So.... two of my friends invited me to come show with them at Sporting Days. I'm so grateful they did! I didn't even know that Sporting Days was having a show. It was a schooling show and only a CT but they had opened up some of the XC field too. And they wanted to school XC also. Then Jacel saw me comment on it and wanted to come and she ended up coming too and coaching me and then all of us on XC. It was such a fun day!
I decided to suck it up and run Dan in the training CT. I figured since he had schooled beautifully at home and skipped over the fences at Stableview, why not?! Plus, Sporting Days tends to be a bit on the softer side. And it's a CT. But eeeks! So poor Dan has now done one show at BN, one show at Novice, and now a show at training. ha ha. So much for easing him back. :) But, it has been quite some time too. And he's ready!! Oh he was READY!
We were lucky and had a 10:36 dressage ride so we didn't have to get up super early. But we were up early enough for a beautiful sunrise and a bath. We got to Aiken in good time and I got him unloaded. He slid on the ramp and scraped up his shin. Poor guy. But we got him all tacked up and prettied up and got on. Way too early but that's okay. That's how I roll. I panic about being late and then am too early. But we walked around a good bit in the field just letting him stretch. Then we trotted and cantered on the buckle. The dressage steward said she loved watching me canter him on the buckle. :) Jacel coached us and told me to get his hind end stepping under more. She had me to do a few steps of leg yield to get him stepping under. And reminded me to sit up straight and use my core and to not let him sneak the reins out away from me. I wasn't asking him to shorten with my reins, but... I had to use my legs and seat and then support the front end with the reins. We had some nice work and a really nice trot lengthen too. Oh, and with the trot lengthens she reminded me that in a lengthen, he needed to lengthen his body a hair. So I had to give with my hands a tiny bit but not with my upper body. Got it!
So he was quite good and we felt pretty ready, though he's definitely leaning more on my right leg. So we went in and did our test. Man.. that small arena is SMALL! I really ought to start booking the small arena at Ashland and practicing because clearly my guestimations at home are not correct! It was a good test but he tripped on a clod of grass in the beginning and then our canter lengthens on the circle felt very tipped and motorcycle-y. He started coughing halfway through and then got a bit strung out. And our trot lengthening started great but then I lost him and he broke into a canter at the last stride or two. He halted nicely and didn't quite go gangbuster down centerline. I think the fact that we had just lengthened helped. So... I was disappointed. Which, on the way to Aiken I was thanking God and praising him for giving me another run with Dan. And thanked him again for letting me get him more "tuned up" for the Apocolypse for Him. :) So, after our test, I let my pride get the best of me and was disappointed. I told Jacel that I was upset because I knew he was nicer than that and I just wanted everyone to see him how I knew he could be. And she reminded me that not only was it a nice test, but... a year ago we weren't sure we'd be doing this. So yep.. that is true! And I felt bad that I got all greedy and competitive and... ugly about it. In my head anyways. Turns out... we were in first place with a 27.5!!! The judge didn't have a scribe so she must have been writing when we broke in our lengthen. But he did score an 8.5 on his medium walk to trot transition. Dang!! Whooo hoo. Good boy. My bad... guess it felt better than it looked.
I walked the stadium course and it looked fun. It was set for Novice so it wasn't intimidating and looked like a fun but tricky course. We got tacked up and got on and warmed up and Dan and I were lackadaisical over the first fence. Like always. Sigh... Jacel got us in gear and had me ride his hocks and it was much better! He actually felt pretty phenomenal! They got the course set up and I didn't get to walk it, which was maybe a good thing. They looked fairly big but it was hard to tell up on the hill and they had short standards too. And once I got in there and they blew the whistle, I sort of didn't pay attention to the height. Dan was being silly and looking at the tent and judge when we started and I had to tell him to pay attention to the fence but then he did and was super. The first part of the course was pretty darn good. He jumped everything mostly out of stride. I probably could have been a bit more bold coming to a few of them, but not too bad. Then fence 8 I backed off of and he did too so we cleared it but it was off a chip. Then we got wonky to the last combo and he saved my bacon. Then the last fence was okay. So.. definitely not our smoothest round, but...we jumped clean, so... I'll take it. Good boy!!!
We headed out to XC after that to school. Again.. the first fence we came to in a hunter canter. Ha ha.. Dan jumped it but... we came again with more oomph and energy and I rode his hocks and it was much better. Then we came around to a training skinny with brush! And Dan just bounced on over it like he was tigger! We ended up doing pretty much all of the training level fences we came across! The corner... the giant table with a hole in the bottom. That one I sort of panicked at the last minute but Dan just took me over it! Jacel said that while I wimped out, I at least kept my shoulders up, so he didn't know I wimped out. Hee hee. Yay! We jumped a lot of fun stuff and did the fun bending line in the water. And as long as I kept my elbows moving and gave him the reins at the base, he was game. Well, heck, he was game regardless, but it was smoother when I stayed upright in my chest and sternum and kept my shoulders back, but allowed with the reins. I kept wanting to almost hold his head up with the reins. NO! Let him use his head and neck. :) It worked! And if I kept my shoulders up, he didn't lengthen to the base of the jump, he just jumped it beautifully out of stride. And man.. was he having fun! He was so game to pick up the canter and jump and then he'd gallop off after. And not once did we slip or have any issues in our glue on shoes... even without studs! Granted, the footing was great, but still.
Then we came to a trakehner. It wasn't huge. Maybe the size of the one at Ashland, maybe a little bigger/wider. Jacel asked me and... I told her that I wasn't sure. I wanted to but was a little scared. But then Allissa said she wanted to do it but needed to walk the ditch a few times. By then I was getting myself more nervous so I was like "okay, sorry.. I'm gonna do it but I'm gonna do it now before I lose my nerve". And we did! The first time was a bit of a struggle over it because I wimped out but we got over it without any major issues. He just didn't sail smoothly over it. So we circled and came again and it was much better!!! Yeah baby!! Good boy Danomite!
We played over a few more fences and decided that we had all had amazing wonderful days and we could quit and go home happy! The ponies were all excited and had great days too!
It was sooooo nice to have such beautiful weather, such great friends, and to be back out having a blast. And what was extra cool... was that Dan was having his best day ever! He had so much fun being back out there! I thanked God again for giving me another ride. Another day. Another XC school. And then we came home to a glorious sunset too. It really was a perfect day!
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