And the winner is...

Sharon wound up winning the Freestyle as well! I didn't get to see her ride as I was warming up, but she did her Led Zeppelin freestyle, and the judges must have liked it! Shorty was wired for sound. He was beyond up. But I did my zig and zag around the outside of the ring, and then a few transitions. I waved my hand, and we were in the ring.

Riding my mighty little man is always a question. And I 'dumbed down' the freestyle by taking the piaffe pirouettes out and making my broken lines of ones two singles instead. But it was an executive decision designed to just keep the peace. And it worked...

Our rides are always about the partnership, and I try so hard to not push shorty past what he can handle physically as well as mentally. And that's not to say that there are times he goes over the edge before I even know we got there, but that's the privilege of riding such a hot tamale.

I think the best part of the weekend was the drive by trying to shake Axel's hand and pose for the award picture. Shorty just doesn't like to stand still. He wants to do his job, and do it well. And while we can stand and chat all day long at home, when you put him in the competition ring, he knows......

I guess now I know how Anky feels :-X