RABT Summer Cross Country Derby

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...

RABT Summer Cross Country Derby - July 12, 2020

At the beginning of July, Ellie and I tackled our first ever BN level XC course at a competition! We take jumping lessons with Babette at RABT Farm (Rest & Be Thankful Farm), so having Babette there that day to coach me was perfect.

We did have some bobbles on my part, like not riding to each fence and not enough leg (NEVER ENOUGH LEG) so we had one stop on course, but I was super pumped to have a chance to jump around a course at a place we are totally comfortable but it was a crazy chaotic day with 50 horse/rider pairs and a ton more activity than our Wednesday lesson days!

ready to go

I paid for a second unjudged round after our division of nine riders jumped and we went clean. It was a beautiful summer day and such a fun opportunity. All COVID protocols were in place and people were super respectful of them.

Due to our stop, we ended up in 8th place with a 3rd place team finish! I paired up with two of my Epona PC teammates for the team competition and they both won their divisions!

I bought this pic because it so perfectly shows how steering and listening is difficult for Ms. Ellie haha. Unsurprisingly, this is the jump she stopped at.