"Jan Time" - and let's get some big spurs on my heart

This weekend was "Jan-Time". Jan came to give on of his regular clinics at Topline, and this time neither cough nor hoof injury prevented Remy and me from participating. As usual, I had some butterflies before the lessons, but mostly from excitement. Reminds me of the Jimmy Wofford quote I like: "You can have butterflies, but they must fly in formation".

Both days went really well. Yesterday we focused on making Remy more attentive to my aids, lots of bending, shoulder-ins to haunches ins, prompt transitions in and out of the gaits as well as within. Quality! (says Judy's little voice in my ear). I got a good and big flying change to the right, the left was sticky.

Today was quite windy, but I still opted to ride outside: Better air. At the "C" end of the outdoor arena there are plenty of leafy trees that rustle loudly and look quite threatening in high winds. I was a bit leery, and of course Jan had us work right there (after commenting that we were the first ones brave enough to ride outdoors today). No worries, Remy stayed focused, soft and very obedient. We build on yesterdays exercises, and I was able to ride with much light aids successfully.

At the end of our lesson Jan summed it up that overall we are on the right track, but I have to focus more on Remy's Durchlaessigkeit (Throughness/Submission). He would like to see him work in a bit  rounder frame, with quicker responses. Jan reminded me that the key to deal with the spookiness is to keep Remy busy, constantly changing the exercises, and not to let him have too much time to 'dawdle' and come up with things to do on his own. It will also help us when in the company of other horses. The more confident and in charge I am (duh!) the more we will progress.

After a well deserved stint in our sauna tonight I picked up the latest Chronicle (The Chronicle of the Horse magazine). Under "Between Rounds" Denny Emmerson had another thought provoking column about "go-for-it guts'. He recalls observing a schooling session fifty years ago of three riders schooling over timber fences. Two of them flew over the fences, the third rider was fighting with the horse and had refusals. Someone said "Maybe he needs bigger spurs". The MFH (Master of Foxhounds) replied "No, he needs what they have" pointing to the two riders galloping in the distance "Spurs on their hearts".

If you have "Spurs on your heart," there isn't much that can stop you from chasing your dreams. -Denny Emmerson

OK, let's get the biggest badass spurs I can find!