Okay, so the trip was a little longer than anticipated because I forgot my boots at home. Oops.

But we got there and Frankie was very relaxed. I hacked in the outdoor then headed out to the fields. It was a little wet in spots and Frankie wasn’t very happy about it. He didn’t seem to trust the ground. As though it wouldn’t hold his weight. Pausing at spots at the walk, trot, and canter. He was still very relaxed, just uneasy of the footing. I cantered him a little out in the fields and then popped him over a few small logs. He wasn’t good.

I was getting frustrated and Frankie actually stopped a few times at fences he SHOULDN’T be stopping at. I didn’t feel like I had my horse, I felt like I had some plug of a horse under me.

I jumped him over a decent size coup like fence and he landed on squishy wet ground and before his back feet even hit the ground he turned right in fear of the scary footing. I thought I was gonna come off. Luckily I didn’t.

I called for Josh who was setting up the video camera. I told him I needed him to stop being camera guy and start helping me. I needed help, guidance, reassurance, and confidence.

He stepped into the coaching role very well. He had me get off and breath while he hand walked Frankie for a few minutes.

He came back, gave me a leg up and said we needed a plan (OH YEAH! DIDN’T I ALREADY SAY THAT A FEW DAYS AGO). So, he said; we were primarily here to school over water, so lets work on the water.

Sure enough, my coach got me and Frankie on track. We ended up doing great. Got through the water, but didn’t drop in. The drop seemed too big for him at his comfort level and there wasn’t a drop without water to work on first. So, we just galloped in and out of the water until it was boring. Well, it was fun every time until Frankie didn’t even think twice about it.

We also popped over some of the other jumps and I stayed away from jumps that had squishy footing. I also was a little apprehensive because of the stops. I didn’t entirely trust him, which I don’t like.

We did a coffin fence, bigger than we had done before. The first attempt was a kinda stop, then step down into it. But, after that he was fine. I definitely was a little too steadying towards it, but wasn’t totally trusting.

All in all it was a great school. It took me a few hours to really realize it. But it was. Our first event ever is on July 4th. We are debuting at training level. I wanted to win or at least go clean cross country and not totally suck at dressage.

But, with this school I realized that isn’t fair to Frankie or me. It’s our first time doing this and we only schooled cross country TWICE. So, this first event is a learning tool for both of us and I need to not put pressure on myself and more importantly him to go clean. It needs to be a positive experience and as long as we learn from any mistakes or difficulties it’s a good thing.

So, great ride! And…thanks coach/husband/photo/video/editor…