Lena has been out and about rocking it at training. literally, the ribbons just keep on coming. I headed out to Middleburg, and was excited to be working out of my own rig, and to show off those circles we had been practicing with Mara. Lena did not disappoint, scoring a 34, I still gave away a few points in the lengthening, but I am really figuring her out. Mara came out to walk the courses with me that afternoon, and I was excited to have a plan. Mara gave me plenty to think about. The SJ was on the side of a hill in a narrow space, and it is very easy to find yourself pulling to find a distance., so in warm up I focused on getting her forward and soft to the jumps. She went in and posted a lovely clear round! I was pumped for xc, with the terrain it was going to be a perfect fitness run to get ready for the T3D. She was a star! She loves XC, comes out and wants to jump between the flags. I literally show her the jump and she's on it. I could go on for hours, but that would be a bit boring! She finished 6th, and after a little vacation it was time to start prepping for Morven.
We decided that since I was running 3 weekends in a row, it would be best to jump Lena once on Wednesday's, and to jump as little as possible. Lena doesn't need to practice, but I do! I had a fantastic lesson with Mara, really working on the quality of canter and what type I need to different jumps. We ended jumping some skinnies and a corner. Lena was awesome, Mara still laughs as I look like I might cry when she puts the jumps up! I should know better than to worry, Lena never bats an eye, and I always have a huge smile on my face after. Thursday and Friday Lena practiced circles, and I was excited for Morven.
Morven was awesome! I was grooming for Laura Vello, and her awesome ponies, and riding. Saturday was a bit hectic, but it ended up being easier than expected. It was only misting when I went to get on for dressage, and a few minutes before I went in, the skies opened up, and well I bet you can see where this is going..... Lena was pretty offended, she just wanted to get it over with and go back (not that I didn't feel the same way! I was soaked and freezing.) She was very obedient but just a bit tense, not that I can blame her! The judge blew the whistle in the middle of the test, but it was a total misunderstanding, she had looked at the test wrong. so I'm not going to lie, after that I got flustered to, so while we had some 8's, I gave away alot of points, silly rain, judge blowing whistle. I was highly disappointed with myself, but had no time to dwell because I had to get Laura on, and then tack up to jump. At this point I was cold, wet, and miserable, and it was still raining sideways, and if I didn't need this run to finish qualifying I would have scratched. Mara came down and helped me warm up for SJ, which was extremely helpful, as my legs were having a bit of a problem working!! Lena was a star, I made one mistake going into the second double, Lena sorted it out for me, (lots of cookies for Lena). I think I deserved to have the pole down, but Lena hates to touch them. When I got down to XC I was the first training horse, I don't like being first! I had a few questions about how things would ride, but no time to stress. Lena came out of the box on fire!! Ears pricked, and waiting for me to show her the way! The course rode great! I was glad I ran as the course had some pretty tough questions, and Lena didn't bat an eye. Every time she runs I gain a massive amount of confidence. She finished 4th, in a pretty competitive open division! (Check out the Eventing Nation Training level video to see Lena at the first 2 jumps.... kindly ignore me apologizing to my horse for taking the move up distance to 2!) Sunday was still cold, but not as rainy, Lena enjoyed the day off, and Laura's ponies enjoyed a nice canter around the XC.
Now it's monday morning, still cold and rainy. The furnace is broken at my apartment, and all the girls were a bit wild this morning jogging in the rain. (Luckily I managed to stay on top, it was a bit hairy there for a bit!) Next Lena is off to Maryland and I could not be more excited!
No comments:
Post a Comment