Lessons Well Learned...

Saturday was the learning day, put on by Oklahoma Eventers and hosted at Woodlands Equestrian Centre. The high for the day was 34 degrees and the wind was bone chilling, but being the dedicated horsepeople that we are, there was a decent turnout. I had an 8 am dressage lesson on Stretch with Chrissy Pappas. Although she didnt really tell me anything that I didnt already know was a problem, she helped me put it all together so that I could work through the problems which is exactly what I needed! It was a great ride and despite the cold, Stretch and I had both worked up a good sweat. Throughout the day were unmounted sessions pertaining to eventing, and of course lunch was provided. At 3:30 Alex and I went out on cross country for a lesson on O'Malley and Stretch with Meg Ferguson. It was a great school! We did all of the training jumps, and several prelim. Stretch also schooled the water great, which included jumping a bank in and cantering through and off the prelim bank! That was my goal for the day and anything beyond that was a bonus. We had a minor mishap at the steps into the second water, and luckily there was no water at the time! It was a prelim question jumping a series of three banks down into the water. Stretch made it halfway down the first one before changing his mind, sending me flying through his ears to land on the bottom step. After a quick body checklist, I shook it off and remounted. After a bit of an argument and several attempts, we made it down the banks in one piece. We also jumped our first trakehner, brush fence, and ditch and bank. All in all it was a good, worthwhile, and productive day! Those rides certainly give me a new bout of confidence going into the Spring season, which kicks off Feb. 4 with the hunter/jumper schooling show in OKC doing the .95 and 1.0m jumper classes.

Learning the Ropes...

Today was the New Years hunt with the Harvard Fox Hounds at Flint Creek. What better way to bring in the new year?! My bestest friend was nice enough to drag me and my dingy baby along with her and we had a blast! This was the second time that Stretch and I have been hunting and it was much improved. This hunt began at a much faster pace than the last and it fried the baby's mind at first. However, our brakes were better from the get-go! Other than randomly flying to the left when he wanted to go, he was fantastic! I love watching a horse figure out new things and I certainly got to witness that today. Everything seemed to click and I left the hunt with a much more confident, quiet, mature horse than I had when I started. He finally learned that the hounds werent going to eat him and quietly galloped alongside two of them on a trail. He figured out what the horn meant, which ones to ignore and which one meant lets go! He also learned to rate himself with others in the field, which made stopping alot easier! Despite all of the positive aspects of the day, there was a negative one as well. Stretch's breathing has gotten worse. Perhaps it was a change in altitude or just galloping up the straight cliffs, but its a problem nonetheless. The noise got much louder but he still caught his breath and returned to normal quickly. After discussing it with Alex, we decided to schedule an appointment to have him scoped asap, which happens to be February. Hopefully it is not a major issue that can be managed by a simple lifestyle change, added equipment, and/or supplements. Not sure what this means for the three day, but we will push on and I will continue to hope for the best as we work out this unfortunate situation. Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy new year filled with the ones you love doing things you enjoy!