Off weekends

Having three weekends off from showing should give me some time to catch up on odds and ends. Might take the new horse, Chandler to a show just to ride around. Get him accustomed with all the commotion of a show. Next week not sure what to do. It's a birthday weekend so hopefully something fun. The third weekend in May is devoted to making money at the all American youth show in Columbus Ohio. That show is huge and lasts for five days. Great time to make some extra money.

Then it will be time to go to Mason, MI and back to the showing routine. That will be a nice show as well with good competition. Hopefully we can work hard during the off weeks and get our stuff together and come home with lots of points and a good show.

NJ show update

Running on only two hours of sleep we made it back from the show. It was a ten hour drive but a nice drive. The show had great numbers, ranging from 14 to 26 in most of my classes. We showcased a little bit of everything there. Great classes that the judges were not fond of, two classes with a minor bobble but managed to pull some wins, and the last class a rider error by messing up the pattern. Having the weather take a turn for the worse and become rainy and cold did not help matters. My horse is a fair weather show horse. That had something to do with our bobbles. The facility however, was accommodating and people were friendly. We hope to go back soon for another show.

Now a few weekends off to ride the new horse around and give Odie a well deserved break.

IL paint show

The event I attended and participated at was the Illinois Paint horse show. There are a few ways that the show had promoted itself. It did this through advertisements in local and national magazines with the dates of the show and a visible show bill. There was also link on the Illinois paint horse website with information about the show with prices and contact info. Word of mouth is also a great way to find out about the show from those that had been to it in previous years. Mostly by taking to people one finds out whether it is worth attending or not.

As for the venue itself it was not visually appealing. It was an older building and dirty on the inside. Parking lot was filled with lots of stone. Not much grass for dogs that tag along. There was not any advertising for the show inside the building however there were advertisements for upcoming shows.

NJ paint show

Almost that time again. This week we will be leaving for a large paint show in NJ. It is predicted to be much larger than last years show. To get to NJ it will take 9 to 10 hours. We will be leaving late Thurs night and arriving early early Friday morning. We hope that this show will be better than the one in IL.

sponsorships

It is difficult for an equestrian to obtain a sponsorship. Most companies only want to sponsor professionals. They are not interested in putting time and money into an amateur rider. Usually amateur riders that are sponsored by a company are somehow related to that company.

Unless one is at the highest level of their game companies will most likely not be approaching individuals to sponsor them. It is up to the rider to acquire a sponsorship so much time and effort is needed to show how greatly the company can benefit from the sponsored rider.

Brand placement for these companies is usually seen on the riders trailers and in the magazine ads.

Illinois Paint Show

Well it took seven hours but we made it to the show in IL. It took Odie a while to settle in and we were not impressed with the show however, it was good to see friends. The day of the show Odie seemed good and he did his job well. We had some great classes although, the judges we not on our side. Numbers were disappointingly small and we ended up leaving early. That is one show that we will probably not attend again. Definitely glad to be home.

KY

The four judge show in Kentucky was great with lots of entries. Showmanship had 23, halter 15, driving 4, equitation 15, horsemanship 16, and western riding 7. Odie was a star and we came home with numerous points. The weather held out and it was a nice weekend for a show.

This coming weekend Odie and I are headed to Gifford IL for another Four Judge show. This show should also be a large show with good competition.