a not-quite-triumphant return to lessons

As hinted at previously, our first lesson back at OF was a bit of a mixed bag. EXCEPT. Except in one specific detail: Isabel was soooooo happy to get back out and about again for adventures. She practically dragged me onto the trailer (both going to OF and coming home lol). And she settled in beautifully as usual too, telling me exactly where she would like her hay net, thankyouverymuch. lol

"hay net goes here please" - isabel

So that was reassuring haha. I told trainer P a bit about how things have been since we started back in work - namely, inconsistent. Our first couple rides back were super soft and lovely, with the mare happily reaching for the contact in a settled rhythm. And then... well the wheels kinda fell off the bus lol.

not a terrible picture (esp with dat tail)

There was only really one ride that was a total disaster, mostly due to my own struggles with patience (more on that later). But even subsequent rides were only really marginally better bc I made it a requirement that Isabel gets rewarded for trying and making an effort, even if the answer isn't quite what I wanted.

pricked ears make everything better. this pic nicely demonstrates our combined left bend issues tho

Mostly the issues have been related to speed (shocking!). The process of building the mare's strength and muscling is painstaking and slow - with lots of slow stretching work. And lots of bending from side to side (ugh esp that stiff left side...). And, well. Isabel kinda thinks that's bullshit. She would much rather RUN GO FAST DO THE THING!!!! and can brace perfectly well in her neck and withers to accommodate any weaknesses.

So... it hasn't been super pretty, and I don't necessarily have a ton of tools in my arsenal to work through it, since most of our lessons have been with a strong and fit mare who could handle a certain intensity that isn't really possible right now. And so we return to lessons to get help lol.

fast is her favorite

And the flat work actually went kinda ok in this lesson. Nothing amazing, but better than it has been. And trainer P pointed out a few issues related to my own position and strength that aren't helping. Of particular note was pinching with my knee, forcing my lower leg to swing too far back. Naturally I corrected this by parking the lower leg out in front of me lol... Oh well. It's on my radar now, I guess.

gettin into the zone

Then we were out of the frying pan and into the fire: jump grid time!! The same lines from last week (when I was spectating) were still set up, and I was excited bc it looked fun: two lines of four fences each set at an 18' one stride distance. One line of verticals, the other of oxers.

middle of the grid

We started with the verticals, which themselves started as a single crossrail and slowly grew to the full four fence line. And wow. Lemme tell ya. Isabel was SERIOUSLY enthusiastic to be jumping again haha. She jumped the *snot* out of that crossrail again and again - jumping me out of the tack every time lol. 

wheeeee!!

I definitely felt loose in the tack (and trot jumps are tools of the devil), but we kinda eventually got in sync over the verticals. 

The oxers tho? Not so much.... womp womp. Even when I begged trainer P to let us canter in instead of trot in, we still managed to mess it all up. Mostly bc I was expecting to package Isabel up into our nice tiny yet powerful jump canter that is quite frankly not a thing we have right now. So instead we just missed distances, with neither of us really making proper adjustments.

oh god we're gonna die.... also this looks miiiiighty familiar lol

First we stopped at the first element. Then after making it over that, we stopped at the second in a fashion almost exactly reminiscent of, um, that last time we jumped oxers set at 18' distances lol. I'm even wearing the same color shirt. Deja vu, I tell ya.

ok, that's better

Honestly tho I think mare just got tired and probably could have used more actual support from me, rather than the flopping around jello-impression I was doing. Her exuberance over the mere crossrail to start with probably blew through her energy a little too quickly, not to mention that gymnastic exercises are themselves pretty taxing.

So we made it through the oxer line of just two fences a couple times nicely before calling it a day and watching the rest of our lesson mates (including Brita and Kaitlyn!) build up to the full four fences, then a third line of bounces, and eventually put it all together into a course. Looked fun - but I was totally fine with saving all that for another day.

three amigos (clearly Wick has enthusiasm enough for the others haha)

Because mostly I'm just so relieved to return to some semblance of normalcy. It's tough for me mentally to get back on a horse that, last time we jumped, cruised around novice course work like nbd, and now can't get through a full jump lesson. But that's a natural function of two months off and it's my problem, not Isabel's. We're both getting there and there's exactly zero rush. For now I'm satisfied to even just participate!

back to the trailers, bee-lining to the hay net lol

Plus, as always, it's just super fun to get to ride with my friends again rather than just watching from the sidelines. And I think Isabel would agree too. She acted like she had never missed a day at OF, complete with taking me straight back to her hay net at the trailer when we were finished. Good mare!