Let’s use this as a good excuse for a comparison!
This first video is from the CT in June where I entered Gem in the amoeba division with Intro test B and 18″ fences. It was my first ever horse show and my nerves were raging. Gem had put down a tense, but respectable dressage test and now we were entering the jump arena. All in all it went pretty good. We went clear around the wide open course at nearly a walk. She walked over at least three of the jumps, but they were flashy jumps and I was just proud we finished. We finished 4th out of 9.
The next video is from the 18″ round we just did. Personally, I think there were some areas of improvement and some where we got worse.
We did speed it up a bit and she got to canter between some of the fences, but the general picture looks more tense on both our parts and less put together. While my jumping warm up was the same for both, check brakes and hop over a cross rail a couple of times, she didn’t get the entire dressage warm up at the jumper show and maybe that played into the tenseness a bit. The atmosphere was a lot more charged too. There were a ton of people at the h/j show with lots of crowds waiting by the gate versus the much more open and relaxed vibe of the CT.
The Roaming Rider 
There’s a pretty HUGE difference as far as I can see – you guys look so much more on the same page and in sync, and like you’re having fun! It’s amazing how quickly the pieces can start fitting together !!
LikeLike
Awe, thanks. It has become fun instead of monotonous work. Hopefully the trend continues!
LikeLike