Thursday, September 15, 2011

First Gallop & XC School = Success!

Custom Cross Country Vest = $250
Cross Country Boots = $95/pair
Charles Owen Helmet = $280
Being on a horse that loves his job out on XC = PRICELESS

As I'm getting ready for the Heather Morris clinic this weekend I realized that I should probably school a little bit of cross country to see how Flint will behave his little self out in the field with other horses galloping around. And, you know - see if he will jump them! Haha! So I went out today with Elizabeth, who was on Peaches - a seasoned eventer, and played around a bit with some of our cross country jumps.
Wow.
Flint was an absolute rockstar. He was very nervous when I first got on - we had switched around turn out and he was missing his ladies, but after we started trotting and then let him roll along at the gallop he clicked in like any self respecting Thoroughbred would. It has been so long since I've galloped an off the track TB, I forgot how great/fun/easy it is. Coaster was fun to gallop, don't get me wrong, but Thoroughbreds are bred to run - it's like driving my mom's BMW on the interstate thinking I'm going the speed limit only to look down casually and realize you're running 90 (hypothetically of course...LoL); I didn't realize the ground I was covering until I pulled up and realized how far behind me Elizabeth was on Peaches.

After he was such a superstar with our little gallop I absolutely had to try him over a couple fences. What a machine. Once he realized we were combining galloping AND jumping he would land and look for the next one. We jumped the majority of our Beginner Novice fences today, the goal is by Holly Hill to be schooling all of our Novice stuff. Hopefully he can keep his wit about him in a new place at the clinic this weekend and wow me just as much as he did today!

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