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
Ellie and I closed out our busy 2019 season with a dressage clinic with USDF Gold medalist Ashley Madison of Yellow Wood Dressage at Hidden Brook Farm (where I take lessons). Almost exactly a year ago, I rode with her for the first time; this year I was able to ride both weekend days thanks to my Morgan Dressage Association scholarship! Ashley had not seen Ellie in a year, so she was suitably impressed with the progress we have made. I really like being able to ride in a two-day clinic as it seems to help solidify what you learned the first day by being able to practice it again immediately (at least immediately in my mind as someone who takes weekly lessons haha). I was also lucky to ride in a later afternoon lesson on Saturday and then Ellie spent the night at HB Farm and I rode in the second lesson on Sunday morning. It was so much easier to only truck her up and back home once, plus Ellie LOVES being at HB Farm haha. Riding with Ashley helped me better understand our S