Ready for book signings... I got a chopper, a horse, and a Tbird! Just waiting for a publisher!

In the Story: Horseshow Jumps

Vertical: Poles stacked on top of each other, with no spread or width. A straight upright jump.

Oxers: Sometimes called spreads are actually two verticals with a distance between them to make the jump wider than one verticals.

Square Oxer - both poles are set at the same height. COREY! yes, this is my horse going over a square oxer with my trainer. He looks great! 

Ascending Oxer or Ramped Oxer - each pole is higher than the previous.  Or the Descending Oxer, or a Offset Oxer, where the poles are lower than the previous.

Triple Bar Jumps: Are three vertical jumps together. The first rail is usually the lowest and the next higher and the last higher. Though looks imposing, it is an easier jump for the horse to make.

Liverpools: Are made to appear like a pool of water on the ground. In some cases, it is real water. In Noble Guardian, it is real water and James William seems to land in it every time. 

Combinations: are a group of fences, usually verticals and oxers. They are placed at close distances, usually one to two strides apart. This one is three verticals. 

Show jumping level ranges from 2'9" to 5'6" high.

Grand Prix jumping is 5'6" and over.

In the Story: Show Time!

At a horseshow, all the barns have banners up, not only to identify themselves, but they also use the backdrop to hang ribbons. When the Nethers go to their first horseshow, Kyle had a banner made to announce their new endeavor, Noble Heights, named after his mother's champion horse.

There's a lot of excitement in the air when arriving for a horseshow. It's a fury of unpacking, setting up, unloading horses. Each stall has to have wood shavings, water buckets hung and filled, hay nets, and of course...horses!

My Boys at the Show

Zorro

Corey

Corey is always so nosey when I go into Zorro's stall. 

In the Story: Going to a Horseshow!

I was a late comer to the world of horses, but no matter when you join this prestigious club, you'll love it. 

There is nothing like getting ready for the horseshow. It is constant motion from packing up, to loading, to unloading. I found it an amazing process. It is two, three, sometimes more days of non stop action. 

All the riders have special trunks, usually uniform with the barn they represent. We had large wooden trucks specially designed for our barn. But boy are they heavy. Yet one by one they get loaded and make the trip. 

And so it begins...

My boys loading for the show!

Here we go!