Is there such a thing as the terrible 5's????

Riley being adorable/trying to eat the banana bread in my lap

Saturday was the Cheshire Pony Club Spring Paper Chase. It's always a lovely ride, and last year it was the 2nd paper chase I took Riley (and only my 3rd ride on him ever) where I was convinced I simply HAD to have him. He was brave, solid, and best of all completely rateable. Blame it on the lack of fitness last year, or the fact that he's in a medium workload load and feeling full of himself but I had a completely different horse on my hands this time around! The best part about this paper chase is that it is literally around the corner from our barn. I drove over in my car with bridles and goodies and Emily rode Prima over and ponied Riley who was mostly tacked up. When I was signing us in Emily was almost to the trailer parking area, which I am sure looked odd to everyone else who was there with a trailer. Ah well. We got our pinneys and start times and settled in at the car. We brought chairs and beers and hung out in the sun to relax. It was a gorgeous day, though I didn't plan ahead and forgot to wear sunscreen so now I already have a sweet farmers tan. Nice. Riley was calm and happy to just graze while we stood around, but Prima is in heat and wouldn't leave him alone. I'm sort of convinced that Riley is asexual because he was not keen to her advances.

Whispering sweet nothings to Riley.

After awhile it seemed she was getting through to him, but he was still more interested in ALL THE GRASS. We got on and headed out around 12:30 and they were both happy to trot down to the first patch of woods. I'm not that keen on this particular route because it starts very jump-heavy when you've barely even trotted for 5 minutes, but Prima was more than game to hop over things (of course being completely adorable about everything). Last year I bravely took Riley over the first large coop with a massive puddle on the other side which no other horses would go anywhere near. This year I waited a little while before popping him over a solid 2 foot log where he over jumped it by several feet and landed with a hump in his back, completely unseating me (I guess he remembered how to jump from last Wednesday)! I had a terrible Oh Shit! moment where I was sure I was going to fall off, run into Emily and/or hit a tree, but I got him back. Whew! What the heck! I decided that rather than take any chances in falling off over fences we'd skip most of the for the day so he's have a positive first outing for the year. He was totally fine going around everything while Emily popped over jumps. He got in some serious looooong trots and canters (many uphill) and gave them plenty of walk breaks as it was the hottest day of the year so far. They were both terrific leading or following through streams, up and down banks etc. Hunter paces are such great learning experiences especially for babies. We got to a really nice flat section along a fence line and decided to let them go for a little gallop. Emily had me ride ahead so I could set the pace and I tucked a few fingers under my neck strap so I could give him soft contact while I was out of the saddle. he felt amazing. Ripping along with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, and then... I felt him curl his neck and round his back... I know what's coming next... I stood up in my stirrups and pulled my shoulders back to ask him to slow up and he bolted! Poor Emily was about 4 lengths behind me when she saw what was starting to happen and she was yelling out all sorts of instructions (I couldn't hear her). All I knew if that we were on 100s of acres with so end in sight. When he didn't listen to the subtle cues, I sat deep, and one rein-stopped him, which was more of a crazy circle, but it worked. It didn't help that I had spurs on (which I usually need) and I kept jabbing him while I was trying to turn/stop him. I realize it wasn't pretty but it got the job done. That's when I realized I didn't really have brakes. Whoops. While he loves the Happy Mouth Mullen for flat work, I'm going to need a little something extra in wide open spaces, specifically, something that I can pop his head up and get him to listen. Emily and I were both is complete shock that he ran off with me! She even offered to swap horses for the rest of the ride, but I really wanted to use the adventure as a learning tool for us both so I stuck with him. Plus, I'm pretty sure he was showing off for his new lady-friend. We mostly trotted for the rest of the ride, which was great to get his brain back, do some solid contact work, and make him work HARD. We tried a few more little bits of cantering but he lost his marbles and thought that curling his head and cantering sideways would be a better option and rather than lose control of him again in a wide open space, I just made him trot, and trot and TROT. Emily said I handled the situated well, and that while she was worried, once she saw my reaction she knew we'd be okay. I think she was more concerned that I would be emotionally frazzled by him running off and while it was a little terrifying for a minute or two, I need to be able to handle whatever comes along. The ride was 7.5 miles long with lots of hills and both ponies were tired and sweaty at the end. They are certainly in better shape that a lot of the horses we saw (and ours are clipped) but it's always nice to see how they do on their first outing of the year. He got a well deserved Vetroline bath and time to relax in a breezy stall while he dried off.

Tired pony... look at that lip!

Sunday I thought a nice quiet hack would be good for Riley to stretch his legs and give me a chance to try another bit on him. I put him in a full cheek snaffle which definitely helps with steering, but he doesn't seem to like to hold the contact in, he sort of bobs his head as though it's fussy in his mouth... I think he likes the stability of the straight bar of the Mullen and he's also gone well in a Nathe. Me and two other ladies headed out for a nice road hack (short, under 3-4 miles) mostly walking at some trotting since it was one of the horse's 2nd ride post-track.

Riley led for most of the way! Good boy! We have miles and miles of land around us like this and most of the grass perimeters we have permission to ride on too!

He was a little stiff and definitely slightly foot sore from our paper chase, so I opted to trot on grass as much as possible. He did trot pretty well on the smooth asphalt, but he'll be getting shoes at the end of the month so we don't end up with bruises. All three babies were terrific save for a moment when a huge hawk was sitting on a fence line and decided to fly away as we went past! Lots of trotting on the way back up a nice gradual hill on the grass you can see on the right of the photo above, such a good work out for him!

Finally! Spring. Look at the grass! ps. Riley thinks standing still is the dumbest.

After our short hack he got hosed off and turned out where he proceeded to canter off up the big hill in his field... faker, he wasn't tired at all. Then I remembered that I had him in the jump chute Wednesday and I flatted/jumped him the same day, paper chase Saturday and hack Sunday. Maybe he was a little tired:)

This week he's going to get a training ride from Emily where he can test his rate-ability and brakes out in the open, I might do something with him Wednesday if I have time (I have a dentist appt and I have to feed that night) and Friday he goes for his first XC with me clinging to his back like a monkey. Fingers crossed I remember to keep my heels down and shoulders back this time.

A pretty terrific weekend, even if my 5 year old is truly showing off his baby side these days!

Also, perfection. I love that you can see his blaze faintly.

Ps. Any bit suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I think my next step might be a double jointed bit of some sort.