Fair Hill Cross Country With Sally: Jump Time

So we went, we jumped, we didn’t fall off. Win? I say so!!

First off thanks to Jess for tagging along and taking some media. Otherwise we would have been SOL so I have to thank her for going. ( I think she got some video too but I am too impatient and wanted to post this morning so here you go.) And she gave me a free voucher for schooling. So another win!

Her horse, Starbar was ready to cross country school. Remus was ready for a nap (Sarah remember how you said he was a winter horse? I think you are right!). He did amazingly well but….he was not exuberant except when Star was not near him (Remus does not like this horse at home but boy out together and he was his long lost mate. JEEZ) Luckily the screaming was kept to a nicker (Poor Woman Showing I kept thinking of Opie, LOL) so was not TOO annoying. But at one point we came out of the water and popped over a ramp and halfway over the jump Remus saw Star to the right and veered right on landing. Hello. Yes i usually DO have control over my horse…Not today 🙂

But it was still great fun. The two other people in my group were totally different ends of the spectrum from me. This one older guy was riding an amazing tbred who Sally was having a ball just pointing at big jumps to jump. He said he was starting him at BN but that guy was jumping all the Novice and above stuff out there. I mean wow. The other person with me was another woman on a tbred who was a bit less brave (the horse not the rider) but she was jumping some of the intro with me and a lot of the BN too.

I told Sally starting out we had not jumped cross country since last Fall and since it was hot as bejesus we would take it easy on Remus. She agreed and was pleased how he performed considering. But we definitely took it easy in between (on the buckle, easy wild horse standing in the shade).

We jumped some elementary stuff start then most of the intro and one or two BN easy ones. He jumped everything (Except for a hairy eyeball at the straw bales propped up on their side per FH tradition on the boxes. He went over but it was the most wiggly line we have ever done (and that is saying something with Remus). He JUST knew that that straw bale was going to grab him as he went over. Dufus. But over he went.

He went up the log on the baby bank, he jumped the baby ditch both ways (and actually jumped it rather that trotting it). I was so tempted to do the BN ditch, he just doesn’t care but the other person was having trouble with her tbred over the (novice) ditch so I didn’t want to interfere.

Remus rapped his feet hard on the box with straw bale that was set for Intro I think but it was a tricky spot there you were jumping into shade by the trees but he went over it…same with another straw bale jump later on…this was by the mound so it was spooky and it was in a slight hollow so the jump was pretty low even by my standards but over it he went….

Remus was a bit too connected to Star to pay a huge amount of attention to me but he was lazy and not pulling so I knew he wasn’t gonna be a problem to start. But pretty much everything we pointed him at he jumped with no fuss, no bother. The water was hilarious because Remus usually trots through (see all the photos i post of him at the water, trot, trot, trot). Well Star went first and Remus knew he was leaving him forever so he went forward, with his head up and leaped into the water in a canter and kept on going. Silly horse, then we popped over the ramp coming out.  Then he veered right. Rolling eyes.

So much fun a day though. I was hot as hell and I NEED a new cc vest STAT. But I loved it all and was very pleased how well my fat buckskin did. It was a gorgeous evening by the time we untacked and would have been pleasant to hack around afterwards but both Jess and I were exhausted, the ponies wanted their dinner and my dogs were waiting, so we loaded them up and heading home.

Starbar jumped everything that Jess pointed him at too. He hadn’t done much all winter (even less than Remus at least we have been doing stadium lessons and dressage lessons) but he never put a foot wrong. He was full of piss and vinegar at the start but settled down after. Remus is the type that gets the cc schooling venue to a t. Stand around, wake up, pop over a jump, rinse and repeat. Except for his new love for Star he was all around great and even that was just annoying not dangerous or stupid.  I tell you this though, I am going to SO miss Sally (and Fair Hill) when I move away!

There could be news on houses in TN but I will save that for another day…tease yep!!