JOMPS

Apologies in advance if this sound disjointed or rambling...I am beyond tired with life

I wouldn’t exactly call the last few posts unhappy ones by any means, just slightly snarky in regards to Bacardi’s healthy appetite for mischievousness under saddle

Not an actual picture from today

However, I am happy to report that we had an almost flawless ride the other night (Wednesday) in our brand new Stubben girth (!!!) and over fences for the first time in 4 weeks.

L to R, bridle, girth, breastplate ALLTHEMATCHY

I was actually completely blown away by his maturity and wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. I went into the ride thinking I would have a dragon on my hands, since he hasn’t jumped in quite some time, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Naturally, there was a lesson going on, but my trainer and I have come to an understanding that when she is teaching I do not canter and I stay at one end of the arena (because explosions). Then, when her student has a walk break, I do my canterwork /and or move about the arena freely. I truly don’t mind sharing the ring and love that shes tolerant of his antics. PLUS, I get to hear tiny tidbits of the lesson and stow those tips for later. Winning.

That being said, I really wanted to jump Wednesday, which means theres a lot more coordination to have when sharing an indoor stuffed with jumps.

Terribly drawn example 

I took advantage of her sweet exercise course, though we do not have enough experiences over fences yet to jump anything on a 20m circle, let alone 2-4 jumps. He did however, not refuse one thing, which was an issue for a while, and actually ATTACKED the fences.

Kind of like dis

I think hes starting to enjoy it a bit.

Sadly, no pics, but I can assure you, he was an angelXbillion

Truly, I thought I would be dealing with a wild bolting bronco, but he made me eat my thoughts.

After a slow warm up over poles and crossrails (another advantage of riding during a lesson- jump crew!) we began to tackle the 2’6 fences that were set for the lesson.

Mostly, I just wanted to shake off the spiderwebs and see how he would be over fences, since we are “competing” this weekend at a jumper show.

My goals were to maintain a semi-relaxed composure and not knock anything down. Pretty simple.

When he showed me that those were silly goals and he was ready to take on more, I figured, OK, lets work on getting true 5 strides on the lines and landing with our leads.

Um, nailed it. He was so relaxed and willing to listen. He took every jump with ease, landing on the correct leads and cantered off balanced and without a care…and never once ripped the reins out of my hands or left me in the dust. Granted, they were under 3ft, but that’s real progress.

I wish I could describe it better for visualization purposes, but just imagine riding a very bendy, bouncy, and light carousel horse. His canter was so adjustable and he was really listening to my leg aids in regards to change of direction and steering. The toughest to negotiate was the smaller jump in the center of the arena, as you only had 2-3 strides to get to it properly after the turn. We haven’t done much jumping or coursework and I thought he would fall in or miss the jump or jump it whacky, but he just rocked back with my half halts and turned on a dime through my leg. It was amazing. I cant even.

so floaty, like dis

After a few “rounds” (aka making course up in the fly) I decided to call it a day since it was the first time in a bit.

Overall, a really solid ride. The only issue we ran into was a slightly quickened pace on the outside lines headed home, but he listened when strong half halts were applied. Not exactly gorgeous, but we are not hunters.

Today, after a day off to rest (I was sore, he had to be too!) the same jumps were set up with the exception of one oxer.

He was pretty much the same but I worked more on riding a figure 8 and the changing of leads smoothly. Also, bending left still. He didnt seem horrible sore or tired and was very responsive and "stretchy" in his gaits. I would ask for more and he would give more, and then I would ask for less and he would compact. It was lovely.

He did refuse the oxer randomly, twice, but I think that was my fault. Our approach to it wasnt great and I think I quit riding. I'm incredibly sore from riding, gym and PT and my legs & lower back were not cooperating.

Other than tat, another really successful, fantastic ride.

I’m feeling good for this weekend, though I recently got word there is no warm up ring and the show starts before it even gets light out. I’m wondering how his sanity will hold up, but I am hoping if he gets turned out Friday AND I ride him, he wont be off the chain excitable.

I think right now, my expectations are low and my goal is to just use this as another opportunity to get him acclimated to such things. At the moment, the hardest part is figuring out how to clothe myself for a schooling show...