Week 37: Out and About

                The last two weekends have been full of adventure! Finn competed in his first BN event and then we participated in a dressage schooling show. For the last week I have also been teaching the farm summer camp so it is safe to say that I am exhausted! At Flora Lea, Finn warmed up beautifully for dressage but then decided to take a step out of the ring during our test, resulting in elimination. We were permitted to complete the jumping phases of the show and Finn was a very good boy! He definitely put some extra room in over the bigger fences and he put in a fantastic cross country round. At the dressage schooling show Finn and I completed two dressage tests. We scored a 30 and a 34, with an 8 on our one free walk! Finn was much steadier in the bridle than he was at Flora Lea and he proved to be a tough competitor bringing home two 2^nd place finishes. One of our second places came out of a group of 7!!!

                In hopes of improving Finn’s basics, I have been schooling a lot of transitions. I do walk-trot, trot-walk and walk-halt transitions at the beginning of every ride to solidify Finn’s understanding of leg and seat aids. By teaching Finn to half halt off of the leg instead of the bridle, I am increasing the likelihood that Finn will pick up difficult maneuvers more easily. I have also been jumping with Sally Cousins more frequently. Sally has been helping me to position my leg more forward and keep Finn’s balance up before the fence.

                Something that I feel really helps Finn and I improve is being surrounded by some of the best people in the business. I don’t mean that I train with all of them; instead I mean that I get to watch them teach and ride. Being at Bit O Woods farm has made it easy for me to watch some of the best at work. Whether I am watching Jill Henneberg jump her two horses or I am watching Sally teach jump lessons to upper level riders, I am always watching and hoping to steal some of their secrets. I feel like the time we spend out of the saddle is almost as important as the time we spend trotting circles and cantering figure 8’s. Although being a good rider would benefit my horse, having a large toolbox of resources will help him and me almost as much.

                I am going to be taking a little bit of time between now and Finn’s next event. My hope is to work on Finn’s fitness and balance. My ultimate goal for this horse is that he will be competitive at the upper levels and in order to that, I need to be careful to not overdo it with Finn too early. Every single day I feel like Finn and I are learning something new and I can only hope that we can continue on this path.