Penny Oaks: Show Jumping

Show Jumping was intimidating, I can't lie.  Because I drove to the farm to do feeding/turnout/stalls that morning, I missed walking my course, and the course was the most technical I'd ever ridden (not saying a lot given that this was only my 4th show jumping round ever), and there was so. much. filler.  I knew Connor was not going to like it.

My trainer and I talked through it extensively and again had a clear-cut plan: trot in, halt, pick up forward canter off his back, then collect the canter as we went through the start flags.  Knowing he would jump way high over the jumps, the goal was to encourage him to jump across the jump instead of up, and not to trot anything or take my leg off - ever.  There's a delicate balance between giving Connor too much time to read a jump and not enough time to read a jump.

Open throatlatch, forward canter.  Sticking to the plan so far.

I was completely prepared for Connor to overjump fence 1, since it was A) the first fence, B) had flowers and evergreens underneath it and C) was an oxer.  He didn't let me down:

Whee!  I have been told by his breeder that those butt wrinkles when jumping are genetic, and that Connor's sire has them too.  So cool!

Fence 2 came up deceptively fast.  The photographers got it, along with several of the fences, from two angles, too:

Fence 2

Fence 2

Cruising to 3, ear on the photographer...

Fence 3.  He really did not like these green boxes and flowers.

Cruising to 4...

Fence 4.  Just a gate, he thought that was alright by him.

Fence 4, different angle.

5 

5, different angle.

This is me trying to keep him straight as he spooked at the photographer's Land Rover with the gate up parked in between 5 and 6, which was a 7 stride line.

...but we recovered nicely for 6.

6, different angle.  Launching!

7, proving we can take oxers like normal citizens now.  He used to get over the top of them, freak out, jump big and land bucking.  

8, once again, finally getting our groove on toward the end of the course.

8, different angle.

When we finished, the whole thing felt like a blur and I think I was holding my breath in the beginning, because about fence 4 I was really winded.  His squirrely jumps over the filler left me feeling like I rode poorly.  My trainer, though, applauded me for sticking to the plan when I got out of the ring and said it was a great ride that confirmed for her that we're both ready for BN.  "It was all him if it was good," I said, "That was a very passenger-y ride from me."  At any rate, we went double clear!

The contest will close tonight at 9pm Eastern - I have decided there will be two contests, one random draw for everyone who entered, and one for the person who guesses closest to our optimum time.