Schooling Show

Rogo and I went to a training show last Mon. and I'm quite pleased with him. I took him the night before and he was very calm and relaxed - no upsets or stress about being in a new place. I was able to ride him in the show ring and ran through a test quite nicely in a very relaxed manner within minutes of going in.
I tacked him up the next day and was on him 50 minutes before our first test, so he'd have lots of time to get acclimatized and warm up. In the warm up ring he was so laid back I only worked for a few minutes, then went to talk to my friends and watch the rides from his back. He stood quietly with no fuss.
When it got almost time to ride I did about ten minutes of warm up, then took him down to the ring, where you can ride beside the dressage ring while on deck. It was here that I realized I'd badly miscalculated - Rogo was suddenly on fire. I don't think I was passing tension on to him as it was the most relaxed I've ever felt at a horse show. Having said that, I'm sure that as I prepared to go in I did feel 'up' for it. What ever the reason, Rogo wanted to GO. I practiced lots of trot halt while waiting to go in and then rode the test, hoping for the best. Honestly I was holding him with everything I had and half halting every stride to keep him under control. He wasn't spooky at all - horses were running in a field right bedside him, there were lots of new sights - but he was all about going forward. Can you believe this is the same sleepy horse I had a year ago? My friend Alison asked me afterward if I'd been holding him strongly, as he exploded into the canter, and that was a good word for it :). We came away with 63+ and third place out of six, missing second place by tenths of a point. Second went to Alison, doing a great ride on her just turned five home bred warmblood at his first show ever. Very impressive!
Then..... we did First Level test one. I had been within a hair's breadth of scratching two days before, because of the canter issues I've been having with him for months (trying to run off, refusing to canter, etc.), but we went for it. This time I warmed up much longer and again he seemed very calm, but again, once the bell rang and I picked up the reins he was soooo strong. It was all I could do to hold him through riding the test. He did a nice consistent test except for trying to gallop out of the arena during his first canter circle. We recovered quickly, receiving a 2 for the maneuver :) I later learned. He got 60 + for fourth out of eight or nine entries. His mistakes were all about impatience to go forward - jigging at the end of a beautiful free walk, trot steps thrown in when he was supposed to be walking, late transitioning from canter to trot, etc.
These things, the impatience to go forward faster and being too strong, will all get better with practice and experience, and I think the nice forward will be a very good attribute then. I was really happy with him and it was a really fun day with lots of dressage friends, laughs, sunshine and a beautiful facility. Can't wait to do it again!