Big Girl Pants!

Oh boy!  Have you ever dreamed or even obsessed over an item of clothing?  Maybe a sparkly dress or a fine pair of pants that catches your eye every time you are out window shopping.  You want it so badly.  Even if they are out of your price range or you’ll only wear it once, you can’t help but try it on, maybe more than once… Me either, clothes just don’t do it for me.  Now horse accessories… The point is when we identify something we want, it tends to consume a large portion of our brain and if you are anything like me, that portion of your brain is the logic center.  We lose our focus.  We forget logical progressions and we leap right for the reward.

The Kentucky show went so well.  It’s not so much that our score was phenomenal, it wasn’t, but the teamwork was finally there.  Nutmeg and I were clicking.  I knew what she needed and she was responsive to my suggestions (you try telling a chestnut mare how it’s going to be).  Two big pieces fell into place over the weekend.  One, we both stayed relaxed in dressage and show jumping and two, we were balanced on cross country.  The Horse Park might not have any mountains, but it has its fair share of hills.  For the first time competing, I felt we were balanced enough at any point to jump and I didn’t have to win a war to get the balance.  Nutmeg was happy to balance herself.

Well, that got my brain rolling.  We’d thrown around the idea of moving up to training at the beginning of the year if we could get the balance and communication in place.  So, what to do?  Play it safe and do one more event at Novice to see if Kentucky was a complete fluke?  Move up and pray my gut feeling is right?

Nope, never fear, that is NOT a Training Fence.

I’ve been eyeing the training fences since the last time I galloped around a training course (let’s just say it’s been a few years).  I really like that level.  It’s challenging enough to keep me interested, but friendly enough that I don’t have nightmares or want to pee my pants galloping down the fences.  Understanding that my desire to get back at it might just be clouding my judgment, I sought professional help.

Last Training.  Icy Dawn ~ 2007.

For many riders the decision to move up a level is made by their coach or trainer.  Sadly, living in the middle of nowhere limits my access to my long term coach.  I’m not getting weekly lessons.  In fact, I’m lucky if a second set of eyes watches me ride every couple of months.  The children playing tag across the street don’t count.  Fortunately, I’ve been given a wonderful basic education.  I can blunder along and at least manage not to do more harm than good.  We might not be accelerating toward our potential as fast as we might be with consistent instruction, but we make baby steps.  So when I sent out the cry for help, I received a predictable response, “If you think the cross country is there, move-up.”  No pressure, right?!?

I do think it’s there.  I really, really wish I could school the course we’re headed to first.  I think there’s a big old trakehner lurking out there and it might just make me pee my pants, but I have an amazing amount of confidence in Miss Nutmeg.  I’m not sure why, and that’s what worries me that my logic center has gone bonkers.  She isn’t a terribly clean jumper, but out on cross country she’s a dream.  She thinks it’s a walk in the park and hardly bats an eye.  She just gets the galloping forward and respects the solid fences.  Am I nuts?  Yeah, probably, but if we don’t take risks we never grow.

It looks friendly enough, right?

The second bit of advice I receive from my long distance coach, “It will make you work harder.”  Well, that’s true.  I told myself one way or the other I was going to prep for Heritage like we were moving up to training.  Well, now we are, so bet your buttons we’re going to be working hard! 

Today’s Fresh Perspective is Focus.  That’s what I need to keep moving forward.  Now we have a definite goal to focus on and stepping stones to reach that goal.  Stepping stones like balanced 15 meter circles, lengthening of the trot and canter, and the ever constant improvement of transitions.  The first stepping stone, find my big girl panties! 

Technically, it's my sister showing off the pants.  I'm always the one on the horse.