This week is Showmanship Boot Camp! This means we will be practicing and perfecting our showmanship under the direction of Mrs. Brandee Livingston ( who is a 6 or 7 time world champion in showmanship). She is a fantastic teacher, and everybody and their horses are doing great.

Showmanship is the part of the competition that shows how focused the horse is on you and how well they obey your cues. We have to complete a pattern of different maneuvers including walking, trotting, stopping, backing, and pivoting.

Choco is pretty good at most of it. I'm the one that needs all the help! A large part of showmanship is the 'show' part. I have to always be in the correct posture with my shoulders back, elbows in, and head up. Even if I'm running or trying to count how many steps back Choco is taking, I still have to keep that position. Mrs. Brandee threatened to tie our arms to our sides with hay strings if we don't keep our elbows in! (if you don't think it sounds hard to run like that, you should try it!)

In a few weeks we are taking the mustangs to a horse show to expose them to a show environment before the Makeover in October. It will be a great first horse show for me because the point of going isn't really to win. But everyone's pony is doing so well, maybe we will actually be some competition!

I almost forgot to mention the weather! Mrs. Brandee is the kind of teacher who keeps going if it's pouring down rain while we are working. We don't go inside unless things start getting struck by lightning. Running in several inches of mud makes keeping my posture right much harder. After Boot Camp is over a horse show is going to seem so easy! Thanks so much for all your help, Mrs. Brandee!

If you would like to read the 2 reports I have written on mustangs, look over on the left side of the blog where it says 'pages.' They are called American Original and Balancing Act. Just click on either and you can read the whole paper. Thanks and if you want to leave a comment on anything please leave your name so I know who you are!