The Midwest Horse Fair--the deep end of the pool

Maddie settled into the Fair on Thursday unbelievably well.  We walked her into all the chaos of 600 horses being moved in at once, among trucks, trailers, golf carts, electric saws, tools, etc.  I was amazed that we could place her into a stall safely.  She actually settled down almost immediately.

Within 90 minutes we were saddled up for our first warmup in the Nutrena arena.  It was a thrill to meet and ride with my fellow competitors.  Maddie had trouble with spooky parts of the arena, but we were soon moving all over the arena well.  Her lateral work was fantastic!  She was smooth on both reins and just moving wonderfully.  I was really proud of her.

Later that day, after a break, we rode a warmup in the Hutchison arena, which is a tent with a 20m x 40m riding enclosure inside.  It was windy and rainy, so the tent flaps were making a lot of noise.  It would have been nice to let Maddie rest in her stall after such a long day, but the first two of 4 elements of the contest would be held in this arena at 8:00 am the next morning.  The pace of the contest was driving things now.

The Friday morning warmups began at 6:00 am, and our first class was at 8:00 am.  Maddie did better in the tent this time.  I put her back into her stall and waited for my number to come up at around 9:00 am for the pattern class.   The class called for trotting into the tent, two tracking in both directions, lengthening the trot, and halting, followed by some canter circles and lead changes, and finishing with two pirouettes.  Maddie was so scared that she only did about 25% of this.  We managed to do the circles and spins, but nowhere near our marks.  She wanted to get out of that arena very badly.

The second class was the compulsory, which would only count if we made it to the finals.  It was a freestyle ride of ten required elements.  Since Maddie was so scared, I planned to lead her in and mount in the arena.  Unfortunately, when a friend saw my plan he offered to help, and I stupidly agreed.  I mounted outside while he held Maddie, and he hit her and backed her when she got fussy.  Then I rode into the arena and began my ride.  This time she was so scared that all I could do was circle her near the entrance.  I hopped off and put her back into her stall.

On Saturday we started fresh at 6:00 am, which was the only time available for warming up. We were back in the Nutrena arena and we had a good ride.  During this ride I asked for a half pass at the trot and she really did it!  We were just floaty smooth for a few lovely strides.  I even rode over to the Coliseum and rode around inside for a few minutes!  This day's class was the trail class followed by a free style 90 second ride.  Our ride time was around 9:30 am.  This day ended up being the worst for Maddie.  Outside the Nutrena arena we waited for our turn and she was just dancing and dancing.  None of my tricks for calming her down worked, even though the day before I was able to safely ride around the grounds before my class.  A fellow competitor came to my aid and offered to hold Maddie for me while I collected my thoughts.  It became clear to me that she was not rideable and I made the painful decision to just walk her through the class.  Even being led, she was terrified the entire time and mostly just circled around me.  I thanked the judges and got her out of there.

Later in the afternoon Maria rode her around the grounds bareback and we all felt a little better.  At least we could see that Maddie was still the same horse.  She just could not handle the arenas and the crowds.

Back in her stall, Maddie was a real crowd pleaser.  Many of the fair goers stopped to pet her and I saw her give quite a few girls a kiss on the lips.  What a friendly horse!  This was the best part of the fair.  

Sunday morning I woke up early to watch the mustang finalists warm up.  Afterwards I took Maddie for a ride on the grounds before the crowds got too intense.  We had a good ride, but I could tell she was ready to go home.  I took her over to the outdoor practice arena and let her canter around for a few laps.

Later on Sunday we had the nerve wracking experience of putting Maddie up for auction, which was a required part of the challenge.  We had to bid against one other buyer but we were fortunately able to buy Maddie for just $500.  We loaded her into a trailer and drove back to Caledonia as fast as they would let us!  We were never so happy to be home.  Madison was a fantastic, fun, and unforgettable experience.