Author: Elaine

Lily

Lily has been doing really, really well for me under saddle the past month. I had given up hoping she would ever do this well. She is doing so well that I have an almost superstitious fear of mentioning it: her improvement over last summer seems almost magical. Last summer, when she wasn’t cranky about saddle fit she was backing off from whatever bit I put in her mouth. I finally stopped riding her in anything but her western saddle and started using a mild hackamore instead of a bit.
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Cross Country

This morning, I went to watch some friends ride cross country at a pace held to raise funds for the Bijou Springs Hunt. I don’t usually like to post more than one photo a day, but didn’t want to leave anyone out. (Unfortunately, there was only one place I could get a clear shot of them jumping.) They rode as a threesome, and came in third in their division.

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Sassy, an eighteen year old Thoroughbred mare who belongs to my trainer, was ridden by A. Sassy led most of the way during the pace. Most of Sassy’s experience has been in the hunter/jumper ring, so cross country is a new experience for her.

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Major, a fifteen year old Percheron cross, was ridden by his owner, ME. As the most experienced cross country horse, Major stayed behind unless required to give the less experienced horses a lead over the jump. (Major is my favorite horse that I don’t actually own.)

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Holly, a seven year old mustang cross, was ridden by her owner, L. Holly doesn’t have much experience doing cross country, but seems to think a five minute trip over jumps a much better deal than eight hour long trail rides through the mountains.