Phase 3: First Show

Malachite Farms - September 23rd, 2024 - 9:02am

Phase 3: Into the Future

Dawn had come very far in these few months, taking a liking to jumping in and out of an arena along with the challenges of flat work. While I myself mainly competed in jumpers.. My knowledge of growing up in the 3-day eventing ring was still present and I loved training horses in the sport; this was Dawn’s favorite. 

So here we were, parking the trailer at a local farm called ‘River Rock Estates’, a place that often held large events and schooling days. Dawn had been here a few times for schooling with students so I thought it would be perfect for her first official show. 

Kyden and I got out of the truck and he worked to open the back of the trailer while I went in through the tack room to grab Dawn. We had roughly an hour before her dressage test and two hours before her combined SJ and XC round. The mare was relaxed upon getting off the trailer.. Knowing exactly where she was; she showed fair interest in being alone but overall she was calm. Trailering this horse was never a hassle.. Infact, nothing about this horse was a hassle. She was easy to catch, groom, tack-up, work, hack out, get along with other horses, and she never had to be tied up no matter where she was. She really just enjoyed being with her herd whether it was just me, Kyden and I, or a few other horses. 

“I’m going to go sign you in and get your number.” Kyden spoke as he finished closing the trailer back up after getting Dawn off. I gave him a small ‘mhmm’ of approval before grabbing front white polo-wraps and slipping them on Dawn. This morning out of boredom i completely brushed Dawn down and made her all pretty for the show so tacking up was all i had to do. Fitted in her polos, i grabbed a white saddle pad and her usual black half-pad. And then my saddle which i also situated on her. White wasn’t my go-to color but i wanted to have some respect for the dressage part of the day. She nibbled at a few blades of grass, reminding me i hadn't grabbed her hay bag from the trailer yet.

“Oh!!” I exclaimed, going into the trailer quickly and grabbing it. I didn't expect her to need it but wanted to have it anyway. I tied it up and she sighed from relief, taking a few bits of coastal hay from the bag. I smiled and watched her before grabbing my dark blue coat and slipping it on. By the time I got myself together and was putting on my helmet, Kyden came back with a bridle number in his hand; he handed it to me.

“Number 76,” he too looked down at the number and I nodded, then he looked at Dawn and I could tell he was genuinely attracted to the little mare and Loshenkas were starting to grow on him, it only made me grin. I've only ever seen him attracted to one other exotic horse who went by the name of Felix in the barn. “She’s registered under MF Duskfall, right?” He looked back at me as he asked.

“Yes!” I chimed, grabbing my bridle to throw on Dusk after putting the number where the brow band met the cheek piece. “I am soo~ nervous but excited for this.” I admitted while slipping the mouth piece in. 

“Oh, you got it!” Kyden cheered, petting Dusk on her hind as he watched me. “If there is anyone I believe could do it, especially with this horse and be successful, it would be you Val.” His words made my cheeks redden slightly. 

“As long as you think so..” I heaved through my words, fastening the throat latch and pulling the girth buckle up on one side. We were only competing in the starter level to keep Dawn comfortable but still I was nervous.. We were training in 2’7”-3 feet at home.. But 2 '3'' with people watching on a new horse in a discipline outside of my own scared me. Yet there was no time for that, so it had me taking Dawn to a mounting block and fastening the other side before getting on and settling myself. She stood there perfectly as I found myself starting to start shaking a little. But hey, it was just Kyden here.. None of my students or clients. It was just him and I, like the old days– Minus Ashley but she was so busy being a traveling competitor it barely felt like she was one of the true Malachite Farms people. The new boy wasn’t here either.. I've barely gotten to know him myself but a younger boy and his older sister (part-time) had taken over the breeding aspect of the farm since I was promoted to my own section. 

“Do you remember your test?” Kyden asked, jumping me out of my thoughts as I then started following him to the warmup area.

“Yessir,” I did in fact remember my test. Even though the dressage test was not required for a derby rally, I still wanted to do it while they offered it.. Not only for more practice or points for Dawn but a lengthy warmup to get us both ready for the actual derby and a little extra ribbon to stick on her stall later at home for a day. It was her first show after all. In truth, all the dressage was an extra payment but in the end it paid out well to send back to the makeover company who still technically owned her. 

“Then go be the rider I know you are.” Kyden said through a smile as I entered the warmup. I knew he was going to.. Possibly help me as eventing was his go-to but there was also a huge chance that he wouldn't guide me and leave me to my own in all my nervousness. I picked up the rein, a signal that Dawn knew as ‘its time to get in gear’ as she rounded into a frame from the light touch, her ears pointed towards me. I could tell she was engaged, and probably even more ready for this than me even though she really had no idea what was going on. Yet, I picked her up to a trot and went around the outside. The starter test wasn’t hard but i still wanted it to be perfect. 

