FCHJA, HSITP, etc.

Two weeks ago I had a show at Greencove. Monty and I just showed in W/T/C crossrails again though. The night before was a lot of fun. Monty was actually going increadibly fast so I didn't have to do much to keep him going. Except when we weren't jumping (they were set at 1'6-1'9 ish the night before) then he wanted to break in the corners. He takes A LOT of leg to keep going so sometimes I have a little trouble. I was excited that he was doing so well.
But the next day all his energy seemed to flood out of him and he wasn't going nearly as fast as he was the night before. Other than his speed, a break (in the corner), and a slight trip over one of the jumps he was great. He nailed all of his lead changes, which was the big thing. The flat was probably the best flat I've had in awhile. It felt great and Carmen didn't have to give me any tips. The only thing was that once he picked up the wrong lead once. But I fixed it very smoothly and quickly. Sadly, it pushed my placing down to fifth. But Carmen said that usually if your horse gets the wrong lead you don't place at all. That made me feel a little better. Overall we walked away with two fifths and a fourth our of twelve people.
Our next show is going to be in two weeks at Canterbury Showplace. It's a hunter/jumper show and we'll be showing in Short/Long Stirrup (2 ft.). My trainer will be riding him right before I do in PreGreen Hunter. She took him to the last show and placed well enough to get into second place in that division so she'll be trying to get into first place.
I'm excited and a little scared. I've never shown 2ft before. It's going to be a lot of fun though because I don't care what I place and I'm just doing it to get ready to move up. It's also going to be a lot of fun because I'll be with my barn!
Lately Monty's been having trouble going down from the canter to the trot/walk. As soon as he realizes he doesn't have to go fast anymore he falls apart. I've been trying to collect him a little more before I ask for the walk but he hasn't been too receiving of that idea. It's exciting for me though because a new challenge is always fun. Especially when you rarely ride any other horses. Though my trainer did let me ride another horse a few weeks ago, which knocked me off my feet because I'm not used to being able to do that! But it was a lot of fun and I got a lot of compliments. It helps to know I'm a good rider on different horses, too.
This upcoming weekend I'm going down to Orlando. It's going to quite interesting to pay to be scared,, but it's worth it. Chelle, Audra, and I are planning on going to all of the haunted houses this year!