Finally I move it, and the show is on the road. But, we are half an hour late, and no matter of brilliant organisation saves us from missing our first class.
Lesson number 1: allow at least 1 hour of extra time. Half an hour is not enough.
I look around. "And in ring three we have class 17", the speaker blares. "Fantastic", I say to Sabina. "We want to compete in class 23. We will just hang around here."
We mill around watching. Unlike Neerim Show, there really isn't much room here to ride around, so we really are stuck in the one spot.
I never washed Tornado before the Warragul Show (ran out of time), but I've made him look pretty neat and tidy by brushing. When Sabina gives him a nice pat on the backside, clouds of dust rise swiftly around us. "Someone needs a bath", quipps a passing lady with mild disgust. I smile gallantly and proceed to brush him down for the umpteenth time with my glove.
Eventually, almost 2 hours later, I edge Sabina and Tornado into the led class we've been waiting for. I spy a nice older gentleman with a well behaved chestnut pony. "Just follow that gentleman", I say to her. And she does, parading around the ring. Every time she passes me I give words of encouragement, telling her how well she is doing, while the judge is facing the opposite direction, hugging an old acquaintance, and showing off her engagement ring. (The judge appears to be well over 55!)
The judge returns her attention to the job at hand, and I rest any previous evil thoughts when I see how patient and caring she is with Sabina. After all, this is a led pony class, and Sabina is up against adults. In the end Sabina and Tornado come in equal fourth, and she gets a ribbon. Her smile spreads from ear to ear, and all of a sudden she thinks it was all worth it.
Nevertheless, Lesson number 2: The bigger the show, the more dignified the judges, and hence classes take a long time to judge. Each judge is different, so take a sample time of each judge, and multiply it out. And don't forget to factor in time for Championship classes!
Collorary to lesson number 2: Bring a bucket with touch up materials, and touch up the pony just before his class.
We stroll back to the float. I am just about over it, and Sabina rips off her jodhpurs with joy. We grab her lollypop from last night,
and enjoy the atmosphere of the show.
We return to the float, and I realise that we've got enough time to make our next class. The jodhpurs go back on, Tornado gets saddled, and we're back in the ring.
The judge asks for both sitting and rising trot. I explain to Sabina what rising trot is, she practices a few times at standstill, then we do our workout. On the way back she has the most natural, most happy smile. It's a pity we don't get judged on that smile alone. The class is actually quite big, and we come in fifth. Another ribbon. Sabina is overjoyed.
We return to the float, and finally I take a well earned break. I fiddle around with Tornado, brushing him and thinning his mane, just for the fun of it. Sabina joins me, and we have one of those special mother-daughter moments.
"Sabina, what would have been better? To have done the rides last night, like we did, or to have skipped the rides, got early to bed, and got early to the show?", I ask.
"Go early to bed", she responds. That's my girl!
Later we go for another show ride.
Lesson number 3: It seems that when you're five, nothing beats riding a horse on a merry-go-round.
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