Author: Amanda C

When Bobby and I were in the truck driving to our lesson this past weekend, he asked me what my show plans were for the year. I just kind of shrugged and said “I dunno.” And it’s true, I really don’t know. Despite the fact that we have a show this weekend, I just haven’t felt very dedicated to the whole serious showing thing right now. That goal of “chill out about shows in 2017” hasn’t been all that difficult so far, to be honest.

Maybe it’s because 2015 and 2016 were SO show-oriented. I lived and breathed a show schedule, first in qualifying for AEC in 2015 and then the 3 Day in 2016. Every show was vitally important and I had to be really aware of how I spent my dollars. This year though? Meh. Meh is really the only word I have for it. I want my horse and I to continue to move forward and get better, of course, but for once I’m not measuring success in the form of show results and qualifications. There is no big lofty goal that I feel like we have to hit, and I don’t have a detailed, planned out show schedule.

I do still want to get in the ring, for sure. I need to get more experience under my belt at the new level, and I want to show, I just don’t want my life to revolve around it. I have a vague overall plan… there are a few more schooling shows I want to hit this spring if the timing works out (but I won’t be upset if it doesn’t), and I’m thinking our first recognized of the year will be Feather Creek in June. There’s a recognized at our regular schooling venue in April, and I have every reason to go, but I’m just not feeling it right now. I keep looking at the Omnibus, feeling like I should go. I have no reason NOT to, so I should WANT to, right? But I don’t. For no particular reason, it’s just not calling to me.

Maybe I managed to burn myself out a little bit in the past two years. Maybe I’m just too preoccupied with upcoming Baby Horse (holy shit, only another month or so to go!) to focus that much on showing. Maybe after losing the fall season due to my horse being injured gave me a different perspective. Maybe since Trainer is pregnant and “out” for the spring season, I’ve decided to let myself off the hook for a little while with the serious shows too. Maybe it’s a combination of all of those things.

But for once I don’t have a very specific plan. I don’t feel a twinge of envy when I see other people entering all these shows or planning an extensive show season. There’s zero FOMO here. It’s weird because part of me is like “You need to focus!” and the other part of me is like “MEH.”. It’s been kind of a nice change to just immerse myself in lessons, enter a show if I feel like it, not enter it if I don’t feel like it, and enjoy my horse. Things are pretty fluid around here these days.

It’s been weird though, because it’s almost as if I feel like I’m doing something wrong here. Like I need permission to take my foot off the gas a little bit. Like I’m obligated to want to go to all these shows or something. I almost feel a little guilty about my total ambivalence. Weird how the psyche works, I guess?

Oh Henny. Bless your poor sweet little dum-dum heart.

After our stadium lesson on Saturday, Trainer wanted to take the opportunity to lunge Henry down a bank and over a jump on a bank. This is because of our fairly tragic XC school the Wednesday before, where Henry seriously just COULD NOT figure out the big down bank with the log on top. His mind was completely blown, and he kept tapping his way down the bank with his front feet, then pushing off and leaping straight out. It was not good. He’s jumped a ton of down banks in his life, but there’s something about the log being on top of the drop that seems to be completely throwing his brain for a loop. At that point it was decided that we should come back another day with a lunge line and let him go down every big log-topped bank we could find, over and over, until he figured it out on his own.

Of course, there was rain in the forecast and we weren’t sure if we’d be able to make it back to our XC schooling venue before the show this weekend, so we took advantage of the nice weather after our lesson to school him down the little bank at her place. We pulled a jump out of the arena so that we could build up the question for him (jump on top of the bank) from just the bank by itself, to bank with poles in front, to crossrail, to vertical.

I didn’t get video of the first attempts, because I was too busy going back and forth to the jump to add or take elements away while Trainer lunged him. First we started with just the banks alone, which still.. he was trying to tap and slide his way down this tiny bank. Finally he dropped down it normally, so we added a crossrail in front. That totally blew his mind and he crashed his way down several times in a row.

I don’t know what the mental block was for him, but it took quite a few tries before he realized to jump across, and then down. Over and over he went until he finally got it, then we built it up a little more.

