Roxie and Jasper in their big kid clothes.
However it's spring here in the Pacific Northwest. We had record amounts of rainfall last month and lots of flooding. Everything is mud and days have been drizzly. Picture two days in a beautiful eventing facility, 70*, sunny, dry ground, irrigated grass... I got an awesome sexy sunburn on my arms between the sleeves of my polo and my gloves. The weather was perfect, the people were friendly, the horses were gorgeous. Serena and I would be like whoa, that's a REALLY nice horse. Must not be in our group. Hahaha.
Jasper was a really good boy throughout except when he pulled back and broke a metal tie ring off Serena's trailer. And ran back to his paddock.
I thought Yves was a fantastic clinician and would recommend him to anyone. He didn't have a single negative thing to say all weekend, yet was able to get riders out of their comfort zones and doing things they didn't think they could do. He really liked Jasper and said he would take him home to his barn. He said he's athletic, ratable, and has a tidy jump. Serena heard him say he thought he could go far. I had a few lightbulb moments about waiting before the jump (I need a scarecrow in the middle of the arena with a recording that plays, "wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait"), and what keeping leg on before a jump actually means.
We begged people to video us. Unfortunately the girl that was taping the second half of the XC didn't know how to use the camera? because none of it got recorded. :( However, Jasper did his first Trakehner! It just had a shallow little ditch but was Novice level and he didn't give it a second look.
It also made me realize I really don't see distances, even at a nice even pace. Jasper's going to have to figure that out. I'm just going to get him into a good even canter, sit and WAIT, and let him adjust his stride accordingly. In the end, according to Yves, I will have a much better horse.
5 comments:
What a wonderful experience! I love when you find a good instructor, too bad Yves is a clinician and not a regular instructor. I love when you just click with someone; it makes such a huge difference in your progress!
Sounds like you had a fun time jumping out there too! The trust you two seem to be building is marvelous, and it will definitely allow you to go further than you ever thought you could with your riding. :)
Yeah, Yves is great. He's French and lives in California, so definitely not going to be any type of consistent instructor for us.
The trust is just starting to happen, he really tries to do the right thing and doesn't like getting in trouble. :)
Jasper and Roxie look great!
I really like Jasper's canter. I can see how you two are in sync on the approach and completion of the fence. Thanks for sharing the fun videos!
Thanks! He really focuses on the jumps which makes it easy for me because I don't have to fight him in any way. It's funny to watch his facial expression in the vids- when he gets a few strides out his ears go *ping*!
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