AXM enter working trot

Side note: as someone who came from a straight dressage background to eventing dressage, the bendy center lines and lack of halt on entry on eventing tests are still strange to me.

Yoshi and I had our first trip down the center line Saturday morning! We are signed up for our first 3 phase schooling show at Rocking Horse on the 18th, which meant that I wanted to get him out to see the sights of a show arena before then. Given the way he feels about trash cans, I thought the judges booth or even letters might cause a bit of bulging and crookedness as he eyed them. Barnstaple was advertising a 40 minute fix-a-test the day before their schooling show on Sunday. I wasn't familiar with the judge, but figured either way it would give us a chance to spend a decent amount of time in the dressage arena in a new setting. We showed up for our 8 AM ride time and found another rider also warming up for her 8 AM ride time... hmmm... through some internet failure, in spite of processing my payment, my entry had not actually made it to the organizer. 

The other rider was on a baby TB who was having his first off property adventure since retiring. He was doing super! She was extremely nice and offered to share her clinic spot, but I was most excited about riding in a ring with a tent, which the organizer said we could still do. They were raising the tents as we rode in, which Yoshi found a bit shocking. He did his signature move of a few steps back then very slow, rideable turn/spin and a vague attempt to leave at a faster gait. I turned him back around and we watched them finish raising it. After processing for a bit, he accepted walking near it and then we worked in closer and closer circles around it till it was no big deal. Then the judge turned up so we moved to the smaller arena and investigated that tent and schooled in the arena. After a bit of a warm-up, I rode my test just to get the feel of the smaller arena. It definitely would've scored in the teens ;) 

Yoshi and I then moseyed back to the trailer to meet Ms. GY who had come along to walk her course for the event on Sunday. Barnstaple is holding their dressage and stadium on the fiber arenas at HITS. The arenas are in the center of an old track and most of the fence is still up from the track. I've watched more than one TB come a bit undone when doing hunter rounds in the middle of the track, but Yoshi really couldn't have cared less. He and the other TB were initially the only horses that we could see, but someone did start hand walking a horse part way through our ride. He wanted to stare off at them, but did focus again when I asked him to. So overall, a great low key exposure to the show arena. No show traffic like we'll have next weekend, but we definitely put one of the pieces in place. What a good pony.  

THIS is how he comes in with his face covered in spider webs every morning and evening

Other horses enjoying the shade... Yoshi enjoying the shade AND sticking his face in the woods