Friday Feels

FINALLY fall is back! Aka torrential downpour and cold temps, but honestly I am OK with it. Weird summer temps at the end of October is not okay in my book.

ALSO, I got to ride Yankee again last night! (yes Emma I got a 2pointTober time :D)

Might be my new fav recent pic of hims

Its always kind of funny when I say "got to ride" my own horse, but thats kind of how it works with a lease. I could be a dick and just tell V whenever thats she's SOL and I am riding, but I try to be nice and work around her.

Considering they leave for Team Challenge today, I am really happy I got to get one more school in on him before the show--kind of like a tune-up.

Due to rain, we were sequestered indoors and had to dodge approximately 4 other riders. Our indoor at New Farm EME is so much smaller than at old EME, so I stuck to a ton of walking warm-up and basic 20m trot circles until the arena cleared. Once it was just me and my favorite other boarder, we got to work.

I wanted to work on the canter a little bit more, but as I said yesterday, his trot was mostly garbage the entire ride so I focused on that a lot more before we got to the fancy stuff (lateral work). I spent about 20 minutes really asking for collection and straightness and with a ton of give and take, finally getting his 14 year old self to participate again like the Yankee I know and love.

Ahh, on the forehand trudging. Such bad habits Yankee

After some intense and better trot work than yesterday (see above LULZ) I wanted to close the ride with some fun lateral stuff and brief canter work.

Of course, his right lead was now the more troublesome, as he took to the shoulder popping corrections on the left lead quite easily yesterday. Hard to describe was was going on with his right lead, but it almost felt like his hind end just wasn't stepping up and it was then pushing him into crookedness. Yanks gave me some sass (how dare I ask him to work properly) but eventually worked through it as well. Good boy!

so behind the vertical I can't even. Classic Yankee evasion. 

Thats the fun thing about older horses that just get into bad habits--so much easier to "fix"!

The lateral work was such a joy. I love the fact that Yankee just knows his shit and executes things with such lightness. I barely have to touch his sides, move an inch or ask for more and he just responds. He's amazing.

I forgot, even after almost 12 years together, how connected we are as a pair and it was magical.

I barely thought about anything during our ride, especially in the end playing with lateral work. Renver, travel, side-pass and half-pass it all had me feeling euphoric and relaxed.

trot work

Super confusing canter work, Essentially, halt to canter then serpentine with changes of lead through walk, then half pass to halt, to canter to halt; switch sides and repeat

There's something incredible about familiarity that gives me joy. I love Bacardi, I really do,  but often I leave the barn more worked up than satisfied because he is so dang impossible sometimes. Nothing is ever really easy with him, and while I adore training and working with him, sometimes I really need a ride on my OG to remind me WHY I'm working with such a brat of an OTTB. Yankee used to be a brat too, and now he's an angel. I know that B will get there someday too, and thats pretty cool.

Sidenote--RRP is coming up and I got a press pass (yeah Blogging!), so I will absolutely be there! Duty calls for work, so I can only come down Saturday, but thats when the fun stuff is anyways. So if any of you will be in KY for RRP next weekend, hit me up! I know I am stoked to meet Lindsey and Slider, so if anyone else will be there....