Kihikihi Show Jumping 20.03.010

Well, I actually got out of bed, put the horse on the truck, and went....yay: go me!

He was a little googly eyed, staring into every little moving speck on the horizon, but settled ok with a wander around on the lead.

Time to get on...gulp: oh dear; the timing of a polo match next door was not really opportune! However, I did manage to get my brave pants on, and actually mount the poor pony.

He was very distracted, but I managed to walk around a bit, and even managed some trotting, until something set him off and we got a bit of passage.....which is actually yucky cos he is tense and stiff and his head is up, and he is off in his own lala land. OK...back to walk, and did manage to walk around for a bit longer before he got so tense and bunched up I knew it was time to call it quits.

Held him for a while and he did gradually improve; not that he was leaping anywhere, just a bit distracted.

Back into the pen for another blob out (during which time he watched the polo match).

Back on, and he was SO much better. He trotted soft and round, and even though he was going slow, he didnt feel behind my leg, and was very rhythmic. Same at the canter on both reins. yippee.

I even popped him over the X bar practice jump, and then got really brave and did the upright.

Enough for a while, so off I got again and held him until the jumping was finished.

Then Wendy had the brainwave of asking if we could pop the jumps back down when everyone had finished and toddle our ponies around.

I was hesitant at getting back on, thinking I had already done well to walk trot canter and do a couple of practice fences, but Wendy convinced me to give it a go....I am so glad I did. He was really good, trotting around and just popped over the jumps - despite me being an unco blob on top. And he was even better when I managed to maintain a canter, although even if he came back to trot he was good.

He seemed (and probably me too) to focus more on something other than what was going on around him when he jumped.

Yay: progress!!