I would love to do a full update now about the two lessons in two days that I've had, but I have a term paper hanging over my head. I was supposed to work on it today and instead decided to spend 5 hours at the farm... BAD KATHERINE! Therefore, the rest of this update will have to wait until tomorrow, but as the title suggests, I have a gazillion new and awesome pictures. I spent so much time at the barn because my B.O. wanted to take pictures of us with our horses... she is so sweet and wonderful :) Then Kimmie and I kind of messed around setting jumps, and then came the lessons. I jumped the highest that I've ever jumped (at least intentionally...) and Limmers was fab! The whole lesson was great and S keeps telling me how happy she is that things are finally starting to go right for us, which is so good to hear.
More to come, but here are the pictures!
Kimmie and Jazz looking perfect as always!
Liz
Kimmie and Jazz over Liz's ghetto jump
The most round I've ever gotten him at the canter :)
Cool action shot, even if I don't appreciate my heel being even with my toe...
My favorite of the day :) Cute festive jump!
My leg is too far back, but this is the biggest jump I've ever (intentionally) jumped! S said 2' 3"
The best part was that I didn't even think twice about it or get scared :)
The sunset after my lesson
decidedly not feeling the spirit of Christmas... my horse is a grinch!
It's ok, he actually loves his life and is trying to hide his enthusiasm for the santa hat
My horse might actually be a reindeer... he certainly knows how to jump like one!
Boyfriends
Lims and Jazzers
Limmers wishes you all a happy holiday/merry christmas!
I am in love with this picture of us... new favorite of all time!
As the title suggests, Kimmie and I once again rode right before/during sunset, and we got some lovely pictures. We started off in the ring, since Limerick's canter hasn't been super predictable lately and I didn't feel comfortable out in the field. He was awesome once again, and I randomly decided to try riding without spurs. WHEW, was that hard work! He is a ton of horse to keep moving without any sort of aid other than your leg, but it's good for me to ride without them sometimes. We did all of the normal stuff, all while watching Kimmie and Jazz go around bareback and in just a halter, jumping and being total badasses. I want to be her someday :) We ended the ride by going out into the field and watching the sun go down... it was freezing but so worth it!
Tomorrow I'm probably going to have to ride by myself, because Collyn, Liz, and Kimmie are all going out of town this weekend :( I also have a Chemistry test on Monday, and Thanksgiving break next week, so pony time will be limited starting tomorrow (I'll still make time to ride this weekend, but it won't be that exciting). Side note: Limmers had his teeth done today. They were sharp but not too bad, according to the pony dentist!
Pony Love <3
Limerick and Jazz, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G
sunset
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Collyn, Liz, Kimmie, and I went out to dinner for Liz's 21st birthday! It was my first 21st birthday experience (I'm 19) and a total blast :)
Sorry for the crappy iPhone picture... I've come to the conclusion that Mexican restaurants are by far the best place to celebrate a 21st birthday! They come complete with shots, sombreros, and ice cream
The early part of this week was kind of lacking in posts because I had tons of school work and the weather sucked. However, the sun finally came out yesterday and the past two days have been gorgeous (knock on wood!). I also had my last test of the week yesterday, chemistry, so I'm in the clear for a while and should get to spend lots of time at the barn in the next couple of weeks :) Random side note, chemistry is by far my worst subject, but I have to take it to major in biology and eventually go to vet school... no fun. I did really well on my test though, and I'm feeling really awesome about how school is going for me right now. Since my last post, Limerick got his hind shoes put back on (YAY FOR NO MORE WRAPPING!) and now has a pad in the one with the abscess, so everyone please cross your fingers that it stays clean and doesn't get infected again. That was Tuesday, and I didn't ride because it was raining, freezing, and windy... probably the least appealing weather imaginable for riding.
Snug like a bug in his Wug :)
love that face so much
He thought it was way too cold for pictures
See that giant hole on the left (his right)? Yeah, that's the abscess!
the pad
Wednesday, I went out on my own but right as I was warming up, Collyn pulled in to the drive and got out to come watch me. She helped me set up a little course of cross rails and baby verticals, and then recorded some of it. Lim was a total jerk though and totally ignored everything I told him to do, so the videos are a total mess... He hadn't eaten yet and really wanted to go out with his friends, so he kept trying to run for the gate and had his eyes fixed outside of the arena the whole time. He also totally plowed around the ring like a freight train/bulldozer. Not a ton of fun, but I was quite entertained by it, which is definitely progress! Just a few short months ago, I would get very tense and upset if anything went wrong or if he did something stupid, but now it's just funny to me. We ended it on a good note and then I cleaned all of my tack and boots, which I had been seriously neglecting.
Today, Kimmie, Kristen, and I all carpooled out to the barn and hacked around for fun. It was really lax and we talked more than we actually rode, but it was a blast! Plus, the sunset was beyond gorgeous and I'm still mad at myself for not taking a picture of it. It was really a perfect ride, capped off by a cool down out into the front field, where we had better access to the sunset and watched it go down. On to my plans for this weekend:
Ride tomorrow, probably in a field to get out of the ring a little bit
Lesson with S on Saturday at an away barn, where we'll have access to some XC jumps :)
Dressage Clinic on Sunday with Collyn... I'm super excited and a little bit nervous!
I'll update soon with lots of pictures and videos!
