Galloping goodness and jumping too!

One quick word about "the" issue.  Our counseling session is scheduled for Tuesday.  Patience is not my best quality so now we are doing our best to get along to bide our time to deal with the issue.  I appreciate all of you support and sweet words.  It helps more than you can know.  I can look back and see this coming but I guess as with any potentially icky situation I always tried to think positively and thought it would all get better over time.  Well I was proven wrong unfortunately but I still have to believe it is all going to work out for the best.  I could say SO MUCH more but I will stop there and get to an enjoyable part of my life, horses!

It was a beautiful day and I am grateful because I needed it.  I got a used new dressage bridle the other day.  It isn't great and the leather is pretty dry but it will do for this show at least and it was CHEAP!  So since I needed something black to match my saddle I snatched it up.  It had white piping which I would not have picked out on my own but again for $35 I was going to just go with it for now.  I put it on Steady and I have to say he looked quite dashing in it!  I am sure pictures will come if nothing else after the show this weekend.  Now I just need to find some reins and I will be all set to show.  Well except for a show coat but I am hoping to borrow one for the time being.

I was planning to just work on our dressage test today and try out the new bridle.  It didn't seem to effect Steady much which is not a surprise.  He is used to riding in a drop noseband and the only difference is this has a flash but they both do pretty much the same thing.  Yes I strap my horses mouth shut, gasp!  It does wonders for him not opening up his mouth and bracing against the bit.  Well my dressage plan was foiled when I was having issues with him getting all sucked back and not moving forward.  Then it turned from that to refusing to bend to the left.  He was just making it very clear that prancing around as a pretty pony was not what he was in the mood for today.  So we cantered then we opened him up for a little gallop.  Then we threw in a few jumps since he was galloping so politely.  He started by jumping long.  Then I remembered how to ride and decided to ride each jump like I meant it.  Put on both legs, ride him straight and right to the base of the jump and viola!  He jumped beautifully!  I decided then it may be a good idea to jump at height at least once before going to the CT and doing an entire show jumping course and XC schooling.  I set the jump to 2'9" pointed him at it he cantered up to it, took off and jumped it like it was 2'.  Oops!  I got down set it back up9joys of never having a ground person) and told him that it really is a better idea to look at the size of the jump and then pick up his feet accordingly.  We came back at it and cantered right up to the base of the jump and jumped so round, so beautifully and so easy to ride and he jumped it like it was 2'9" this time and the next 5 times through same thing.  I strung a couple of the jumps together and he was on his game.  Now if I can ride like that on Saturday we will be set.

Only a couple more days, a shit load of work and I will be off to ride all my worries away and spend some QT with some kick ass people!