So it was only a training show, and I didn't compete, but it was still a lot of fun. Marie told me a few weeks ago that there was a show coming up and I was ready, if I wanted to compete. Unfortunately, with A/C repair bills and school shopping this month, I knew I wasn't going to have the funds available. I asked if she would mind if I tag along anyway and she said I was more than welcome. So on Saturday at 7 am, I filled the truck up and headed out to Plant City. The show was held on a beautiful little horse farm. When I got there, the two girls riding Eclipse were tacking him up and making him pretty, so I sat and watched while chatting with Marie's mom. Eclipse was being ridden by a very young girl in dressage and a college student over cross-rails. When he went into the dressage ring, he stretched out right in front of the judges and peed. The judge was fine with them re-entering the ring and starting over, but it basically removed M from the judging - she was heartbroken. Luckily, the judge didn't disqualify them and M ended up with a ribbon anyway.
Around 1:30, it was time to start warming Eclipse up for the jumping. When K took him to the warm-up jump, he refused. I looked at Marie's mom and asked if she'd ever seen him refuse before. Nope - odd. When I turned back they were approaching the jump again - and he refused again! Holy crap, what is going on?! K got him over the jump a few times and then it was her turn in the ring. Eclipse was ok over the first two fences, then he ducked around the third. He refused the same fence four times, so Marie went into the ring and helped K get through the course. It turns out that Eclipse is fine with you dropping all contact over fences at home - but he will not jump anywhere else unless the rider lifts his head and keeps contact through the jump. So, K was pretty disappointed. I don't blame her, but I doubt this will happen again now that Marie has his number.
Monday's lesson: Was all about my leg. Marie really wanted me to get it right, and keep it there. It was so much more difficult than I thought. My left leg is worse than my right, so I've been stretching it, but not enough. And the leaning HAS GOT TO STOP. It doesn't help that it feels like I'm vertical when I'm actually leaning forward. Ugh. After that, we did a few laps riding around the arena in two-point. Then Marie wanted to try the canter again. She said I'm past ready for it, if we can get over my nervousness. This time, I was to stay in two-point throughout the canter - and I did so much better. I didn't feel off-balance even a bit. It was fantastic. So, Marie said that I'll learn to two-point the canter, then sit - opposite from everyone else on the planet. Hey, I never claimed to be normal.
Wednesday's lesson: We started out with the usual, walking for a lap or two, then starting the rising trot. We wove, did circles, trotted poles. Then Marie taught me how to collect and extend the trot. We would collect on the short sides, and see how extended I could get the trot to be by the time we got to the end of the long side. After a while, we did a few different jump courses, with me trying to keep the canter after the double - poor Eclipse didn't realize that I was actually serious about cantering this time, lol. In his defense, I have a very hard time collecting myself after the first jump and it probably feels like I've completely abandoned all semblance of riding. He would take a few strides in canter, then pop back down to a fast trot. We'll get it. Then we walked over to a large field and Marie had me trot two laps around it. She wanted me to start getting used to moving at speed in the open while watching the footing for my horse. Hopefully this is in preparation for a lease with Eclipse. When we were done, out of curiosity, I asked Marie what level I'm riding at. She said that as soon as I get comfortable with the canter, I'll be intermediate. Excellent.
On to more distancy-riding talk. There is a club called the South Eastern Distance Riders Association (SEDRA) that is holding a clinic at the end of next month. It's an Introduction to Competitive Distance Riding clinic. The hubby and I will be attending. The kids will be staying with the grandparents, and we will be camping out. Through their website, I found out that there's a lady in the next town that is willing to mentor the newbies in the area. We will be meeting up at the clinic. A whole weekend of horses - it's going to be heaven.
In the meantime, I'm torturing myself looking at horse ads on dreamhorse.com and other websites. It turns out that Doll is a kicker, so that's a no-go. I'm also considering having a trainer evaluate Bourbon to tell me if he's actually ok for me to ride. We'll see.
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