SE Wisconsin Minis

 

We found ourselves showing our itty bitty minis in the same class with Quarter Horses, Friesians, and ponies. I should point out here that “ponies” are technically anything under 14.2 hands, much to my surprise. We found the people were very friendly. The atmosphere was more like a group going to a picnic unlike AMHR where everyone is rushing to get ready for a whole day of classes. We pulled our trailer up somewhere around the arena hoping for a bit of shade which there usually wasn’t. We unloaded the horses and found a lot of people oohing and aahing, “how cute!” This is not what we get at breed shows where all the horses are small and everyone thinks theirs is the best.  Classes are run slower. People want to visit. It’s really relaxing. We had to take our chairs up and place them around the fence as most places had no bleachers. We carried our own water from home for the horses so we wouldn’t have to worry about them refusing “new” water. “People” food and drink was always available for sale and a lot of it was homemade goodies.

 

Miniature horse people are accustomed to having the arena tightly packed so carts roll easier and no one stumbles over big clods of dirt. So the bad part of the open shows was trying to walk and drive through arenas that were freshly plowed or at best churned up by the bigger horses trotting and cantering through it. I remember wondering how a judge could even see the minis legs in a halter class since my mare’s legs were buried in soft dirt up to her fetlocks. I also remember being shocked and a little saddened at one show where Mandalay took first place in halter over the larger horses that were shown by high school age girls. I felt guilty taking a trophy from kids. I was exceptionally proud of my filly when she entered an arena with a very steep incline at the gate where a larger horse had refused and actually backed down the hill. I was also proud when she dug in and managed to show in an arena that was so deep that I had to get out of the cart, with the judge’s permission, so Mandy could back up at the end of class because the wheels were buried. It was also a learning experience because she tried so hard that, while we placed second in that class, I later found out that she had pulled a muscle in her neck. Guess she’s as competitive as I am.

 

I can tell you that besides the fun, meeting new people and getting ribbons that the Championship Show presented the winners with some very nice trophies. Last year it was etched glass vases stating Wisconsin Champion (whatever class it was). Our horses placed 4^th and 6^th in pony/mini halter, Mandalay garnered 1^st in the Pony/Mini Pleasure Driving and we placed 2^nd in Pony/Mini Reinsmanship. Next summer, while the competition may be stiffer, we’ll be back at the breed shows. I guess I miss the excitement of showing hard all day.