Better late then never.....

I just love this picture that Donna took at what proved to be the last Hunter show Pippi is likely to attend. It was at the very least the last Hunter show that Pippi jumped fences at. For the season I added some snow, and there you have it.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

After riding in the Dressage saddle twice, and finding no fault with it, I have decided to buy it. It is a Kieffer, and both my booty and Pippi's back seem to like it. My last test was the Canter as I wanted to see how I liked that gait with this saddle, but you know what that meant......I had to Canter!! 

Pippi has Cantered on the lunge line, but not under saddle since her injury, with no affect at all. So I knew I could go for it, but I kept putting it off. I am a highly intuitive person, and tend to act on feel. And there we were, trotting away, and then calmness and still sunk into our fibers and I asked for the Canter. And boy did we ................Trot at high speed, ...............so I asked for the Canter, ..............and holy smokes, who knew a horse could Trot that quick? Oh, right............ I had asked for the Canter! Caaan-Ter!! CAAAAN-TER!!! OK, well timed used of stick and Pippi propelled herself into it, tossing my innards about like wacky-mac tumbling in Italian dressing. But I found the rhythm, and for several glorious strides we cantered. Until I lost my beat and she wisely dropped to a Trot. We walked, halted and she was praised as though she just discovered the gait on behalf of all Equines. Treats, pets and loud exclamations telling her that she was indeed a "very good girl."  This was the first time Pippi was given a treat under saddle, (not sure I should do that, oh well....) and she learned that skill right away. She is quite a bit bendier than I thought, seems treats are just the incentive to whip that neck around.
After a little walking breather, we trotted again, and I asked for the canter again. This time going clockwise. And this time Pippi did not really hesitate, just propelled herself forward and we were off. Once again I was the cause of the drop to trot, and this time Pippi was already giving me "treat face" as soon as we halted.
That was "so totally treat-worthy" according to her, and her muzzle twitched and wrinkled with clear communication.
I may not have explained this but Pippi sounds like a college girl. Not quite a little girl, but surely not a woman, and with a lot of attitude and feelings of superiority as she a beautiful and knows it. She tends to exhale and turn her head away from me, saying "yeah, I knoooow!" before she gives in to my ridiculous "rules." In other words she is the Equine version of my daughter, who trained her, and who she fought epic battles with. And I adore them both, and they both have a tendency to make me want to kick puppies. But I digress....

So we are now cantering, and so I feel ready to start tackling lessons with BO. Guess I should tell her that..... EEEK!