Post by scattymare on Apr 4, 2011 10:50:56 GMT
Well! What a weekend. I ache from head to foot. My arms feel like they’ve been removed from their sockets. I have a very bruised arm and my thumb is swollen and red. This is why –
Saturday I had a lesson. Next Sunday is the mini hunter trial so I’d arranged to have a jumping lesson next Saturday with Jo. So this week (thinking we were doing flat work) I decided to try Eddie in the snaffle again as we’ve been getting some good results recently. Arrive at Joannes to find the jumps up. She said she thought it would be better to jump this week rather than the day before (makes sense) So started off warming up. Eddie was eyeing up the jumps and getting excited just looking at them. Not paying much attention to me! So we cracked on and did some jumping exercises, circling in a small canter circle around one fence to get the canter bouncy then bring her down the long side trying to maintain the same canter and ‘popping’ over the fence. Well I felt like I was riding a tank! Eddie was just pulling me into the jumps. I felt like a crock of sh*te. I kept getting left behind, flying up in the air (Eddie has a rather graceful ‘cat leap’ style of jumping!) and at one point she took off round the school and it took 3 circles to regain control!
We did get a few good jumps in but I really didn’t enjoy myself. My confidence jumping is far worse than I thought and I felt really bad afterwards as poor Eddie jumped everything I asked despite me pulling on her getting left behind, lumping around on top. Afterwards I felt really down about it as I’ve never left a lesson feeling bad before but this time I did. But then I reminded myself that this is supposed to be fun. And maybe I just don’t like jumping anymore. So sod it we’ll stick to the dressage! So not sure if we’re going to do anything next week. I’ll take her for the experience and maybe do a clear round but we’ll see on the day.
So that was one bad day.
Sunday met S and Huffy for a ride. Had a lovely time enjoying the sunshine. Ed and Huffy were being well behaved. On our way back Huffy started staring into the distance. There was a race on and he could see the runners in the distance. We crossed a road onto the bridleway and then realised that the runners were coming behind us on the road and their route led them round to the road where the bridleway comes out. So we were trapped! By this point Eddie had decided that clearly everyone was running away from something so she should do. We were doing some beautiful dressage movements – Joanne would have been proud! Huffy then starts doing mini rears and spinning round and poor S was struggling to stay on board. So we decided to get off and try to just crack on down the road. The poor runners must have been fearing for their lives! Two spinning snorting beasts jogging alongside them! Eddie was just jogging and pulling but she kept nipping my arm – something she does when anxious – which bloomin hurt! But S was losing control of Huf so we pulled into a driveway in the hope that we could calm them down. A lady came out the house to check we were OK and did we need anything. S said as a joke ‘you haven’t got any stables have you’ to which next thing she’s ushering us up her drive and into two stables at the top! S decided she was going to go and get the lorry and drive them back. So the lovely lady made me tea and bought the horses hay while we waited for S to come back with the lorry. Loaded them up and drove them home!! Unloaded Ed and she was still worked up so turned her straight out to let her get it out of her system – she galloped up and down for about ten minutes! (normally she’s head down and eat). Once she’d calmed down caught her back and gave her a wash down (she was dripping in sweat). Silly pony!
So we’ve both had a day off today! Phew what a weekend!
Saturday I had a lesson. Next Sunday is the mini hunter trial so I’d arranged to have a jumping lesson next Saturday with Jo. So this week (thinking we were doing flat work) I decided to try Eddie in the snaffle again as we’ve been getting some good results recently. Arrive at Joannes to find the jumps up. She said she thought it would be better to jump this week rather than the day before (makes sense) So started off warming up. Eddie was eyeing up the jumps and getting excited just looking at them. Not paying much attention to me! So we cracked on and did some jumping exercises, circling in a small canter circle around one fence to get the canter bouncy then bring her down the long side trying to maintain the same canter and ‘popping’ over the fence. Well I felt like I was riding a tank! Eddie was just pulling me into the jumps. I felt like a crock of sh*te. I kept getting left behind, flying up in the air (Eddie has a rather graceful ‘cat leap’ style of jumping!) and at one point she took off round the school and it took 3 circles to regain control!
We did get a few good jumps in but I really didn’t enjoy myself. My confidence jumping is far worse than I thought and I felt really bad afterwards as poor Eddie jumped everything I asked despite me pulling on her getting left behind, lumping around on top. Afterwards I felt really down about it as I’ve never left a lesson feeling bad before but this time I did. But then I reminded myself that this is supposed to be fun. And maybe I just don’t like jumping anymore. So sod it we’ll stick to the dressage! So not sure if we’re going to do anything next week. I’ll take her for the experience and maybe do a clear round but we’ll see on the day.
So that was one bad day.
Sunday met S and Huffy for a ride. Had a lovely time enjoying the sunshine. Ed and Huffy were being well behaved. On our way back Huffy started staring into the distance. There was a race on and he could see the runners in the distance. We crossed a road onto the bridleway and then realised that the runners were coming behind us on the road and their route led them round to the road where the bridleway comes out. So we were trapped! By this point Eddie had decided that clearly everyone was running away from something so she should do. We were doing some beautiful dressage movements – Joanne would have been proud! Huffy then starts doing mini rears and spinning round and poor S was struggling to stay on board. So we decided to get off and try to just crack on down the road. The poor runners must have been fearing for their lives! Two spinning snorting beasts jogging alongside them! Eddie was just jogging and pulling but she kept nipping my arm – something she does when anxious – which bloomin hurt! But S was losing control of Huf so we pulled into a driveway in the hope that we could calm them down. A lady came out the house to check we were OK and did we need anything. S said as a joke ‘you haven’t got any stables have you’ to which next thing she’s ushering us up her drive and into two stables at the top! S decided she was going to go and get the lorry and drive them back. So the lovely lady made me tea and bought the horses hay while we waited for S to come back with the lorry. Loaded them up and drove them home!! Unloaded Ed and she was still worked up so turned her straight out to let her get it out of her system – she galloped up and down for about ten minutes! (normally she’s head down and eat). Once she’d calmed down caught her back and gave her a wash down (she was dripping in sweat). Silly pony!
So we’ve both had a day off today! Phew what a weekend!
