A rather wet week got in the way of our plans of jumping out in the field, since it would have been much too slippery. Too bad, I had really been looking forward to a chance for a bit of lightly eventing-inspired jumping. I haven’t done that since my riding holidays in England and Wales…which now is too many years ago for me to even start counting. It would just make me feel terribly old, not to mention make me crotchety about how long it was since I was on a riding holiday. I really miss them, but at the same time, I am not sure it would feel at all the same now. I want someplace where I get to act like a horse-mad teenager who is really excited to have her “own” horse or pony for a week, and I am not sure there are any places like that who take people older than 18. ;P
Anyway, we did get to jump, but in the paddock instead. Murphy must have been disappointed about the change too, because he felt a bit sluggish through much of the lesson. This, of course, gave me another opportunity to practice being a) decisive in my riding from the start but b) not too over-active and pushy. Ulrika tried to make sure I worked on getting longer strides from Murphy rather than a higher frequency of strides, which just leaves the poor uncoordinated fellow all tangled up in his own legs. I also had to work a bit on my lower legs, which kept slipping back when asking for more engagement while cantering. That, of course, tipped my upper body forward, completely counter-acting that I was trying to raise his head up a bit and then ride him forward into that more upwards and open form.
The actual jumping went fairly well, though coming in a a trot always makes my timing suck. It wasn’t until the end, though, that Murphy really got into things and gave me something to work with. But then it felt quite good, and he seemed rather pleased too. It was also fun watching Hedvig jump; despite being a sturdy, short-legged draft horse, she tucks her legs in lightning fast when jumping. Very good technique from her, overall.