Suzie's Journal

Awesome lesson on Eddie. He is my little dressage pony now.

Penny I have really been concentrating on lately. I have her at the point that she is cantering around in a snaffle on an even tempo and is suppling. For many, that doesn't sound like much. But for Penny, that is monumental! I couldn't be more proud of this little mare.

Oh, and I'll tell you a little secret. Penny is going to Twin. And competing. Shhh! Don't tell HGS.

SuZQuzie

So yesterday I was working with Penny. She was very fiesty since she hadn't been worked in three days because of the horse trials. I was jumping her because that way she concentrates a little bit more than if we were just flatting.

Well, my trainer came by on her horse and said that I was riding very dangerously. She continued to say that I was riding the same way on XC and probably got marked for dangerous riding so that people would watch me more closely.

I asked...

SuZQuzie

I'm really not raving about stadium because (and I risk being boastful saying this) it really wasn't challenging. You can see in pictures how Ed would either (1) step over the jumps or (2) decide to overjump like a menace for his own entertainment. It was dumbed down compared to how it should have been at that level over halfway through the competition year. There was not a single 3'3" jump there (I know this because I talked to the jump crew).

Now, I'll tell you...

SuZQuzie

Thank you Emily for keeping tabs on me.

Today went well. It could have gone better, but I did finish () so I'm not allowed to complain.

I'll describe the course fairly quickly so that when I'm talking about things people aren't utterly confused.

Course:
#1: Log with hay bales underneath on flat.
#2: Curve to log pile with flowers.
#3: Uphill slightly to palisade on the hillside, then downhill.
#4: Skinny hay bale...

SuZQuzie

Gotta make this fast. Go.

Simply put, Ed is the best horse in the world. Despite there being no jumps in dressage (excluding those around the perimeter, or so he thought when we began this eventing endeavor), Ed is finally understanding that it is an important part of the equation as well. I would even risk saying that he likes it.

This judge was very tough. Everyone said so. But, even so, I finished with a 38.9, nearly ten points better than my previous...

SuZQuzie