Those were the first words out of Trainer B’s mouth when I arrived for my lesson last week.
Externally I probably (or maybe not) looked calm and cool as I replied, “Sure.”
And then may or may not have turned away to continue tacking up my horse and thought:
Disclaimer: I didn’t have a lot of time to edit and turn clips into gifs this time, so I’m just uploading the full videos Husband took. Bonus is you get to see lots of mistakes made by yours truly. Usually I cherry pick one or two particularly horrifying errors to for display.
It’s also super helpful for me to re-watch these to see what Trainer B sees and the corrections that follow.
But after Windridge , the ability to jump unfamiliar objects is definitely somewhere in there. So we put our collective (re: still very little) bravery to the test:
While it was literally a miracle that P jumped jump 1, Trainer B knocked me for not reacting quick enough- yes, the leg went on when I felt him hesitate, but not fast enough. I know P well enough by now that I shouldn’t be waiting for the hesitation before giving him a few taps.
So then it was time to put a small course together. I figured he’d definitely stop at the flamingo jump with the brick cut out and at the coop- you can’t see in the video, but it’s decorated pretty heavily in front.
Who is this horse and what have you done with Pilgrim? But seriously…I’ll take it! Though I got knocked for the right drift (what else is new) over the coop.
Then he sent us off to the rainbow. Both of us figured there’s no way in hell he won’t refuse at least once.
That was my favorite moment of the day, for sure.
Next we added in the one stride. The first jump was the lattice jump that he’s previously jumped many a time (and refused many a time) made into an oxer, and the second was the gate he’s, ya know, jumped successfully/refused a bunch.
Well, I could feel it coming but I doubt even more leg would’ve gotten him over. And neither Trainer B or I think it was the actual jumps that spooked him in this case, but rather he that P probably looked at the whole thing and just went, “Too much!” We haven’t done a lot of work on combinations, because really, the last few months have just been trying to get him to jump AT ALL, so that’s now the next progression.
So then we just worked on this combination for a bit, with the flamingo/brick jump to start to get P going. The one stride was set a bit long and I kept coming in with not enough energy. Skip to 2:35 if you want to see us actually get it right. Though if you do skip ahead, you’ll miss Husband’s new best friend. OMG GROSS.
All in all, it was one of my favorite lessons because you could see some definite progress from where we were just a few months ago. When we first started with Trainer B, P refused the first cross-rail he was presented with and would bolt before and after jumps. Last week he hopped around all sorts of things that he’d never seen before. Slowly but surely, the work is paying off.
Our next lessons, according to Trainer B, will be about getting him confident about in-and-outs and triple combinations. I’m excited that after so many months of just jumping all the things, we finally get to start working on real stuff.
Takeaways
On my part, there’s still a lack of trust in P that he’ll actually jump, so I tend to be way too conservative with my pace and approach. We have definitely made leaps and bounds from where we were, but it takes a few reminders from Trainer B each time to not only drive P forward, but also to keep him there and not die out. I’m sure he’s tired of repeating himself 12 billionty times, but I promise I’m trying.
It still takes all my willpower not to pick at him before a fence, but the proof is there: when I pick, he stops or gets a bad distance. When I make sure not to interfere, he’s much more likely to have a good jump.
Trainer B said my upper body and lower leg are much more solid. I can see in the videos that there’s still work to be done, but the progress is really there. Not to mention I feel so much more secure in the saddle. It’s definitely been a struggle on my part to not flop around anymore
While stopping SUCKS, at least he’s not dangerous or terrifying to ride anymore. P doesn’t bolt to or from fences (anymore), he doesn’t plow through jumps, he doesn’t buck, he doesn’t rear, he doesn’t spin…he comes to a (usually) gentle stop. Still not fun, though. When he does stop, I feel crushing disappointment. And sad? It’s weird.
P cares nothing about the height of the fences and can skip over 3’6″ without batting an eye. He DOES care (deeply) about what’s underneath and whether or not it’s going to eat him. This last month or so Trainer B has been purposely making things increasingly spooky, and so far, so good. So hopefully the fences can start to go up a bit (who is this person and why is she typing this…?) so that BN continues to look small and doable.
