We all know how long it took for me to eventually get P around a BN, right? ::cough cough:: 2 years ::cough cough::
Then I started riding S when P injured himself the FIRST time. And it was sort of a miracle that after only 4 weeks or so, I took him around his very first event at BN (and really only my third).
Last month I headed up to VA for a weekend of riding ponies with my friend, and got to take her guy out for a spin:
And after a day of flatting, took him to a little jump clinic where I jumped a few little fences for the first time since October 2018. We made tentative plans for me to come back up to VA in March to compete him at Loch Moy and then possibly bring him back with me to ride while P continues to recuperate.
But I had some serious doubts. I mean…I’d ridden the horse all of 60 minutes or so, not to mention the teensy fact that I’ve done nothing besides w/t/c rehab rides (when I could ride at all) for the last 5 months. Not exactly a professional here, y’all.
So I made the decision to get there, ride him Friday & Saturday, then decide. He was already entered under his owner and the office said we could make a last minute rider change.
Here’s a little background on C: he’s 19 (but you’d never know), and my friend has owned him for about 10 years or so- she completed her first BN/N on him, and schooled Training, but said she could never put all the Training phases together to actually compete at the level. She bought a different horse 4 years ago, and C pretty much has sat since then. He briefly came out of retirement in 2016 when a friend tried to show him at BN, but they didn’t get along well, so back into the pasture he went.
So the horse hasn’t been to a show, hasn’t schooled XC, has now jumped exactly ONCE (with me in Feb) in nearly 3 years, and I think I can just saunter around a horse trial?
Friday I hopped on, my friend set some jumps, and off we went. At this point, I was under the impression that my friend had worked him over fences at least a couple times, so afterwards when I found out she hadn’t jumped him at all, I was actually quite impressed with how he was.
But he does have the tendency to bulge to the right and get sort of…stuck. He did it a few times off the left lead as I was turning to jumps, and it was a little un-nerving. I’m told that’s one of his quirks, which is totally fine since all horses have their “thing,” but it didn’t exactly inspire confidence that I could steer him around a SJ course.
But I figured…YOLO, maybe? I really can’t explain why I decided to go along with competing him, but found myself paying the rider change fee the next day.
Waiting on some media…we’ll finish this story tomorrow!
lol YOLO indeed! it was so great to meet you! what a badass for catch riding basically a completely unknown horse for a show at a venue you’ve never even been to before! i can’t wait to see all the pictures etc!!
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It was so great to meet you too! I had a blast! I should offer my services as a professional horse rehabber and professional catch rider (but only at BN) 😂😂
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YAY! I love that you guys found each other (especially as I know him and his owner very well) — looking forward to hearing how the event went for you guys!!!!
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I know, that’s awesome! He’s such a cool guy!
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It’s possible that I stalked some of my Area 2 friends while I was also stalking evententries for Carolina results, so it’s also possible that I already know how this ends…
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Bahahaha, I do the same thing. There’s no mystery anymore!
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Excited to hear how this went!
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It’s coming!
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Yolo is right, but what a great opportunity!
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It really was!
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Hahaha certainly YOLO. I can’t wait to see how it turned out tho!
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Ahhhh…the suspense!!!! Good for you for moving outside your comfort zone and showing. I bet it felt great to be competing again
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Sooooo great! It was definitely outside my comfort zone, but surprisingly not for the same reasons it was with P 🤷♀️
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Hoping this ends well!
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🤞🤞
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Nooooooooooooooooooooo I need to know how this ends!
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It’s up!
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I have to say, having watched your growth the past two-ish years on here, this decision is amazing. You were totally up for a mostly unknown horse at a show. You’ve gotten so much more confident in yourself and your ability. It so inspiring!
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Awww thanks! Definitely feels different- not nearly so much as scared of what could happen and more like, “what’s next?” Which…finally!
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Such an awesome mindset to have!
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