Yesterday we had another jumping lesson with LAZ. More course work, including the scary panels which were not so scary at all this time around and Annie jumped them with a bit of a "meh" attitude which is fine by me! We also got to do a tiny bit of XC, not a lot as the footing was still pretty wet but just enough to wet my whistle and have me wishing for more.
We got to jump a fence and then trot out into the "wilds." There must be some sort of psychological difference for horses between jumping in a sand arena (even without a fence) and then leaving the sand to head out onto grass. Annie was on high alert and I had to be really aware of my wall of aids to keep her moving forward on track and not looking at EVERYTHING around us.
This plank fence was the first fence back in the ring and I think that Annie was so happy to be back on "solid" ground that she didn't even SEE the fence until the last second. It's also a very light colored fence and LAZ said that she thinks it blends into the sand making it hard to see. I did manage to stay on and Annie felt really bad about her blooper.
The next time around we jumped it fine.
Although I did stay back to make sure she went over it and got a little left behind
We also had to jump back into the ring which Annie found a bit spooky and really made me once again pay attention to my wall of aids to keep her moving smartly forward and straight over the fence
I am finding that when there is nothing to worry about the fence I can really feel my leg staying by my girth and my body folds but when the going gets tough and I have to drive I go back to my habit of standing in my stirrups and then my leg slides back. So much to work on!
Today was the first lesson that I found myself a little disappointed that we didn't jump MORE and BIGGER. Can you believe that? Cause I can hardly believe it myself!
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