XC Day!

And..a disclaimer right off the bat...we all know G is a great guy, but photography is not his strong suit. I've got a few cute pics to share, but I have even more pics of the ground, his shoes, his legs, and even some pics of something completely white - maybe a shopping bag? Not sure lol.

Our XC day was about 30min up the road on a beautiful private farm fronting the ocean. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, partly because it's actually their second residence.  Luckily they seem like super nice and amazing people, so I doubt anyone can be too jealous :)

Jump arena below, there's a separate dressage one on the hill above

Our lesson started in the arena, just a quick check in really, having everyone pop over a tiny xrail from the trot and canter.

Then, we were free to head out to xc. I really liked this coach's focus on a super positive, SAFE, experience for horses and humans. Since B and I are less than talented eventers,  we shared a lesson with some green horses who look like awesome prospects, but need the miles and were a little overexcited! I liked how the coach was very aware of what those horses and riders needed, and had them just walk and trot things to start, and follow the steadier horses everywhere.  B is obviously one of the steady eddies and I was proud of how well she handled baby horses bumping into her and generally being less than reliable.

Proof Bridget can canter lol

As for B herself, she was on FIRE. Happily galloping everywhere, jumping all the things. Down banks scare the crap out of me still, and although the one here wasn't the pit of death a la Johvale, it was the first time we've cantered up one side of a table top type bank and down off the other. B did it in typical sensible pony fashion, popping up quietly, fitting in a nice two stride and popping off the "big" (really only like 2'6") side.

The one and only picture you'll ever see of Bridget with a game face.

We schooled some ditches, which are no biggie to Bridget, then put together some small courses.  I had a blast! B was super bold and brave and attacked everything that had her so backed off last year, even the twisted log jump that made me cry last time lol. When we got back to the ditches, the grass was kind of long and I couldn't see my line til it was too late...so we jumped the biggest one like nbd :)

The fields go all the way down to the water, and there's a place to go swimming with the horses

The rest of the day was supposed to consist of jump courses in the arena, but it was super hot out and B had been so fabulous that I just hung out in the shade with her and let her graze. Rewards for being a super good girl, plus I felt like it had been a super confidence boosting day for us both and wanted to end on that great note!

Despite what I said earlier, I do have some further media to sift through. Hopefully I can show you some more pics of the actual xc jumps at a later date, and I think there is a bit of usable video of I can edit it a bit. First, though, we need to recap the rest of the weekend - in particular, Dressage % Day!

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