Milla's Amazing Race

 It has been a mad dash of events for Milla this week.  She was thoroughly exhausted by the end (so was I!),but I think she would say it was all worth it.

Thursday - The awards ceremony

3pm: Milla arrives home from school, grabs a snack, changes and we head out for her horse lesson up at Saturday's venue in NW Denver (we live in SE).
4 pm: we see her stable's trailer just arriving with their horses at the same time we arrive.  They begin unloading horses and Milla helps get 'Paige' ready for a ride. (the horses will stay here at the show location through the weekend)
4:30 pm: She finally gets into the arena for a quick practice
5:00 pm: We rush out, but hit rush hour traffic... get home at 5:45 and Milla jumps in the shower.
6:05 pm: Dinner
6:10 pm: Milla grabs her plate to scarf down in the car and we leave for her HS awards ceremony.

*She got a little medal and award for being nominated by 2 of her teachers (science and english) as being an exceptional talent in those classes*

SLEEP...a little

Friday - The Prom

after school and seminary,
4pm: Lady from our ward arrived for hair and makeup!  Rin enjoyed chatting with the stylist as she worked.  I could hear the 3 of them laughing and conversing for the 1 1/2 hours it took to pretty up.  So grateful there are people that know how to do such things!
5:30pm: left to take Milla over her friend Maddie's house were prom festivities were to begin!
After pictures and dinner, Milla's date, Ethan Hunt, drove them over to the Wildlife Experience in Parker (south of us), the venue for the dance.
11 pm: She arrived home happy and exhausted.  (Luckily neither Milla nor her date are late, late night people so she could get some sleep before Saturday...)

The group!  Milla and Ethan on the left.  Thankfully his mother passed these pics along to me.

The couple shot!  She's growing up!

Saturday - The Colorado Classic Horse Show

8:15 am: Out the door for the horse show.  Milla's first 'academy' show competing with riders from other stables.  Jods (the long pants they wear for American Saddlebreed riding), collared shirt, tie, tiebar, vest, leather gloves and boots.

9:00 am: The riders aren't allowed to help prep the horses this morning!  They stay in the makeshift 'lobby' as others come to do their special buns and cement down their wispies, clean their boots and apply their numbers

10:00 Shows on!  Parents go to the stands!  This is a pretty small show including American Saddlebreed, some western (no jumping or barrel racing), and some english that I really don't know about!  There was a 'record 65 people watching in the stands'.  The venue was so large, though, as you can see from the pictures, we had our choice of seats. ;)

Milla performed in one morning 'class' and in the evening champion 'class' on equitation.  Her type of riding is all about presentation.  I learned from the southern grandmother of one of the rider's that this Saddlebreed was developed in the American South back in the age of plantations.  They needed a horse hardy enough to make all the rounds through the fields to check on things as well as calm and presentable enough to pull the family carriage.  So one has to maintain posture, balance and form: hands up, back in the saddle, posting (controlled bounce with horses gait) properly, heels out and down.  And probably a bunch of other things...

Terribly fuzzy, but here is Milla looking beautiful and on her correct diagonal (posting up when horses leg on the rail side is up)

Milla's first entrance into the ring.  This show arena in connected to a practice arena.  They start a trot in the practice arena and then continue in this trot into the show arena as their name is called.  She competed against 4 other riders in each of her classes.

So fun to watch Milla ride!  She showed confidence and grace!  As she did her first circle in the morning, her coaches kept calling out to her about something.  I couldn't figure out what was going on!  Turns out the horse was doing some other gait, similar to the trot he was SUPPOSED to be doing, that she wasn't familiar with.  She looped once before reallizing what was going on.  Even though her equitation was beautiful, this landed her in 5th place.  She was thrilled with the pink 5th place ribbon, none the less, I mean, it was pink after all, and still got to progress to the 'championship finals' in the evening as there were only 5 kids in her class.  We went home for a brief rest in the afternoon.  Keeping her spirits up, we returned in the evening with the whole family.  Paige was getting in the spirit of things and was responding well to Milla as she came out for her final 'class'.  I thought she rode beautifully, but I always do, so when they called out her name as Championship Winner of her class, I couldn't believe it!  We were all whooping and hollering as we cheered for her and went down to the edge of the ring to congratulate her as she did her victory lap.  Pretty cool.

And her Blue/Yellow/Red Championship ribbon and Pink 5th place ribbon go together just fine.