In which Oliver gets to jump his first oxer....

....and learns a little lesson about jumping the jump the first time. It was a hot, hot day, and Oliver seemed more composed than usual. I think that the Corrector pad, with the shims in the back, really helps level out the saddle and keeps my leg more underneath me, and stops me from tipping my pelvis out behind me, which seems to run him on his forehand. I never thought that there were drawbacks to being built uphill. I don't know if the Fhoenix is going to work for him as it tends to sit uphill as well, so maybe I've got to keep the Isabell and use it on Oliver exclusively, keeping the Fhoenix for Sam. Damn. Wish I could use the same saddle on both horses, but they're polar opposites in build from each other, so what can you do?

He was awesome on the flat, actually. We did lots of transitions within the trot - asking him to slow down the trot and collect a little bit, and then really asking him to power forward while maintaining his balance. When he wants to rush around like he does, sometimes, it's easier for me to ask him to move forward the way I want him to, not the way he wants to, and he finds his balance better that way. He's also getting more definite in his contact and consistent, and is even starting to stretch down in the trot and reach for the bit.

For jumping, I started to trot him over a little crossrail with a flower box in front, and predictably, he tried to stop and gawk. I growled at him, and then booted him over it from a standstill, grabbing mane as I did so, and he went - good boy. Trotted it a few times back and forth, making sure to grab mane each time, and he seemed to settle. Then, I trotted him over a few more of the little jumps out there, which he jumped on the first try. The bigger white gate was out there, and we had never jumped it before, so I trotted him up to it. He tried to stop, so I booted him over it from a pause, and he jumped it. More pats and praise. Then, we trotted over a little oxer that was set up with the brush boxes in front and the pole set on Bloks behind - he did it on the first try. Good boy. We finished by trotting over a few more jumps and then cantering down over the second. He felt like a squirrel on skates for a few, as he would jump big on the "in" and then sort of wobble down the line to the second, which made me laugh, but he was being very obedient and good.

Got my lesson with Christan tomorrow - I'm pretty excited about how he'll do!