Because I'm an Amateur

He is the best at dressing up

I've talked a lot on here about being an amateur and how that changes the way I ride, the way I dress, and the decisions I make. I've profiled other fun amateurs and attempted to share the journey for others to participate in.

And then Sunday, I got to demonstrate just exactly what that means.

All of you know that I'm quite a fan of my little bay horse. He is sweet and fun and hardworking and good to be around, and every once in a while, he can be quite a pig. Sunday's flat ride was mostly focused on warming up to jump--loose reins, forward and back, not too worried about contact or anything.

LOVE his outfit. LOVE.

He seemed just a teeeeeeny bit resistant, but I wanted to ride forward through it and not pick at him. (And yes, I guess I was full on ignoring S when she always tells me to pick little fights with him so he gives up the big ones more easily. Oops.)

Anywhoodle.

The jumps were all set up a bit because I wanted to expand on Wednesday's brilliance, but I did start by trotting into a crossrail. He jumped it great with his front end, then just sort of decimated it behind.

DAYUM they look good. No stopping pics.

This from my horse that always jumps clean. Hm. Should have been a clue.

Aimed him at the next crossrail. I didn't give him the best ride ever, but it was no worse and anything else. I mean, I tipped forward at it a little, but it wasn't like I hurled myself up his neck...

BRAKES.

I seriously almost ate it.

This wasn't going well, so we dropped the X down to rails on the ground and the sucker stopped AGAIN.

I. Was. Pissed.

Look who is jumping panels like a normal horse!

I applied a couple of artificial aids and my little bay horse leaped over it, but you could see it in every line of his body. Courage did not come to play today.*

Redheadlins coached us a little and after forward/back work, we jumped the first crossrrail without doing anything stupid. Then I marched him up to her, tossed her the reins, and watched my horse jump around the fun course I'd set.

Bam. Knees. Also jumping across.

I call it amateur privilege. Could I get him around it? Probably. Could redheadlins get some very quality work out of him without damaging my confidence and at the same time build up my horse's?

YES. That my friends, is why we pay professionals. (Ok, well I don't really "pay" her, unless you count tack as a currency.)

So off they went. She looked great, he looked great, and after the first couple of sticky fences, Courage was able to jump a complicated course with inside turns and cool panels and related distances like a total champ.

Admire cute horse. Ignore rider position. Very wtf.

And then I got back on and had a few more successful fences.

It's not a cop out--I'm working to become a better, stronger rider. That said, I believe strongly in giving my horse the best chance possible, whether that's with me (most days) or with a better rider (some days). Taking on a green horse is a huge project and I wouldn't want to go it alone. 



*Noted: Courage being a bit of a pig is a normal occurrence about once a month or so. If he felt in any way off or the behavior persists, I would certainly follow up on the physical side of things. I know this horse well enough to know that sometimes he just needs to remember he's not the alpha.