Super Powers

It's so, so humid here this summer. Temperature wise, it currently feels like we're living in Central America, except instead of being smart and staying in the shade with refreshing drinks all afternoon, us crazy Canadians are all like "but we only get 3 months without snow! We HAVE to ride today - Look, Checkers is even shedding her summer coat!" Cue internal panic and desperate thoughts of frozen arenas. Everyone then rushes out the door with the mindset that this could be our last jump school before the snow so we're going to ride. And we're going to have fun and enjoy the sunshine gosh darn it. ;)

At least as a result of our craziness dedication, I've learned I have a super power! Sadly, it's nothing to be overly proud of: I sweat more than anyone I know. No ladylike glow here, my shirt is soaked through before I'm even done tacking up. It's pretty nasty. And then I ride, and I'm basically a mobile puddle. Nothing too sexy about that, but hey, we all have to start somewhere. I promise to use my powers for good rather than evil.  Checkers obviously has the better super power - she can fly! She's so much fun because you can always pretty much guarantee she'll overjump anything by at least a foot, and she loves any excuse to go for a long distance and leave out strides as well. All the better for getting more air time, of course :)

Simulated version of actual events ;)

Tonight, though, Checkers made it abundantly clear that the heat is her kryptonite. My normally forward, can't stand still girl was plugging along like an actual lesson horse. While I missed the 'fun' Checkers, I did have an easier time of things as far as looking like I know what I'm doing. I took advantage of her quietness and worked a little on the downward transitions that she normally dislikes, but kept it all pretty low key. The old girl deserves an easy ride now and then and doesn't need to prove anything. With an unusally sedate Checkers not trying for the long distances and not overjumping anything, we actually had some pretty smooth rounds later in the lesson before calling it quits and hacking around on the buckle in the shade.

As always, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to ride such a wise old mare. She truly knows her job inside and out, and while I joke about her normal exuberance and opinionated nature, I've never once seen her not look after her rider. In keeping with my August goals, I'm trying to be super present in every ride and let her teach me as much as she can...which is a lot!