Every week I have said "I need to find time to sit and write my next blog post". Well, it has been about 16 weeks of that but here we are! A lot has been happening, between running summer camps here, getting to lessons, shows, teaching, coaching and trying to find some time for my better half I just haven't been able to make a blog post my priority. But that doesn't mean that there hasn't been plenty to write about, so here's a very quick review...
August 6- Belle's 5th Gotchya Day: She has come so far since the first time I laid eyes on her in a very brief ad on the CANTER website! She has always been a puzzle but she makes me earn everything and I am so proud of how far we have come and the rider I have become because of her!
August 6- Belle's 5th Gotchya Day: She has come so far since the first time I laid eyes on her in a very brief ad on the CANTER website! She has always been a puzzle but she makes me earn everything and I am so proud of how far we have come and the rider I have become because of her!
August 10- GMHA HT: Belle had a really great dressage test, putting us 2nd in a large group. I over rode some of the SJ but we had a very nice round with 1 unfortunate rail at the last fence. XC was a blast! We had one stop at an A-B combination but it was just a green moment and learning opportunity for both of us. She recovered and jumped the B really well and felt super bold the whole course! We didn't come home with a ribbon, but lot of confidence is always better!
August 16- We were invited to be a rider for the ICP jumping workshop at Hitching Post Farm. Belle was a solid citizen the whole day! She jumped all of the jumps with ease and confidence!
August 18- My 6th wedding anniversary! Definitely the best choice I've made so far!
August 16- We were invited to be a rider for the ICP jumping workshop at Hitching Post Farm. Belle was a solid citizen the whole day! She jumped all of the jumps with ease and confidence!
August 18- My 6th wedding anniversary! Definitely the best choice I've made so far!
August 19- Huntington Farm HT: I had purposefully done a lot with her the week leading up to this, because in the past she seemed to need to either stay "turned on" or she would get overwhelmed. Dressage warm up had more tension than I'd have liked and our test wasn't my favorite but we got it done. She felt a little funky in XC warm up so I decided to see how the course went and was wiling to pull her up if it just wasn't our day. But with a little more encouragement than usual she made it through the course. It wasn't as bold as GMHA but she also needs to find a bit of "git'er done" so it was good practice for that. SJ wasn't super but again, she got it done and I'm proud of her effort- this was a long way from that awful first attempt at showing! All in all it was a mediocre day but we came home safely and I learned what she needs between shows a bit better.
September 4- Scarlet Apple HT: It was HOT!!! Warm up was wonderful, but she had a few uncharacteristic mistakes in our test. Again, a good "git'er done" experience for her. SJ was BOLD, she felt great, but I almost needed better breaks! XC was also super bold and I could feel that she knew exactly what to do out there and I got to just let her do it! We may have been a little faster than BN time, but she felt good so I let her keep her confidence. We had a stop at the drop which put us out of the ribbons but all in all it was a magnificent last show of the season!!!!!
September 15- I made an impromptu drive to Unionville, PA to try a horse... bought said horse 9/17. (separate blog to come!!!)
September 18- Jump lesson with Kirk Webby- A LOT of pieces came together in this lesson :) Ride forward between the fences so that you can settle before the fence was the biggest "ah ha" for us!
October 7- Jump lesson with Eric Smiley- I finally feel like I have a jumping horse!!!!! Continued exactly what I had figured out in my lesson with Kirk and it was a great day of jumping.
September 15- I made an impromptu drive to Unionville, PA to try a horse... bought said horse 9/17. (separate blog to come!!!)
September 18- Jump lesson with Kirk Webby- A LOT of pieces came together in this lesson :) Ride forward between the fences so that you can settle before the fence was the biggest "ah ha" for us!
October 7- Jump lesson with Eric Smiley- I finally feel like I have a jumping horse!!!!! Continued exactly what I had figured out in my lesson with Kirk and it was a great day of jumping.
October 22- Tik Maynard visited for an awesome day of ground work and jumping lessons. With Belle, it was more of the same (ride more forward between the jumps) but we also need to figure out how to shift gears faster and have her brain stay at a more constant, more settled speed.
November 3- I bought a new truck!!!
November 8- Belle, Maizie and I headed to the Equine Affaire to participate in clinics with Tik (separate blog to come)
Although this post is a little more like I'm typing minutes to a meeting, it's nice to put it all down on paper (computer) and look at it. I hope sometime soon you can write down what you've accomplished in the last few crazy months and be impressed with what's on the list!
November 3- I bought a new truck!!!
November 8- Belle, Maizie and I headed to the Equine Affaire to participate in clinics with Tik (separate blog to come)
Although this post is a little more like I'm typing minutes to a meeting, it's nice to put it all down on paper (computer) and look at it. I hope sometime soon you can write down what you've accomplished in the last few crazy months and be impressed with what's on the list!
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