It seems like it has been forever since I have updated this thing and boy has a lot happened! I have since started riding with Dynah Korhummel at Feather Creek Farm and yes, I do realize that that is in Norman and yes, she is worth the two hour drive south! She has helped us so much in these last few months it is unbelievable! We decided to scratch MeadowCreek because his confidence just wasnt there and instead marked Texas Rose as the first outing on the calendar. Dressage became our first priority, working on self-carriage and obedience. Dynah also pointed out that Stretch is now too grown up for his boucher, but not yet grown up enough for a loose ring, so we are still trying to find that perfect bit. A slow twist snaffle is definitely his favorite, but that doesn't seem to be legal! Texas Rose went well, despite our two hour detour getting there. We only added 4 points to our dressage score of 37.5 due to a rail in stadium. Stretch was great on XC and even went in the water! We finished in 6th place. Thanks to RNS Video I was able to study my ride and make changes to our schooling and my position before Greenwood. It was a great training/learning tool! Luckily I was able to travel down to see Dynah and have a few lessons a few days before we left for Greenwood which helped immensely. We worked on loosening up his right jaw to improve his right lead canter and on slowing things down in my mind during stadium so that I am able to "ride every stride". Greenwood proved eventful but the lessons certainly payed off! Stretch schooled great on Friday and we were kind of on cloud nine going into dressage on Saturday, but things took an unexpected turn when I had to run back to the barn for a bit change with only five rides left before me. That left us with a limited warm-up in a bit that he had never worn before and he felt heavy, stiff, and like an equine bulldozer throughout the entire test. Just keep smiling and pretend your having fun! Luckily, I got the thumbs up from Dynah when exiting the arena and reassurance that it looked better than it felt. She was right because we ended up with a 40.5, but we couldn't help but wonder what would have been. We held onto our dressage score by going double clear in stadium with only one rough fence. I really made a concerted effort to ride every stride and it payed off! The course rode great and nothing fell down! The same holds true for cross-country and we finished on that score of 40.5 to finish in 2nd place out of 16 riders. The next outing is Feather Creek in two weeks and Im hoping for another great weekend and a strong finish!
The best part of riding at Feather Creek is that everyone is there with the same goal, to improve. I feel like my mom and I have been welcomed with open arms and fit right in with the rest of the barn family. Dynah has also been so kind as to help me with some other wonderful things going on in my life. Im not going to reveal too many details, as things are not yet set in stone, but she is helping me to recieve my C ratings in Pony Club, go for my level 1 instructor certification, and improve my riding resume. Stay tuned for more exciting details! My "pipe dreams" are certainly coming true and I couldn't ask for anything better right now. Until next time, keep kicking (and smiling)!
