Jaimes Fundraising Show

Jaime has been chosen to represent NZ in Aussie so she ran a SJ show for her clients & friends to help fundraise.

I walked the 70 and came to the conclusion that it was too small so just entered the 80cm.

It started off well - got my canter all sorted however he backed off number three which was a white wall thing - I then pulled him off to represent but he thought we were still going for it so it got a little messy LOL! Then we did the part A of the double quite awkwardly so decided to pull him out & do it again properly. Next time we did it okay.

Decided to do the 90 - did the first five jumps however the double terrified me so I pulled out before then. He jumped so well though and 90 didn't seem as huge as it has done previously so thats saying something!!

So was happy with that - doing today highlighted some things I still need to work on so looking forward to my jumping lesson next weekend to iron them out.

80cm round

90cm round

Jumping Lesson

Such a gorgeous day to ride today - just stunning!

Today was a mixed bag - started off great, went pear shaped in the middle & ended well. Guess thats the main thing!

We did a lot of work to try and get him using his back properly - I can't wait for it to get dry enough to do some stuff at home with raised poles etc. We started off doing slow/big trots & canters which was great as I haven't practiced them much recently.

Then onto raised trot poles again then cantering after them and doing a tight roll back to a vertical. I stuffed this up numerous times but once I started to turn earlier we were away laughing. Then went onto some courses etc.

I can get the right canter pretty much straight away now so happy with that. We did a lot of work on me seeing my strides (you know fairly basic stuff LOL!) and I am confident that most of the time I can get it and then ride appropriately.

Cobs started to tank off today between jumps which doesn't impress me at all. I don't like tanky horses and he doesn't normally do it. Whether its just a new trick out the book who knows but it can bugger off :)

I am feeling more & more confident jumping higher now. Definitely don't freak out like I used too when I turn the corner and Jaimes has snuck it up!!

So all in all a great lesson - throughly enjoyed it and came away thinking we are actually improving.

Dressage Lesson

Managed to fit a lesson in with Liz on Saturday. Was meant to have gone to a fundraising SJ show however it got cancelled due to the weather.

Todays lesson was good. I am SO unfit though. Seriously can't wait to be able to ride for longer at night.

Cobs went well - tried hard at everything we asked. Mum videoed the lesson for me - it felt better than it looked. Hate that :( His trot just looks a little rushed to me. I will watch it again and try and get some photos off it as well.

Did lots of transitions, lateral and trot work today. Just gutted it didn't look as fabulous as it felt!

Some photos - not the best quality due to it being from the video camera:

Jumping Lesson

Didn't expect much from this lesson.....had a very bad ride on him yesterday. Very bad.

However up we went to Jaimes and he was overall pretty good. Few spooky moments (someone cutting trees down is scary apparently) and one huge buck when he took a flyer at an oxer.

Started off with trot poles then raised them up to get him working over his back etc. Works really well with him....when he got the gist of it (see photo below!).

Then did some courses etc. Was really interesting as the first time I didn't have our canter quite right and it showed then every other time we got the spots perfect etc. Was stoked. Not sure what is going on with my elbows today.....something to keep an eye on next time! He refused at the liverpool which was surprising as he hardly ever stops - then proceeded to boing over it next time!

So yes very pleased with him. Still not as settled as he should be but daylight savings isn't far away so lets hope the weather stays as stunning as it has been lately so I can get some decent riding in!

How to not do trot poles :)

Finally figured it out!

Horse eating Liverpool

Dressage Lesson

First dressage lesson in a month & to be honest I didn't have high hopes. He has been so full of himself so have been going down to the track a few times a week just to trot/canter him out to try and get rid of some of the excess energy he seems to have at the moment!

He was a superstar today :) Tried so hard and was so good. No schooling for ages and we pretty much picked up where we left off.

We did lots of circles, serpentines, changes of reins etc to get him listening and just basically worked on getting everything right. He had a super trot today - really full of life and going forward nicely.

Our canter wasn't that great but its always the first thing to disappear with him. We ended up getting some nice work though although at the end of the lesson we were both stuffed!! Amazing how quickly you lose your fitness only riding 20 minutes at a time a few times a week.

Hope to go back in a fortnight just to keep working on what we have got. I have got no comps coming up for the foreseeable future as we have done so much in the last few months. Be good just to take a step back from the whole thing.