What's Up Wednesday

Sorry to keep you all in suspense all day! I know you just wait around hoping for this post every Wednesday.... (I'm totally joking in case that doesn't come across!) It was a busy day. Anyway, let's jump into the past week!
I had my lesson on Thursday and it went much better than the week before. We let him have a little romp in the indoor in the morning, and apparently he was a wild child! Guess he's been needing that. He gets to go out every day for several hours, but I don't think he really lets any steam off out there. So we're going to let him have a little indoor free lunge on my lesson days going forward.
Back to the lesson! So I had a group lesson this time, which was super fun, but also allows for a break while we each take our turn. We worked on bending lines, which have been a little tricky for me with Eros. The first time through the course I was pretty angsty, but everything worked out ok, and we were able to smooth it out more and more each time. The jumps stayed low which was just fine!
When I got to the barn Friday after work and feeding the bay boys, I saw that the ring was all set up for the clinic. Which I was fine with, but Eros took real exception to this stuff in the far corner:

Normally when he's "bad" he just throws the dirty eyeball and that's about the extent of it. But not this night. Oh no. This night, he was trying to spin! Naughty! He didn't actually because he's only fake naughty thankfully. I was kind of worried about it though, because my step mom was riding him in the clinic the next day, and she didn't need to be dealing with that nonsense. Trainer said she'd give him a free lunge in the morning and walk him up to everything before things got going for the day. I really shouldn't have worried. He was perfect for her as always. It's amazing to me how he knows the difference between us, and treats her with kid gloves. Such a good boy!
I digress... again. (See what happens when I try to blog late at night!?) Saturday morning I was out the door fairly early. Stepmom was riding in the 9:30 am class, and I needed to bring her a clean saddle pad (I forgot to do that on Friday) plus run a quick errand before hand. I wanted to watch her class because I haven't ever seen Eros go in real life, and I've not seen her on him yet (obviously).
I wasn't sure how Nona would be with the lower level group, only because I think it's sometimes hard for someone with ALL the experience to remember what it's like to be starting out. But I was really pleasantly surprised. She was very patient and kind, but gave useful feedback to everyone. She even pushed their boundaries some by having them do some teeny jumps! Some of the riders in the group have jumping experience, but my stepmom really doesn't. She jumped our old mare Aries over a few x's years ago, but that was it. As a kid she rode western, so didn't do much jumping, if any.

Looking like pros!

They started out with two poles set very far apart from each other. There were standards set up for a 5 stride line, so there was a single pole between each set of standards. They practiced half seat over the poles, and after a few passes, they added more rails. And then they put the rails in cups! Little jumps! Stepmom and Eros went over those like they've been doing that their whole lives! I was ridiculously proud of them.

I mean really. Cutest thing ever right?! Yes. The answer is yes.
I stuck around after her class to watch the next one, and to watch this adorable twenty-eight year old pony have a retirement ceremony:

That's a shadow, he did not have a giant poop stain on him!

I thought I would get to ride Eddie after, but his owner has someone else riding him once a week now, so I'm down to only one day a week with Ed. Total bummer! But he's not mine, so c'est la vie. I'll take what I can get!
And when I got home, here's what I found:

Why yes, that IS a giant hole in my ring. They had finally started my septic project on Friday. Apparently, when they said they didn't have to dig in my ring anymore, they were just joking. I was BESIDE MYSELF when I saw that. And then I just shrugged and remembered that's generally how things go for me. The ring needs to be regraded in the spring anyway, so now I just REALLY need to do it. Right? Sure.
I spent some quality time with the bay boys to ease my angst. Jampy was happy to supply the entertainment.

