Participants began arriving from all over North and South Carolina on Friday afternoon. The kids settled in the horses that were staying overnight, walked the jump course, had a pizza party, and took the written test. The jog out (vet check) began bright and early on Saturday morning. Alex and Margaux rode shortly after lunch. Alex had a perfect ride--no faults! He got second place only due to a slightly slower time. Margaux had a couple of faults, but the crowd cheered loudly as she climbed up on the fence at the slip rail to re-mount her horse. The jump course at Tet is supposed to somewhat reflect obstacles one might encounter while riding in the open. Riders have to open, go through, and close a gate. They also have to dismount, take down the top rail of a fence, walk the ponies over, replace the fence rail, and then get back on. Margaux, being vertically challenged, had to improvise, using the fence as an impromtu mounting block, when she got back on Jazz.
The kids swam Saturday evening at the local Y. On Sunday morning, everyone headed over to Hester Park to run. Afterwards, the participants completed the shooting phase. Margaux had some trouble with the swimming phase, which left her in fifth place overall. But she did win the "Pony Poop" award. Apparently she was very concerned when Jazz did not immediately poop in her stall while awaiting their turn to ride. She made sure that all of the officials knew that she was keeping a close eye on her pony and they all were very glad when Margaux reported that her pony finally did her business. Alex came in second overall, with first places in shooting and running. It was a great weekend--enjoy the pictures!
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