Appaloosas and an equitation class

Shortly after I graduated from high school, I went to work for a tack and feed store.  When I was there I met the local cast of characters that were in the horse business in the area.  One of our customers asked me if I would fit some yearlings for halter for him if he brought them in to town to the race track that was across the street from the feed store and I said sure (of course I did, I was young and stupid).  I told him that I would fit his horses for him but there was no way that I was going to show them for him.  Ya right.  I got the yearlings fit and then he brought me 2 - 2 year olds and a 3 year old  to fit up for him as well as starting the 2 year olds.  I got the 2 year olds started and everybody was pretty fit and he decided that we should all pile in the truck and take the whole shootin' match to a show in Prince George.  Little did I know that his wife had entered both yearlings at halter and both 2 year olds as well.  Doesn't seem to be a problem right?  All four of them were fillies and his wife had put my name down to show them.  Nice, real nice.  I had been practicing with the yearlings to get them to stand up like I was taught they should but didn't realize that I was being set up too. 
Halter classes are the first on the agenda at horse shows, and you want your horse to sparkle in the ring, so after we had pulled in to Prince George the evening before everybody got a bath and was walked until they were dry.  The next morning when we got to the barn the 3 YO had slept in her poop and had a lovely green-brown smear all across her hip in her white blanket.  So back to the wash bay for her!  Got her all cleaned up and then it was time to rush off and change into show clothes.  The one yearling took the filly class and the other one was an also-ran but that wasn't because she wasn't in shape, she was just out-classed.  It went about the same for the 2 YOs and you guessed it, the ones I got to show were the also-rans.  The owner showed the 3 YO and took the class and if I recall correctly she also went Reserve Grand Champion Mare. 
I wasn't told until we were half way to PG that the 3 YO had been entered in a couple of under saddle classes to give her some ring experience.  The owner told me he didn't feel well and could I show her?  Set up again!   Our first class was western pleasure and I think we were third.  Our next class was western equitation.  In a pleasure class your horse is judged on how much of a pleasure he is to ride.  In an equitation class it's the rider that is judged on how well they ride.  We went in to the ring along with 19 other horses and did the whole walk, trot, lope both ways on the rail and were asked to line up in the center.  Several numbers were read out over the loud speakers and mine was one of them.  I realized that they were cutting the class down to the last few contestants.  Assuming that the numbers that they had called were being excused, I headed for the out-gate when one of the other contestants told me that I was supposed to stay.  Bonus!  Now came the hard part.  Another part of an equitation class is individual tests that you do.  Ours that day was to back up 10 steps (not 9 or 12.  Some people couldn't count), ask for the left lead, and lope your horse through the line in a circle to the right (now a counter-canter) and return to your starting position, stopping where you had started..  Back up, not a problem.  Ask for the left lead?  Rika (short for Paprika, which suited her) rarely picked up the lead that I asked for.  Go through the line?  Remember her name?  She was rather cranky around other horses to begin with.  Well, we'd give it a shot.  I watched several other contestants go and most of them really had a problem with the left lead, counter-canter thing.  When it came to my turn, I backed up 10 steps, asked for a left lead and off we went.  I could have fallen off my horse right about then.  Rika picked up the correct lead the first time out.  When we rode through the lineup she never even cocked an ear and when we were headed around the circle, she held the left lead (wasn't hard for her, she'd been practicing that one at home!) and stopped precisely where we had started.  WOW!  Who taught her that?  Or was she just having a 'moment'?  After everybody had completed the pattern they started to announce the results of the class, starting with 6th place.  There were alot of happy smiling faces and when they finally got to the winner of the class I was gawking around, looking to see who the winner was.  The girl beside me finally got my attention and said 'Hey!  That's you!'  I knew that I had had a good ride, but that was totally unexpected.
I gained a whole new respect for Appaloosas in the time that I worked with them.  Man are they tough (and more than a little hard-headed).  Would I own one?  Maybe, but not to be totally descarded.