Erehwemos
Well-Known Member
And I really wish that I had not been so closed minded as a kid, and refused to take Ellie cross country jumping. I always had a hang up about it, and could always be relied upon to be the one to fall off when on the ODE teams at Pony Club
Ditches and water were always my nemesis - even on my 'perfect' 12hh pony who would never stop at anything, I somehow always managed to fall off in the ditch or the water jump
As a result, when I first got Ellie I was of a strict 'show jumping only' mindset, and other than a little bit of schooling at PC camp, I never did any XC with her. I always used to joke that I'd happily jump 4ft show jumping, but would struggle to get the guts to do anything more than 2'3 XC
As most people know, I gave up showjumping after Ellie and I took a horrid fall about 6 years ago. Since then, we've been happy hackers....but in recent months, we've been slowly discovering an unexpected passion for XC
We had great fun jumping on lots of sponsored rides last year, and now, the yard where we are now has a gorgeous cross country course. Although it is obviously too wet to go round it properly, there are odd fences where the ground is good, and so twice now I have let Elz pop a couple of diddy fences, and she LOVES it
I've now even got her to the point where she will happily walk through the water jump AND pop the fence on the other side, and on Thursday, she jumped two ditches!!! It took a bit of persuasion, but I was so pleased with her, especially as she only baulked at the first one - once we'd cleared that, she flew the (much bigger) next one
As much as I might like to think I am still scared of jumping, I cannot deny that even jumping just three fences has given me a hell of a buzz, and I am so looking forward to taking her round the whole course when the weather improves....we might even do some hunter trials!
I do have one question: if I am going to do some XC this year, do you think I need to buy a new body protector? The one I have (a Rodney Powell) was made for me when I was 12, and I have changed a fair bit in 10 years.....
It does still fit, but I wouldnt say it is overly comfortable...so does anyone have any recommendations for a comfortable, flexible and not too bulky BP that won't clean out my bank account!?!?
As a result, when I first got Ellie I was of a strict 'show jumping only' mindset, and other than a little bit of schooling at PC camp, I never did any XC with her. I always used to joke that I'd happily jump 4ft show jumping, but would struggle to get the guts to do anything more than 2'3 XC
As most people know, I gave up showjumping after Ellie and I took a horrid fall about 6 years ago. Since then, we've been happy hackers....but in recent months, we've been slowly discovering an unexpected passion for XC
As much as I might like to think I am still scared of jumping, I cannot deny that even jumping just three fences has given me a hell of a buzz, and I am so looking forward to taking her round the whole course when the weather improves....we might even do some hunter trials!
I do have one question: if I am going to do some XC this year, do you think I need to buy a new body protector? The one I have (a Rodney Powell) was made for me when I was 12, and I have changed a fair bit in 10 years.....