—9:48am , River Rock Estate

“Val!” Kyden called for me, getting me out of my trance of a collected canter. “Your test is in five minutes, hurry on.” I looked at him sipping from his water as I walked to the gate and exited. I went to talk to him about my concerns but unfortunately the intercom cut me off. 

“#72, riding ‘Bail Out’ in gate next. #76 riding ‘MF Duskfall’ please be waiting.” and all the sudden my heart sped up ten times over, Kyden seemed to pick up on it as he put his hand on Dusk’s neck as we walked to the waiting area. He looked me over, adjusting my bridle and stirrups to make sure I was presentable for my test. I had to remember it didn't entirely matter; this horse wasn't a testimony to my training abilities and she was likely to be handed or sold to a student later down the line. All I'm doing is putting experience on her. The intercom went off again, signaling the person ahead of me went in and I was now in the gate. This also made me realize that a majority of riders registered were not here today. Kyden caught my attention by looking into my eyes, I bit the inside of my cheek.

“Valerie, you got it. Just breathe.” All I could do was nod.. I wasn't like him, i couldn't keep a fun but calm demeanor at competitions, but i knew this was easy. It was just like doing flatwork at home. With that, the horse before me walked out the gate and the gatekeeper looked at me.

“MF duskfall?” The older woman asked.

“Yes ma'am.” I confirmed before being signaled inside the arena. I looked around, noticing how the judges were shuffling papers.

“Whoop a– butt! Whoop butt out there Falke!!” I heard Kyden call from the gate and I forced myself to not openly smile or giggle. Walking down the centerline, I halted at X and bowed to greet the judge, they nodded and my test began. From there, we went on to a working trot and she and I locked in. I could tell that Dawn knew this was more than just play. 

….Circle left 20 meters….

….Left lead… calmly, working, rounded.. Frame.. 

“C’mon girl…” I mumbled, try to feel every part of her body.

…extended walk.. Loose rein, new direction…

…Circle right 20 meters..

Before I knew it, I found myself on the center line again and breathing heavily as I stopped again on X; the test felt quick, not perfect but hopefully it would be decent. I bowed once more, the judge nodding me off once more as I gave dusk her face to walk out and about. I was nervous, dressage tests were never easy for me. I patted Dusk on the neck as we left and the next rider went in, Kyden gave me a small clap. 

“Not bad for her first time!” He chimed, hoping to ease me more. I sighed softly, a small smile coming to my lips. I really just needed to keep in mind that this was her first show.. And I just knew she was happy to be here. Dusk greeted Kyden once more, her ears perked forward. Now, she and I had roughly an hour to wait for the actual derby.. the show we came here to actually do. 

“Showed me a few things that we need to work on,” I spoke as Kyden and i started walking back to the trailer to change a little bit of gear.

”it’s your first time doing an actual judged test, Val. Calm down.” Kyden stated, noting how he was right. I dismounted at the trailer and loosened the saddle’s girth as Dusk stayed standing; i knew she wouldn’t go anywhere. Kyden went ahead of me and grabbed her XC boots,

”Go ahead and get yourself ready, ill get her prepped.” I nodded, going to the trailer and unbuttoning my jacket. I stripped it off and hung it back up in the little tack room; underneath, i had a white partial button up short sleeved sun shirt with a lace back for air. White wasnt my go-to color for shows but it was classy and a good neutral color for the day. I grabbed my vest, a black hardened one made for cross country. I wiped off my boots and contemplated taking the stubby spurs off since Dusk had a little kick in cross country and stadium was her problem.. so i opted to leave them on but just not use them and be careful during my cross country venture. I then went back to Dusk and Kyden, noticing him offer her a bucket of water and her turning her nose up with a snort. I stifled a laugh before looking her over. She now had different boots and her chest plate on, she looked good.. like a legit show horse. She had gained healthy weight and her tail thickened up, recently, she had even gotten this bright glisten in her eyes of happiness. Still sleepy, but happy. And that’s what counted to me.

”You ready?!” I called out to Ky, whom looked back at me with a smile.

”Yes maam!” He responded, stepping away from Dawn which allowed me to pet her. I took her reins and started back towards the mounting block. 

“How much of this do you remember?” He asked me while I tightened my girth again.

”uhmmm…” i drew off some, altering my stirrup height. “Nineteen jumps? Seven in the stadium, 12 in the field?” I asked, to which Kyden nodded. I took my time walking over the course in my mind as i mounted, settling myself on Dawn.

”correct. Remember to trot through the water complex.”

”on it!” I confirmed, thinking about the course.

