Last Show of the LEG Series – The Colorado Horse Park

Wow, what a summer! I made it a point to try and get to all of the shows at the Horse Park for the summer season. And this is the Last LEG show at the Colorado Horse Park for the summer. I am a little sad, because this means that it really is autumn, and it won’t be long before the days get even shorter and the snow starts flying.

But that’s enough talk about winter! I have a horse show to share with you! Or I should say, I have a bunch of horse show photos to share with you!

LEG Shows at the Colorado Horse Park

I made it a point to take a lot of different types of photos for this outing. Right now, I am obsessed with how beautiful the tails of the horses are that are showing. And I have been scouring the internet for any tips, or secrets of show grooms of how they get the tails to look like this.

I do realize that the tails are banged, which means a blunt cut across the bottom of the tail. And I think this has a lot to do with the overall appearance of the tail. But they are just so beautiful! So I wanted to pay attention to some of the smaller details at this show.

The overall grooming of these horses is just so incredible. And I know the people showing have teams of people for the horses. But that doesn’t mean I don’t try to have my horses look their best, like these horses.

And then there’s the tack. Holy cow, these horses are turned out beautifully. No detail has been overlooked.

They are immaculate!

Rusty Stirrups Division

And, of course, I had my counterpart and friend, Lynda, with me for the show. I can’t even remember how many years we have been doing this. It’s literally a summertime tradition. And we decided to start with something a little bit different for this show, we had to check out the rusty stirrups.

I wish they had a better name for this division, though. And if you haven’t heard of this division, here is the definition according to the Colorado Hunter Jumper Association:

“Open to amateur riders 18 and over. Riders may not cross enter into any division or Class exceeding 2’6” or any rated division or class at the same show with the exception of USHJA 2’ and USHJA 2’3” Hunter, age group, maiden, novice, limit equitation or flat classes.”

So basically, anyone over 18 is considered a “rusty stirrup”. That doesn’t seem right.

It was a lot of fun to watch older riders.

We stopped and watched the under saddle class. And it was a lot of fun to see older riders participating. And these aren’t the super fancy jumpers. But to me, they were just as much fun to watch.

I actually took a video of the entire class so I can practice at home on my own. I know that may sound odd. But I learn best from the audio input. So my plan is to make a video that I can upload to my phone and practice the class as if I were in the class.

The Show Jumpers

Ah yes, the jumpers. This is where my heart truly lies. The Grand Prix class got moved to the end of the show day due to rain the previous day. So they had to fit in all of the missed classes from Friday into Saturday. And we actually got to the show grounds early enough to walk around and scope out the best seat to watch the class.

Which gave me an excellent opportunity to check out all of the jumps.

LEG Shows at the Colorado Horse Park

They pulled out all the stops on the jumps for this class. And the course designer made a beautiful course for the competitors.

I don’t know why I am drawn to this jump. Maybe it’s all of the extras, and it’s different than any of the jumps we typically see.

This vertical is pretty nice as well. I like how they combined the striped rails with the solid ones. Very pretty.

Grand Prix Jumping at the Colorado Horse Park

And the riders did not disappoint. They were beautiful.

To me, this horse looks like a hunter. Am I wrong? He just looks like he belongs in a hunter class with his beautiful form over jumps.

The course did seem to cause some difficulty for the competitors. There were a total of 20 riders and 6 came back for the jump-off round.

And I think we chose a great spot to capture some of the jumps.

I don’t remember all of the riders. But there is one that I know before they even say his name.

Bjorn had 4 horses in the class and had 3 come back for the jump-off round.

One of his horses, The Great Dane, didn’t have the best round. But hey, that happens, right?

But he wasn’t the only rider in the class. There were a lot of other very talented riders.

And some of them looked pretty young.

Not quite as young as Haley, who I shared in my last horse show post. But still, these were some young riders!

Looking at the Details

And being how I am, I look at the little details all over the showgrounds.

From how people decorate the front of their ‘show barns’.

To the bits and bridle tags that the horses are wearing.

Even the saddle pads. I noticed a lot of the riders were using the Ogilvy Baby Pads. These are great, and you can even customize the piping colors.

This is something I don’t see a lot of anymore, the quarter marks. I don’t think Lynda has ever seen it before this show because she asked about it. I think it looks really fancy!

And this is something I have been seeing a little bit more, a new type of stirrup. This looks really interesting. You wouldn’t have to worry about getting your foot caught in the stirrup in case of a fall.

LEG Shows at the Colorado Horse Park

These are the coolest stirrups I have ever seen. I have a habit of seeing things like this, and these stirrups are my latest find.

These are called Magnetic Safety Stirrups. And they are made by a company called Ophena. And they really are magnetic. I guess you wouldn’t have to worry about losing a stirrup then, right?

Ophena S is the name of the stirrup. According to the website, the stirrup has been developed for the highest safety. Its open design minimizes the risk of your foot getting caught. And the magnetic system releases you safely in case of a fall. The stirrups even include a pair of magnetic insoles, which generate a magnetic connection between the stirrups and your boots. This connection provides better grip and control. Again, according to the website.

I didn’t intend to make this post about these stirrups. But after looking closely at the photos, I couldn’t help myself! These just look so cool! You can check them out on their website and see some pretty cool examples of how the magnetic system works. Maybe they will have a deal for Black Friday. One can only hope!

LEG Shows at the Colorado Horse Park

And even though this was the last show of the showing season for the LEG shows at the horse park, there are still some smaller shows for the year. I will definitely be trying to go to a couple if I can.

I find it very interesting to see the difference between local shows and those that are rated. It seems like the smaller shows are more fun for the competitors. I could be wrong, but that is how it seems to me.

Or maybe the smaller shows are the starting point for some horses and riders. Whatever the case, I really enjoy going to horse shows, big or small.

And even though the LEG shows are done in Colorado for 2023, I was so happy to see that they have already published the shows for 2024!

Oh my goodness! I am already excited about the shows for 2024! 12 horse shows! 12 opportunities to go to the horse park! So exciting to be able to plan the upcoming year of shows. It makes me happy to see that they are releasing the dates so early. Hopefully, by doing so, more of the top riders can plan on coming back to Colorado in the summer.

Maybe this will bring back some of the past Olympic riders. I know for a fact there would be someone very happy to see Will Simpson back in Colorado.

Whatever the case, and no matter the riders, I will be back at the Horse Park in 2024. And if you live locally to the area, I would love to see you there too!