XC Training

After our slightly eventful and expensive drive, I made a quick call to my dad to bring my spare helmet, thus resolving our issue. It was freezing, the wind was windy, but the sun was out so that was nice!

There was just me and one other person training which meant plenty of one on one time with my coach. We warmed up like we usually do, over small logs to set the rhythm, then moved to a different log followed by an oxer. After a week off Coolie was feeling amazing, but maybe not as responsive as he can be. Our rhythm was good though and he met the oxer well, though maybe a taking off a touch long.

We moved to a combination of 2 upright jumps on a curve. It took me a few goes to place Coolie at the right spot and get a good stride. the jump is measured for 3, but we consistently got 4 because Coolie compresses his stride. We compensated by riding a sharper curve and I got it right a few times before moving onto the next section of the course. I am not good at jumping and turning, but I am getting there... slowly!

On our way we popped over a little log. Coolie acted like he had never jumped a jump before in his life and wiggled and stalled coming into it. He makes me laugh sometimes. A bit of leg and a tap on the shoulder saw us over it and then we came round again. This time he remembered he is big, bad event pony and jumped it without the sass.

From there my coach sent us out to do a course. We had to jump an oxer, a log, then gallop forward to another log up hill. Then I came down the hill and jumped a brush fence with a BIG drop on the landing side, a solid 105 question that we have not done before. Coming into the fence I collected the canter and kept my leg on. Coolie popped down and I really sat up and slipped my reins. We rode it fine although Coolie was a bit enthusiastic after landing!

Trust me, it was awesome

We had a play in the water, incorporating some more 105 questions that coolie answered with enthusiasm and then we moved onto a trakhener and some angled logs. Bec had mentioned early in the session that I would be tacking these angled logs. I had been looking forward to tackling them the whole session but was also slightly apprehensive. They are in the 1* course! The logs aren't really that big (oh my god what am I saying, they used to look HUGE!) but the angle between them is steep!

Look, a yellow number! You can see the line needed here, although this person isn't in quite the right spot. Sorry person!

We started with the trakhener but we have done it plenty so it was fine. then Bec talked me through how to ride the logs. I walked up to them and really focused on how I needed to approach and the line I needed to take. With angled stuff you usually have to come out so much wider than you would think. I lined up a tree I could aim for, then came around in a big, forward canter. We jumped one log on it's own first and Coolie was like hmm, this is a bit bigger than normal! Then we came around and lined up the 2 logs together. Bec positioned herself so I could aim for her, I kept my leg on and we nailed it!

I could feel Coolie in the middle thinking this was harder than normal and he had to really use himself but he felt confident and jumped without an issue. I was focusing so much on the line I didn't have time to be nervous but the rush of adrenaline after we landed was huge. I was pretty thrilled with us, and we finished on that note.

Coolie and I had a really productive and confidence building session. It was so nice to know i can hop on after a week off (ugh time, I am struggling!) and go out and jump him with no issues. Coolie feels like a trained horse, he knows his job. You can point him at anything and hes like yes! lets jump it. Even the harder questions are easy. I am getting way more confident with our rhythm and pace too, and I am trusting myself to make better decisions.

All the love for this star!

This weekend Jonna is back (and it's wedding number one, so excited!) and I am hoping we can put it together a bit more in the show jumping.