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...
Today I jumped Dreamy a bit, in preparation for our next horse trial on August 12. I am very conservative with how much I jump her and how high; at age 21 she doesn't need any extra wear and tear on her joints. Today I figured it was time to raise the jumps a bit (since BN is 2'7", which is pretty much the highest I will jump her). Plus, we needed to school a skinny, since we had a run out at one as the second element of a one stride back in June when we last competed. I shamefully admit I don't have short poles, so I had my dad cut one of my regular 10' poles in half. I figured if we school a 5' skinny at home, the 6' ones at shows will seem easier.
She was great over the skinny vertical! She wanted to hesitate the first time through (it was just a small 2'6"ish - though I never measured it) and when I put my leg on she overjumped it. The next time through was much better, and then by the third time she jumped it like all the other wider jumps. Next time we jump I will make the skinny as a part of a one stride and see how that goes.
This video shows us warming up over a 2'9" vertical and a 2'6" oxer. Later we cantered into everything, but my son can only be coaxed into videoing me for a short time, plus my phone was running out of battery. :-) I set the fences the other day and was surprised the vertical was 2'9"!! I know that is not very high to most riders, but for the past few years jumps over 2' have seemed high to me. LOL!!! I don't really know why. But Dreamy is admittedly jumping better and more balanced this year, so perhaps my jumping confidence has come back because of that?? I was pretty fearless as a kid and lately have felt that confidence come back. I do try to stick with more bravery over stupidity though.... ;-)
I am pretty happy with my position. My lower leg is not slipping back as much as it has in the past. I see a slight roach in my back and I wish I were giving her just a bit more of a release. My arms/shoulders are tighter than they should be. Dreamy seems pleased with herself though!
PS - My son is the one who made that high pitched noise at the end...he said later when I asked that a bug had landed on his hand. LOL!!! It still makes me laugh even after seeing the video several times. :-D
What a good girl! She is just gorgeous and so relaxed over those fences.
ReplyDeleteThe squeal is too funny!
Looking good! She looks great at 21! Which competition are you doing August 12?
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