1st jump(?) lesson

So it was pouring rain AGAIN :( Denny first thing in the am says "so we'll flat him inside again today -- the footings way too sloppy for a green horse" -- ok fair enuff. And true, it was very sloppy. Not actually slippery but def icky :( Kinda like Marg's ring after it's been raining for a few days.

Alright so I accept that we'll be doing flat again such is life. Several people have jump lessons lined up today cause there's a show this wknd -- but none of their horses are green or unfit.

But THEN I overhear Denny telling one student who's tacking up "I've set up one little fence inside -- we'll warm up there and then go out to jump" -- so I picked up on this "one little jump? Do you think Cayman could do it?" hahaha worth a try eh? The answer I get "we'll do him right after lunch..." ummm ok so I know WHEN he's going to have a lesson -- but I don't actually know which tack to put on him >;-P hmmmmm I asked the BM what she thought (she's kewl) n it was cute she clearly thought I should go w/ flat but knew how much I wanted to jump... So she kinda skirted giving me an actual answer.

Right so I come back from lunch and the executive decision was I'd put on jumping tack and see what happened :) After all, I'm not allowed to sit to the trot or canter yet (Cayman's too thin and unfit) so really I don't need dressage tack. BM comes back from lunch and suggests "if you want to jump, you need @ least one more pole in the ring" hahaha ok so I go get another pole and bring it in -- we now have an X in the ring. Woohoo! It's an option. Although the "ground-lines" are actually small cavelletti so it's a pretty intimidating X. I would have prefered no ground lines, but apparently that's not an option. Ok sobeit -- @ least we have an option now :)

Lesson starts, basic flat work but no theory today :) Woohoo :) So then he takes half of my X away and drops it on the ground -- a single pole for Mr C. Who trots up to it, drops his head, snorts and leaps. hahaha then then next time was so bored by it he tripped over it. Classic eh? So we get told to go jump what was left of the original jump. Which now looks like a ditch (the two caveletti side to side w/ the supports touching in the middle -- makes a box) w/ a pole being EATEN by it. NOT exactly the most inviting fence, but ok. Cayman stopped to look @ it and then oh so calmly stepped over it :) So proud. Went around a few times and he was fine w/ it. Nothing exciting. And the best part -- kept going forward. None of this stall-jump-stall business. So we're officially on the "jump 3X/wk" plan. Woohoo! So that's a start. Didn't do enough to judge actual ability yet but @ least he wasn't deemed hopeless.

So that's a VERY long story about what amounts to oh absolutely nothing :) hahaha Aren't you glad you read it? >;}

My sincerest apologies!