First Horse Show!

Lila was asked to participate in her very first horse show!  To be totally honest, it took me a little by surprise as it wasn't our intention when we started lessons to do a show, but her instructor asked her if she wanted to and Lila said, "yes!"

We only had a few lessons before the show, so Carrie got Lila familiar with a horse named Honey and they spent some time working on what would be expected of them at the show.  In the class that Lila was showing, Carrie would lead the horse, so there wasn't nearly as much pressure on Lila to make sure Honey performed!

We were instructed to show up around 9:00 Saturday morning, so we went back to the stalls where all the horses were and where Hilltop Ranch was staged.  It took me back to the times that I used to go with my best friend Racquel to horse shows growing up!  I can't believe that almost 20 years later I am watching my daughter participate in one!

All ready to go!

Lila is so blessed to have so many people who love and support her!  She had a huge cheering section of people there to watch her.  They even stuck out the l-o-n-g wait that we had until her class. 

Grammy, Terry & the girls!

Meet Honey!

Lila & Honey #228

 

Because we had some time to kill the girls were able to come back to the stalls and take a look around.  It was fun to see all three of them get so excited to be back there and the big girls were so happy to be there sharing in the experience with Lila, which made Lila feel super special!

 



Supportive cousins!

Finally it was time to get Lila saddled up and into the practice ring to run through the motions quick before it was time for her to go out into the big arena!  You should see her live on a horse, she is so confident, it almost makes you forget she is only 4 years old!

Waiting patiently!

It is finally time to go!

 

As they entered the arena I couldn't believe how grown-up she looked.  Sitting up on the back of Honey so tall and proud!  What a big girl!!!  Lila's instructor was under the impression that they would be doing more than what the judge had them actually do, you could tell she was a bit confused, but either way they did what was asked of them and lined up amongst the others.

 



Here they come!

Riding so tall!

Round and round!

The judge stopped and talked to each of the riders, it was really cute!  Finally the moment that all the riders wait for...the placement!  While Lila didn't finish in the top 3, she won us all over with her confidence and poise!  She was amazing and we were SO proud!

The judge spent time talking to each of the riders!

The little kids, no matter what spot they placed in, all got a bag full of goodies and a medal for competing!  If you ask Lila, she doesn't know the difference between first place and dead last, all she knows is that she had a fun day with her instructor Carrie, with Honey, and with all the people that came out to cheer her on!

Showing off her medal!

As I stated above, we didn't get her involved in riding lessons to wind up having her compete in a show, but she did have so much fun!  We see the confidence it has given her in the privacy of Hilltop's arena, but to see how confident she was in the big Kirkwood arena with all the people watching was pretty awesome!  We aren't sure if this will be a hobby that continues on for many years, but for right now we are just enjoying the moment!

Giddy Up!

You may recall that for Lila's birthday we got her horseback riding lessons.  We live less than a mile away from Hilltop Ranch and they do riding lessons starting at four years of age.  Lila has always loved horses and enjoyed pony rides when given the chance, so we thought this would be something fun for her to do.  Today marked her very first lesson and she was super excited for this day to come!  We pulled into the ranch and met Cindy, the owner, she got us started on our paperwork and got Lila engaged right away, encouraging her to come with her to get everything ready for the lesson. 

 

Meet Bud...

Hi, Bud!

 

Bud was Lila's horse today!  They started her out very slow.  She got to help brush him all down, pet him, and just familiarize herself with him.  She picked out the saddle, picked out her helmet and then it was time to climb on!

 



 

 

 

Carrie, Cindy's daughter, is actually the one who gives the lessons.  Lila warmed up to her very quickly, but wasn't all that sure what to think once she was high up there in that saddle.  She was a bit nervous and we had a few tears, but was quickly calmed when Dad said he would walk around the ring a few times.

 



 

Are you sure about this?!

 

 

Daddy walking alongside his little (cow)girl!

I am not sure Mike even got around the ring more than once and she was cool as a cucumber.  It was pretty awesome to see her get so confident so quickly!  Both Mike and I commented that she looked so big up there on the horse, she was relaxed, smiling, and chatting up Carrie!

Thanks for your help Dad, but I can take it from here!

They spent time in the barn talking about how to get a horse to go and how to get a horse to stop, so Lila would say, "Woah!" and Carrie would help her get Bud to stop.  It was very cute.  They did quite a few laps and then she had Bud go over a little bridge and they decided that it would be fun to ride outside and enjoy some of the beautiful weather we are having.

 

Off they go!



Meeting some of the other horses!

More horses to meet

Enjoying herself!

Happy girl!

 

We were both unbelievably proud of Lila today.  She can be a bit fearful in new situations, but she quickly put her fears aside and embraced the opportunity and had a fantastic time!  She was relaxed and confident and is so excited to go back next week to spend some more time with Bud!  Who knows if this will be a forever thing, but I can't say I would complain if we needed to live somewhere with a little bit of land to accommodate a horse!