So our lesson this week was amazing! We went down to the Kelowna Riding Club for another Jump / Dressage Night. I hauled down first Chili and Kim and then went back up for Ozzy (damn I need a two horse trailer now, and the truck to tow it with, and the sugar daddy to pay for the fuel). So by the time we got down there, they were just finishing up with what looked to be a 2’0 class. Fortunately Oz never needs much of a warm up, and so in we went. Not knowing our course AT ALL!!! And totally getting lost at one point. I was looking for #4, and I should have been looking for #3…. It was ugly. I spent so much time on him trying to figure out my next jump, that I was all over him, he was all over, leads weren’t right – it was ugly. He was such a good boy for putting up with me for that round though. I came out of it saying – NEVER AGAIN am I going in unless I know my course.
So then we moved to 2’3. On course there was approx 3 oxers as well, one of which we took backwards on our 3’0 round. We watched other riders go, and finally knew our course at least. And it was our turn to go in, the first jump is an oxer and we took it on the wrong lead. I knew I was on the wrong lead but I was hoping as I made the turn to the jump he would correct it. Well he didn’t. But in all honesty, I just wanted to clear it at the canter and the fact that I knew we were on the wrong lead – well that in itself is an improvement from even 2 weeks ago. I’m finally starting to be able to see what lead he’s on. Whoohoo, yet another advancement! Anyhow back to the course. Well it wasn’t pretty – I think we took down one rail or two, we did the whole thing in the ugly tranter that we’ve both picked up. A couple of jumps (mostly the oxers) we JUST made it over, as we didn’t have enough speed to really send us over it well. Many times I was being left behind or on his neck. Not our best round AT ALL. I knew that they were planning on moving the rails up, and I was wanting to go to 2’6. Brianne came over and said – you need to do this round again, and then we’ll decide after that if you’ve settled enough to move to the 2’6.
Now I’m not sure if this happens with every coach and student, but I have to say I love mine. She knows what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Because I totally understood – if we can’t get this done at 2’3, then moving up to 2’6 means we aren’t going to get it done there either – but now we are just going higher – which is putting mine, and Ozzy’s both confidence and safety at risk. Basically I equated it to a mother telling her child “ Listen if your too full to eat your veggies, then your too full to eat dessert”. So next round I ate my damn veggies. I concentrated on keep it simple. Listen to my leg, decide if I’m going to trot or canter, but not this in between pace, heels down and relax. The next 2’3 was better – enough that we then worked on bending to my leg on the flat while they moved up the rails. And upwards we went.
Although the course was set at 2’6, lets say some of those jumps were a HEALTHY 2’6. Our first go around I think we brought more down then we left up. Brianne came over said clear my head, go in there at a canter, cuz you can’t do this height at a trot. Go back in and ride that course, put your leg on and close your hips. Right back IN! So that’s what we did. Now here again, I love the fact she gets me and what I’m doing out there.
My head before the jump is this…..
Okay we are jumping, jumping a Clydesdale, that jump is looking pretty high, what if I bring it down, what if I fall and smash my head and become like superman, who is watching me do this, am I embarrassing my coach and my horse, again the jump is looking high, is he on the right lead, damn I don’t know my strides in, where are my heels, grab mane, get off his face, we are coming in too slow, we are coming in too fast, who is that waving over there, there is wind in our ears, I can’t hear anything, will that spook him…..
ALL of this goes on in my head before each jump, so 10 times that goes through my head.
So our next approach at the 2’6 all I kept in my head was, dammit pull up your big girl panties, heels down, keep the leg on, heels down, leg on, heels down, leg on. And our ride was INCREDIABLE… I mean who knows how it looked from the ground, but it felt fast, it felt like we were actually flying at times, the jumps felt smooth, only a couple of landings were jarring, but I finished that round on a high. It was such an incrediably GREAT note to end on! I couldn’t have asked for better.
Certainly an improvement from our last show.
And off to ride again tonight, but I think we may just go for an easy ride tonight… work his mind and butt possibly tomorrow.