Not a Fluke

After having such a fabulous lesson last weekend, I was quick to set up another one for this weekend. True to form, Pancho and Charmer loaded up like champs. The drive over was quiet and calm, and everyone unloaded quietly and happily when we arrived.

After tacking up, I had to make the decision of whether I lunge or just get on and see what happens. Due to a busy schedule this week, I hadn't been able to ride since our last lesson, so it was probably the smart decision to lunge.

Which of course means that I did not make the smart decision and ended up just getting on. There was a lesson going on before ours, so we went onto one side of the arena to work on our warmup. Something just seemed to be in the air, because both of the other horses in the ring were definitely excited and looking around, and Trainer S said that someone had fallen off earlier that day (because ghosts in the field next to the arena). Pancho and Charmer were both a little up, and so Jayne and I figured we were going to need a little gallop session. 

So we both got ready for them to be crazy and excited. And then we asked for the canter. And they just cantered. This has happened two weeks in a row. It is super strange. 

At one point, the two horses in the lesson before us both saw a ghost or something and got a little excited and bronc-y, and they were headed towards the corner where Jayne and I were standing. And Jayne was sure that Charmer was going to get all excited too, but instead he stood like a rock. He never even uncocked his hind foot. He kind of looked in the direction of those horses and flicked an ear at them and was all "far be it from me to participate in such shenanigans". 

Trainer S, Jayne and I have all seen this horse do all sorts of weird, crazy, wild things, so last week seemed to be out of the ordinary. We all expected something to happen today. Especially with scary ghosts in the next field. So Trainer S's first order of the day was "go canter 10 laps around the arena". We all expected Charmer to bolt or buck or something, but instead he just cantered. Just cantered. 

Again, just like last week, we were all shocked. After a little more time warming up for both him and Pancho, we started off on the jumping exercises. The first jump was just two trot poles leading up to a teeny crossrail.

And Charmer just ate it right up. He trotted in, cantered out, and didn't even throw a fit when I asked for a simple change of lead in the corner. We trotted maybe two steps and then he was right up in the other lead without any problem.

Then we added on a second jump. A little 2'3"ish vertical. S said we could trot or canter in. I opted to trot.

I came in, and I was sure there would be fireworks afterwards so I leaned back (it was not on purpose, but I was struggling trusting this new horse that I have). And you know what he did? Nothing. He cantered away ever so politely and even forgave me for not trusting him one bit.

S had us canter in the next time, and he was a complete rockstar. I felt like I was riding a trained jumper. He didn't get upset when we got a weird distance, and he cantered away without trying to be in the rodeo. 

We just kept adding on more jumps to the little course we had going, and with every new question, he answered it without hesitation. We cantered more jumps than we trotted by the end of the lesson. Before this day, I could count on one hand the amount of jumps we had been able to canter in a lesson. By the end of the lesson, I was confident and comfortable riding him in a forward canter at every fence.

 I think in the back of everyone's mind last week, it seemed too good to be true. There was no way that the horse that could barely handle 2 crossrails in every other lesson had pulled it together through a small course. But he came out on Saturday ready to show off. I think he is trying to say that it is not a fluke. He is ready and willing to work. He wants to be a safe, trustworthy horse, not a wild and crazy one. 

Our first schooling show of the year is two Saturdays from now (March 25th). It is at WSH, the same place we take our lessons, and I can definitely say that I have never felt this excited or confident about taking Charmer to a show before. We are going to start off the day with crossrails and just see where it goes. But if this horse keeps showing up for work like he has the last few weeks, there is no telling what we will be able to do at the show.