The Making of a Rainbow Princess (and Her Pony)

I've often commented that I think the universe likes to challenge me, as if it knows that my internal mechanisms seem to believe that something isn't worth doing unless it is time consuming, expensive, frustrating, and/or potentially hazardous to my continued existence.  It turns out that making a Rainbow Princess (and her pony) is not as easy as it sounds...

It was just a regular day.  We were at the barn and Gemma was getting ready to tack up.  I forget which horse - it could have been Freya or Star.  She had gathered her tack and put the saddle and saddle pad on the saddle rack in front of Donut's stall.  I was around and doing something like getting brushes or feed bags or whatever.

Gemma got her horse from the cross ties in the wash stall to bring her over to the stall to tack up and exclaimed, "What happened to my saddle pad?"  That was a good question.  It had been there a minute ago.  I finally spotted something that looked like it could have been a dead animal in Donut's stall.  But it wasn't a dead animal.  It was the saddle pad, wadded up in a mess of shavings and hay.

I rescued the pad from the tangle, and shook it out, fully expecting that it would just need a good cleaning.  Regrettably, its state was closer to that of a dead animal.  The inner lining had been torn in about 10 places and the batting was starting to come out.  

Normally, that probably wouldn't have been a big deal.  Between Gemma and I, we have enough saddle pads to open our own tack store.  So we could have just pitched it and gotten a new one.  Except that this pad was special.  It was a RAINBOW pad.  And Gemma had decided that she wanted to dress up as a Rainbow Princess with her Rainbow Pony for the costume/dressage show coming up in a few days.

Oh, Donut...I'm not quite sure how she even managed to get the pad.  Gemma had deliberately used a saddle rack where Donut couldn't access the saddle by reaching through the cut-out in her stall door.  So what must have happened is that the horse in the next stall over grabbed the pad and was playing with it and Donut was able to reach through the tiny cut-out in the front of the stall that is just big enough for a small bucket to dump feed in her feed tub and grab it.  How all that happened with neither Gemma nor I noticing is a mystery, though.

There wasn't enough time for me to find another rainbow pad and order it in time for the show.  So Gemma resigned herself to using a different solid color pad.  It would be fine.

In the meantime, my brain sort of nudged me a few times, indicating that maybe I should figure out how to use the assorted Rainbow Pony-making products I had purchased.  I am giving myself huge credit for being on top of getting All The Things in plenty of time.  We got Gemma's costume from Target.  I ordered some glitter-type products for horses.  And I even got some mane and tail extensions from a shop on Etsy.  Everything except that pad was good to go.  And my knowledge about how to use said glitter products.

We did test the main and tail extensions a couple of days before the show, and they turned out to be easy to apply.  One thing I did realize, though, was that it was best if the mane and tail were dirty and not well-brushed so the small combs that attached the extensions to the existing hair had something to grip.

I did finally get around to finding a YouTube video about glitter products the night before the show.  And let me just say that it would have been super helpful to have seen that video before I even ordered the products.  So you don't make the same mistake, here is the video, if you feel compelled to learn about Twinkle Glitter products.

There wasn't much I could do with my newfound knowledge except do the best I could for show day.  I decided not to worry about it too much, and tried to get a decent night's sleep.

The day of the show dawned with temperatures in the upper 40s, which was a huge change from the unseasonably warm weather we'd been having.  A cold front had come in the day before.  But I was thrilled to see something resembling fall after almost 6 months of summer-like temps.  And the death of the bugs.  I celebrated with as much enthusiasm as my exhausted self could manage.  In fact, I'm thinking we need a national holiday celebrating their demise.  National Bug Death Day.  Good riddance gnats, ear flies, green-heads, mosquitos, horse flies, and weird, tiny black flies that stick like glue to my horse and irritate the crap out of her.

Anyway, I was up early at a little after 6, so I could have a little quiet time before the tiny monster that is my daughter arose.  She is delightful, of course, but she gets a little crazy on horse show days, and I needed a half hour to prepare myself for her energy level.

Too soon, she was up and we were loading the truck, packing the snacks and cooler, double-checking to make sure we had the costume and accessories, and assuring the dog that just because we were leaving didn't mean that we were having fun without her (I mean, we kind of were, but I felt like it was unfair to tell her) .

We were on the road by 7:30, and we got to the barn a little after 8.  Gemma is actually quite self-sufficient on show days for the routine stuff.  So while she started getting her pony clean, I was out in the field explaining to Donut that she couldn't come in to eat today because we needed her stall for Star's makeover project.  Donut was horrified by this development even though I provided her with her breakfast.  I tried to explain that turnout would be changing soon anyway, and she would be out all the time (I only have her in the stall during the day during the summer because of the heat and bugs; otherwise, I like her outside all the time).  Eventually, Donut and Freya ate their breakfast, but I could feel Donut's accusing eyes on me as I walked back to the barn.  I figured she would forgive me in time...

