Sometimes, riding an atomic mare requires meeting her dramatic moments with only the most subtle of aids or silence. When I don't engage with her moments and stay centered, focusing myself on the task at hand, we are successful. When all hope seemed lost in getting the left lead canter, keeping my hips and shoulders pointed in the right direction while staying calm was the final piece to teaching her she could stay balanced and pick up that lead. Unfortunately, learning requires a lot of repetition, so it has been a struggle to make the non-reaction my response.
Finally, at Hitching Post Farm's schooling horse trial this weekend, I was able to mindfully apply the non reaction to jumping in a competition setting. She was incredibly relaxed during jump warm up*, cantering easily to fences on a looped rein. So I thought, "what the heck, I'm not going to touch my reins unless I have to." As it turns out, I had no need to until an in and out that we in-ed and grazed off the B of... But, I can't blame her, we have schooled a bit angling in and out of elements of a combination without working on combinations this year. She was fantastic once we went through the second time and I was clear with my directions. As a result, I picked up the reins a bit and found the "too much" end of the spectrum. She was a bit reactive to that, getting a bit squirrelly during the last bending line. However, letting her be and focusing on finishing the course resulted in a completed course and a horse happy to start XC.
Suki was a bit all over the place when starting XC. She had her eyes on everything, not just the jumps with the yellow flags. Luckily, Hitching Post Farm has a great feel for what is appropriate for a schooling cross country course. The first four fences were low, welcoming, and rounded, very unthreatening to a horse that didn't quite check in until the last minute. Suki did not have an opportunity to formally school cross country before the event, so I considered the first few fences a means to jog her memory and find a rhythm. I gave her a loose rein and sent her along where appropriate. By giving her her freedom, unlike last year, I had a horse more inclined to respect my aids, such as when I asked her to walk off the down bank so she wouldn't get too aggressive.
Jumping Fence 8
Nick Goldsmith Photography (used with permission)
The real test was the approach to fence eight. I knew this could be a tricky fence as the approach turned toward the start box. When I walked the course, I noted she could very easily try to run through her left shoulder and try to head for the start before noticing we were aiming for another fence set on a slanted uphill approach. What do you know, she got going toward the start and threw a little bit of a fit about being blocked by my outside aids. It took everything in my power to not get into it with her and make her go where I wanted. Instead, I let go of her a bit, kept my shoulders and hips pointed toward the fence, and looked toward the approach to fence 9. Low and behold, she came right out of her drama queen moment and jumped the fence beautifully.
