wherein we do a scary thing + don't die!

Guys. Isabel and I did a thing. A thing that, while technically completely within our skill set, has always scared the ever loving shit out of me.

isabel doesn't get what all the fuss is about haha

Sure, 3' is a height we have previously navigated more or less competently... tho not since doing novice cross country at Loch Moy in October before I broke my leg. And my confidence has grown flimsier without the practice.

Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, this feat isn't particularly impressive to anyone beyond the principal players. Certainly there's no grand jury waiting to bestow blossoming laurel wreaths upon us. Any comparison between my riding and a world class professional is obviously laughable. Nor will we be featured in any prestigious publications.

Ultimately, tho, I'm only riding for myself. And for me, jumping these barrels felt THRILLING  : D

brita contemplates the realities of appearances from the ground vs from mighty Wick's back. looks like someone might be thinking about novice this year after all!

Anyways... So we snuck in an extra lesson midweek. Actually, maybe my favorite thing about dentist appts is that I can schedule them such that the rest of the afternoon is free for equine-related activities. And this week we opted to go see trainer P at OF again, since Brita missed last weekend and will miss this weekend as well.

#lovethishorse

And it was just three of us from our home barn GE in the lesson - Brita and Wick, lesson director R with her fresh off the track baby TB Birdie, and obvi me and Isabel. So we all had the whooooole arena to play around with warming up. I kinda expected Isabel to be fresh and ready since it had only been two days since her last ride, but she was actually a little slow to start.

"ATTTTTACK!!!!" - isabel

'Twas fine tho. We stretched. We leg yielded and serpentined. We circled big and small. A quick canter to open her back before moving on to strictly sitting the trot. Then practicing all our transitions with sitting - up, down, all around.

Ooh and trainer P taught me a neat cheat for getting a better feel for the sitting trot. She told me to count "1-2 1-2" while also simultaneously thinking "right left right left," with the idea being to develop a stronger feel for each individual hind leg.

I'm undoubtedly exaggerating the side-to-side swing in my hips while doing this, but I think that'll go away with practice. Bc this method really helped in two important ways. 1 - I felt my seat connect better with Isabel's rhythm; and 2 - 'counting' greatly reduced the noise in my brain and the sitting trot was suddenly WAY less distracting. Win!

turns out we can jump straight over the middle when i actually think about it

Then we jumped. Trainer P had whispered into Isabel's ears when we arrived, "Ok girl, I'm gonna finally give you something to JUMP today!," but I didn't think anything of it. Especially when the topic seemed to shift towards a heavier focus on flat work followed by more follow-the-leader through a grid.

It was a typical grid for us: vertical - one stride - vertical - one stride - oxer. But then P set up skinny barrels (pictured above) on the other long side and diagonal. FUN!! For someone notorious for drifting over fences, I LOVE skinnies :D   And Isabel was obviously eager for the challenge. Good mare.

seriously, could she be any cuter? 

And then.... P turned the barrel on the diagonal to its upright position, and added a second for a little extra width. And cue: absolute panic. I seriously thought I was gonna barf up everything I'd eaten in the past 5 years... Sure, P was very nonchalant about the height, saying they're really only just a hair under 3'.... But omg whaaaaaaaat noooooooo.

game mare is game

We did it tho! Started with the grid (which was also raised accordingly), then the other barrel, then up the diagonal over the barrels...

Isabel had a really lovely canter going. Really, through this whole ride she moved very nicely into the bridle and in front of my leg. Starting from walk, to trot, to canter, she stayed very soft to my hands - which then translates directly to getting that great jumping canter from which the distances are always just *right there.*

Tho on this first attempt, while I liked the distance and the canter, it was perhaps a smidgen tight and we knocked the barrels pretty hard.

"oh shit oh god oh shit i'm gonna barf" - emma
"geeez chill out crazy lady, we totes got this!" - best pony in the whole world evar

So we tried again. And I was terrified that I would give her a bad ride and she'd refuse after having already had the one good knock. Well, really I was just terrified. Haha. Ya know.

FLYING

But it was totally fine! Isabel was right up in the bridle and we saw a forward spot and took it. What a rush!!! Yay Isabel!!!!!

And honestly there's not really a whole lot I can realistically make better at this point. I'm pumping with my body on approach (but not as much with my hands - a definite improvement!) and am slightly defensive position-wise, but eh. Improvements are happening with time and practice. Meanwhile Isabel clearly does not feel impeded!

pony has always had a thing for barrels. she likes to bite them.

So... yea maybe it's kinda silly to get so excited about it. But yet, here I am, super excited. Brita and I got drinks after and much exchanging of high fives was had. Bc damn, we felt good.

dreaming for a day when that snow-covered arena visible beyond the fence line is rideable again!

There will undoubtedly be jump schools in the future where things won't go so well - we will struggle, I will ride poorly, Isabel won't always save my ass when I put her in a bad spot. That's just the nature of riding in partnership. Peaks and valleys, y'all.

So I choose to heartily enjoy and celebrate the peaks, in hopes that those feelings of joy and accomplishment bolster me through the rougher patches.