Rollback

👑😛🩷 31 days until the first Woodside show! 😝🤪😁

Long time no blog post! I believe the rainy season is truly ending and I am so excited to have a jumping lesson today. I made it to the barn and I saw 👀… COCO!! Ever feel like it’s been a million years since you last rode your horse? In reality it’s only been a couple of days away from the barn, but I am SO ready for my jumping lesson. I think I’m going to go twisty with Coco today!

I got to the barn around one and brought Coco to the cross ties. I started grooming him and wondered “how does he get so dirty??” But in no time I got him looking shiny and perfect once again. I walked into the tack room and got my bridle, saddle, saddle pad and the half pad and I finished tacking up.

Fast forward 10 minutes ⏭️ I took Coco up to the mounting block and got on. As we walk up to the ring I can see Cindy sitting up there waiting for us. I’m already smiling. I start walking Coco around the ring to get his legs warmed up and stretched. After two laps around the ring each way I pick up a nice stretchy trot, one lap each way, and then collection, then walk again. He had a chance to cool down from the trot, then we picked up the canter two times around in each direction. He was such a good boy! Then I had him walk again and take it slow while Cindy set some fences/jumps around the ring. They are set at specific distances and heights so that we can complete a routine/course. Cindy set some cross rails and other fence heights in a particular pattern, and then we were ready to go!

I took him over the first cross rail and he felt really good- the distance and timing was perfect. We kept jumping slightly different courses, and then towards the end I did a super fun rollback. I had to try it a couple more times to get it perfect but then I got it! That’s usually the best place to stop a lesson. We nailed that roll back and so it’s best to stop when we get it right.

I feel like this lesson was in my top five lessons ever! I think every lesson is a learning experience even if it’s not the best lesson that you’ve ever had. I brought Coco over to the cross ties and started untacking him. I put my saddle, bridle, saddle pad and half pad away, then took Coco to the wash stalls. He definitely liked that cool water bath! 💦 And once he was cleaned up and dried off I brought him back to his stall, and…perfect timing! My pony’s hay was waiting for him in his stall, and all of his friends were coming back into their stalls, too.

Bye! I hope you enjoyed this post. Have a good day or night wherever you are.