Fresh Start

Seth and I took Cody and Hobbs XC schooling yesterday at Fairhill. It was Beaventing's first outing since July. Cody did awesome and provided some entertainment for the group...at every down bank he essentially sat down and slid down the bank...he was so scared to jump off, but Seth got him through everything...even the Training house and downbank into the water!! Seth just needs to work on being more balanced after the jumps...Danny had him holding onto the breastplate so he would use that to balance instead of Cody's mouth. When Seth lands hard and yanks on Cody's mouth he hops and bucks and has a little temper tantrum...so that's Seth's homework from the school.

Hobbs was a bit nervous at the start....as was I. He definitely did not want to stand still and was really not wanting to get soft in my hand on the walk out. I didn't pick too much of a fight about it for the day. I already know I need to get him to have a better "give" response based on everything we learned from Dave Webber. I quickly found out that Hobbs is extremely honest and very adjustable. I'm not used to being able to ride forward, so it was a different ride for me. I think for once I could be in control instead of fighting for control. I just need to make a decision on how to ride each fence and then stick with that decision...I can't change my mind at the last minute if I don't like my spot. If I want a collected showjump canter then I need to stick with that, or else I need to lengthen the stride and ride a fly fence. I just have to commit sooner. He seemed to enjoy himself, but definitely needs some confidence. He took the downbank into the water a few times, but lept into it. So we slowed it down and just tried to get him to jiggy jog and he put on the brakes...he definitely was doing it out of honesty not courage, so we will need to work on that. Besides that he was great...I just need to get more comfortable and confident riding him. Hopefully we can get to a few Trainings this fall and work hard over the winter and come out strong next year.

It was tough coming home to Legacy. I felt really bad about it and didn't expect to feel that way. I just felt like I was betraying him. I'm still having trouble committing to riding Hobbs like I was committed to Legacy. Legacy has been going so much better lately and I still think he can be great. I took him for a gallop on Saturday and he definitely wanted to run...I didn't feel any of the hesitation that was there last month. Seth and I are going to try and take Legacy and Cody to a paper chase this weekend and see how that goes before I decide what to do with Legacy this fall.