Poor Henry, the little hamsters in his brain were running as fast as they could.

But once he understood the question, and how to just… jump down the damn thing… he was totally fine. He jumped it several times with the larger vertical and then I hopped on and trotted him down it once with a crossrail in front, with many pets and much celebration.

So, we were right. He totally DID NOT understand the question at all, and essentially climbing over/sliding down was for some reason what he thought the right answer was. This little mini-lesson seemed to finally make it click for him a bit.

Granted, that’s one teeny tiny bank with a little stadium jump over top of it. Much different from this thing:

We both agreed that he definitely still needs to go out there and jump down the bigger banks with the logs on top, so we’re going to try to do that on Friday.

This horse has always been such a savant when it comes to XC, it honestly never occurred to me that he would have a big mental block about this. Poor guy. Hopefully we’re on the right track now, though!

Warning: there is some Bobby involved in this post. Is the title about Henry or is it about Bobby? I’ll let you decide.

Originally I wasn’t planning on having another jump lesson this past weekend. We had one the Saturday before, and then we XC schooled on Wednesday, and since I was still getting over the flu all week I didn’t ride much aside from those lessons. But Bobby basically begged me to tag along with him (he’s obsessed), and lord knows I always need more jump lessons, so I hauled Henry over to Bobby’s barn and then we carpooled from there. IE Bobby drove. Because, no shit, I am so tired of driving back and forth down that same 60+ mile stretch of highway.

Bobby and I were both kind of tired and run down, so we were relieved when Trainer took mercy on us and said that once we did it right, we could be done. Granted, with me, you never really know if that’ll be attempt #1 or attempt number #15. Consistent, I am not.

We warmed up and Henry was absolutely raring to go. Like… cantering in place. We hopped over a little vertical each way before we started courses and Henry literally took off an entire stride away from the jump, which caused fits of laughter from Bobby and Trainer (thanks guys, always helpful). At that point I chunked my whip. Then we did a little short course and again, I didn’t have much control over where we took off from. At that point I chunked my spurs. I honestly think Henry was still a little offended from the taps on the butt that he received on Wednesday. He’s a delicate flower like that, especially when it comes to getting in “trouble”. He always remembers. Once I ditched the whip and spurs he became much more reasonable.

Then Trainer put the jumps up a little and gave us a full course. First Henry and I stood and watched Bobby go:

And I gotta say, it was probably one of the best courses I’ve ever seen Bobby do. Their stadium has come a really long way in the past year or so. White boy found rhythm. He even nailed it on the first try. Then it was my turn and somehow the stars aligned and I actually managed a decent effort on the first try too.

I felt like a total sack of potatoes up there, still really drained from being sick all week, but Henry packed me around and listened to my input, and I only made a couple of questionable decisions. For me, that was a fairly solid first attempt. Trainer was like “Oh My God, you guys can ride now!”. I thought she was going to retire on the spot. Yeah I know, what are the odds that both of us actually got it pretty right on the first try? We’ll see if that actually carries over to the show this weekend. I would not bet money on it, but hey maybe? Henry was so proud of himself he literally clicked his heels together over this jump:

 

After the lesson we took Henry out to the XC field to lunge him down the bank, but… that’s, uh, a story for tomorrow…

Guess who’s TEN today?!?! The one and only He’salmostsweet.

Ten seems like such a legit age. He’s definitely not a baby anymore, and he’s not green. He’s totally a REAL horse. Like… he can wear a flash now without having a temper tantrum. Progress.

Granted, every day is still like the very first day he’s ever worn boots, as he frog-walks his way out of the crossties… (never change, Henny. Never change.)

It’s hard to believe that I’ve technically had him since he was 6… we’ve had so many fun adventures. I owe him a lot, and every day he teaches me something.

This little weirdo of a horse definitely earned his way past “short term resale” and into the family. I hope we’re still only at the beginning of our journey, and here’s to many more birthdays!

Also, Henny, now that you’re TEN, can you please stop pretending to spook at the same round bale that we walk past every day? I mean… really… it’s food. Don’t tell me you’re scared of food. No one who’s seen your belly would ever believe that.