2014 in Review -- part 3

Below is episode 3 of our 2014 review - covering the end of summer. This was by far the busiest time for us, and saw many big things happening rapid-fire, one after the other. 

The motivation behind this review is to summarize major events and celebrate any accomplishments - big and small - that may have been overlooked at the time. Follow these links for Part 1 and Part 2 of the review.

August
-I started blogging!!!!

-We jumped the jump of doom at OF - twice! And didn't die!!!! I learned that Isabel understands what's up and enjoys the job well enough that she can babysit me a bit when I'm too scared to actually ride to the fence. This was welcome news for my confidence. 

-Adopted OG. My cats proceeded to luv each other <3

-Didn't do as much trail riding as I would have liked - but the few times we did get out proved to be welcome respites for both of us. 

-Another lesson with Dan. We worked on our teeny tiny ten foot canter stride, and he introduced his favorite concept of letting the circle do the work instead of reins. I also was a bit appalled by my positional issues, and determined to make stability a priority.

-First attempt at conformation shots of Isabel (took pic in August, but posted in September). Had every intention of doing this monthly. Did not do it monthly lol. Still want to do it regularly tho... anyone have tips for getting a great confo shot?? 

-Visited Rochester and took a lesson on Lad. Learned about the bad habits I've picked up (like riding defensively) and bolstered my confidence by loping around 2'6" courses like nbd. 

September
-Applied my lesson with Lad by focusing on *forward* and getting the right feel for jumping out of stride with Isabel.

-Dressage lesson where the name of the game was: get *Emma* riding correctly and Isabel will take care of the rest. We reaffirmed that progress was, in fact, happening.

-Stopped lessoning at ST indefinitely (tho may return this winter).

-The realities of daylight savings time kicked in, and we got reacquainted with the arena lights.

-Isabel was wounded in the field and we missed a major trifecta of xc schooling, dressage lesson, and lesson with Dan. This caused much trepidation about our upcoming show plans.

-Isabel healed and we carried on - resolved to compete but not move up a level.

-Combined training show! It was a foggy, misty morning and I was scared that we'd wipe out again in stadium... but everything was fine. The judge noted improvements in our dressage (still w-t) and Isabel's jumping round was solid - tho the warm up left a lot to be desired.

-XC schooling!! This was totally unexpected - and I was super relieved to have one more outing with Isabel before our first ever horse trial. This constituted our third schooling, and it was a much needed confidence boost. 

-Final lesson before the HT is maybe our best jumping lesson EVAR (still to date). Everything clicked and we operated as one unit. It felt effortless. 

-Isabel and I met the overarching goal I set last winter that prompted all the truck-buying and training (and blogging) we'd been doing: Compete in a Horse trial by Fall 2014!!!!! This was a massively big deal to me, and I broke it into three posts: here, here and here.