After a very long hiatus - we get in and ride through it

I didn't tell anyone - not even JP - that I had entered a class at the White Fences show. With our combined show phobia chances were that I would scratch, and I didn't want to have to explain it to anyone. Roz was cool with it, which gave me more confidence. Schooling Thursday and Friday went really well, and so I decided to go for it on Saturday.

Remy kept his wits about him, despite the very busy warm up arena. And surprisingly, so did I. Perhaps Sally's CBD drops helped. Note to self: Place an order! We took a deep breath and in the arena we went. Obviously, we were rusty, I hadn't ridden the Third Level test in years, not even in practice (somehow we never got to riding through it). I rode with "gebremsten Schaum" (lit. "reduced foam", i.e. like having very little foam in the bubble bath) and we got through carefully and without any major hiccups. Actually, the flying changes went really well, and the rest we can fix, i.e. "need more clear extensions" (I know, I know, thanks, Mrs. Judge).

Roz holding Remy while he wonders what takes me so long

Getting started with the warm up under a sunny sky

The goal was to just go in there, doing our thing without any "unasked additional movements", stay for the entire test (not always a given for us), breathe and if possible have fun. A tall order, but we made it!

Best compliment from Roz: "You looked like you belonged there!" Goal achieved: Bananas and Carrots for Remy - and water and a power bar for me.

BTW, I am still checking if I can feel Remy's ribs better - a sign that he has the right weight.  I should be able to feel his ribs by a bit of poking, but they should not be visible. The consistent work plus at least an hour each day of brisk hand walking has to do the trick - or so I think.  Well, it works for one of us: While I still have to do quite some poking to get to Remy's ribs there is no poking required to find mine.