Cob Jockey

I've told my trainer in the past, don't ask me if I want to jump or wait for me to tell you I want to jump, just tell me we're jumping.  So she did.

Armed with my new canter and my newfound biomechanics cues, I was hoping this jump lesson would be good.  AND IT WAS AMAZING!

Happy post ride selfies

For the first time, I felt how much of a difference it makes when you jump with a tight core and your lats engaged (thanks Megan).  For the first time, I really understood what Mary has always meant by "feel like you're riding the hind legs up to the fence."  And for the first time, I took my uphill horse with his snappy hind end to the base of the fence and felt seriously confident.

Side note:  This was my first time using the Equisense's course feature.  Pretty cool!

That's not to say I was confident from the beginning.  My trainer put the crossrail up to an 18" vertical on the sly mid-course, and I felt my wimpy amateur brain shrinking into itself as it told me how big it looked.  But then I remembered how wrong my wimpy amateur brain had been about that 85# clean and jerk on Saturday in CrossFit, and how I put that weight back on my barbell on Monday night and ripped it off the ground like I meant it, and even added a few pounds for good measure.  In my head, in that moment, that jump became that barbell and I got aggressive instead of wimpy.

My head is a weird place sometimes.  But it works!

Canter stride frequency taking a huge leap forward in the jump lesson

Connor is very used to landing on his forehand and taking a few strides to mentally check out while I'm regrouping on his back.  When my core and lats aren't engaged, I just follow him down to the ground, which makes for an altogether awkward jump and makes it hard for me to regroup quickly after a fence.

Finally did a respectable amount of canter in a ride

Even though we have a long way to go until that lifelong habit can get undone, I could feel how much of a difference it made to hold firm in my upper body and not just follow him like a ragdoll.  I had a lot more influence, and was able to regroup quicker and send him on quicker.  It made a big difference in my ability to put him back together after an awkward jump.

14.cm!  Wow!

We have such a long way to go, but I felt some serious glimpses of jumping feeling easy, and I want more of it.  Never thought I'd say that again!