Blueberry Dressage

Annika did her first "blåbärs dressyr" or blueberry dressage competition on Sunday. I was completely impressed -

• She found about it by herself and checked dates with me before signing herself up
• She worked with her friends at the stable to figure out exactly what she was supposed to do
• She laid out a course in the basement to practice the path the horse would travel
• She chose her horse and worked with a friend to fix its mane

All I had to do was provide the financing - the outfit and the entry fee - and show up. Remember that this is a kid who - last spring - couldn't remember to take her gym bag to school from the car. Amazing.


Of course, things didn't go as well as planned. The horse she chose, Mulle, wasn't in the mood to trot on Sunday, and she had a hard time keeping him going. She did, however, remember the path, and exactly what she was supposed to do at each place. In the end, she got the second lowest number of points of all the competitors.


OK... it's not so bad -

• one girl scored lower (and I was secretly happy that Annika didn't have to be the worst at the one thing she loves more than anything else.)
• the other rider that had Mulle for a horse also didn't score high enough for a ribbon because Mulle was being difficult
• we know what to expect next time, and almost nobody "qualifies" on their first time
• we have the outfit

and there's always next time!