Also Returning Is....

McKinna The Wonder-Pony!

(Horse. Technically. But who's counting?)

Last night was McKinna's first jumping lesson since July (which had been her first jumping lesson since the previous August). She reminded me why she's so fun to ride. I wasn't expecting very much, since her canter is still largely a work in progress - we've got way more softness and balance than before, but we still have a ways to go, especially in terms of sloooowing the legs down. You'll see that in the video!

McKinna did very well for herself, though, and I was pleased. We started with a four-leaf clover exercise, where you ride down the quarter lines and do an outside turn in each corner (so you ride down the quarter line tracking left, turn right when you hit the rail and do most of a circle, then go straight across the short side, turn right again, and come off the rail so you're on the other quarter line). It was a very good exercise for suppling and the instructor commented on how much softer McKinna is now. Those dressage lessons have really paid off.

Mom took a video of our last round, which was the first one in which I cantered all the fences. A few bobbles here and there, especially on the second fence in the line, but she figured things out and recovered nicely. The oxer was probably our best fence.



I think it was a very good reintroduction to jumping for her. As for myself - with regular lessons my position is slowly returning to where it used to be. I still end up popping onto my toes over the top of the fence sometimes, and I need to be careful not to jump ahead on McKinna...but we're getting there.

And having fun doing it, which is the important part anyway!