And I have NO proof. Commence crying.
We arrived at Trainer B’s to see lots of smallish jumps. I mean as small as you’d expect from a pair of trainers who regularly set poles towards the top of the standards. And that was ok with me. We’re still getting back in the groove of jumping after the winter from hell, and hadn’t actually jumped a thing all week, thanks to work.
We warmed up over the flamingo cross rail a few times, then Trainer B set one of the big wavy boards as a vertical over the cross-rail. Oh, and the standard’s holes start at 3′. And the first and last time P jumped the wavy board as a vertical, this was the result:
So naturally that image was the first thing that crossed my mind. Trainer B must’ve seen the look of terror plastered on my face, and said not to look at it. I replied that it was quite the step up from the cross-rail. And he goes, “The cross rail’s still there, see?”

Funny.
But I picked up the canter, came around and before I knew it, we were in the air. A full stride before the jump. P was NOT going to touch it. So…that was fun. We were in the air so long I had time to think, “Good thing he’s got a rubber bit in, since I just got left waaaay behind,” before we hit the ground. But we came around again, and he was much more reasonable in his takeoff.
So then we figured out courses, and Trainer B not-so-stealthily busied himself raising fences. And I found myself opening my mouth to make some sarcastic protest, then closed it. Because, you know what? I trust the guy. He knows P (I’d say he’s met nearly all of his personalities), and he knows me. If he thinks those heights are where we’re at, then that’s where we’re at.
And we were there.
Besides one stop at the green shamrock jump (see picture above), which was totally my fault. We had rolled back to approach the jump, and as we straightened to it, I realized I couldn’t remember which way I had to turn to the next jump. We would have one stride to get our direction after landing, so I was a little panicky and I’m sure P could feel my uncertainty. Every fence I rode boldly (and with a forward pace, hooray!) was rewarded by him, ya know, jumping. We came around and jumped the green a few more times, and he jumped every time.
And our final test was a course of 8 jumps, including the 2 stride. And we nailed it. It was perfect. I pulled him to not a single fence, I rode forward, P responded and jumped what I thought of as our first true Novice height course.
Except it wasn’t. It was a mixture of Novice height and Training height, which I (wisely) wasn’t informed until we were done. I KNEW a few of those looked bigger than N, so good to know I wasn’t crazy.
It was without a doubt one of the best lessons ever.

Hooray for good lessons π
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I know π
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Yay! You have to love lessons that end in that “high” kind of feeling.
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Definitely the best!
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LOVE lessons like that!! Whoohooo!! Sounds like you guys are doing fantastic, especially after having a long winter!
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The winter that never ended!
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oh man, sucks that there’s no media!!! sounds like SUCH a good feeling! sounds like y’all will be ready for N sooner than you think!! π
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Novice CT? 100%. Novice XC? 50%
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That sounds like a great lesson. And it sounds like P’s stops are now for good reason, not just cause he feels like it. And you can count this blog as “proof” of the awesome lesson. π
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Very true!
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Thatβs always the way with media and lessons! But how amazing he was so good!!!
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Gah, right? Camera=fail π
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Yay!! So glad it was awesome! I love that everything seems to be really clicking for you and P β€
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So far!
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Yay for a great lesson on a fantastic horse!!
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Thanks!
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Love when Trainer’s get a little sneaky and push us out of our comfort zones because they know we can do it. Definitely sounds like the best lesson ever and you guys did fabulous!
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Same here!
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Great lesson it sounds like. And the gifs are amazing too (The cat trust one. DYING here)
YAY P (Oh and you too) π
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Bahahaha right? It cracked me up π
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Hurray for an amazing lesson! Trainer B sounds amazing. Evil sometimes, but really amazing.
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Bahaha perfect way to describe him!
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What a fun lesson. I would also need to be tricked into jumping bigger.
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