Hitting the Trails

It's been four months since I've taken Cupid on a trail ride (or anywhere really), so I took advantage of a little break in the rain to head over to Huddart Park.  I wasn't sure if I should expect some regression since it's been so long, but it turned out I had no reason to worry!  Cupid loaded like a champ and was pretty much foot perfect throughout!  He was a bit giraffe-necked when I first got on but settled down quickly.  On the way to the trailhead we passed by a woodchipper surrounded by cones and he didn't bat an eye.  He was also surprisingly good about not trying to stop to eat grass.

We met up with our friend and her two horses and headed into the park.  The footing was surprisingly good, not muddy or rutted.  Since it was the first nice weekend in a while there were lots of people out, though we didn't see any other horses.  The creek had a good amount of water, Cupid stepped in without hesitation but then started playing a bit, pawing, so I thought I better get him moving! 

Crossing the creek

Cupid felt great during our rides the rest of the week.  Our lesson again was primarily focused on roundness.  Also a bit of back to the basics - Cupid was being a touch lazy so my trainer said put let on, then immediately tap-tap with the whip if I don't get the response I want (and don't settle for something that's not great, but hey I did get some sort of change).  My response time and coordination with the whip are still not great, but after a few times Cupid got the message. 

I went to the whip again when I felt Cupid about to break from the canter, just barely a tap which caused him to kick out, lol.  He's been feeling a lot more balanced going to the left, it feels almost as good as to the right.  My trainer had us doing a bit of counter-bending at the canter, to help keep us straighter. 

We ended with a bit of shoulder in to leg yield, then straighten and increase the trot.  I'm tentatively looking at a dressage show end of next month.  I was hoping to debut First level there since it's at our favorite venue and they won't have another one there until August, but I don't know if we'll be ready, right now we don't quite have the correct frame.  I'm thinking of doing Training level on Saturday, and enter both Training and First on Sunday and scratch one depending on how the previous day goes.  But I have a few weeks until entries are due to decide :)