And I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE HE JUMPED THE RAINBOW!
Taste the rainbow (Skittles for the win, wait now i want some skittles). I may or may not have been refreshing your site so i would get dibs on the new blog post I knew had to be coming LOL (Stalker much? nawww)/ great job and wow great lesson. How exciting. I think refusals are the worse things to overcome because some horses are just going to stop.I am glad P is learning to not stop as much cause the more confident you get the more confident he will! YAY win win (Though I may have run away if my trainer asked if i was feeling brave.and my answer is always NO)
ha ha ha thanks for all the fun video media too he really is looking great!!
and that poor baby gif with being run over by the dogs LOL ouch.
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Is it terribly wrong that I watched the baby get run over like 20x before posting it? And now I want Skittles, too! Thanks ALOT 🙂
P is just SO INSECURE. He’s all, “I can do it, I can do it. NO I CAN’T OMG MUST SAVE US.” But he’s getting so much braver in general, so I don’t think he’ll always be a stopper. At least I sincerely hope not, because he’s pretty much perfect in every other way!
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if it is wrong then i am guilty too I LOL stopped reading your blog for a few minute to rewatch it. HA HA HA Since i started following your blog i can see how much P has improved so I do think he is going to be fine 🙂
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We’re just terrible people, obviously! Thank you! Trainer B has really made a world of difference.
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Look at you guys go!!!!!! Also can I comment on the lovely shade umbrella in the arena… so perfect… and those banks on the wall… omg I love his setup 🙂
and Chimi had the same thoughts about complex grids, one strides, and triples… so I’m sure once P figures it out he’ll be like hang on mom! I got this!!!! 😁
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Under the umbrella is Matt’s favorite place to be. Even if it’s not open, he just makes himself right at home. And then doesn’t budge.
Good to know about Chimi! It seems like P is following in his footsteps (at least I certainly hope so!).
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This is awesome and such amazing progress! Plus he looks stunning over the fences.
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Doesn’t he? He’s just awesome 🙂
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You guys look really good! Keep working at it! Seems like trainer is really helping you guys, and you’ve been putting in all the work as well. 🙂
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Thank you! Soooo much work
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So awesome! What great progress! Yay for sailing over rainbows!
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My favorite part for sure!
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I think your canter is looking like it’s carrying a lot more pace and rhythm. You guys just look GOOD!
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I know!!! He’s using the right muscles and everything is just coming together. Fiiiinnally
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He’s looking really good over the fences now!!
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I know! 😍
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hes got such a nice canter & jump – you guys look great over that rainbow!!
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I’ve always looooved his canter. Former BO told me that his canter was so bumpy and awkward once and I was like, “are you actually high?”
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You guys look awesome! I have a perpetual left drift, so I totally feel those issues.
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I mean, what is up with that? I can’t figure it out!!
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Look at those knees! Your trainer is great for helping you work on exactly what you need.
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He’s fantastic!
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The videos do show the progression of the lesson well. It was quite interesting. What I’ve noticed about the videos since the beginning of the lessons with Trainer B is that P is searching for them and looking eager when he finds them. I’m so glad things are getting more and more fun for the two of you. 🙂
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Me too! It’s about time!
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You two rock!!!! The change and progress over the last few months is easily visible. So much hard work on your part to get him here. He is such a great horse, I’m so glad he didn’t sell earlier this year!!
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So am I! When I started getting complaints from prospective buyers that they were unable to make appointments to see him, I was so mad at first. Now I’m super glad!
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I like that your trainer continues to up to Ante to build up P’s scary tolerance and give you the tools and reminders that you can do it!
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Me too! He’s been fantastic
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I haven’t been reading long (sorry-slow learner) but already there is such a huge difference! As someone who failed at owning a stopper you are my idol! Keep it up you two. 🙂
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We’ll try! Stopping is terrible, wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But Trainer B is phenomenal!
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Y’all look super solid and that’s so awesome that he’s not boogering out over the “spooky” stuff as much now! Great riding.
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