Back in the Saddle

After last week's confidence debacle, I received an invitation to school on Saturday with two very cool ladies at Pine Hill in Bellville, Texas. It was just the opportunity to get back into the swing of things and regain some trust in the big guy.

Brego did very well. We not only schooled most of the Beginner Novice fences and a couple Novices fences as well, but I jumped a nice bank out of the water. As the grand finale, I took Brego on a tour of three fences back in the woods by myself. It was time to really see if our trust was rebuilt. So I left the security of my companions and we cantered down the sandy path into the woods.

After the first fence, I felt something on my right arm (my crop arm) and looked down to see the legs of a spider which was so huge that while it's body was on the underside of my arm I could see its legs wrapped around my arm from both sides. Needless to say, I flailed. And while I was flailing, I dropped the reins and smacked Brego in the neck repeatedly with the crop as I tried to fish around in my vest and shirt to see where the monster had gone. Good ol' Brego, sensing that his mom was in mid seizure, slowed and halted and waited patiently while I cursed and swatted all over my body to rid myself of the spider. I finally regained my reins (and my senses) and we continued cantering down the path. Nothing says love like ignoring a thudding crop and realizing mom was out of sorts and slowly taking care of her until the killer spider was gone, while we were alone. In the woods. My Brego was back.

So we continued our romp through the woods, had no trouble with the fences and came out onto the field with a flourish. He finished up over a brightly-painted blue roll-top which he had not schooled, just to show me he wasn't scared of jumping anything cold.



He was tremendous. My position has definitely suffered from me being uncomfortable. I am resorting back to my old habits of turtling and jumping over my hands and pivoting from my knee. I've already got the call into my jumper trainer. She knows the work she has cut out for her.

But first, we will take a little while off from the jumping and schooling. We have a camping trip to the Gulf planned for next weekend. It will be a well-deserved R&R for both of us.