OHSET for 2010 has wrapped up. It was Sarah and Bay's first OHSET and seems they had a lot of fun and a lot of success too. They won 1st place in dressage at their first meet. The second meet did not go as well and they ended up in 24th place. The third meet found them in 4th place. They ended up being the 1st alternate for their district. It was a long shot that they would get to go to state. One of the top three...the gold, the silver, or the bronze medalists would have to drop out first. We absolutely could not believe it when that is what happened. Central Point here we come!

We arrived early Wednesday afternoon in order to give Bay time to recuperate from the ride down. He rode down in the trailer by himself, and he was a real trooper. No problems at all hauling. The stall floor was asphalt so we bedded really deep. Luckily they had plenty of bedding available. I have to say I think Central Point handled the state meet really well.
Parking seemed to be the biggest issue and that was because participants kept trying to park where it was posted not to park. I would have liked to see a little more shade, but quite frankly I couldn't think of any place that would have had more. The meet is moving to Redmond in Central Oregon for the next 2 years and I hope they handle it equally as well.

Thursday dawned bright and early. We headed over to the expo grounds around 10:00. I set myself up at the top of the bleachers with pillows for my back and seat. I had my trusty iphone to take notes on and proceeded to watch the dressage rides from start to finish. I like to write down the numbers and what my impressions are of each horse and rider pair. I completely stayed away while Sarah and Bay were getting tacked up and warmed up. Sarah had been asking her mom if she thought she belonged at this meet. She was pretty impressed by some of the horses and riders she was seeing in warm up and she was letting it sap her confidence a bit. They were scheduled to be the 20th horse and rider in the ring. Just before they came in I texted Mick and told him to tell Sarah they soooo belonged here. I was seeing nice horses and good riders but none that I thought we head and shoulders above Sarah and Bay.

They came in and they had a respectable ride. I've seem them do better, and I've seen them do worse. Bay was willing and did every movement asked of him. Sarah felt he could have been more connected and more through, but all in all it looked like a good ride to me.

That was it! That was what we came for. Now we could relax and watch the rest of the meet without any expectations whatsoever. We could cheer on Sarah's teammates and our friends from all over the state. I managed to get some shopping in too. I particularly liked a jewelery booth called Mystic Mustang out of Ashland Oregon. I bought 2 copper bracelets and a silver bracelet from them. The silver is a Navajo sandcasting journey bracelet with garnet and green turquoise from Nevada and Sleeping Beauty turquoise from Arizona.

It was about the time I finished up shopping that I received a phone call from Sarah. The results were in. Out of 29 horses from across the state Sarah and Bay had come in 3rd in state. They would be the bronze medalist...just one point behind the silver medalist. WHOOPEE! Way to go! Not bad for a first year OHSET pair and Sarah's freshman year.