SCOPE and Spider monkey

 The girls are testing me today!! I almost came off both! What a weird day when Danny is the good one!! ;) 

I won the triple crown today! I rode all three ponies! All three at Ashland even, which... that was a lot of hauling back and forth. Doh! One day they're gonna have to learn to stay in the trailer!

Lyric was my last ride of the day. We had a jump lesson with Jacel and rode with Laura and Smarty. It was fun. I didn't get there early enough to hack around but we walked around the arena catching up with Jacel and chatting. Then we warmed up trotting and cantering. Lyric was good. She felt a hair lazy but did move forward when I asked with my leg so I didn't feel the need for "shock and awe". I did test it though! We started off with a grid. It was a short 4 jump one stride line with placing poles. We started out with just poles and the last two jumps and then once we did that a few times, she put the other two jumps up. It was just cross rails, but tall cross rails. (Taller than the one Funny jumped. ;)). The shorter stride was to encourage them to sit back on their hocks and lift their shoulders and front ends. We did that a few times and I had to encourage a bit more forward in the beginning. But I waited with my shoulders and tried to stay upright in my body. 

So then we added a few other fences. We did a vertical, around to a low wide oxer (Jacel read my mind!!) and then back to trot, to do the grid, then around to a vertical with V poles coming to it. Oh, and she added an oxer off the grid. She said it would be a 3 stride for Smarty but Lyric would very likely get 4 (and that was okay!). She also said she would make it a vertical for me the first time. Phew! It was a novice oxer! 

So we set off and it started out okay but when we got to the V pole... She was getting quite bold and went to it. I thought for SURE that she was going to jump it out of stride and I moved before she did. I jumped up her neck. I really honestly thought she was going to take it without the chip though. She felt soooo confident. And... it was like a rehash of the RRP incident. Except I didn't end up quite on her head. I ended up on her neck and she jumped it anyways, bless her. It was pretty decently sized too. Then she bucked a few times on landing. I really thought I was coming off a few times. Luckily when she bucked, she sort of tossed me back in the saddle, but I did lose a stirrup. Then she kept bucking a few and I almost came off again but managed to get the reins up and get her head up and stop her. Holy cow! That one was a bit scary in the sense that I thought I was coming off a few times and I knew it was going to hurt bad! I don't know how I managed to stay on but I did. And no one had videod!! Doh!  So we came back again and it was sticky but she went. Then we came a third time and Jacel told me that I had to get left behind! She does NOT like it when I jump up her neck. I know... But gah, I really thought she was going to do it without the chip. But... lesson learned, yet again. NEVER move before she does. Expect the chip! So I did... and I got left behind and I felt bad but she didn't seem as upset as when I'm on her head. ;) 

So then we chilled and did the whole course again and this time we did the oxer. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. Jacel told me though that I had gone the other way and was now holding her. Sigh... I told her that I was afraid to send her though because of what just happened. I feel like when I send her, she almost chickens out at the last second...  So... we talked. There's a difference between chasing her and just.. supporting her and riding her into my hands with my leg. I have to keep my elbows moving and keep my leg on. Ahhh... So we did it again and it was much better. But I still felt a little bit like I was struggling with either holding too much or chasing her. So... she told me to jump the gate (which we hadn't jumped today), then the v pole, then the low wide oxer from the other side, and then finish with the vertical and the giant X that Funny had done. Okay... so we did that and it was SOOOO much better! I moved my elbows. I was able to half halt but then if I moved my elbows I didn't hold. And then I closed my leg. And I waited... And she jumped out of stride, but not out of control. And she didn't scare herself! Yay! We quit with that!

Jacel and Laura both said that she was jumping so much nicer today! Yeah... she felt a bit like she was jumping me out of the tack today!! Scopey! 

We were chatting a bit so I walked her back to the trailer and then I checked Smarty's pelvis real quick and did a minor adjustment to it, so... then it was getting late and I had been gone all day, so we just headed home. She got the back on track on because it's getting chilly! She still hasn't grown any hair though! How am I supposed to clip a music note into your butt girl?! ;) 

Good pony!! No photos because... I was distracted and then we didn't hack.