GRS goes to Cedar Peaks

Took Sienna and Ned to Cedar Peaks to school XC this weekend. Sienna mostly just lunged and hacked around a bit as she's just coming back and I was too paranoid to risk her hurting herself. Ned and Nicole though got to have lots of fun :) He was pretty lazy in the warmup but as soon as we headed out on XC he came to life! Looking around at everything w/ a noticeable spring to his step. hahaha we gave him lots of time to wander around and explore the world till he chilled out and then time to start jumping... Well at first Mr. Ned was eager to point out to Nicole all the various ways one could go *around* the obstacle in front of them, but eventually she convinced him that *over* was a much better option! The bank up was a complete non-issue (woohoo!) and they rode the skinny at the top of the hill like old pros! hahaha the only catch being of course that Ned felt the need to clear it by an extra 3' or so. Yeah prelim! Straight though, and no hesitation about over...

Then we decide to take a break from scary stuff and jump a tiny easy log -- about 15' long, 2' high, and w/ a solid wing on one side.... As friendly as they get right? Yeah, Neddy wanted absolutely nothing to do w/ it. Unfortunately Nicole, Ned, and Gravity had it out over this one -- and Gravity eventually won leaving Nicole on the ground and Neddy standing a few feet away looking very puzzled. Somehow, while decidedly ignoring Rule number 1, Nicole managed to follow rule number 2 with no issues at all throughout the day. Starting right after she got him over that silly little log! Sure enough she got back on and after going back and forth over it a few times, Ned was willing enough if still not terribly convinced this was a good idea. So we found another confidence builder and jumped that many times (he loved that one :) until the world was good again.

Jumped around over several more little logs in random locations, Ned feeling more and more proud of himself as they went and then hiked over to . . . the ditch! hahaha read terrain change. Now Ned's always pretty careful about where his feet go -- not too sure about going through puddles, mud, daisies... Anything :) So I wasn't too sure how well he'd handle this one, but w/ Sienna leading he went over it like an old pro! And back over it on his own the second time absolutely no issue. Better, in fact, than he jumped the PE log next to it! hahaha

After hoping over a random collection of logs we headed to the water; now this water is not particularly inviting to greenbeans because you can't run through it -- have to go in and either jump out, or turn around to walk back out. But Ned, after only hesitating a second, plunged in bravely even without a lead!!!! Woohoo!!! Go Neddy go! And when Nicole let him trot he was all for it :) Brilliant :) After that all that was left was to hack back where both horses got on the trailer no problem and headed home :)

Overall an amazing day. With weather that threatened but never followed through and perfect timing as we left the course just as others were showing up to use it! Thanks to Anne and Claus for letting us come play :)