To say I miss the farm life and look forward to getting out to the barn would be an understatement. (We won't even talk about how much I miss G and Ginger and our life at home or I'll get all sad and depressing on you) I'm finding riding time means way more to me than it has in a very long time - a very good thing since I came pretty darn close to being burnt out forever with all the drama of last winter and I have no idea what I would do long term to fill the big hole left in a life without horses.
So, in my "Saturday Barn Day" excited and happy frame of mind OF COURSE I had a fun lesson.
We did about a half hour of no stirrups, and I was too happy to be riding to even care that Instructor Lady was on a mission to make us work. (Besides, Checkers has the bounciest trot ever so it almost feels like I'm cheating part of the time - it's harder to sit that big trot nicely than post it/two point without stirrups)
Terrible pic of us both, but the only one I got today. Also, it would appear my helmet is now too large with my shorter haircut but no matter, I am HAPPY even if Checkers is not lol |
I was happy to see we had a new jump course set up and I even managed to remember the course and plan my turns well in advance. Opposite to my previous lesson, I had a little trouble keeping Checkers active enough so we were getting a bit stuck at the base of the jump now and then, and of course since she is so honest that means a huge jump to get us out of the mess I got us into. Not pretty, but we got it done without any getting left behind too badly by yours truly. Second round was much better - Checkers woke up and I had a better idea of the pace we needed and was ready for the extra exuberant jump over the 'scary' mini oxer, so it was smoother. I still trot into the fences if I'm feeling like I need more time to get myself organized, but am managing to canter a lot of it in a somewhat respectable manner. Checkers is a pro and she gets her leads every time which is awesome. The fences seemed a little bigger today as well - no cross rails at least! Nothing compared to what the 'cool' people do though, the jumps are between my knees and my hips and since I'm like 5'2" that means they're tiny. I'm excited because this was the first lesson where I felt like I was really starting to ride the jumping part of the lesson rather than faking it and letting Checkers look after me. Last time I felt confident over jumps was in some clinics with Lainey 3 or 4 years ago. This is FUN!
Still no word from Welsh Cob lady - I don't want to nag her, so I'm going to super impatiently wait for her call and check my emails hourly.
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