Sunday Fun Day!

So today was an awesome day!!! It was another blue sky, 75 degrees, no humidity kinda day. A GLORIOUS day to be on horseback. And luckily, despite going to bed with a migraine last night and waking up with it today, I managed to have it mostly gone by the time I got on to ride and it disappeared before I finished. Yay!

I met Liz and Devon and we went for a little hack around the field and up the hill. Then we went to the jump ring. We helped Liz jump a few courses and then we set the jumps up for us. I don't know if they were all prelim height or not, but they were all at least training. I set up some fun stuff too. A corner, a very wide oxer with a pole over the top, a triple, and some bendy lines. We also set up a super skinny with no wings. And Fleck was great! I was actually pretty darn good too. And that's what got me into trouble. :) I was pretty happy with how things were going. I felt like my leg position was pretty darn good. I still think I could be just a bit more back with my hips, but at least my legs are mostly underneath me now. My hands are not floating up high and for the most part, I'm going with Fleck, not abandoning him and not rowing. He was jumping quite nicely and from good distances without twisting and heaving. So... I should have been quite pleased. But then... I got greedy. Doh! I wanted to get rid of the left drift and be straighter. I wanted to get our simple changes. And I wanted my hands and legs to be better. And when I got greedy it fell apart. But luckily, Liz helped me fix it. She reminded me that this was fun!! And, in much nicer words, to be glad that I was jumping Fleck at height again and not get greedy. So... I did. We just jumped the skinny and the oxer and I relaxed and we had fun. And of course, it was a beautiful two fences. :)

But in my quest for perfection I did realize a few things. The left drift seems to occur in the air over the fence. It's almost like he gets straight to the fence but drifts left in the landing. At least that's how it happens when I focus on it and really put my left leg on. I also found that he stays straighter if I put the whip in my left hand (not so much because it helps him from drifting but because it keeps me from crossing my left hand over his neck) and keep a bit of a tighter connection on the right rein. I do wonder a bit if his left drift is a bit to help him be more comfy on landing. So... you know what? I'm okay with that. As long as it's subtle and I can keep him from drifting before take off.

After that we headed out to the field for a little splash in the lake where we played and had fun. Fleck got me drenched with his pawing. Goofball! So then we went to the field because Devon wanted to play a little bit more. I figured I might as well do the drop into the water too. So I did the handing log, to the ramp, to the trakehner and then to the drop into the water. It wasn't bad, but he drifted. Liz said it was only because he was counter cantering and the terrain just pulled him left. But it wasn't too bad and he wasn't avoiding the fence. Still, I fixed it and rode it better the second time. So we quit with that. :)

 Fun day! Both Devon and Liz looked awesome too!! It's so much fun to ride with them and get their opinions. And of course the video really helped me to see what was going on and what I still need to work on. And was pleasantly surprising because I'm happier than I thought I'd be with our progress. :) :)


Jump course

More Jumps

Still more jumps

Still jumping

One more oxer spread