The entrance to the coliseum was packed early Friday morning as exhibitors waited for their call and the sky dribbled rain.

Clinician Curt Pate explains how, when a rider rides balanced, the horse can step up farther underneath himself, thus staying more athletic and collected. Apparently even his demonstration horse, "Wiley," loaned by Barb Walton, was interested in learning more.

"Lexi," a King Charles Spaniel, is owned by Charlene Weber of Dousman, Wisconsin.

Julie Spiering of Gilbert, Minnesota, rode her 7-year-old homebred mare BMQ Dynamic Debut to a sixth-place finish in the Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle class, which had 39 entries. "Dyna" is out of Spiering's old show mare, and she raised and trained Dyna herself. "She's sweet and kind, but she's got a little bit of an attitude," Spiering said. "She's a lot like me!" Spiering is an interior designer, and she and husband Mark have a 3-year-old son named Nathan. Despite the demands of a full-time job and family, Spiering trains Dyna herself. "I've got no indoor, and (Dyna's) on 24-hour turnout," she said. "I work til 5:30 or so, come home and spend an hour and a half or so playing with my son and making dinner. (My son) goes to bed early, so I go out, saddle up and work until dark."

Michelle Hed of Plymouth, Minnesota, has owned Hanks Windy Poco, or "Windy," since the now 10-year-old mare was a green-broke youngster. They showed on the local open circuit, but recently started showing in AQHA under the encouragement and guidance of fellow college student and active exhibitor Bailey Eisinger. Hed, who is a junior at St. Cloud State University and majoring in biomedicine, also attended Thursday's equitation clinic by Professional Horsewoman Shannon Vroegh. Today, Hed finished third in Novice Amateur Equitation out of 35 entries. "It really helped to practice the pattern ahead of time," Hed said. "The clinician was really nice, and she scolded me for one of my habits -- keeping my head up, but still looking down."