When I first went to try Jack out his previous owner told me that Jack was a horse that you had to have a special bond with otherwise you would end up hating him (don't worry, this is not a story about hating him). When she said this I was a tad worried. I mean although she said I could sell him back to her at anytime, I really didn't want to do that. He seemed like a great horse that could take me places and he was well in my price range. But what if we didn't have that special bond? What if I ended up hating him? I would have to sell him back and would be horseless. I wouldn't be able to afford another horse with his amount of talent.
Thankfully I didn't need to worry. Somewhere along the way Jack has come to trust me and we've created a special bond. I think part of the reason was all the ground training I put into him after he tried to kill me a couple of times. Sue noticed this too during our lesson. We had just flown around the course and I trotted over to Sue and said "This horse is a real confidence builder." "I wouldn't say he was a confidence builder at all" she said "Oh well, I think hes a confidence builder" I said "He's a confidence builder for you because he trusts you but if anyone else got on who couldn't ride he would terrify them." I was pretty pleased with that and we got on with the lesson.
Unfortunately my personal photographer (aka Dad) was unavaliable so there are no photos of the lesson. The lesson was pretty basic. I really just wanted to get in a bit of schooling before the ODE on the first. Sue just set up a number of different jumps and gave me tips as I rode over them. Jack was fantastic and we did really well. He started getting tired towards the end of the lesson and dropped a few poles. We were both sweating like pigs when we finally finished. My bright purple polo has very attractive sweat marks all down my back thanks to my back protector and Jack's saddle blanket was soaked through.
I really, really have fallen in love with Jack. He is such a fun horse to ride. I love that he doesn't bolt off if I give him the rein and that I can slow him down by thinking it. When we're cantering around the SJ course it feels like magic. I was talking to one of the parents at Pony Club a few weeks ago and he said to me "Sometimes I don't know why you riders put yourself through all the hard work only to be heartbroken when your horse doesn't come through for you on the day." I thought about this for a moment and then said to him "That can be true. Riding can be full of disapointment sometimes but then you experience that one moment when everything you have been working towards just falls into place, and that makes everything you have to put up with, finally worth it." I felt that moment today.
Thank God for my boy, Jack.
Thankfully I didn't need to worry. Somewhere along the way Jack has come to trust me and we've created a special bond. I think part of the reason was all the ground training I put into him after he tried to kill me a couple of times. Sue noticed this too during our lesson. We had just flown around the course and I trotted over to Sue and said "This horse is a real confidence builder." "I wouldn't say he was a confidence builder at all" she said "Oh well, I think hes a confidence builder" I said "He's a confidence builder for you because he trusts you but if anyone else got on who couldn't ride he would terrify them." I was pretty pleased with that and we got on with the lesson.
Unfortunately my personal photographer (aka Dad) was unavaliable so there are no photos of the lesson. The lesson was pretty basic. I really just wanted to get in a bit of schooling before the ODE on the first. Sue just set up a number of different jumps and gave me tips as I rode over them. Jack was fantastic and we did really well. He started getting tired towards the end of the lesson and dropped a few poles. We were both sweating like pigs when we finally finished. My bright purple polo has very attractive sweat marks all down my back thanks to my back protector and Jack's saddle blanket was soaked through.
I really, really have fallen in love with Jack. He is such a fun horse to ride. I love that he doesn't bolt off if I give him the rein and that I can slow him down by thinking it. When we're cantering around the SJ course it feels like magic. I was talking to one of the parents at Pony Club a few weeks ago and he said to me "Sometimes I don't know why you riders put yourself through all the hard work only to be heartbroken when your horse doesn't come through for you on the day." I thought about this for a moment and then said to him "That can be true. Riding can be full of disapointment sometimes but then you experience that one moment when everything you have been working towards just falls into place, and that makes everything you have to put up with, finally worth it." I felt that moment today.
Thank God for my boy, Jack.
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3 comments:
Katie,
Thank you for the comment on my blog. I have enjoyed reading about you and your horse Jack. Congrats on the great lesson the other day! I'm guessing it's warm there? It's suppose to be 5 deg fahrenheit here tonight! Brrrr!!!! I haven't been able to ride much lately because it's been so wet and cold here. Hopefully, I can start getting on a regular schedule here by next month! I will start following your blog and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Colby
I think that is true. About the bonding, I mean.
You can have a great ride on a lot of horses, but you can have those awesome rides on the horses that you have bonded with, the ones you know inside and out.
The fact that you have faced challenges with Jack only make the bond stronger in my opinion. When you have to work for your final goal, you appreciate a whole lot more.
Because, honestly? Would a ready made show horse even compare with how you feel about Jack?
Colste - Its averaging about 23C here at the moment which compared to a lot of places isn't too hot but its enough to get a good sweat going when riding. Wow thats pretty cold. I think I would rather have heat then cold.
JJ - I agree. A ready made show horse is not my cup of tea at all. I would rather have a horse that challenges me because when we finally do well, I'll know that it was because of hard work. Thank God for challenges huh?
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