Derby Rallies were considered a schooling show for eventers, the first half of the ‘rally’ took part in an arena, either grass or dirt and would start like a normal SJ course yet be shorter and afterwards, the competitor would leave the arena and go on to a Cross Country half where it would presume. There was no break between the two, it was all one large solid run and was a good way to combine the two for an easy day of schooling with a kick. The arena you start in often had an opening on the back side that despoted straight into an XC field to keep horses off the main trail. I enjoyed them time to time on my own to change it up for my horses and almost always recommended it for my students to keep them out of the sand arena 24/7.

Kyden and I walked further than before from the dressage ring, it wasn’t too much later; roughly 10:25 and my round was at 11am on the dot, so it gave me enough time to school both stadium and a log before my time, and also watch a round before me. 

“I dont need a new number?” I asked curiously, i thought i did since they were technically two different shows.

”No,” He paused, “I talked to them earlier about it, they said they were just going to keep you registered as 76 since you were already here.” I nodded, it made sense to me. There was absolutely no reason for a new number if i was already a registered rider on the ground. Dawn saw the jumps in the distance and seemed to perk up, picking her head up from her usual lowered and easy state, her ears were forward as she seemed very excited to get this done. I patted her kindly on the neck, i knew she loved to jump and especially loved their course from yesterday’s schooling here. 

Arriving at the warmup area; a grass patch with a log and coop, then a stadium vertical setup at the starter height.. which wasn’t tall at all. Kyden nodded me off as i went onwards, picking up a small trot to get her used to the area before approaching the small vertical.. letting her easy as she bounded at the jump. I could tell she also felt it was a bit easy as we went over but she was still well maintained and kept a comfortable stride as we cantered off from the jump. I kept her energy below we and patted her then let her have her head momentarily.. she was confident and i felt that show jumping would be no big hassle for her. I looked for the log, deciding that it was the next move as i kept my eyes on it. Out of the corner of my eye.. i spotted Kyden taking a video. Had he been recording this whole show?? I pondered for a second, but there was no time for that as i took her to the coop. I could tell by my turn and setup the striding was off and i tried my best to fix it but she was far too committed and ended up jumping the coop too close, struggling to get over well. We both landed with a small knock but carried on quiet well and recovered. I brushed it off slightly and rethought about what went wrong before cantering back to the coop. The second time she jumped it fairly well and evened.. I was proud of her for the comeback. On the backside, i slowed her to a trot and picked up the other lead, cantering her to the log as the final jump. She took it perfectly with nice scope and i too had a nice release. She was comfortable and i could easily tell her brain was moving. 

“Well doneee~” I cooed while slowing her to a trot and eventually walk, rubbing her neck and heading over to Kyden where we would watch. He had gathered a piece of paper that had the run order.

”Nice come back!! Keep it that way in your run.” He assured, looking down at the paper. “You have two people ahead of yo—“ 

“Rider #92 Chelsey Shamele riding ‘Icovet’, in the ring now,” The announcer cut him off. “I need #93 Robin Steele on ‘Sapphire Sky’ in the gate and #76 Valerie Falke on ‘MF Duskfall’ waiting!” She finally finished, confirming my place in line. Dusk heaved slightly as we stood and watched the next rider go in. It was a young girl on a pony of the sort.. i realized easy that I probably was by far the oldest rider out here.

The ride went well, i was unable to see a lot of the cross country but it certainly went well.. the kid was one heck of a rider. Soon went the other rider.. I studied their round and riding, noticing how they knocked a pole on the last vertical before going off to the field. I gathered Dusk and we walked to the gate, leaving Kyden on the rail; few words exchanged between us. 

“Valerie Falke?” The gates an asked, I nodded kindly and waited patiently for it to be my turn.

”Rider #76 Valerie Falke on ‘MF Duskfall’, in the ring now” is all I heard before i cut the sound out, walking into the ring. We walked around patiently and checked out the jumps while waiting for the whistle. My heart was pounding in my chest and I knew that Dusk was more than ready to get going aswell. The whistle blared and it was time to go.

We picked up a trot, doing a big circle to start before going into a canter. The first jump was a little veritcal. She took it very well, basically skipping over it. A small bending line, i kept the left lead and pushed her out to number 2, also a veritcal. This one she also jumped well and i was very confident with our round. 3 and 4 was a 3 stride line.. starting with a vertical and then a small oxer. I could tell the line made her uneasy, making me sit down and really urge her on.. trying to be the confidence she needed. Still uneasy, she knocked the first pole.. causing it to wobble but not fall. My heart stopped momentarily while we went on, i braved through the imbalanced stride and really tried to ride and out and give her the braveness. In the end, she picked up the last oxer and jumped it very well, cleaning up the mess. After the line, i found myself finally breathing as we went to jump five… which was a very sharp bend i did not expect, causing us to jump close and uncomfortably again but gaining ourselves in the rollback to 6.. a clear jump which was easy. I only had one more stadium jump before i was done with this part she saw as confusing and honestly the jumps were so small and awkward i found myself in the same boat of not remembering how to ride them. Our final jump, an oxer, went well and now it was time to go to cross country.

