birthday xc

I've been itching to get out onto our home xc course for a little school for ages and ages, it seems. At first the ground was too hard and dry.... Then it was too wet... Then Charlie had that hoof soreness.... Then it was too wet again.... You know how it goes. 

just me and my favorite pony, cantering around

As if right on schedule for my birthday, tho, conditions yesterday were perfect. Cool weather, enough days of dry that the ground was basically perfect while still trending soft and sticky (the better to dig one's toes in!). And Charlie felt like a million bucks. Yessss!

warm up! 

Obvi I don't deign to work on my birthday*** so could just get out to the barn at a leisurely hour and enjoy the nicest part of the day. 

(***Well, except for the 3hrs that morning spent finishing a report for a proofing deadline with our corporate services team....)

nice little coop into the water

And it's just so funny, guys. My mind is such a strange place sometimes. I've worked really really hard the last two years to literally etch into the stone of my soul that.... Charlie and I can jump around Novice blindfolded and with both hands tied our backs (figuratively tho, c'mon guys). Because... Uh, we can. 

splish splash!

But I still have these weird moments of feeling like.... Gosh, idk, what if we can't? What if it's been so long? What if something has changed? What if we both just like.... forgot? Or worse.... What if Charlie doesn't want to anymore? 

novice house on a hillside

Because let's be real.... The success is all Charlie's. He is an uncomplicated horse. And I've spent years working on our trust and our partnership. He goes so well not because I'm like... an above average rider (hint: am not). Rather.... It's because he's a good boy, he's good at it, and all he wants from me is a closed leg and steady contact. 

novice rolltop

So I spend all this time psyching myself out about however long it's been since we jumped this that or the other thing.... And how all the jumps are in different places from the last time we schooled out there... But then we go.... and we do it.... And, yep, turns out Charlie can still jump dem jumps! 

the video is full of epic shadows <3

As is my normal way with xc schooling.... I like to just go out and do it. We spent a good while walking around all the fields checking footing and coming up with a plan. Then I jumped a couple of the itsy bitsies around the water to see where Charlie was at. 

wheeeee finishing on our favorite novice table! 

Charlie was, to put it lightly, perfection. We've spent so much time this year show jumping that Charlie has become shockingly refined in how quickly he can balance and turn. I LOVE IT! 

And so we commenced on a simple little loop through the driest fields on course, finishing with three of my favorite novice fences: a basic house, a big beefy rolltop (that we haven't actually seen in a long time), and our favorite table - above.

excellent little loop captured for posterity here on ye olde youtube

the best part is when he jumps the stream crossing right out of stride lol

Maybe it's different with other horses, but I strongly prefer to string multiple fences together with Charlie vs jumping one thing at a time, constantly starting and stopping. 

Charlie just is not the same horse at jump 1 in a series as he is at the 5th. Maybe that's a training hole or whatever... But eh, I tend to think it's pretty normal. So I feel like we both have more fun, and get a more consistent experience by getting into a rhythm and going for it. Ymmv, obvi.  

good boy <3
also fun fact, youtube flagged this particular clip as a copyright infringement smh....

Mostly tho.... It's just more fun haha. I may not have been inclined at all this past year to actually commit to running 3 full phases at a one day horse trial.... But I still really do love each phase individually --- especially in bite sized morsels <3 

And with a horse as good on cross country as Charlie, who wouldn't love it???