Above: The covers of my past two horse show journals, decorated with construction paper and pictures. Photo by Vyla Carter.

By Vyla Carter

Ever since my first horse show, my mom has kept a journal that gave a short summary about each show I attended. I can look back at the journal entries and see how I placed at the show. It brings back so many memories. We would record a summary of what we did, where we ate and any other exciting events that happened throughout the weekend. Keeping those journals has been very useful and it is something I look forward to reading for years to come. Now, after every show, I continue to write. Here is how I do it:

First, you will need a journal or some type of note book. I buy a plain composition notebook and decorate the cover. The cover is a great place to get creative. Put your name and horse’s name and even some pictures on it.

Then start writing! On each page, at the top, I record the show’s name and the date. Below, I write a summary of the show and how I placed that week. Here is an example from my last show:

Kentucky National Horse Show

September 29th- October 1st, 2017

Headed down to Kentucky after school on Friday; unfortunately, missing my first division class. Sandra showed Louie on Thursday and Friday in schooling classes and did well. Got to Kentucky on Friday night and got Mexican for dinner before heading to the horse park to watch the Grand Prix in the Alltech Arena. On Saturday, I had one class later in the day in the Walnut Ring. The round went well, but I went a little too far out in the corners and added three time faults to my score. On Saturday night, we went out as a barn to dinner at Saul Good restaurant in Lexington. I had a good Southwest salad. On Sunday we had the Children’s Classic. The first round was good but I went a little too fast in the jump-off, causing a rail. We ended up with a 5th place still. Even with the mistakes, I was happy with our rounds. We also decided we would be showing in Wellington this winter with Sandra (yay!).

Results:

Children’s Jumper: 8th/14

Children’s Jumper Classic: 5th/14

I am so happy my mom started a journal for me and recorded everything. It is nice to see how I placed so long ago and know exciting tidbits from a show that I would have never remembered without the journal. Starting a journal is easy and is a very simple and quick way to record results for future walks down Memory Lane.