Horse show dramatics

[VampireSlave]

So, at the moment I don't actually have a job of my own, but during the summer I helped my mom at horse shows. As the president of a dressage chapter, my mom often has to steal me to work on gathering tests, making sure who's in the ring is in there ect. Normally it goes fine, but this one show it just made everything hell.

It's about 2 in the afternoon. I had been there since 7 in the morning, had yet to eaten and had been driving a golf cart around since then to gather tests from the five different rings. The rings are sometimes close together, but there's about a quarter mile, about a ten minute walk or so, between ring five and the office where I'm supposed to send the tests.

The wonderful things about these golf carts is that you can park them almost anywhere, and it makes collecting tests easy. Takes me about fifteen minutes at the most to go around and get tests and take them to the office. It's the sort of circle where you're constantly in motion, because there's a test going on at all times. On occasion I have to sit there and wait for the tests. As well, to get the tests themselves I have to get out of the cart, go into the ring and get the test from the judges then go back to my golf cart and go to the next.

Well, this one specific time, I had done just that. Turned my golf cart off, went to go get the test, headed back...and the cart was gone. Someone had just made off with my golf cart, my clipboard and my walkie talkie. I could have understood if it was a golf cart that the riders could have rented out, and some confusion taking place, but it was obvious it wasn't. On the front and back of the cart was the word "Runner" which is what I had been doing. I was a runner for the show. Most people at horse shows know what this is.

So little me, at age of 17 and with short legs, have to walk all the way from ring six back to the office, telling them that my cart was stolen. Since there were no other carts open, I had to walk around the entire show grounds for two hours collecting tests without a break. There were points when I literally had to run to get the tests in time. While I'm doing this, everyone who was staffing the show was trying to find my golf cart. It wasn't until the end of the show that we actually found the cart, parked in the very far, far parking lot and behind a trailer.

Who really has the balls to go and steal a golf cart with an open label on it, with a walkie talkie and everything? Let alone from someone who needed it more then everyone else. Bah, stupid people bug me. We never found out who took it either.

-VS

[Ad_Astra]

I show horses---I understand entirely the crazy entitlement that happens everywhere at shows..
I'm guessing that your cart was stolen by someone who waited too long to reserve one for themselves and still felt the urge to be a jerk.

In other news: muy jealous of your mom--dressage is what I want to learn but the barns in my area are so expensive for lessons and such, I'll stick to my western pleasure for now I suppose =)

[DesignFox]

ooh I'm jealous, too! I just started showing last season and am about to start up this season to do more. Dressage is my primary discipline, although I am also learning to jump and love to go out on trail rides and hunter paces.

Too bad you never found the jerk that stole the golf cart....what a horrible thing for someone to do! I think I will learn from this and if I ever have to be a runner at a big show ground, I'll be taking the keys with me!

[VampireSlave]

I have 7 horses, so I've grown up around it all. I use to jump, but dressage is what I work with now with my pony.

And I was a bit naive at that point. This was my first summer I was allowed to drive the carts by myself, and I had no idea the key came out. *dies* I've learned my lesson now, but keys or not, it was still sucky for them to take it.

[DesignFox]

I have 7 horses, so I've grown up around it all.

you have 7 horses! Woo! now I'm really jealous! I'm lucky I can afford to have 1...and he's not even mine! I just lease him!

How awesome! If you ever want to chat about horses, PM me

and yea, key in or not, very sucky for someone to steal the runner's vehicle! I've only been to two shows...small scale...so I haven't yet had the pleasure of dealing with the idiocy I'm sure occurs...I've heard some drama stories...but I haven't experienced much of it...and the barn I'm at doesn't have much drama- we're small, but my instructor is well respected in the community...any students or parents that were causing problems either A) left because no one put up with their crap or B) were asked to leave.

[Sonoma]

you have 7 horses! Woo! now I'm really jealous! I'm lucky I can afford to have 1...and he's not even mine! I just lease him!

