1st XC lesson

Hey, check it out... There's a picture of Grady and I on the St. Croix Saddlery web site! There is also a picture of Val's husband Larry on Gecko. This was from a schooling show earlier in the year. I'm the one titled "A Happy Dressage Pair." Here's the link:

http://www.stcroixsaddlery.com/Schooling_Show_Pictures_s/281.htm

Today I had my first cross country jumping lesson. It was awesome!! Rocky, (jumping coach), her niece Audrey, and I all tacked up and cantered out to the XC field. It was a little shocking to be walking along and then have Rocky yell "LET'S GO!!" and then take off! It was tons and tons of fun. We worked on banks and trotting through water. Rocky pointed out various combinations for me to try, such as galloping over a log, trotting through water, galloping down and through a path to a roll top. We then did some combinations over different jumps in the woods, then went back out into another field where we jumped tires and coops. It was really exhilirating. It was so much fun just to feel the wind on my face and book it across the fields. I did really well too, I'm really happy with how I was able to find distances. Rocky taught me how to count strides going up to the jump. If I count "one-two, one-two" with each canter stride it's really easy to find the distance. When I am unable to add in another one or two in front of a jump, it's time to jump! It makes it amazingly easy. I think Sackett thought he'd died and gone to heaven - he hasn't done XC in over a year. He really enjoys it too, he was so worked up and excited. It's really hard to describe the feeling of speeding across the country side on the back of a horse, launching over jumps. It's something you have to experience to understand. I jumped beginner novice fences with a few novice fences thrown in. It was so much fun! Thank you Rocky!!!