Saturday, June 26, 2010

Helmets & Results Updates

No Brain, No Pain

I mentioned before that during the 2nd day of the GMHA 3 day dressage show, my brain was baking inside my very nice helmet.   It was not until someone said I looked unwell that I realized how much I was overheating.   It was not a good thing.

After a bit of debate with myself, I decided I really wanted to ride in a lightweight schooling helmet.   Something with vents.   Something that looked like a normal black velvet covered approved helmet.   But did they exist yet?   A trip to the local tack store was now a necessity.

Sure enough, I found the perfect helmet, with a perfect fit.   Lightweight, vented, fully approved meeting safety standards, and from a few feet away, it looked like my show helmet.   More importantly, it felt wonderful, even in the heat of the 3rd day of the show.

Helmets have come a long way since the thin hunt caps I grew up with.   Today, you can better protect your skull, get a bit of air conditioning, and still look smart.   And that's a good thing.

Runner Up is Good, Too

GMHA has posted the final results of the 3 day show.   And come to find out, in the end, Piper was 3rd highest First Level Open horse of the show, not Reserve Champion.   Still, a fabulous result at his 1st Level DEBUT!

Sometimes final results are not the same as on the day.   I've seen this before.   Little things can happen which make a difference.....   Type-os when putting scores into a computer, coefficients not considered when adding scores manually, errors not substracted, sorting errors, and even difficulties reading the scribes writing!   And sometimes, just reading a list can go wrong.   All sorts of little glitches are possible.   It happens.

Whatever the source, the competitor's job is to take it in stride and be thankful for the hard work of those who put on the shows.   I've run dressage shows before.   Personally, I'd rather compete!   :-)

2 comments:

  1. What type of helmet did you purchase? I, too, have thought of getting something lightweight with vents but did not want to sacrifice the "look" of my black velvet riding helmet for shows.

    Great job at GMHA! :)

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  2. It is a Troxel Reliance.

    http://www.troxelhelmets.com/products/index.php?catID=pEnglish

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