Well it has been a while since I posted and it has basically been because I've been dealing with a lot Lately. As you know Kizzy went to Aspen Farm Horse Trials 3 weeks ago doing BN and she rocked placing 4th. Her dressage was very good...She stayed even throughout and even her canter transitions were very smooth. She did take a bit of an awkward growth spurt so she was traveling a bit downhill which is unusual for her. That was really the only thing the judge said that was negative at all so I was really excited. She was soft and responsive and even her halt at the end was nice and square and balanced. Chelsey has been working very hard on these details and so have I so it was nice to see our hard work pay off.
The show jumping was spooky for her but she just kept her feet moving and jumped like a champ. This was her first real show jumping round and the tents, flags, rakers and other people moving about was a lot to keep an eye on:) She again kept her feet moving and even if a jump got a bit sticky she would jump it. She had one unlucky rail with the tip of her back toe but all and all she was jumping balanced and round. Here XC was a lot like her show jumping with the new people walking about and jump judges by the fences there was a lot to take in. After the first fence where she was all over the place looking at the jump judges she was great. Even with the looking around and taking things in she never once stopped her feet. She always kept that forward momentum and that is reassuring. Chels said even when she gets a bit spooky she never feels like she is going to stop. I think with more schooling and more outings she will figure out that this is her job and she will really enjoy it. She really likes to go and see things so I think we will have a blast. I was so proud!!!
I also had a great jump lesson on Kiz which I was pretty excited about. It has been about 2 yrs since I jumped but it was amazing how fast everything came back. I still have to work on not jumping ahead but I know that and can usually catch it now. This was my first lesson back so we didn't do to much but we will progress from there. My biggest thing is keeping my shoulders back and up. Of course if I am thinking about not jumping ahead this comes pretty naturally so hopefully I can train my body to do this all the time. This winter is going to be a lot of hard work but I am ready:)
On a harder note we had to put Gunter down last week. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make and it still weighs heavy on my mind. He was just not comfortable and I could tell he was tired and sore. I had been working so hard to make him comfortable these last 4 months and it just wasn't working anymore. I know the decision was right but I miss him terribly. He was my best friend and my loyal partner for 26 years and not having him hurts so much. I will never have another Gunther but I am so glad I shared my life with him for so long.. I love him...