Obviously hand walking in the ring wasn't an option... but they were happy with groomies and a walk in the aisle.
I had planned to spend the rest of the day trying to clean up my house, but then I remembered it was my brother's birthday the next day and we were all having dinner, so I had to go hunt down an appropriate gift. Thank goodness I live near an outlet mall! I had planned to try and get to bed early because I wanted to be well rested for the 9:30 am lesson. And then I got that text asking me to ride earlier, so I made sure bed time was early. But I was really dreading that 25 degree morning.
Sunday morning came quickly but my car tried to cheer me up by displaying the outside temp as 28 degrees. Better than 25 right? Barely. Fortunately, the barn wasn't too cold. The ring was cooler, but pretty tolerable. Plus Nona worked us really hard so we warmed right up.
I had told my dad and stepmom that they didn't need to come since I was riding so early, but they both came and sat out in the cold for the jumping portion of my class. It was so nice of them to come support me, but even better, stepmom got video! Yay!
I feel like a bit of fraud when I flat Eros. He's so ridiculously broke on the flat, I really don't have to do much up there. Nona said little to me at all during the flat session except to compliment our lateral work. His only hole is that he struggles with his changes on the flat. Odd, because he normally gets them when we jump. He does need his hocks done though, so I'm hopeful that issue may resolve when we do that.
I already talked about how scared I was to jump, but that we worked through it. Nona does a nice job of building things up. We started out easily (though I thought it was going to be terrifying and hard). There was a combination set on the diagonal that was a two stride to a two stride. She had us start by figure eighting over the last two obstacles. After we each did that a couple times, she had us come through the combination. I stayed a little behind the first time through because Eros and I haven't done any gymnastics yet. But he was a total solid citizen that day, and just went right through.

After doing that both directions a few times, she added another jump. And then a line. And then... The Triple Bar. Eros has been a little looky at jumps the first time he sees them in our lessons, but Sunday he brought his A game. He didn't peak at anything, not even the triple bar! I was really proud of him! And also grateful. So grateful. Maybe he knew I needed his help that day? Probably, he's a smart guy.
Our last trip was definitely our best one. We weren't perfect by any means, but it was relatively smooth and I finished without my heart trying to leave my body. Definitely a win in my opinion.

So did I learn a lot in this clinic? No, not really. I was given the same feedback I regularly get: I need to let go on the way to the jumps and be less busy in general up there. But it was totally worth it in that it really got me feeling back in the groove again. I felt like I actually rode my horse instead of just being a passenger up there. And it let me start to trust my new mount. That's probably the best take away for me from the day.
I didn't really expect to learn new things. I'm riding several levels below where I left off a few years ago. But it's always good to be reminded of all the things I actually know. And I feel like that's what I got in this lesson.
After tucking Eros in, I watched the rest of the next class (from the heated viewing area thank you) before heading home to tend to the bay boys. I feel like I'm not giving them enough attention during the week, so I'm trying hard to make up for that on the weekends.
At 2, I headed over to the neighbor's barn to ride my buddy Eddie! Yay! His mom told me alllll about his ride the day before and how forward he went, blah blah blah. And how he didn't spook at all, not once! A few eye rolls she couldn't seen later, he was pretty good for me too. I got a few spooks from him, but nothing crazy. And I did my best to gallop him forward like she wanted. She said the other rider just kept pushing him forward and never touched his mouth or the reins. The problem I have with doing that is he gets totally hollow and loses his lovely shape. I mean, I KNOW that you can't have a horse that's using himself if he's not forward, but I also don't want a hollow horse galloping at fences. He's not mine though, so I just did what she wanted. She did agree though, that ideally you want forward WITH shape. All in good time I'm sure. I did get to jump him a little bigger, and that was really fun. Hopefully mother nature calms herself down before the weekend because I'm looking forward to another ride on him.
The weekend ended with family dinner for my brother's birthday. Afterwards, I got home and snuggled with the pugs fell asleep on the floor surrounded by pugs. Not a bad evening if you ask me.
Monday is the day off at Eros' barn, so the bay boys had good groomies and walks in the barn aisle. I just flatted Eros Tues and Wed (and lightly groomed the bay boys). I'm hoping to have my lesson tomorrow, but we're getting a messy ice/snow storm in the afternoon, so we'll have to see what the roads are like. It's not far though, so I'll likely go either way. Just depends how long it takes me to get home from work. I'm seriously not ready for winter weather. Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet! It's presently 23 degrees out. So you can imagine what I have to say about THAT.
How was your past week/weekend? Are you freezing cold and getting snowed on too? Is there someone we can talk to about this?