Jump Lesson Redux

I won't lie, I pulled into the barn thinking "No to the jumping! I don't want to wipe out again so soon!" so I tacked up slowly and warmed up with my leathers long, practicing some dressage-y moves (a little badly on purpose too), hoping EC would take the hint and/or be lured into fixing my mistakes ;)  However, she's totally inside my head at this point, so obviously our lesson was jumping and included the course and line that caused the issue from Monday.

To complicate matters, I had taken my boots home to clean them, and forgot to pack both those and breeches. To those unfamiliar with my daily routine...there's slightly ridiculous the amount of stuff I pack around. I live in a rural area because a privacy and proximity to beaches and trails is apparently > than actually living near any amenities. So, on my way out the door every morning, packing the day's worth of supplies is necessary. Mid week, I go to the gym super early and pack for that, then I am on morning feed/turnout duty at the barn, then I go to my real 9-5 office job, then I go back to the barn for a lesson. So, I guess it was inevitable that at some point I'd forget one change of clothes at home 45 min away!

Another cute pic of Midge from 2 weeks ago. I cropped my head out because I've never been so sick and looking at my wanna vomit face makes me queasy all over again . Shift your focus on the adorable flying pony instead, lol;)

Luckily, my gym to morning barn attire had included a reject pair of Kerrits bootcut tights. I have had them for over 10 years and they will not die! They are also very slippery to ride in, so I relegated them expensive yoga pant status a few years ago. In my barn feeding/mucking out ensemble, I keep a pair of worn out (and disgustingly dirty and gross) Ariat cowgirl boots hidden in the corner of the tack room. The shirt I had worn to work was a sleeveless silk blouse thing, and why not add that to the ensemble? So...I technically had riding gear, but it was probably one of the weirder outfits the barn had seen.

These pants won't die no matter what you do to them.

But, I digress...on to the actual lesson. Midge felt very lazy and tired over our warmup jump. also, I had no spurs. I wasn't holding out much hope for a good lesson.

EC raised the warm up x to about a 2'6" vertical and added a 5 stride bending line to another small vertical. The approach was a little tricky because there was another jump in the way, so the horses only saw the second jump a stride or two out. We trotted in, them boom! Midge the jumper pony made an appearance and she was awake and forward and excited. She owned that line from the first run through and throughout the rest of the lesson. Note to self...pony apparently thinks crossrails are boring these days :)

Monday's course again

We moved on to riding the course as we did on Monday. No issues with the 'big' oxers, in fact, there were a couple of jumps there where everything just felt really right. Much improvement from last year when a teeny crossrail oxer had me nearly in tears from anxiety. EC was kind enough to quietly lower the jumps a little on our nemesis 4 stride for our first run through.. She's truly inside my head. The line continued to be our weak point. The first time I was too backed off and pulled for an awkward 5, then Midge was stalling upon landing over the first and again an awkward 5. I finally starting riding like a big girl, and while it was never perfect, EC was happy with my attempts at positive, forward riding and called it good. We have work to do, but it's just miles and Midge figuring out where her feet are and what I want a little better. And...we didn't wipe out :)

On a side note, I'm generally OK with my position in the jumping pics I saw from the event last weekend. It's not great, I know that, but given how new I am to jumping and how I can be less than confident, I'm happy with it for where we're at. The one thing I want to fix NOW and forever is how I pinch with my knee now and then, making my heels creep up and my leg slide back. Surprisingly, my attire last night made it way easier to get my heels down and my leg under me. I think my tall boots are too tall, they are  quite stiff in the ankle from all the extra leather squishing down there, plus they jab the back of my knees. Riding without them felt pretty good and EC asked "hey, are your stirrups shorter? What have you changed? Your heels are staying down!" I'm going to be on the hunt for half chaps and paddock boots, I think....

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