Fell off! And then got two rosettes! :D

HaloHoney

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Apr 30, 2017
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It had to happen sooner or later!

It was the annual show at my yard on bank holiday Monday- never done anything like it before, but bought a tweed jacket and a showing cane, and decided to enter a couple of classes.

First of all, Best Turned Out. Got a special, but I think that was mainly because his tail is growing out from being pulled, so I couldn't plait it- another inch and I would have, grrr. Still, I'm getting much better at plaiting his mane. And next year I'm buying some show white for his socks.

Then we were getting warmed up for the "Riding Club Horse" class, and my inexperience meant that when his feet went out from underneath him (cornering in trot, not fast, mildly downhill) I didn't throw my weight over the outside to help him to right himself and instead we both hit the grass.

Got straight back on (helped by a friend's husband, who also found my hearing aid in the grass) and went into the class with total jelly-knees, feeling like Crying. Flash was so excited though, mainly because he thought we were there to do all the hunter jumps (not today, sorry mate). Our individual show consisted of him assuming I was pointing him at all sorts of fences "this one? Yay! Oh? How about this one? Whoop! No? Hmm. Surely this one?!" However, we jumped the single upright as required, and Came 5th out of 6! Amazed!

Next class (4 gallons of sweat later, 27 degree heat and wool tweed doesn't mix well) we were required to jump an upright and a spread. So we practiced the spread in the warm up arena- it was well over 2'... It was like sitting on a flipping homing missile! Boy, is he fun to jump! Whoomph! He thought that every time I turned towards the warm up fences I was going to ask him to jump, so I had to spend 5 minutes circling him in trot and canter until he got bored of that idea.

Final class was "Competition Horse". There were 3 of us in it - and we came second!

So we've learned something and started our frillies collection!

Dressage on Monday, and Cross Country Clinic tomorrow... can't wait to see how he is over XC fences. Quietly hopeful our dressage score might improve too because I've almost got him with a head down in trot!

As your reward for reading this essay, here are some photos from Monday. View media item 25155View media item 25156View media item 25157
 
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Well done for getting back on, it's not nice when you fall with your horse. It has happened to be a few times and really taught me to keep my weight back and balance properly.

Love the pictures of you jumping, he is a lovely looking boy.
 
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The horse going down with you is one of the scariest type of falls, I'm not suprised you had jelly legs, well done for getting straight back on and going into the class.

Those pictures are lovely, I especially like the last one :D
 
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The horse going down with you is one of the scariest type of falls, I'm not suprised you had jelly legs, well done for getting straight back on and going into the class.

Those pictures are lovely, I especially like the last one :D

Yes, my head was about a metre away from a log as well. Yikes. And I didn't have my body protector on. A metre sooner would have been a visit from the paramedics...

I love that last picture too- I was telling him he was a good boy, and giving him a little pat. I nearly cried when I saw those pics. We've come a long way since we first met in June!

This picture is of us having an argument about whether he was going to jump a fence or not. Me: Not that one, mate!
Him: I am a giraffe and I am not listening to you.
LOL
http://glamorouseventphotography.zenfolio.com/p814925517/h9480d41a
 
Well done for getting back on, it's not nice when you fall with your horse. It has happened to be a few times and really taught me to keep my weight back and balance properly.

Love the pictures of you jumping, he is a lovely looking boy.

Jumping is his favourite thing. So keen to please. He's an absolute joy to jump. I'm now trying to convince him he loves flatwork just as much, and he's now starting to round up for me. The more I ride him, the more I get to know him, and the more I get to know him, the more I love him. I am incredibly lucky.
 
Ha ha the argument picture looks very familiar to me! But I love the one of you patting him.

Well done and you must have great brave pants to get up from a fall with him and carry on!
 
Just did a cross country clinic with him... in which I discovered he can read fence markers.

I try to get him to jump the lower half of a log, and he turns and jumps the higher bit which is marked up with red & white triangles.

So I try that again... and he does exactly the same thing.

It was such a "no, Mum, you're getting it wrong, we need to jump between these bits, like this, look!"

I can't argue with that. I think it's fair to say he must have done a few XCs before.

Gosh he's a lot of fun.
 
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