2023 & 2024 Riding Journey

#29 Back to Jumping Mariah

So for this lesson, there was just me and Vivie riding the outdoor arena.  Vivie was on Rugar and I got Mariah.  

After I mounted up, it wasn't very long before my trainer told me I could warm up Mariah in whatever way I saw fit, and to ask questions if I had any.  I didn't, so I went on to warm her up.  I did some circles each direction in walk, then picked up lovely rising trot and did some circles within it as well going each direction.  

Finally, I picked up the canter.  Going one direction my trainer told me to slow her down.  That the canter she had was fine, but we needed to make sure it was adjustable.  After that, I came to the walk, changed directions, picked up the canter again, and did some more circles.  That completed our warm up.  

It was a good warm up, but I think looking back I maybe should've done more transitions and adjusting of pace.  

Then my trainer told me to start going over the log standard jump as a warm up and see how she did with that.  It was set at about the same height last time I'd jumped it.  Well, about as soon as I pointed her at that jump and she saw we were going to it, she broke into a canter and zoomed over it.  My trainer said we would keep going over it until she went into it in trot.

At this point I kinda fell back into some mental ruts because Mariah was being speedy and I was afraid we might end up to where I'd get tense and couldn't slow her down and whatnot.  So, that really didn't help me, because Mariah isn't that way anymore and I can ride better than that now.

I would circle to get a nice trot, but my trainer did not want me circling on the line to the jump.  When we did come off of the circle and go to the jump, Mariah would still break into canter.  My trainer told me I was taking too long of a line to the jump, which was giving her time to speed up to it, and that I needed to take a shorter line.

Once I did that, things did get better and we made it over the jump once in trot.  My trainer told me to come to walk and that after a bit, we were going to jump the log standard jump the way we had been, but then we were going to go to the right and make a right turn to jump the tire jump.  She told me as I was walking around to analyze the turn I was going to need to make to get to the tire jump.

So I did that, and then it was time to attempt the course.  To be honest, at that first jump I forgot about taking my short line and kinda was like, 'let's just get over this'.  My trainer told me to come to walk and do that again.  

I think we had to make some tries before we could get over that first jump the way my trainer wanted.  My main problem was with the speed of it all, I was anxious about it, and that in turn made Mariah anxious.  My trainer said I 'threw her under the bus' and so I had to circle for a bit to get her calm again.  

Really, I threw Mariah under the bus in more ways than one.  I wasn't there for her like I should've been.  I had kinda resigned myself to my fate of being on this speedy horse, I wasn't helping her out or focusing on her like I should've been.  I wasn't thinking, I wasn't being proactive, I was just riding her with a blank mind, literally.  A blank mind with the thought in the back that this was just going to be a horrible ride and that was all I was focusing on.  Not on her, not on being there for her.  I had shut down, and what could Mariah do about that?

After one round where we went over the log standard in a rushed way, again, my trainer was like, Abby, come to walk.  And then she was like, where is your head?  Like, where is your head in the moment?  Get your head where it needs to be, she said, and then come back to try it.  

That gave me a kick in the pants enough to start getting things in gear.  When we came around, I thought about circling before the jump again, but I didn't, and while I think we did break into canter, it wasn't like it'd been before.  This time my trainer didn't stop us but we made the turn to the tire jump and jumped it.  I think, personally, that was the best round of the entire ride.

My trainer had us come to walk and go around for a bit before we made another attempt at the course.  Then we went back to jumping.  I stuck to my shorter line to the first jump, which really helped.  (I think I may have forgotten it the first time and my trainer had me do it again with a shorter line, but I'm not 100% sure on that.)

Now the issue was more with the fact that I needed to stay back in the saddle.  I had started throwing myself forward when Mariah had started rushing, and that was not helping her rushing at all.  In particular my trainer focused on the second jump.  There was one time where I stayed back until the very last stride and then I leaned forward when I shouldn't have.

At one point, she told me to just literally keep my bum in the saddle.  No official two point, just a crouch with my seat touching the saddle.  Because the jump was small enough for me to do that, it helped counter my tendency to go forward too much.  

The second to last round was probably our best as regards that.  My trainer asked me if I thought I would do another round without falling off, which I told her I thought I could.  This round went alright, I didn't fall off.  I did get launched a little when Mariah jumped the tire jump, but that was because I was tired enough by that point that sticking to the saddle was a challenge. After that we called it good and I walked her out.

So overall, it was an intense lesson.  My trainer told me (and Vivie) that she is allowing us to start making judgement calls, she's not spoon feeding us as much anymore.  For me especially, I'm having to learn how and when to put all the pieces of jumping a course together.  My trainer was not mad at me but seemed to understand what I was struggling with, which I am so thankful for.  

Next time, my guess is I'll probably be on Mariah and jumping again.  My trainer likes to focus on things that are hard for us for a couple to several lessons in a row if she can, so that's my guess.  Next time, I'm going to try to be present for Mariah, to not be so paralyzed, and to not throw her under the bus.  She really doesn't deserve that.  She's become a nice little horse.  

Actual lesson 9/26/2023