In my head, I had imagined that we had plenty of time for the pony makeover we were attempting.  I mean, I had budgeted an hour for general cleaning, an hour for the rainbow makeover, a half hour for changing into a costume and tacking up, and a half hour to warm up before Gemma's first test.  (My boarding barn was hosting the show so no trailering needed.  This is the only way to show, in my opinion.  It takes out a huge part of the potential for stress, drama, injury, and general annoyance.)  I figured I would even have time to set in the chair I set up outside the stall and enjoy my coffee.  (I know, I'm a slow learner.)

I checked my watch when Gemma was finished with washing some mud off Star and grooming her, and we were ahead of schedule.  (Thank God for chestnuts who don't roll in the fresh mud from the previous night's rain.)  Star looked great, even though Gemma was traumatized that she couldn't give Star a full bath.  But I thought it was too cold for that and unnecessary.  See above about dirt-colored hair and lack of rolling in mud.

We put Star in the stall for her hooves to dry.  We needed them to be dry for the application of glitter hoof polish.  I figured we would wait about 15 minutes and then start the process of applying some kind of glitter gel using templates.  (That sounds totally simple, right?)

But first I decided it might be good if we put the mane and tail extensions in while we waited.  They were easy to do.  I put the ones in Star's mane, and Gemma did the one in her forelock and the ones for her tail.

I have never used extensions before, but I ordered from an Etsy shop called AHorseNamedPilot.  I was pleased with the color selection, the ordering process, the fast shipping, and the ease of use.  Here is a link to the extensions I ordered: Design Your Own Mane Hair Extensions.  All we did was move some of the hair on top, slide the comb from the extension onto some hair (not too much or the comb won't close), snap the comb closed, and then move the hair on top over the attachment point so you couldn't see the comb.  I ordered maybe 8 extensions for Star's tail and close to twice that for her mane.  In the future, I think the tail could hold a few more, and the mane probably could too, but it turned out pretty good (pictures coming below).

Feeling pretty please with our progress, I felt ready to move on to the glitter application.  I gathered my supplies, which I had thoughtfully made sure were all at the barn the day before so I wouldn't forget anything.  I went over the plan.  Put template on horse.  Apply glitter gel with sponge thing.  Admire my work.

Soooooo.  Just so we're clear.  You should definitely practice with this stuff ahead of time.  You should only work on a horse that stands completely still at all times, and is preferably flat.  And you need at least six hands plus a roll of paper towels, a bucket of water, an alcoholic beverage, maybe some chocolate, and an appointment for a massage immediately after application.  Multiply everything by 2 if you are working with a bossy nine-year-old.

The concept is simple enough.  You use a template to guide the application of some glitter gel to create fun patterns on your horse.  The first thing I realized when I put the template on the horse is that the template is made of somewhat flexible material, but there is no getting around the fact that you are trying to use a two-dimensional object to conform to a three-dimensional horse butt.  Also, if the horse even shifts its weight, the template can move around, even if you fastened it with something like painters tape.  Thankfully, we were working on Star, who is generally quiet, but even she needs to move a little.

The other issue is that the gel is, well, gel.  Too much of it and it oozes down your horse outside of the template.  Too little and you can't really see the pattern.  Plus the sponge thing that comes with the kit.  Totally not big enough.  So you use your hands.  And now you have glitter gel all over your hands and then your clothes and probably the floor.  Also on the people who are standing around watching the unfolding catastrophe who then offer to help out of pity.

One of the tips I got from the video I watched was that two coats might be needed.  But you need to wait until the first coat is dry.  One question I had after watching the video was, "How long does it take glitter gel to dry?"  I was about to find out.  Let's be clear that it isn't 5 minutes or 10 minutes or 30 minutes.  Eventually, I gave up and just glopped the stuff on as thick as I could and called it good.  Also, the barn is now partially bedazzled because I got glitter everywhere.  The stool, the floor, the walls, etc.

Now for the hoof polish.  Again I wished I had watched the YouTube video earlier because the reviewer said that while the actual solid color hoof polish from Twinkle Glitter was fabulous, the glitter polish, which is what I got, left more than a little to be desired.  Much like glitter nail polish, it takes multiple coats and works best with a solid color underneath.  I did not have a solid color, so I was going to have to live with the deficiencies.

