Bold, Brave, Willing, Scopey...



Lookin Good!!!

I consider those to be pretty good adjectives to be used when someone is talking about your horse.  Those would be the four xc coach would have used to ' described Colby at the end of last weekend.  Oh - I would also add Focused...as in "You both look focused".  Thanks Mom!!

She surprised me all weekend at her boldness to jump anything, do anything I asked her to.  She didn't back off from anything (except the water for a split second and we know how that ended up). And is so willing and game to try anything - that I keep forgetting that she is 4. 

While Colby does show some enthusiasm after the jumps sometimes - as in bucking and carrying on - I can live with that.  The biggest issues for now, are with her rider.  Namely:

Going confidently through the splash!!

1 - I have to give more when we jump. Big big big fault of mine, I know - always has been and probably always will be.  So, I have to really work on exaggerating my release for the next little while and not hold as much.

2 - I have to ride more from my core and lower body and stay off her face.  Again, bad bad Young Rider habits I am trying really hard to break.  No stirrups for the rest of my life, here I come.

3 - Her jumping canter needs to be more powerful, more together with more impulsion and not 'some wimpy looking dressage canter BS."  (Thank you John.)  How do I do this? By keeping her in front of my leg and off her face...d'uh. 

All that said, she is slowly, but surely - very surely - coming into her own and is almost a little too confident in herself. That scares me.  Her talent and scope are crazy and she is becoming more level headed with fewer mini freak outs...except for the whole cow thing.  I don't get that.  Even just yesterday we were hacking out after our school and had to pass the ever dreaded cows.  Took me 5 minutes to get her to take one single step forward.  I mean really Colby?  You'll jump any scary looking fence I point you out, but then have a breakdown when it comes to the cows.  Silly filly.

We've set our first event date - July 8 at Canterdown!!!! (one of my favourites!!!!) and in the meantime will take her to John's and out to as many small schooling shows to get her feet wet.  It will either go really really well, or be a complete disaster!!!

Colby showing off how talented she is....