Thank you. Here they are doing the A/O Hunters.
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Beautiful!
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@netg Thank you 
and best wishes for recovery!!
And this is my 5 year old which I started myself… I am considering to show her finally because she has really lovely moments. but what I love most about her is that she really somehow loves me…
And … my other young mare just won a YH class (in Germany the winner has a golden ribbon) with my trainer. 
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Ok, then. My goal this year was to do specialty classes and shows/locations I hadn’t been to before. Last weekend our local association did a “throwback” benefit show where we jumped around an outside course. About as old school as it comes: show off the trailer parked at one end of the hay field, course set at the other end once the hay was baled and picked up. No ring rail, natural, nostalgic jumps. Host trainer’s mother in law did the concessions. Beginner/crossrail level classes were held in a paddock to give them a rail but they still got to jump around on grass like the upper divisions. My horse and I had a ball!
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JBCool, Manni01, PonyPenny, LOVELY photos!!
I don’t have anything that cool, but my new boy who came to me not wanting to pick up a right-lead canter can now canter to the right for three revolutions of a circle, haha. That’s progress, right? I make sure to stop him before he stops himself! 
It’s not pretty yet, but it’s a start.
No canter pics, but here his is anyway.
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This sounds wonderful!
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It was so fun! Many of us chatted the whole week before about old shows we rememebred doing as kids that no longer take place: who had the best food, the best classes, weirdest ring, etc. I think everyone is hoping it becomes at least a yearly thing if not another sooner.
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I mentioned somewhere else I got my bronze scores and won both my classes last weekend. Which I am delighted about!
Not so delighted about the crush injury to my toe inflicted purely accidentally by my sweet horse yesterday which probably has me sidelined for the rest of the show season.
Here’s Mr Perfect being perfect
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Love this (not the toe injury of course) the blue is so perfect with the chestnut!
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I decided that classic navy and white was the way to go…
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I’m going blue when I show next weekend 
Have fun! My unspoken goal is to be back in the saddle in time to show mid August. Thats 2 months. Should be doable, right? Mr Perfect will be in full training while I’m off and as soon as this thing settles enough I will be back to pilates for old ladies and stretching at least…
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My horse was wonderful today. We have been rehabbing him for Kissing spine/stifle stuff. We were on the upward trajectory for a while but then he suddenly got weird in the canter (with my trainer.) He was starting to head toss a lot.
But I’m happy to report there was very minimal head tossing today… I switched some tack around and I think the setup works better for him.
There is also so much going around the arena today, roofers on a roof right by the ring, someone on a riding lawn mower in their yard, someone playing with their dog, a kid on a second level patio. He was so focused and relaxed today. He can be a bit spooky so this is a huge win. I hope it continues…
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I am happy to report that my coming 6 year old understand travers finally (he is the shoulder in wiz kid). For months, he insisted that travers is a crime against nature, no matter how many ten meter circles and nose to wall leg yields we performed, but he does it now. His canter is still remedial because he still tests my authority to make him canter longer than he wants. We are about first level in the canter. While he won’t agree to counter canter through the entire short side, he will agree to simple change from true canter to counter canter all the way around the arena, multiple times. ??? He will pick up canter from halt, if he wants to. In my effort to start him on understanding piaffe, we now have four strides of piffle. YAY. My four year old was doing fantastic until he threw a front shoe. I am hoping to post success that the farrier actually does show up before I go to bed tonight. Keep fingers crossed.
Must say, regarding 6 year old, that the moments of brilliance and insight into his true talent are what keep me going. He is a difficult, opinionated and dominant horse, but OMG when it’s right, it’s pure poetry. Horse is so very talented!
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It gets better when they turn 7, at least for mine. I almost sold him a couple times between 5-6, then at 7 he became just delightful and left all the teenage shenanigans behind.
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Thanks for that–a great reminder!!! My retired grand prix horse was a spooky/bolty horror until she was 7 (and actually up to age 9). I couldn’t show her until she was 7 and she tanked the first show and then won everything.
The 6 year old is constantly testing me, but I do get view into his remarkable talent. The actual highs from that somehow outweigh the much more frequent lows of him testing the boundaries.
My girl has really come to the party as an 8 year old. We did our first second level test weekend before last, walked into the warmup on the buckle, she was right with me and we finished with a 69 (schooling show scores…), then I took her to a different venue with lots of activity the next day and she did great over a low jumping course.
Last weekend the BO grabbed some pics during our jump school:
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After a really lovely chiropractic appointment, I had such a nice supple and relaxed horse today. He was stretching down so nicely and really swinging through his back in the trot. We also played with shoulder in and haunches in at the walk and they were pretty easy. We also reintroduced shoulder in at the trot, that also felt great. I think the only trouble spot we had was a little bit in the leg yield going to the right. Which has been an issue the last few rides. He wants to tilt his head and rush. But I did finally get a decent leg yield on that side. The chiropractor did say he was out on his TMJ on the right side of his face… So I’m going to have my vet recheck his teeth.
But other than that he felt really good today. Today felt easy. Today I felt like I could focus on myself a little more and not like how funky his body was feeling lol. Yay!
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Mulligan - my Bowie buy-it-now colt - is learning some really nifty cooperative hoofcare skills, and I’m very happy with how that’s progressing! I may have to make a separate thread for his progress at some point when I’m feeling brave.
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I haven’t been in this thread for a long time but think of it often and today I had a lesson that inspired me to come back.
I finally found a GOOD coach. Not BNT famous, but really good. Tough as nails, doesn’t take shit, genuinely cares and really knows what she’s talking about. I’m just a shit amateur rerider but us reriders who never left horses know poor coaching, and she isn’t it.
We worked on a simple exercise today but by the end I felt moments of lift and balance and strength. I’ve learned how to get him in front of my leg, my relationship with him has really improved and he’s trying so hard.
It was such a good ride. I’m investing in my riding finally. 2 lessons a week as often as I can make it, prioritizing the riding at home, making lifestyle changes to improve fitness, whole shebang. And if I had to pinpoint a catalyst it’s this coach - I feel like we might actually achieve my goals, and I’ll be so much better prepared to move on to a new horse when we do.
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