Something Different

This week I was SO in need of a break from dressage, or thinking about dressage, or being around dressage.
On Monday night I was able to join the Jump Club which was super fun! And super freezing!! We are having a cold snap right now, and I KID YOU NOT it was snowing very briefly. Ridiculous.
I rode Saffy, which was my first time jumping her. I have seen her jump, and she is a very determined jumper. Always has this mean look on her face, and charges at the fences!

Saffy at the jump clinic with student Katie

Because it was bloody freezing, the horses were more than a bit fresh which just had me giggling. Saffy was plunging and leaping around, but nothing terribly dangerous. Just hilarious. It's like, what are you doing, mare? What do you think you are achieving?

We were working over a grid which started as a bounce, one stride to three stride oxer.

As Saffy was feeling sharp, we had trouble with rushing and jumping flat, so as soon as the fences gotr around the 90cm mark, she was knocking them. I felt like I was riding a freight train. She was both difficult to get forward ( she was preferring the rear, side-step and then launch) and difficult to stop. Once we were on that grid I could heave, half-halt, pull with all my strength (which is saying something, I have strong arms) and she wouldn't slow an inch to get her weight back and jump cleanly.

Leila, who was teaching the jump club, started standing in my direct line and hopping out of the way at the last second to make Saffy hesitate a bit and listen. This actually worked very well! I'll be using that with future students and rushy horses.

Lots of fun. Hopefully I can do jump club every week.

I really did have a week with Saffy. The staff all gathered to try her out as a vaulting horse. I personally don't think she'll be a particularly good mount as she is rather touchy and moody, but it was fun trying it out and I do believe they will continue to train her up as a backup.

Mostly I just sat on Saffy while she was being lunged, lifting my arms around and swinging my legs, getting her used to being touched in different places and carrying a rider in all sorts of wacky positions.

We all had a go on Puro the vaulting horse too, and I got to practice my moves, such as they are. Good fun!

Lastly today I went on a hack with Leila and her partner Derek, who have their horses at the yard next door. If you go back a few posts, that is the yard where I found the delightful little donkey and the fabulously haired cob, and was able to ride one of Derek's Paint studs.

 My ride was Brody, a Quarter Horse mare now retired from riding (other than the odd gentle hack) and is being used as a broodmare. The little bay colt on the left in the photo above is her Baby Daddy, and the filly I played with last time their daughter.
It was sooo much fun playing cowboys again!!

She was really sweet and really really comfy. It was still freezing and kept alternating between sleeting and hailing, but I was still pleased as punch to be on a trail and not having to work hard. Sometimes you forget that we all started riding because of the love of it!