A Pirate on Horseback?

I'd like you all to meet Topaz...

He belongs to a friend of mine and she was kind enough to let S ride him this weekend in the 38th annual Island Horse Show. The island Horseman's Association and 4-H group do a great job working to keep horse culture alive and well on the island.

Since S is only three, he is too young to enter most of the events. However Lead Line and Costume Class have no age limit, so S entered both. In Lead Line the rider is simply lead around the ring seated on the horse, so no real skill is involved. S stole the show by waving to everyone the entire time he was in the ring. Lead Line is a great way to get kids interested in the show because they all get a blue first place ribbon - usually.

You'll notice that S doesn't have a blue ribbon, he's got a pink (5th place) ribbon. He told the judge and the lady handing out the ribbons that he liked pink and he hoped he could win a pink ribbon. "Pink is my faaaaaavorite," he said, and what do you know - that's what they gave him. How cool was that! Did it ever make his day...

The next event was Costume Class. It's simple - just dress you and your horse and be creative about it. We went with a pirate theme (though S would have preferred princesses,) since we already had the pirate costume I made from last Halloween. There were five other pretty impressive entries, but S managed to take a respectable 3rd place. The 3rd place ribbons are yellow, so S decided C (my friend's grandson, one of my students, and the boy leading S around the ring) should keep that ribbon.

In addition to the pink ribbon, S also won this little trophy for Lead Line. At first I didn't didn't think he was too excited about it. I knew I was wrong when he left his blankie on the floor last night and took the trophy to bed instead. Oh my sweet little boy...

I hope you all had a weekend full of fun and excitement too...