Monday, May 11, 2015

cross country with Izzy!! (complete and utter photo spam)

Three barn mates (including B & Wick) and I went cross country schooling last week, and two other rider friends met us there with their horses too!!!! We went to Tranquility Manor Farms, site of the hunter trials I rode in last fall, and managed to get in an hour and a half of schooling before dusk. It was AMAZING!!

Long story short - Isabel jumped everything I pointed her at, was perfectly rideable, and we did everything from the small intro warm up stuff to one or two novice jumps. I felt like we could have done way more big stuff - but this was Isabel's third day jumping in a row (after our schooling session and lesson with Dan) so I opted not to push it. 

Truly tho, all six horses had very good outings and it was a nice combination of riders with varying goals. One barn mate was prepping for running BN over the weekend, and probably did the most big stuff. Isabel and I were prepping for going Intro in another week, two OTTBs (including Wick) were having their first ever xc outing, and another horse is just coming back from a long winter off after a serious founder. 

All rider pairs did incredibly well, and it was great being out there with friends as cheerleaders. Horses were going every which way at times - but none cared about leaving the group or coming back. No shenanigans, no falls, only a couple stops - but just honest green baby type stuff. 

It was pretty much the best ride ever - and something we seriously hope to repeat often lol. Below is complete photo spam of the outing and most of my jumping efforts (tho with so many riders going around, it's natural that our sainted videographer missed a few things). There's also a video of just my and Izzy's rides, then a longer (12 min) compilation of the whole group. Both are loads of fun to watch :)

our horses are super quiet at the trailer getting ready. everything from packing/unpacking the trailer, tacking up, and generally just hanging out there has become downright routine for everyone concerned 
two thirds of our party, getting ready to head out
the three horses in front of Izzy here are all OTTBs, tho only Tillie (whose rider is in pink) has been out before
the rest of the gang almost ready
the two horses at right have both been out a few times and were super fun to have along
warm up fence was perhaps spookier than anticipated, with lots of rocks at the base - but Isabel didn't care
'whoa omg ROKZ' - Tillie w barnmate K. notice Izzy just chillin haha
little ramp to warm up
some hesitation at the brush box on approach, but up and over with leg
some SASS after the big log - but she comes right back (note to self: sit up and shoulders back!)
second time over the brush box was easy peasy
no hesitation over the stone wall
this was a brick wall on the other side and also got a lookie loo, but nothing big
quiet, relaxed, yet alert on a loose rein between turns
pretty sure this is a novice log pile
bn coop... honestly felt like we could have done the 3' coop next to it too
faux ditch was fine both ways


red barn merited a looksie one stride out, but she was up and over with a little leg
chillin w a mouthful of grass
easy (tho awkward) down
a bummer was that the water was all dried up... and that was really the ONE big thing i think we need serious work on. hopefully another opportunity will present itself soon...
easy up
walking back to the trailer
happy team post-ride :)



~12 minutes but a fun watch all the same

42 comments:

  1. Cross country izzy! Squee!

    Looks like SO much fun, cheerleader friends for the win!

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    1. it was like the best trail ride with friends ever (plus ya know, lots of jumping haha)

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  2. You guys look BOSS! You're going to have no problem this weekend!

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    1. i am SO excited haha! still worried about the water... but i'll just have to convince myself to slow down and take our time getting in and out of the water, and take the 20 faults if it happens - she just needs more water confidence lol

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  3. YOU GUYS LOOK GREAT! ahhhhhh!!!!!!

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    1. omg it was sooooooo much fun! i really couldn't have asked for any more from the mare

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  4. Replies
    1. thanks! she feels like a million bucks right now

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  5. You guys had best be moving up to BN pronto! You look totally ready!

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    Replies
    1. so i may or may not have emailed the loch moy organizer immediately after this schooling while i was still riding the high... and now it's too late to chicken out :P

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  6. Izzy is such a spunky little jumper!

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    1. she is pretty much the definition of 'spunky' haha

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  7. Wow! You two look awesome! Some of those jumps look so huge. And what a beautiful place!

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    1. thanks! the farm was definitely awesome - so much to jump at every level alllll over the place. like, we barely even scratched the surface of stuff to jump haha (plus there were even more fields that hadn't even been mowed yet but were still full of fun stuff).

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  8. Yay that's so awesome! Way to go :)

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  9. Fantastic! She looks totally brave and confident in the photos, so whatever looking she was doing, you clearly supported and got her through it! Great work!!

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    1. she's super brave and confident - and has held my hand over tons of scary stuff in the past. her 'looking' at stuff is rarely bc she's spooked - mostly it's just checking in with me to see if i'm committed. if i do nothing, she might sputter to a stop or jump... but if i do *something* she's definitely jumping

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  10. You guys looked awesome! Way to go!

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  11. That just looks like SO much fun! It's so nice to have a horse that will chill quietly while waiting her turn.

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    1. she's such a blast out there - and i'm definitely grateful that she can wait her turn (tho i also let her graze, which definitely helps haha)

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  12. Looks like everyone had a good time! What fun!

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    1. it was definitely a good day for everyone involved :)

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  13. Great job!! You look totally pro! And I love Izzy's little sassy moments, teehee.

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    1. thanks! i kinda love her sassy moments too lol - she's like nooooo don't pull me up i wanna runnnnn!!! haha

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  14. Looking good! Glad you guys had so much fun!

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  15. She looks like she thoroughly enjoyed herself. And it looks like you did a wonderful job! It must be nice having your pony back in action!

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    1. oh man it is so awesome to have her back and raring to go - she really lost nothing from the time off and it makes me so happy :D

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  16. That looks SUPER fun! I might even be persuaded to try eventing if I could do some of the smaller ones. Good job!

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    1. yesssss!!!! you should totally try it!!

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  17. Awesome all around, looks like you got some pretty fantastic ride weather too!

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    1. the weather was perfect - jussssst warm enough that we didn't worry about sponging them off even tho it was dusk, but cool and breezy enough to keep us all comfortable and keep the bugs at bay

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  18. you guys are so brave! looks like a ton of fun!

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    1. it was a lot of fun - and perhaps the bravest i've felt in recent memory. tho we were coming off of two really solid + confidence-building jump schools,so that helped lol

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  19. You two are attacking those jumps like pros!! Both of you look steady, confident and totally ready. Sooo excited for you!

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    1. thanks! i always knew she liked to jump - but some of the more technical aspects haven't always been there for her. it's so exciting to feel things starting to click more :)

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  20. So fun!!! Looks like an awesome outing and love all the media you got!!

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    1. i'm super pleased with all the media - we were very lucky to have a friend drop by since it was on her way home and she took TONS of video for us :D

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  21. It's so awesome that you have a great group to go XC schooling with! And Izzy is just EATING UP those jumps!!

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    1. it's definitely super fun to go with a group! esp when all the horses were being so good :)

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