Jumping competition at RKF

Pictures taken by Ann-Sofie Taleman   https://picasaweb.google.com/webadmin.RKF/20140927Hopptavling20140927?authkey=Gv1sRgCLLnvsCk85n9lQE#slideshow/6063858346888181666                                           This weekend we had a jumping competition at the local riding club where Peter is chairman. Saturday was for the ponies and Sunday for horses. I didn't see much of the ponies on Saturday cause I was mostly in the cafeteria. Sunday I saw a glimpse of the horses in the afternoon and I watched the whole 1,30m class. I was impressed by a few riders but mostly it made my stomach ache and I felt for the horses. It's probably a good thing I didn't get to see the pony class on Saturday. What I really missed was the laughter. Isn't it supposed to be fun to compete? I mean that's what everyone else is saying, especially when kids are competing? I didn't hear much laughter at all though. Another big question that popped up in my head was, why do people take their - not even close to be ready to compete - horses out on an event? If your horse jumps with all four feet straight up in the air at every single fence and you need to ride with the sharpest bit on the marked, maybe you should rethink your situation?  Otherwise it was a really fun weekend. I got to talk to a lot of the other club members and the female part of them was happy to share their pregnancy and birth stories with me. I got lots of valuable tips which I really appreciated.