Denbob
Well-Known Member
I did threaten to do this last week so here we go.
Overall I'm absolutely bloody thrilled with the beast, he loaded like an absolute professional, traveled quietly and stood with a haynet while we waited to be allowed on the yard like he'd been travelling and competing forever. Especially valuable considering we were booked onto a baby camp in July and couldn't go because he wouldn't load - real testament to the benefits of feeding his dinner in the lorry. 🙈
Day one was flatwork and cross country, and while I've taken great pains to make sure grass is NOT exciting by only cantering every 3rd or 4th time if that, I'd booked my instructor to take him for that first XC lesson. It was really hard to do because I wanted to be the first person to take him 'grown up' XC, but after a very stern word with myself about what I wanted, a confident horse who has had positive experiences with a braver rider than me was higher on the list of priorities than my ego!
Flatwork was awesome, he was sharp to start but settled really well and by the end was doing nicer work than I've seen from him at home in ages, including really nice canter circles (something I've struggled to crack since my fall) on both reins. Gold star!
Then, disaster struck. My instructor was poorly... No matter, I thought, he was amazing! Flash forward to walking out onto the course and he felt like a bomb about to detonate, coupled with torrential rain and high winds the end result was;
Both absolutely fine I tried to remount to no avail and we made the walk of shame home. Managed to untack and head out for the rest of my groups lesson (typically beautiful sunshine by this point!). This was a real low point, especially after the highs of the morning, and I spent most of the evening beating myself up. In hindsight I should have followed my gut and said no, but live and learn.
Day two was showjumping and cross country PT. 2...
I have never actually jumped Denzel myself, he has jumped with friends and he is always a dude so I wasn't insanely worried but I definitely had my doubts. Started off with trot poles and by the end...
He's not the most careful, and I haven't jumped for nearly two years (read
lease excuse my position!) so it really was a case of the rusty leading the green but somehow we found a balance and by the end we had jumped a little course, landing on the correct lead and holding canter between fences. I'd forgotten how much I LOVE jumping, and it was great that I felt I could point him at a small fence and he'd sort his feet out 99% of the time. We need to work on the canter being more adjustable but that'll come with strength.
We abandoned the cross country lesson to go for a hack round the course with a new camp friend who felt her horse hadn't settled and wanted to end on a positive as well and Denzel reminded me why I love him by being an absolute dude even when he spotted the other groups bombing around over the 80/90 fences in the distance.
All in all, he's not for sale yet
I'm so pleased, it was a steep learning curve for both of us and he handled a majority of it really, really well. Lots to like, and I can't wait for next time!
Overall I'm absolutely bloody thrilled with the beast, he loaded like an absolute professional, traveled quietly and stood with a haynet while we waited to be allowed on the yard like he'd been travelling and competing forever. Especially valuable considering we were booked onto a baby camp in July and couldn't go because he wouldn't load - real testament to the benefits of feeding his dinner in the lorry. 🙈
Day one was flatwork and cross country, and while I've taken great pains to make sure grass is NOT exciting by only cantering every 3rd or 4th time if that, I'd booked my instructor to take him for that first XC lesson. It was really hard to do because I wanted to be the first person to take him 'grown up' XC, but after a very stern word with myself about what I wanted, a confident horse who has had positive experiences with a braver rider than me was higher on the list of priorities than my ego!
Flatwork was awesome, he was sharp to start but settled really well and by the end was doing nicer work than I've seen from him at home in ages, including really nice canter circles (something I've struggled to crack since my fall) on both reins. Gold star!
Then, disaster struck. My instructor was poorly... No matter, I thought, he was amazing! Flash forward to walking out onto the course and he felt like a bomb about to detonate, coupled with torrential rain and high winds the end result was;
Both absolutely fine I tried to remount to no avail and we made the walk of shame home. Managed to untack and head out for the rest of my groups lesson (typically beautiful sunshine by this point!). This was a real low point, especially after the highs of the morning, and I spent most of the evening beating myself up. In hindsight I should have followed my gut and said no, but live and learn.
Day two was showjumping and cross country PT. 2...
I have never actually jumped Denzel myself, he has jumped with friends and he is always a dude so I wasn't insanely worried but I definitely had my doubts. Started off with trot poles and by the end...
He's not the most careful, and I haven't jumped for nearly two years (read
lease excuse my position!) so it really was a case of the rusty leading the green but somehow we found a balance and by the end we had jumped a little course, landing on the correct lead and holding canter between fences. I'd forgotten how much I LOVE jumping, and it was great that I felt I could point him at a small fence and he'd sort his feet out 99% of the time. We need to work on the canter being more adjustable but that'll come with strength. We abandoned the cross country lesson to go for a hack round the course with a new camp friend who felt her horse hadn't settled and wanted to end on a positive as well and Denzel reminded me why I love him by being an absolute dude even when he spotted the other groups bombing around over the 80/90 fences in the distance.
All in all, he's not for sale yet
I'm so pleased, it was a steep learning curve for both of us and he handled a majority of it really, really well. Lots to like, and I can't wait for next time!
, plenty of time to tackle the XC on a sunnier day 
, it looks pretty wet in that pic!
