rainy day delight

So real talk: I had almost as much fun editing the videos and pictures and writing out yesterday's post about our paper chase at Tranquility as I did actually riding it (ok not really, but you know what I mean lol).

Such a fun day - I love just going out and having a good time with our horses. No pressure for anything. Just a loose, free-wheeling romp around. Glad you enjoyed reading about it too!

jump 1 of a triple bending line! 

Because we all know it's not always like that every day. That some days are harder than others. That sometimes pressure and expectations mount - even when we're trying to avoid it.

This feels especially true for me now - when the horse has done so well when I ride him, and I'm so excited for pushing forward with all my grandiose plans for the fall season. But yet, things have just kept feeling like they are going a little sideways.

looking pretty reasonable even tho i made him do the adds!

Repeated trips to the west coast. Long days in DC. An aggravated splint, then the abscess / bruise / whatever. Schooling plans postponed bc of weather, then postponed again. All of these things combined with countless other seemingly minor distractions have turned all my carefully constructed plans on their head.

skip-a-dee-do-dah through that lead change!

Remember when we were coming out of our last starter trial back in early July at Fair Hill? When I wrote about how we had the whole 'summer break' ahead of us to really drill in on refining and filling in some of the holes in our training? Yeeeeahhh haha. Funny how all those plans seem to fare when horses are involved!

then easy out over the third and final element

So lately I've felt a distinct sense of urgency in making my rides count. For weeks now I've been counting down the number of rides before our next event. Then recounting and recalculating again and again when Charlie would come out sore in his hoof. Or when yet another xc school had to be rescheduled bc of ground conditions.

It's the worst sort of arithmetic - taking a number you previously thought was barely workable... then continuously paring it down further and further....

look at Sir being all adorable over a small trot jump!!

And it's not even like this next event is of critical importance in the grand scheme of things, ya know? But yet.... after the events missed first because of my broken leg, and then because things fell apart with Isabel.... I'm almost zealously aggressively protective of our chances for going out and doing the thing.

I don't care if we win. Honestly I don't even care if we end up with various penalties or an elimination or whatever, so long as the experience can feel additive and positive for Charlie in his continuing education on all things eventing. Because really even just participating at this point feels so important to me.

omfg but look guys he can bend RIGHT now too!!!! remember when we legit couldn't even turn right?!?! 

And so we've been carefully feeling Charlie out, day by day. How is his hoof? What is he up for? Where is his general fitness level these days?

The last six weeks have just been killer on us. His nascent topline is totally gone. I've had to start playing with shims and half pads again to improve saddle fit to make up for the muscle loss. His cardiovascular fitness (which had never been a high priority as a green bean anyway) is now probably as pitiful as it ever gets for a thoroughbred lol.

he bends enough to still hit each fence dead center. yesssss!

And yet..... This horse just keeps feeling good. Sure, he can take a little warming up. And can be a little rusty about some of the aids. But he has retained everything. Charlie keeps telling me that he is picking up what I'm putting down. Learning the rules. Fitting the puzzle pieces together. Perhaps most importantly, he's really truly actively participating in our rides. Staying with me, trying and offering up answers.

That feeling from him is part of what has kept me so focused on trying to make each ride count even when the rides themselves are too few and far between.

eyes already on the third fence. easy peasy. atta boy charlie!

I'm addicted to that good feeling. Greedy for more. I can't get enough of it. And what's more - not to go way overboard in the anthropomorphization here, but I think Charlie might feel the same.

He continues to be a pressure-averse horse (more on that soon when we'll discuss a recent dressage lesson that unfortunately crossed his current boundaries). He continues to be a horse who does the thing because it's interesting to him, fun to him - not because he is a horse with a huge heart. But so far? He seems to reeeally like this whole eventing schtick. Even the dressage, rough lesson and all.

simple video of schooling the two bending lines here

So when I pulled Charlie out to see if he was sound for a light jump school (having not jumped in 2wks and barely ridden otherwise)? And he just cruised around like he never missed a day? Knowing he is 100% a horse with zero qualms telling me when he doesn't feel good or doesn't wanna, seeing him settle so easily into his work just makes me that much more determined.

Obviously the horse's health and happiness must always be a top priority. Always. (And Charlie is very clear when something is bugging him). I'm going to lay claim to every single good day Charlie offers me at this point tho.

Our conditioning and schooling over the past few weeks has been woefully inadequate compared to what I originally planned... And yet the horse is going the best he's ever gone. Quite simply, it just makes me so excited for what may come. We'll see. I have hopes and dreams for this horse. Fully understanding that horses dictate their own schedules and plans... But I'm hopeful!

First things first tho: so far things are looking promising for this weekend at Fair Hill. Fingers crossed! Have you ever had a similar situation - where everything kept kinda going a little bit wrong, and yet somehow things still ended up working out?