I made she she stayed collected as the log was a downhill jump.. strange for the first jump on this course but she still jumped it like a champ.. the feel of her front hooves digging into the ground after left me with a familiar adrenaline that kicked into overdrive as i opened her up to jump 2 to save some time. I collected her back down as we approached the little hut.. and obviously she took my aid incorrectly as she slowed down far too much and with little time to react, i urged her on quickly but still jumped close with a weird distance. I sighed again but decided the rest of these jumps were game on as we were about half way through. We could still come back from this. 

i sent her off against in a large turn before bringing her to a trot. This combination was one with too options of either a log pile or the water and i wanted to test her with the water so on we went.. having to urge her in with leg and a little spur, i felt her somewhat jump into the water and trot through it with high steps.. ready to get out. She was always easy until it came to water.. and then it took encouragement. 

“Good girl..” I whispered with a small pet as we continued on, picking up the right lead as we went to 4. Four and five were another combination with 6 strides between them, that lead to a coffin combo aswell for 6 through 8. Dawn took the hanging log like a beast, making me smile and keeping her distance and stride to a successful jump 5. I kept her wound up below me as i sent us up for the combination that followed. I really didnt think this was allowed but it would be fun nonetheless. She took jump 6 very well, looking for the next jump i eased her to a working trot in time for the ditch.. she hesitated but still bounded over it, adrenaline circling her too. Landing in a canter, it was far too uneasy and the last jump of the combination ended in an uncomfortably funky long strides jump. I landed in a small umpf and Dawn herself huffed below me like she understood what happened. Luckily, she did keep the right lead as we found ourselves in yet another curve to a log. It went fairly well with a small tap.. grazing her hoof on it as it also followed the downhill tread. I moved her to a trot, picking up the left end in a manual switch (she doesn’t have flying changes yet.) and i pushed her up to this uphill jump that was considered number 10 for XC. Dawn kept her energy and jumped it perfectly.

Two more jumps.. thats all we had. Dawn was tired as she panted slightly for air. The both went well as 11 was cleared perfectly and 12 was finished with another small grazing off hoof but I couldn’t blame her. It had been a busy day for her. I slowed her to a walk after the finish flags, petting her down and looking over the glistening sweat on her neck. She lowered her head immediately and made her way to Kyden.

”y’all did amazing!!” He cheered, bringing his hands together in a small, silent clap. 

“Thank.. you..” I whispered breathily as my adrenaline started to die. I prayed that we did well in this. “Let’s go bad..” I laughed slightly, causing Kyden too aswell. 

“Let’s go back.” He agreed, now walking with us back to the trailer and talk about the whole run.

Back at the trailer, I dismounted and immediately loosened her girth whole Hayden prepared a fresh bucket of water. It was only around noon but it felt like such a full day already. I replaced her bridle with her halter while Kyden offered water to the sleepy mare. I covered her in pats while i took her and my show gear off. We had a while to wait so i took my time rinsing her down and praising her for all her hard work this morning. I cleaned off my tack while Kyden and I talked, Dawn being right in the middle of us to be nosy and occasionally getting treats or grabbing things until she got one. I found myself loving this mare more and more as her personality blossomed more daily; she was almost a completely different horse as to when she first got here and it nearly made me sad to think i was going to hand her down to a student one day. I wanted to bring her everywhere even though i knew she couldn’t ever keep up with my current showing level.. so I guess I’ll just have to make sure she stays close forever then in the barn or friends. 

Eventually, Kyden took Dawn and I to the onsite cafe, it reminded me a lot of home.. something i loved. But the three of us had a good time while waiting for results.. It was a good while but it was nice to hang out and just enjoy the day without any stress. To talk about home and everyone there and everything we did today.

Three pm rolled around the results for our class plus the earlier dressage was just announced, i felt the nervousness again while walking to the barn’s office. Kyden told me he was going to stay with Dusk until I got back. I opened the door, mainly faces turning to stare at me, it made me gulp but i focused on finding my two classes. I found the Derby Rally and searched for my name.. shockingly finding it at second place; incredible for her first show. The person ahead of me only beat me with time.. which was unfortunate but heavily expected. I found the other paper for dressage, finding mine in a little stack with my name. It read fourth place and a score of 26.4 as my final.. I loved my results on this show and heavily believed it turned out in my favor. I deposited my number and received my ribbons, thanking them and heading back to the trailer with a large smile on my face. That really was a good mare.. and hella congratulations on your first show Dusk; I know you’ll go on to do amazing things too.