Cross Rails to 3rd Level

Last weekend our barn kicked off show season and it was seriously a blast. Every person came home with a blue ribbon (or two!) and had very successful rides. The boys were great and my only "complaints", if you can call them that, have to do with either how I rode them or the training they don't have yet. Can't complain about that! Actually that's a lie. Hand walking Bentley around on Saturday was like flying a 1200lb kite. It was only when we walked by the jump arena which I thought was not promising for the next day. Thankfully it wasn't a sign! 

Here are some picture and video evidence of the weekend!

 

 

Bentleys first dressage test ever! It also happened to be on his 5th birthday and exactly 3 months after coming off the track. Training level test 1- he got just over a 64%! Couldn't be more excited for this boys future.

 

 

 

Ponys third level is coming along. Score didn't really reflect it and we still have lots to work on but he is feeling stronger and stronger! He finished the weekend with a 62% and a 63.5%. Favorite judges comment was "Lots to like here. Plus cute points 😁". Scores were all over the board from 4 (damn changes... but we did manage to get a 6 on one of our changes! That was a first) to 8s! Now to get more consistency in our test to keep the scores up. It's always a pleasure to ride this boy even if it feels like progress isn't coming as quickly as I would like.

 

 

Bentley also competed in his first derby where he did the cross rail class. It was only his 4th time ever jumping! He was super game and had a blast. Even jumped his first xc jump without hesitation! Unfortunately he demolished the last fence (picking up his feet is a work in progress) because if he hadn't he would have gotten 2nd place with a dressage score of 33.5.

 

When your horse looks/acts like it could be going prelim and then shows up for the cross rail class 😂

 

Looking forward to going back for this same show in May! Next time we will not be doing cross rails though!