And We Have Liftoff!

I jumped Jetta for the first time under saddle today! She was way better than I expected and actually picked her feet up over the little tiny cross rail I had set up. I am way out of shape in regard to jumping form since I haven't jumped for about 4 months. But it was good for the first time, though definitely still a work in progress.

This was actually the first time I had done two-point on Jetta and her reaction was to canter every time I sat up :) Eventually after lots and lots of trotting and cantering circles to slow down she got it. Partly she was a little tired, but after being off for four days, it wasn't bad.

I still really need to work on her with using contact = slow down. She is really light on the bit for the most part (though she can still dive down onto your hands occasionally) but when you apply some pressure on the bit, her first reaction is to curl up. I took a video (if I finally figure out how to upload it, I might post it here) and I really thought that she was way, way behind the vertical, but when I watched the video she isn't. Maybe it's just because her neck feels like it's a mile long and it's super bendy!

Anyways, I thought it was a good start for our jumping career, considering a friend of mine's hunter took his first look at a tiny trot pole and wouldn't go over it for nearly an hour! Now he's jumping 3'6" beautifully, but he took a little convincing. I can only hope that Jetta will improve as much as he did!

No pictures this time of jumping, though there will definitely be some in the future! For now, you'll have to be content with cell phone pics:


Treat, treat? Where's my apple!

 So, our goals to work towards until the show in January:
1. Slow the canter down, way down
2. Teach that pressure on the bit = slow down
3. Work on jumping up to 2' around a small course
4. More trail rides! If it ever stops raining for more than a few minutes...