Well the pictures from last time refuse to upload so i'll do that in another post. Things have been moving along at a semi-average pace. We had a set of about five days where he blew my mind with his talent, athleticism and heart, and then a set of about five more days where he was stubborn, unwilling and cautious. We've been hacking out lots, going in the pond as much as possible while it's still fresh and enjoying each other's company in the "sun". (It's been miserable, rain and cold until today when the sun peaked out but the temperature sure didn't.)
My Tuesday lesson is now shared with my best friend. We did a line of X's (gymnastic). It wasssss "eehhh". I struggled to find a balance and rythmn, but apparently we looked like we were improving. I need to focus on keeping my core strong and my shoulders back, according to my coach, letting him flow, taking my calf off and balancing that with more upper thigh. I need to bounce in my knees over every jump. I don't exactly understand how that works, but God am I trying. He was good though, and his canter felt really nice and deep when we were warming up without beeing too strong or heavy. A bit of a "fiasco" when his herd came galloping up from the grazing paddock, Dakota the horse we were riding with had a bit of a hissy fit. My friend isn't as enthusiastic about hacking so we cut our usual route to about 1/4 which was disappointing for both of us, and she didn't want to swim either.
Today i had a training session with the coach. JUMPING! All i can say is WOW. He looked fabulous. She had him moving in front of her leg, instead of behind like me, and he carried himself at the canter in a beautiful frame which aloud him to get every spot perfectly. My coach has never jumped Boomer before, so it was really great and interesting to see her ride. I loved how quiet she was, and positive reinforcement was plentiful. Both of these aspects surprised me slightly, in a great way! She did some gymnastic work to warm up over big x's, then played over different elements of our hunter course, keeping the canter flowing the whole time. He was very tierd and panting so she cut it short when he had had enough. Great to see, great to aspire to. THe way she gets him to hold himself through his transitions is something i can't quite grasp yet, but i want to so badly!
Tomorrow i'm heading out early to possibley work through the dressage test. I was going to do XC in the morning but without someone to spot me it just felt to dangerous. After the ride i'm picking up some pony club friends and we're making a day-trip to Greenhawk to pick up some things for C-Rally in July and horse shows coming up in June.
I'm officially signed up for my first event! It's June 14th. We're doing the 2' division so that we have no challenges except me fighting nerves and Boomer focusing and enjoying himself. I really look forward to the opportunity to explore off property in a fun and positive environment. Lots of friends from Pony Club will be there and competing so we'll be happy to catch up with them as well. I'm off to bed so i can get an early start.
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