in trail.


After about an hour of waiting, she got to complete her last three classes, Pleasure, Equitation, and Command. Unfortunately, she was the only one in her division, so there was no competition. She was bummed because she likes competition.

After that, she decided to have some fun and enter in a couple of the games. She did Sit-A-Buck, in which the rider places a dollar bill between their seat and the horse. The last one left with the bill still there wins. It is harder than it sounds and she came in second.

Then she tried Musical Envelopes.


It was a HOT day and we were glad to get out of there around 2:30. But the fun didn't stop there. Once I got back to the barn around 3:30, all the stuff that we had brought needed to be unpacked, the trailer needed to be cleaned out and put away, and there is ALWAYS poop that needs to be shoveled from stalls. It was 5:00 pm by the time I left the barn and I was completely drenched in sweat. It was a fun, but tiring day!