I showed English, jumping, cross country and, just once in dressage, as a younger person   When I emigrated to the USA I gave up my English riding and eventually bought a mare that I though "did tricks" only to find out she was a Reiner.

 I have been hooked on the sport for 23 years now.  I showed that mare until she was 13 and she finally said "No" when I took her to a show in 1997. We made it through the pattern using 2 hands, a lot of leg and more than a few naughty words, and then, as she walked out of the pen, she retired

Since then I have owned, bred and ridden reiners but all my good horses have been with trainers and I have not had one to show myself.

My Smart Starbuck gelding that was injured in his 3 year old year and then again in his 4 year old year has taken until late last year to get sound again and his new trainer has really done a fabulous job with him, finishing in the 2011 year end top 10 of the rookie pro class of our affiliate.

 Now it is time to step it up!!

We are going to the EPRHA show in NJ this weekend and the trainer will show him in Rookie Pro on Friday and Sunday.

 In between these 2 classes I will be getting back into the show pen in Green Reiner.

I am 62 years old and this is the first time back in the pen for 15 years.  Wish me luck and I'll post here next week on how it goes (At least as soon as I stop hurting enough to type

OK, so it's taken me 2 1/2 weeks to get my breath back.  Everyone kept telling me to breathe as I went around the pattern - I was breathing but as soon as I walked into the pen, someone sucked all the oxygen out of there!  LOL

So Saturday was my better day - scoring a 62 1/2 which is nothing for a pro but was a triumph for me.  Sunday was not so good - lost my hat as I rode in, nearly went out the side door as he rolled back so sharply then nearly ran the judge down when he got the lead change across center, I didn't think he had so asked again, he got flustered and didn't know what to do or which way to go so I had to pull him into the ground

 However, I achieved my goal of being in the saddle at the end of each ride and Starbuck was wonderful and tolerant of my mess-ups

He also went on to finish tied for 3rd in the Rookie Pro with Maya Stessin onboard on Sunday afternoon - What a good boy

And now I get to do it all again in May

 Good for you! May there be air in May! Please keep us posted.

 So how did it go in May?   I don't think I saw an update, but I may have missed it.

Unfortuantely I did not show in May as, about 2 weeks before the show, I had to put my mare down after 23 years of companionship which kinda threw me through a loop.

 Since then I have not been able to ride very much due to some issues at the farm and now it seems that my boy is going to go to North Carolina for evaluation and maybe try to show and/or sell him with the trainer that has my youngsters.

 So I guess my show career revival was short-lived but it was fun!

 I still have my brood mare at home and she was an awesome little girl until she got injured so maybe....

 I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mare. 

I like your outlook for the future though -- you're right, you never know what it holds.  Positive thinking can work wonders