Needs work??

The first event of the season for Yanks and I is this weekend and I have been TRYING to prepare for it all week, but ive been so busy working and whatnot...I still have so much to do. SO MUCH. Good thing I get off work tomm at 4 and will have the rest of the night to clean tack, find a muck bucket, find my saddle rack, do horse luandry, pack hay and grain and SO much more...like check truck tires, get gas, hook up...

Anyways, today Lauren and I headed out in the POURING rain to go school dressage. We were determined to get a school in and practice our tests, and I was certain the rain would let up. Skeptical, since it rained so hard on the way to Twin Towers park but it really did let up. Unfortunatly, the ring was soaked and full of puddles...ewwww.

I watched lauren school and practice her tests while I took video and pics

OMG knees! I feel his trot has a 9/10 quality. Seriously!

She did well at walk and trot , but as usual with him at the canter his departs are tense. We decided to just practice giving him half a second of loose rein when she asks and it seems to be working a little bit. Other than that a BN test isn't too hard...

Yankeee was next and we warmed up nicely, he felt really good and I was confidant we would ace our practice tests...

Lovely uphill

So after a very nice, even warm up we started our practice test with Lauren taping. It all went well, the trot extensions, canter extensions, free walk-eh, stretchy circle-ehhh, but then, dundundun, he EXPLODED! I asked for the right lead canter in the corner and man oh man, did he go beserk....I have no idea why. It was always in that corner and always t a the right lead....I was perplexed. So I went to schooling and getting him calm. We got it a few times without leaping explosions of badness so we tried our test again. sam thing started nice, and even nicer stretches, butAGAIN, the explosion! I could not figure out why. I was exasperated....and perplexed

All I could think was that he was a) possibly sore from conditioning, b)tired from schooling (it was muggy and gross), c) later I found sand under his girth....so I dont know.

I hope this doesnt cause a problem this weekend...