Kelly and I took Czar and Oliver to Christan’s/Denny’s for a lesson – Kelly’s/Czar’s first time, Oliver’s second time. This time, I mounted him down by the trailer parking and walked him all the way up the hill and then down again to the arena. The plan was to tuck him behind Czar, as Czar is a seasoned trail horse and Oliver has yet to do an official trail ride, but Oliver refused to go behind Czar and truckled down on front. I was tickled at how he wanted to be first, even though he was nervous and sidled around. We got down to the arena and he warmed up well, even offering a stretch at the trot, and Christan had us trot over a placing pole to a crossrail. Of course, I was expecting a stop, but I guess the work that we did at Holly’s really sat with Oliver, as he trotted right up over the placing pole and hopped the crossrail like it wasn’t there. He did canter on landing and buck a little, pretty chuffed with himself. It’s annoying, but I’m not going to punish him for being pleased with himself. Christan had me really think about softening my hands to the jump, almost to the point of looping them, and Oliver jumped EVERYTHING we pointed him at without stopping or running out. Well, he did look hard at a green and white plank jump, but I kept my leg on, kept the reins loose and just sat tight and he popped on over and cantered quietly away. We progressed to trotting little courses, and I was surprised at how little contact I needed with him to the jump, and I was even more surprised at how much he enjoyed being given full rein, and how confident he grew from that. Early on I asked Christan if I was holding him too much in the air over the fence, or worse yet, catching him in the mouth, and she said absolutely not – he had this tendency to curl his neck in over the fence, but it wasn’t because of me, and she felt that we could teach him to get over that by keeping the rein very, very light and making sure to just sit still and push him across the fence. He’s just that type of horse when it comes to his mouth, but she said we can easily teach him to get over that.
We progressed to the ditch, which Oliver (predictably) spooked hard at – he’s never jumped a ditch before, just the natural one at NSE. Christan told me to not let him turn away, but keep him facing it and just sit still with a loopy rein and quietly encourage him. Kelly trotted by quite a few times on Czar to show Ollie that it was okay, and Oliver, when he went, just hopped over it – he did buck on landing (he tends to do that when he’s feeling good about himself), but I was very careful not to tighten the rein or lean at him, and we came over it again and he did it so quietly. We then did it the other way, and he didn’t even hesitate – just popped on over. Christan had us do the bank next – walk up the ramp and pop off the other side. I was nervous, as he’s never, ever done a bank and I expected him to stop, prop, and then LAUNCH off the bank. The walk up the bank (the ramp) was more spooky for him than the drop off – he wobbled up the ramp, walked across the bank, and then just looked and hopped right off, like he’d been doing drops all his life. I must admit that I was shocked. I was all prepared to grab the front of my saddle in case he Supermanned off the top – I swore to myself that I wouldn’t grab at the reins no matter what he did. We turned around, trotted up the bank, which he did without hesitating. We finished with a small log jump – his first xc jump. There was scary brush on either side, and there were a ton of deer romping around in the meadow below, but Oliver just trotted up on a very loose rein and popped over the hanging log. Wow. I mean, WOW. It’s amazing how much their confidence grows when you just sit chilly, don’t peck at them, and let them figure it out for themselves. It was also a valuable lesson for me in how little I need the reins to jump. I was riding with an extremely loopy rein over jumps he’d never seen before, and my position must be getting a ton more secure because it was so easy for both of us. Kelly and I walked down through the xc field, down the path (again, Oliver’s never been trail riding before), and Ollie took the lead, and you could feel him swaggering down the lane to the water jump – he was so proud of himself. Once at the water jump – his first time – he stopped, sniffed, walked right in, and started to paw. All on a loose rein. I really think that this horse is going to be incredible. Christan said that she thinks that he’s going to be one of those very bold, quiet horses xc. She’s not concerned about his spookiness at all – she said that some of the spookiest horses she’s ridden (Teddy, her mare Morchant who’s unbelieveable) turned out to be the boldest xc horses she’s ever ridden, and the safest, as they don’t want to touch a jump. I definitely think I’ve picked the right trainer for Ollie and me. Her quiet, gentle approach is just what he needs, and it gives me a ton of confidence as well. I just adore him!
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