After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...
Dreamy and I had our first show of the year this past Sunday, May 15, at the Southern Maine Dressage Association (SMDA) show. We did three new tests and debuted at First Level! YAY! It was pouring rain, so not the best day (or footing) for our debut, but I was still pretty happy with our results overall. The first test of the day was Prix Caprilli Training Test 2 . I was pretty nervous to try this test. I jumped Dreamy for the first time this year the previous Thursday and she was pretty ummm...forward. And not the kind of forward you want in a dressage test. LOL! Just what is Prix Caprilli? It is a dressage test with jumps! It is not a hunter or jumper course though. It is judged just like a dressage test, so fluidity, rhythm, relaxation, connection, gaits and all those things count. There just happens to be a few jumps in the ring too. While I have practiced parts of the test, including ridin...