Another stolen title from the Swedish supergroup I’m From Barcelona. I just love their titles!
Mr. Handsome.
I am overdue a bit for a jump lesson recap. And the recap? I am getting my wings back! Nicole had set up a very twisty-turny jump course that we did certainly struggle with, but I felt way better than I have for a month and a half- my slump time apparently. My confidence grew even though it did not go perfectly. My trust in my horse is coming back- not 100%- I don’t think I am built that way, but it is coming.
We worked a few single elements of the course as a warm-up, and then approached the 10-jump course. I learned that I need to GO STRONGLY!! instead of kind of wimping out. The ‘GO’ button is a big one and it really helps me.
Also I noticed I am way more comfortable being allowed to add and managing a short distance vs a long distance. Phew!
A snapshot of the course. We jumped allll of these and yes- it was very twisty!
It was really fun and I even wanted to do it a second time and strangely felt GOOD about doing it a second time. I even hit the gas so hard Nicole said I was riding it like a jump-off and I need to learn to moderate my pace a little better…not just GO! That is true, haha. It’s just that going fast felt so fun!
We bungled a few things but man, it was just..better. Much better.
I am seeing my setback in a few ways, and I am following a process to climb out of my trench. Here’s what is working:
- Don’t try to jump back directly to the height/complexity you were before the setback. That is discouraging.
- Take a lesson on another horse and jump that horse. It is so eye-opening and removes a lot of the emotional weirdness that you have with your horse and drama/issues jumping.
- Don’t jump your horse right away after this lesson. Let it marinate for a bit.
- Start jumping your horse again after and realize how much fun your horse is to jump. Make a series of mistakes where he saves you (ok, maybe don’t do this, but it kind of worked for me to see that he is still a solid citizen).
- Jump your horse starting with low jumps, and work on a crazy twisty-turny course. Get pumped up!
- Throughout all of this, continue taking dressage lessons, and every single ride- work on forward, and cantering over a pole to find your distance. Every ride.
So..Here I am, after six weeks of ‘weird’. Am I back on track? I hope so! Am I enjoying my ride? Yes. 100% yes.
