The Competition

Well, we arrived in Murfreesboro with no problems. I was a little worried about getting Legacy into the trailer and down there, but she loaded okay and we got down there with no incidences. Once we got there, they got there hip numbers painted on and then we got them settled into their stalls.


The first order of business was to get them both familiarized with the arena. The facility at the Miller Coliseum is really nice, with covered stalls, a covered breezeway to the arena, and the warm-up area and arena are both indoors. I took Legacy out first and took her into the arena. They had obstacles set up that we could practice on, and I was most anxious to practice with them on loading in and out of the stock trailer. We do not have a stock trailer, ours are ramp-load, so I wanted to get them some practice stepping up and down out of it. Legacy went in right away, but scared herself when she backed out. The second time I took her in she would not back out, she got on her tippy toes but would not go back, so I had to turn her around and lead her out. She didn't mind most of the other obstacles and I walked her all around so he could look at everything. After that, I saddled up Baja and took him in. As I walked him all around the perimeter of the ring, I quickly found out that he didn't like the banners hanging on the railing. So we took our time, checking each one out. The rest of our practice went pretty well, he was a little hesitant at first, but warmed into everything.

After that we had our trainers meeting and I decorated Baja's stall. The youth club had made a sign for his stall and we used beachy decorations to stick with our beach theme. I had dyed the tips of his mane hot pink earlier in the day and he was certainly getting noticed!