Memorial Day started well, fairly warm and sunny. JP rode Chambord in the outdoor arena while I longed Teddy; afterwards we went for a trail ride (OK, for me it was a 'trail-walk' with Teddy). Wish I were smaller and lighter, I'm sure the little guy is a ton of fun to ride.
The "big boys", Remy and Saumur, weren't exactly a ton of fun today. The weather changed to cool and windy in the afternoon; while preparing Remy I could already feel him being pretty jumpy. But the plan was to ride through the tests today outside, and I decided to stick to the plan, both Judy and my trusted reader (JP) were game. Remy was very good the day before yesterday, we got through a TL test with Judy declaring afterwards that she was "almost satisfied" - which actually is a big deal ;-)!
Not so today, we had to deal with some uncalled for spooks, as well as some twirls and 'humping up'. Not all Remy's fault, though, the horses in the adjoining paddocks were feeling the weather change, and Falkland decided he had to pretend to be a speeding bullet. That of course set the kid off. For some strange reason I had it in my mind that I might get bumped off today, which didn't help the case.
Luckily, Judy got both of us through it, and we managed to finish on a decent note. However, I was drenched in sweat and exhausted by then. Great way to start on spooky Saumur. Well, surprise, no spook in sight, despite more horses running and playing next to him. The surprise came after the changes and the extended canter: no brakes! As Judy imitates Saumur: "Oh, no, thanks, I'm good, no need to slow down, I can take that corner and fly down the center line". Argh, more repeats and sweat on my part. I finished with rather wobbly legs in pouring rain, and to Judy's cheerful remark: "Guess what, you get to do it all over again tomorrow!".
Judy suggested that in the future I ride Saumur before Remy, so I can get my confidence up and my seat confirmed. (I still have a hard time sitting on Remy in the canter, my instinct tells me I'm better off in a half-seat.) Go figure: Saumur has become my confidence builder!
Luckily I always have an emergency stash of German chocolate in my tack box, after digging into it and sharing with Judy (who, after getting us through these two lessons, really needed a pick-me-up also), I was partially restored. A luxurious hot bath and a cold Pilsner Urquell did the rest: I'm ready to do it all over again tomorrow!
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