I'd like to begin this blog with a big nee-ner-nee-ner-nee-ner to teh weather forecasters who told me it would necessary to pack all of the equine and human rain gear that I own. Oh contraire, Mr. Forecaster, only a few minutes of light sprinkles were experienced,and actually welcomed as it was a bit warm!
The few sprinkles are actually quite a good synonym for how our weekend went... let's start at the beginning.
Friday we had a horrible ride. The drive down was uneventful (the way we like it). I got there, quickly unloaded and tacked up, planning on a quick hack with a little light flat work, before going to eat dinner with some close friends. P-man had other ideas. Apparently the exotic animals that call The Ark home, that weren't scary at all this spring, were TERRIFYING. Granted, I think there must have been some breeding going on somewhere with the noises that were happening, but P was pretty sure that aliens had landed and that EVERYTHING was meant to be spooked at. So much for a light ride. Luckily I had on my handy, dandy new snazzy dazzy saddle with big ol' knee and thigh blocks to hold me on! Finally I got some semi-decent work and decided to call it a night, since I was becoming WAY more tired then the UBER-fit P-monster.
Saturday morning came early with an hour drive back to the farm from my friends' couch. I made an early decision to not braid (which seemed to be echoed throughout the barns), and instead took P up to the top of the hill (arena area) for some much needed ground work. It's a shame that I sometimes forget to use this tool to my advantage because it is so helpful... by the end of 20 minutes I had a horse with an actual brain!
Our warm-up was good, no major issues, and I felt he was actually trying for me (the dose of Calm & Focus probably helped!). We trotted around ring, only to be attacked by some seriously scary Mums (yes, the flowers). After about a 30 second discussion about trotting by them, the judge rang the bell, and it was time to enter. We put in a steady test, but I didn't have super high hopes, as there were 15 nice horses in our division.
I petted P for a job well done, and then took off for a quick look at the XC course, where my mom called and informed me we were sitting on a 34 in 4th place (thanks to live scoring, my mom is a serious internet stalker!). Not too shabby!
Show jumping was tight and a bit spooky looking, but Prophet put in a stellar round. I was uber happy, especially since I hadn't got to school much since our mishap at Paradise HT a couple of weeks ago. He's really growing up to be quite nice... if only I'd let myself think that sometimes!
Cross country was a blast... and by blast I mean, it was way too much fun since I let my confidence get the best of me, leading to a stupid run-by 2 from home. P was sooo good though! He galloped like a big horse, jumped most everything out of stride and was fast... pretty much he rocked my socks. If only it weren't for the metaphorical showers that hung over the last water jump. :(
What if What if What if... There I said it
What if I'd actually come around the corner, given him a tap and rode to the jump like I wanted to jump it (instead of cutting the corner, not getting a good look at it, and expecting him to just go?). Oh, well... I didn't. Lesson learned.
But P still rocked it!!
He's getting a couple of days off as a reward for a good season, and to make sure his little bump on his knee (mis-rode the second part of the water) is a-ok. He'll come out again on Halloween for the jumper show at Finally Farm... hopefully to rock around the Level 2 and Level 3 jumpers!
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