How awesome! If you ever want to chat about horses, PM me

So many horse-nuts around here. I love it. I too have just one, and she's not even legally mine. At least you have a lease. I have a very good friend with 4 horses. She invited me up to ride with her 4 years ago, after me being away from horses for 15 years. I hit it off with her 20-something Pinto-Saddlebred mare, that they just consider her mine now. Posts like the OP's remind me why I got out of showing years ago. Now I'm perfectly happy to head out to the trails, and cross the occasional stream when we go horse-camping.

[VampireSlave]

I consider myself very lucky to have all of our horses. ^^ We've imported most of them from Holland or Germany; all of them for dressage. I've been riding since I was seven, and now own my own Welsh Pony.

And horse freaks are the best. Who wouldn't love the animal?

[Cyphr]

I consider myself very lucky to have all of our horses. ^^ We've imported most of them from Holland or Germany; all of them for dressage. I've been riding since I was seven, and now own my own Welsh Pony.

And horse freaks are the best. Who wouldn't love the animal?

maybe the people who like glue more?

[queenbb]

i use to help with small shows on a regular basis, and it does get hectic, lucky for me the walk wasnt that bad between rings.

one thing i learned

all horse shows have drama, and all stables have gossip, the battle between the "big barn" and the "little barn" was astronomical, needless to say i was in the little barn troop and had alot of nastiness from the big barn people who were as much as i can say total snobs

[DesignFox]

I hit it off with her 20-something Pinto-Saddlebred mare, that they just consider her mine now.

The girl who owns the horse I lease said she basically considers him mine.

He was her show horse before she progressed far enough to need a younger horse.

In October, I'll have been leasing him for 3 years. He's a good old man. He's 23 now, and while he can't do everything, he can do just about everything I need him to.



If we encounter drama so be it. We don't get much of it at our barn, and I don't really care what the other people think. I just want to do my best and learn everything I can.

[Sonoma]

The girl who owns the horse I lease said she basically considers him mine.

He was her show horse before she progressed far enough to need a younger horse.

In October, I'll have been leasing him for 3 years. He's a good old man. He's 23 now, and while he can't do everything, he can do just about everything I need him to.

Tinker's like that too. She's not as agile as she used to be, and the navicular and arthritis have slowed her down a bit, but she can still run if necessary. She'll also be the first one to cross a water crossing when we're trail riding. The others won't even think about going until 'Mom' shows them it's OK.

[zara1269]

I have horses and used to show myself and this does not surprise me one bit.

I have a Western Pleasure quarter horse but have since retired him because of founder. This is so cool that there are a lot of horsey people on here1

[Lace Neil Singer]

Heh, horse drama. XD I used to ride, and there was a lot of it at the place I rode, between the snobs and the kids like me. Not all the kids who had their own horses were snobs, but all the snobs owned their own horses. They'd look down on us riders who rode the school horses; sadly for them, we were often better riders and used to wipe the floor with them at the shows. I remember one snob bursting into tears and throwing a tantrum after she lost at the Chase me Charlie; which I came second on. Another snob hysterically accused me of cheating just cuz I got a clear round and she got eliminated. She got eliminated cuz she was leaning back over every jump and yanking her poor horse's mouth... and my instructor told her so.

[Argabarga]

I haven't ridden for years, but, even with the passage of all that time, I still vividly remember the 1 or 2 people who were total snobs and who looked down on everyone else. My trainer called them "push button horse" people, in that the only reason they could ride was because thier mommys and daddies went out and bought them horses that had been so meticulously trained that all they had to do was sit down and push buttons, and that was the ONLY horse they'd ever be able to ride, since they'd never been dumped like the rest of us.

I wish I still had mine, but until I can save enough to get back in , I take some MAJOR solice in the fact that right next to my parents house is a horse farm with a pasture that butts up to thier property. There's a lot of friendly faces there that are more than happy to come over for scratches whenever I'm kicking around. Including the jealous one that chases everyone else away when he notices I'm handing out carrots.

[zzapp the witch]

Horse people scare me. The painfully snobbish psychotic behavior of the great majority of them...../shudder