Post by Peter Holden on Apr 2, 2013 14:36:43 GMT -8
Peter found Thimble in her stall after going to the tack room to collect her brushes and tack. Today he was going to practice some jumping with Thimble, which he was trying to do more of since their performance at the show had been less than satisfactory. He groomed her to perfection before tacking her up, using a white saddle pad and wraps. Once she was ready, he put on his own helmet before bridling her and leading her outside.
He mounted at the mounting block and walked her to the show jumping rings. Finding one that was empty and had a good course set up, he entered and tightened his girth before warming her up at the walk, trot, and canter. He cantered her over a few of the smaller jumps as an addition to the warm-up. He could already feel that Thimble was feeling strong, and the mare fought against his hands, shaking her head after the jumps.
Once ready, he started the course he'd thought out in his head, starting simply with just a couple of lines that increased in height. He rode Thimble towards the first jumps, sitting deep as she raised her head against the martingale. He could feel her reaching for a long spot but held her back enough to get a nice one. He had to half halt her before the second jump to get her to take it nicely, but the rest of the jumps went rather well, and he suspected that it would get better once he got her settled in more.
He mounted at the mounting block and walked her to the show jumping rings. Finding one that was empty and had a good course set up, he entered and tightened his girth before warming her up at the walk, trot, and canter. He cantered her over a few of the smaller jumps as an addition to the warm-up. He could already feel that Thimble was feeling strong, and the mare fought against his hands, shaking her head after the jumps.
Once ready, he started the course he'd thought out in his head, starting simply with just a couple of lines that increased in height. He rode Thimble towards the first jumps, sitting deep as she raised her head against the martingale. He could feel her reaching for a long spot but held her back enough to get a nice one. He had to half halt her before the second jump to get her to take it nicely, but the rest of the jumps went rather well, and he suspected that it would get better once he got her settled in more.
