spookypony
Well-Known Member
I just had a real "I love my pony" weekend! 
We went to a camp weekend, with the goal of hopefully managing some jumping away from home, and dreaming of doing a bit of the XC. I had taken him there last year, and he and I both lost the plot to the point that the first day was pretty much a write-off; and although he' was calmer by the second day, he'd been kicked overnight, so was restricted to walking over some poles. So I was just a wee bit nervous coming into this weekend! 
On Saturday, he didn't put a foot wrong! The morning was flatwork for everyone. I've recently developed a tendency to flap about frustratedly when the pony is being backwards, so that was being adressed. In the afternoon, we worked around a little SJ course. It was quite a few firsts for us: our first time jumping away from home in a huge field, his first time jumping a whole course without having each jump added in one at a time/built up from poles on the ground, and his first time jumping a (tiny) spread! Again, my remaining lack of trust in his willingness to jump translated into a certain amount of unhelpful flapping, but he was very good, and went around the course twice very happily.
Today, we began the day a bit tired, and he let me know by napping very irritatingly during the initial dressage test practice. However, his tiredness disappeared quite suddenly when we headed out to the XC course for a bit of schooling!
It was our first time, so we stuck to the very wee jumps. After the first two, he decided that standing and waiting while the others had a go was just far too exciting, and for the remainder of the session, I had to contend with his new line in napping (rapid backwards walking), and the odd passage. Nevertheless, he jumped everything he was asked. I was quite glad to stop for lunch, though!
In the afternoon, we had a mini ODE, to tie things together. He was calm again, and already quite tired, which he expressed by bucking in his dressage test whenever I asked him to trot just a bit more energetically. I flapped again a bit in the SJ, but he still hopped around calmly and obediently.
When we headed to the XC, he got quite excited again, and shot out of the start box. The first four (a palisade, a drop, a fan-shaped fence, and a cross pole with a very awkward approach) were fine, but then things got a bit silly: there were a few jumps in a field that we hadn't joined together earlier, and there was no time for a complete course walk. I'd been reassured that it was all straightforward, and that someone would be there to tell us where to go...well, I still managed to get lost, and suddenly found myself charging for the Open ditch! At this point the pony and I both chickened out, and after much calling, figured out how to get around the ditch and back on course. After the next wee jump (both a train-shaped thing and a dinosaur-shaped thing were a bit much for the moment, so we stuck to a tiny log pile), I lost right-hand steering in the excitement, and we went galloping off into the middle of a random field. At this point, the pony decided he was not going to go to the right under any circumstances, so we had another episode of backwards walking and bucking, which I'm told was highly entertaining for the people standing and watching at the water jump! After a while, he gave in, and we managed to get over the next fence (a black pipe or barrel thing), and through the water (no problemo!). At this point, I knew we only needed to go back to the start, where the last jump was located. This proved a tad tricky, since there were some people along the course who said that some horses had gone one way, and some others another way, and they weren't sure which was correct. 
We picked one way, and that brought us through someone's driveway, with an angry dog leaping at a fence! However, we could see the last jump up ahead, and managed to find our way to the finish after all! Moral of the story: a proper course walk really is essential, even if you've done all the components individually just a while before!
The pony got many pats, and is now back in his field, looking about 50 kg lighter. We've got lots to work on, but it was a brilliant, productive weekend!
Sorry for the extreme length...gin and tonics with lemon if you get this far!
We went to a camp weekend, with the goal of hopefully managing some jumping away from home, and dreaming of doing a bit of the XC. I had taken him there last year, and he and I both lost the plot to the point that the first day was pretty much a write-off; and although he' was calmer by the second day, he'd been kicked overnight, so was restricted to walking over some poles. So I was just a wee bit nervous coming into this weekend! On Saturday, he didn't put a foot wrong! The morning was flatwork for everyone. I've recently developed a tendency to flap about frustratedly when the pony is being backwards, so that was being adressed. In the afternoon, we worked around a little SJ course. It was quite a few firsts for us: our first time jumping away from home in a huge field, his first time jumping a whole course without having each jump added in one at a time/built up from poles on the ground, and his first time jumping a (tiny) spread! Again, my remaining lack of trust in his willingness to jump translated into a certain amount of unhelpful flapping, but he was very good, and went around the course twice very happily.
Today, we began the day a bit tired, and he let me know by napping very irritatingly during the initial dressage test practice. However, his tiredness disappeared quite suddenly when we headed out to the XC course for a bit of schooling!
It was our first time, so we stuck to the very wee jumps. After the first two, he decided that standing and waiting while the others had a go was just far too exciting, and for the remainder of the session, I had to contend with his new line in napping (rapid backwards walking), and the odd passage. Nevertheless, he jumped everything he was asked. I was quite glad to stop for lunch, though!In the afternoon, we had a mini ODE, to tie things together. He was calm again, and already quite tired, which he expressed by bucking in his dressage test whenever I asked him to trot just a bit more energetically. I flapped again a bit in the SJ, but he still hopped around calmly and obediently.
When we headed to the XC, he got quite excited again, and shot out of the start box. The first four (a palisade, a drop, a fan-shaped fence, and a cross pole with a very awkward approach) were fine, but then things got a bit silly: there were a few jumps in a field that we hadn't joined together earlier, and there was no time for a complete course walk. I'd been reassured that it was all straightforward, and that someone would be there to tell us where to go...well, I still managed to get lost, and suddenly found myself charging for the Open ditch!
At this point the pony and I both chickened out, and after much calling, figured out how to get around the ditch and back on course. After the next wee jump (both a train-shaped thing and a dinosaur-shaped thing were a bit much for the moment, so we stuck to a tiny log pile), I lost right-hand steering in the excitement, and we went galloping off into the middle of a random field. At this point, the pony decided he was not going to go to the right under any circumstances, so we had another episode of backwards walking and bucking, which I'm told was highly entertaining for the people standing and watching at the water jump! After a while, he gave in, and we managed to get over the next fence (a black pipe or barrel thing), and through the water (no problemo!). At this point, I knew we only needed to go back to the start, where the last jump was located. This proved a tad tricky, since there were some people along the course who said that some horses had gone one way, and some others another way, and they weren't sure which was correct. We picked one way, and that brought us through someone's driveway, with an angry dog leaping at a fence! However, we could see the last jump up ahead, and managed to find our way to the finish after all! Moral of the story: a proper course walk really is essential, even if you've done all the components individually just a while before! The pony got many pats, and is now back in his field, looking about 50 kg lighter. We've got lots to work on, but it was a brilliant, productive weekend!
Sorry for the extreme length...gin and tonics with lemon if you get this far!
