He started out pretty amped up out there but as we warmed up and started jumping he found his groove. We started small with some intro logs that he just ate right up. We then moved on to the intro roll top and coop to some angled logs. He had no issue with any of it!
He was feeling very confident and bold so we upped the expectations a little and popped him over the BN roll top. This was his first attempt!
Next up was introducing something new... banks. I had taken up up/down the bank once in hand a few days before and he didn't have any issues. He did it great a few times before we approached it again and I softened my hands to much and he basically picked up all legs 1/2 of what he needed to and about face planted it. After that he was overly enthusiastic about picking his hooves up and was clearing it by about 2 feet. Thankfully it never backed him off of the bank and he was always willing to go!
We talked about tackling the ditch but we both agreed to wait for another day. It was at the end of our ride, he was tired, and we really want his next experience to be a positive one. So instead we agreed that I would bring him out in hand later in the week just to solidify that he didn't care about it any more. As a side note: we did go out later in the week and he went calmly over both the BN and N ditches very well. Now on to riding them!
Instead we finished by jumping the BN barn. Once again he didn't bat an eye and jumped right over. He is so much fun!
I'm very much looking forward to getting him back out there in my next lesson this week. Hopefully we have just as much success! Trainer and I talked about a potential big step up for him end of July (at a certain amazingly awesome show 😃 ) and if all continues to go this well it just may happen! But for now... we are focusing on surviving the one days and horse trials in June at BN!
Such a smart guy!! You two are looking great!
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