Officially, Izzy and I are not jumping until September, because pretty obviously, I have SERIOUS position/leg issues to deal with.
Unofficially, Izzy is bored out of her mind doing dressage right now and I need time in (out of?) the jump saddle to solidify my lower leg. Soooo...
Yesterday, I set a trot pole and a cavaletti. The cavaletti was only like 12" tall, so I figured we'd be fine. She usually jumps it on her first go, then just lazily trots over it after that.
HA!
Not this fearless, brave pony mare. SHE WILL JUMP, thank you very much.
She looks lazy in this picture, but don't let her fool you. The dragon is resting...
We had a grueling warmup, in which all she had to do was stay forward while my bum never touched the saddle. Ok, so maybe not at all grueling for her, but I wanted to die. I figured we would finish up with the set obstacles. We went back and forth over the trot pole, with me practicing keeping her straight, keeping my position, and moving in rhythm with her.
Then we turned for the teensy tiny little 1' cavaletti. We were trotting in, until about three strides out when she just charged at it and took a MASSIVE FLYING LEAP!!! WHEEEEE! JUMP!!
I brought her to a calm, collected halt, then trotted off again.
She remained enthusiastic. I settled for keeping a balanced canter to the itty bitty rail that was BARELY off of the ground, and then halting sometime after it. Apparently, she was getting a wee tich bored of the whole dressage pony thing.
Could a dressage pony rock this halter? Get real.
Today, we were back to stirrupless dressage again. My legs are getting to be downright amazing, y'all. Also they hurt a lot. Anywho. My plan is to continue riding stirrup free to help develop a nice, long leg and a better seat. However, since I can't ride her as forward as I would like without stirrups, periodically I will put them on and see how much can stick when we add in forward.
Yes, I realize that the best of both worlds would simply be to ride that forward without stirrups. If I was amazing at riding the sitting trot, I would consider it. I am not, and as such, I only ask for as much trot as I can sit without functioning as a jackhammer on her back.
What makes everything better for Izzy is that the apple tree has started producing. The BO raked up the fallen apples and leaves them in a cart on the way back to her field.
Pony pitstop.
Lastly, here's a shot of Izzy munching a few extra apples in her grain bucket.
Maybe she looks just a wee tiny bit less fat than before?
Heh! Bored indeed, it sounds like. I can't wait until Saturday and jumping lessons, woooooot! :)
ReplyDeleteShe IS less, fat, she's starting to look good! See, I KNEW she wanted to be an event pony! Dressage, pooh, boring!
ReplyDeleteGosh she is a pretty thing :)
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! Nothing like an enthusiastic horse, even when you aren't expecting it...and you did just fine!!
ReplyDeleteIzzy looks really good. Bet those apples tasted really good.
The do have opinions. More jumps, please.
ReplyDeleteShe is looking and it seems feeling great! Good for you!
ReplyDeleteWell, I always say "If you're bored than you're boring" ;). Dressage can be fun, you just need to mix it up. Test out those new long, lean legs with some lateral work. A little leg yield or shoulder in might revitalize Ms. Izzy, and it will certainly keep your brain off auto-pilot!
ReplyDeleteIzzy looks quite nice, not fat at all. In spite of always seeming to have her face in a bucket..... ;)
I think you are one of those masochistic riders:) You will get bad ass results, but don't forget you JUST started riding after a long layoff. Izzy looks wonderful. Miles says THANK YOU to the sexy mare and her owner who sent him the Amigo Fly sheet:) His first day in it will be tomorrow. He's also thankful his wussy mom doesn't work either of us nearly as hard as she should, and says I should stop reading blogs like this one that put foolish ideas into my head.
ReplyDelete