I just wanted to say that I LOVE my new barn. Yesterday, I worked Sam in the arena a little and then went for a hack – we trotted up the hills on the back 40, and then wandered down to the Foundation and rode around there for a while. I didn’t go far, as I was petrified about getting lost (you know my sense of direction!), but it was really good for Sam – he had to pick his way around the roots, figure out how to balance himself up and down the hills, etc. I can’t believe that I went for so long at a place where I couldn’t do that kind of work. Now, I really feel that I can get somewhere with my riding, as I have the “tools” to do it with. Yay! Oh, and Oliver was wonderful today. He’s actually been better behaved than Sam. When I take Sam out, Oliver yells a few times, and then gets buddy-buddy with Czar. When he’s the one being ridden, he’s great, too. When I take Sam out to be ridden, he yells all the time, refuses to focus (unless we’re jumping – then he pays attention to me), and is basically a pain in the ass. Sam hates it when I take Oliver out – he yells and gallops around the pasture like a fruitcake and ignores Czar. I had no idea he would do this. He normally doesn’t mind being left behind, and he certainly doesn’t care if he gets taken away. The only time he has done something like this was when I brought Ellie and Sam together to a Denny lesson. Sam and Ellie both were royal pain the necks, which is why I swore I wouldn’t take both of them anywhere together again.
Anyway, I flatted Oliver, and he was an angel – he seems more relaxed at Denny’s, and even picked up his leads the first time without bucking or rushing into it. I decided to take him for a hack, and since he’s never been out in the wild on his own before, I was prepared for anything, but damned if that little horse didn’t just march around, looking curiously at everything. He didn’t spook at any of the xc jumps, not even the ones he hadn’t seen before, and marched up and down the hills. I remember how Karen told me that some horses are natural descenders, where others have to learn how to go downhill. Oliver is a natural. He just sits right down on his butt and shimmies his way down the hill. He's truly a joy to ride. There was a dressage trainer who’s been flatting some of Christan’s horses and the first thing she said when she saw Oliver appearing out of the woods was “What a gorgeous horse he is.”
Oh, and Oliver had his first REAL xc lesson on Saturday, with Margaret. I was a little daunted as her little Fisher (that she got from Margaret Webber, at Mapleshade Farm, same place she got Echo) was pretty bold, and jumping everything with hardly a look. Oliver didn’t look at anything in the arena, either, but it was still a little humbling seeing how bold Fisher was. Anyway, we went out to the xc field and started jumping every little thing out there. Oliver only looked a couple of times, but then Fisher looked at the same jumps, so I didn’t feel badly at all. I have got to remember to ride Ollie with a loose rein to the jump – “trust him”, as Christan says – and stay a little behind the motion. I had to slip the reins a couple of times, which still impresses the heck out of me that I’m able to do that, since I remember Diane agonizing over the fact that I had trouble slipping my reins.
So, we're off to a great start! Can't wait for the weather to cool down...
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