Worth Being Fried

I am way behind on horse news, so I will start on the last couple Sundays. The first was the show I lazily only shared pictures and video of. Roscoe was an absolute shit the day before. It was magnified because DaVinci coliced that afternoon. Fortunately banamine and walking got him past the episode without a vet coming out. This heat and humidity are so hard on him. Mom and I nearly cancelled the show since we did not know what DaVinci would be like in the morning. We carried on though and were washing uncooperative ponies at 9pm. For all the drama, the show went well. The judge was tough and did not talk at all. Mom and Rosemary had an okay test. The biggest thing is Mom doing the show at all and building her confidence.

 Roscoe was actually not a dodo. And since I did not have to ride out any stupid, I could use the time to get him off my inside leg. I ended up opting to do T2 first due to a paperwork error. I knew it would cost me points, but it also was when he had more energy. T1 was smoother and was just off the high score for the day. He still wants to lean left and I still have to figure out how to fix it.

Our Navy and Cream ensemble

Fast forward to this past Sunday and the jumping clinic Roscoe and I attended. Even at 9am the arena was hot. We were sweaty just walking. Budi is not someone I had heard of, but decided he was worth trying. He immediately asked if he could ride. What followed was a show of quiet skill.

He had no spurs or whip. Just soft hands and strong legs. He is all about more leg, less hand. Budi felt all Roscoe's leaning and asked for lateral movement. Other than one crow hopping statement, Roscoe really responded well to his riding. My riding once back on did not match Budi's ease. Budi said with more dressage Roscoe will learn to sit and push, giving him a confident stallion strut.

My favorite screen shot

Asking for lateral

 At this point Roscoe had flated for 30min and I was thinking if he did not get to jump I would be disowned. At the same time Budi began setting the grid down to poles. This would be a first for Roscoe. He did not have a problem with the poles, though I needed more leg. Then half an x to poles. By time the first x went up, Roscoe found more energy. The bounce went well especially once I got out of his way.

When Budi added a one stride to a vertical, Roscoe went too long and knocked it down. Now Budi said he is coming forward to the jump, so be careful about too much leg. We did have an awesome pass that felt just right. Budi moved on to a jump with boxes and planks. First we jumped the boxes and promptly dived left. Dang inside leg. Then we cantered the jump and found the right spot.

Three feet up :)

(unedited video, jumping towards the middle)

  That was absolutely worth being fried. Budi said we were doing well with Roscoe which is always comforting.
Poor Roscoe has to do his other job this week too. So hopefully he is up for it in this continuing heat wave.

And more pictures of Draco! He has some great presence.