Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Our First Lesson at Oak Meadow: Win!

Hey guys. Sorry for my habitual absence. Thanks to the prodding of some fellow bloggers (Nicku, Marissa... not naming any names), I have been convinced to use some of my sick day to send the blog world a quick update. I managed to contract some horrible GI bug and have been out of work for the last two days. I HAVE to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm really weak and haven't really tried eating solids in two days (wait, do bananas count as solid?). I also haven't seen the big grey monster in 2 days. 

We did leave on a good note. I saw Granite 6 days last week (and rode 5 of them)! The cherry on the sundae was that I had a lesson with Jen on Sunday. She has an amazing way of communicating with me so that I understand what I'm doing wrong and what Granite understands. 

We worked on me slowing down my posting and not bugging Granite enough with my legs. He was a really lethargic baby horse and I just keep pestering him to move forward. Turns out, he IS moving forward and I am causing him to rush! 

We worked on Granite doing softly and keeping him from dipping below the bit. We also added some sitting trot circles and canter transitions from them. THEN, we worked on jumping. We did the highest fences we have ever tried (maybe 1.5 feet). Granite did so well! No refusals. Jen used poles on either side leading up to the jump to encourage straightness and she used a crossrail with high sides to encourage him to hit the center of the fence. Granite was a pro and I was a proud momma. I was worn out after my lesson: it was amazing! I cannot wait to do it again.

AND... we will be competing in Granite's FIRST ever Hunter Pace at Yadkin Valley Hounds on Sunday! Wahoooo!

Until that update... enjoy some photos of last Sunday's lesson. Courtesy my lovely assistance, TK.









8 comments:

  1. You two look FABULOUS! You should be so proud of how far you have come. :) Good to see the grey beast so happy. And get well soon to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love these photos! He looks so balanced and relaxed. There are great things in store for him, I am sure of it! So glad to hear the story behind the photos and so glad you decided to share them on the blog! Excellent use of a sick day. Hope you are feeling better and can get back out to see the G-man soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE! Sorry you were feeling yuck, that's no fun. The pictures are AWESOME, you both look great! I am re-evaluating Pongo's career as an eventer as well and we're aiming to do a couple of hunter paces this year to see if that satisfies my need to gallop and jump stuff outside without the expense of a full fledged horse trials...Cant wait to hear ALL about how you guys do, I know you'll be awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry to hear you are sick! Remember to drink a LOT of fuids!! The last thing you want is to get dehydrated on top of it.

    You guys look great! I can't wait to hear how the YVH goes!


    alexandappleshow.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete