Dressage Horse Jumps...Hunter Eq?

My posts have been slim this summer, because due to a booming business (good stuff) and parental responsibilities, and Hubs insistence that we get back to our pre-baby summer weekend routine (lake every weekend), and a USEF/USDF Dressage show that I help plan every summer, there just hasn't been dedicated riding time, show prep time, or time to ride on the weekends. Also throw in a few show barns being quarantined for strangles, and that all equates to no showing for me this summer. That is of course a bummer, because if I don't have an end goal I have a hard time keeping motivation. In the past this wasn't so much an issue because I paid board, and show season or no, the guilt of paying board made me ride 4-5 times a week. Now that I don't have that financial guilt to motivate me, I have developed a bad habit of letting the "other stuff" get in the way of my riding.

The one silver lining to the no showing plan is that when I do ride I don't feel like I need to drill my dressage work non-stop. In fact, last week I felt like I didn't need to do dressage at all. This past spring I had my old Bates Caprilli jumping saddle re-flocked (or rather the horrid CAIR panels ripped out and replaced with wool) and fitted to G-Love. I still hadn't ridden in it, so I decided it was about time that I took it for a spin.

I jumped my horse!



Not only did I jump G-Love, but I had fun and I even put my big girl britches on and jumped a 2' vertical. I know, what you are thinking. "Renee, that is a sad tiny little jump. Your 5 year old kid could do that blind folded and backward on his pony".

You aren't wrong.

However, there is this weird thing that happens when you have a kid. Or at least this is what happened to me. My brain and body got pumped full of anxiety hormones. It honest to goodness feels like I am looking death in the face every single time I even think about jumping. But I did it. Just for the record I haven't jumped 2' since before I got pregnant...6 years ago. That is a long time.

You know what? It wasn't even scary. Death's face was no where to be seen. Take that postpartum anxiety! G-Love was perfect. He seems to really like jumping and naturally finds his spot so long as I stay out of his way. Now of course this has me thinking. He does dressage because I ask him to and he's a good willing boy about it...most of the time. He doesn't love it though. I doubt that he even likes it. It has given him a really good foundation though.

Gentry honestly seems to like jumping. Maybe he even loves it?

Now I'm rethinking my entire identity as an Adult Ammy dressage queen. G-Love would never be competitive in the hunters, he just moves too much like a draft horse. However, he's good at lengthening and shortening and I think we could actually do well in the local Hunter Eq circles. I'm pretty sure we could debut at 2'3" Hunter Eq just as we are now...especially now that he has his changes down (mostly).

Maybe, just maybe...

Forgive the blurry video still...but G has knees!
AND, I don't look too terrible. Though my stirrups are a touch long. Dressage much?