I brought Star out to the concrete floor and brushed her hooves off really well.  Then I took a deep breath and started applying the copper colored glitter polish (Gemma's choice...).  Much like the video, I had trouble getting good coverage.  Two or even three coats were recommended with each coat drying before applying the next one.  Again, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR THE POLISH TO DRY?  Please, dear company, for the love of God, put that information in big letters where my feeble eyes can easily find it. 

Much like with the glitter gel, I had to wait and test the dry time for myself.  I am guessing it was about 15 minutes.  Which left me only enough time to do two coats.  I wasn't that happy with the coverage, and you can see in the picture below that it is gloppy and not that attractive, but I will say that when Gemma was in the full sun in the arena for her dressage tests, the sparkle was really obvious and it did look good from a distance.  So the moral of this story is that there is a bit of a learning curve and using a solid base coat and allowing lots of time is the best way to get an optimum glitter hoof.

Now that the horse was in good shape with her rainbow hair extensions, glitter stars, hearts, and weird flower that Gemma insisted on, and sort of glittery feet, it was time for Gemma to get her costume on.  She could do that by herself, so I turned my attention to the saddle pad problem.  Because the top of the pad was still in good shape, I thought maybe we could use it if we put another pad underneath it to protect from the damage of the ripping and loose batting.  I couldn't wash the pad because I thought it would disintegrate in the wash, so I started brushing it as much as I could.  And I realized that maybe it could give us one more ride.  I felt the torn areas on the bottom, and while I knew that would be no good for an hours long trail ride, it would probably be OK for a horse with part of her winter coat grown in with a light rider for about 40 minutes of actual ride time at the walk and trot.  So I decided we'd use the rainbow pad and if Star showed any discomfort when Gemma was in the saddle, we would substitute a colored pad.

And then all of a sudden, it was time to go.  Gemma was in her costume - no wardrobe malfunctions! - and Star was tacked up.  It was a half hour, on the dot, before Gemma's first test, so we headed to the arena.

Gemma did a nice job warming Star up.  Star is 24 years old, so she can appear a little stiff for the first few minutes.  But Gemma just walked her and then eased her into some trotting and a little canter.  When she was looking good, I was surprised to see Gemma playing with asking Star to yield through her poll and bend.  Gemma still seems a little uncomfortable riding that way, so she only does it for short bursts or during lessons.  But she was doing it on her own and she and Star looked great.  I wish I had gotten some video of it.  I told Gemma if she did that during her dressage tests, she would get really nice scores, but she still seemed unsure about it.  I decided to let it go.  Gemma shows for fun, and I don't want to take that away from her.

I also got some pictures of the whole ensemble:

Note the rainbow bridle that "Santa" got Gemma for Christmas.  It was the one that didn't come until Christmas Eve last year after being stuck in I think it was Kentucky for 11 days.  It was so handy to have it for this project!

When it was time for Gemma's test, I moved into position to call it for her.  She was doing both Intro A and B tests.  While she has Intro B memorized, she struggles with Intro A, so I call it to help her feel less nervous.  The test went well, and I didn't make any mistakes calling it.  (I'm prone to forgetting where I am at or misreading something or for one of my poor friends, calling the wrong test.)  I even called it loud enough for people in the next county to hear, because Gemma routinely tells me I don't use enough of my outdoor voice:)

The judge for this show was amazing.  Her feedback for each competitor was the best I've ever heard.  She always led with something positive about the horse or rider or test and she picked one or two things to give constructive criticism about.  If there was a formula for schooling show judges, that would be it, in my opinion.  She was super complementary about Gemma's costume and the accuracy of the test, and she explained that Gemma needed to ask for a little more energy from Star and improve the shape of her circles.  (If I had a dime for every time I told Gemma that, I would be independently wealthy, but what do I know?)

Gemma had a short break, and then she did her second test, which went a little better than the first one.  I think she even got an 8 on one of her halts.  It was nice to see that because Gemma went through a phase where she was asking for halt with too much rein and creating a stilted, sudden, uneven halt.  Now she is working on preparing the horse for the halt and executing it more smoothly. 

Keeping Star warmed up between tests

A walk to trot transition for Intro B

In the end, Gemma scored a 65.937% on her Intro A test, which was good enough for first place.  And she got a 66.250% on her Intro B test, which earned her third place in the most popular test of the day.  Plus, she got third place for the show series in Intro Level.  Which was pretty impressive for her first year of showing dressage on a horse that wasn't even sound enough to ride in January of this year.

It was a great way to end the dressage show season, and Star enjoyed a big, custom cookie at the end.

And if you still want to know about the drying time of the glitter gel, it does eventually dry.  I'm not sure exactly when, but by the time Gemma was all done showing, it was dry.  So now I guess I need to figure out how to get it off...:)