So, it’s been a while since Gemini has been out competing!  In fact, it was AECs back in September when he was last in the showring!  So after our break we thought we would go out and do a warm-up event at training level, make sure we aren’t too rusty and see how things are going!  I decided to enter the MCTA horse trials in Cockeysville, MD… partly due to the timing and partly due to the fact that it was a course I hadn’t ridden at all, and I’m always curious to check out a different venue!

   Gemini didn’t seem too apprehensive when I cleaned him up and got him braided, but his eyes definitely got  a little brighter when it was time to get on the trailer.  Especially since we were hitching a ride on Phyllis’s brand new head to head!  Yup, we’re riding in style to this one!  It’s a bit of a drive to get there (and by ‘bit of a drive’ I mean it took more than an hour… it took a whole 90 minutes so I made sure I had something to read on the road trip!)  The weather was hot and humid.. the hottest day of the year so far. Gemini and I were soon remember how quickly you can become lathered in sweat and you know when you come back from dressage entirely drenched that it’s going to be a hot one!  Gemini was a little unsettled in his dressage test but just ever so slightly, he knew the routine and stayed professional and we had some excellent moments in our test, especially considering I’d just learned the test two days before!

    The jumping phases were a blast and I was slightly surprised to find that Gemini was a little strong in the bridle and really attacking the fences!  Then again, he hasn’t competed in a while, so I guess it’s understandable.  We tapped a rail pretty hard in the last combination in stadium and I thought for sure we had bumped it down, but it stayed in the cups and we managed a clean round.  Cross country was a nice open and galloping course with some big single fences and some fun combinations.  We did feel a little rusty over a few fences but also had some really good and improved moments so I was pretty happy with our rounds considering it was the first event after a long winter break!  Needless to say, I was thrilled when I finally got around to checking the scoreboard at the end of the day to find that we’d placed first in a very large open division!  I guess that means we dont need to run around any trainings from now on!!  We intend to do a bit more schooling and once we feel totally confident then we’ll head out at preliminary again!