My Muffin Rocks!

Today I'm just going to share something that I posted to my facebook on Sunday in regards to a wonderful ride I had on Maxwell on Saturday:

Yesterday something amazing happened. You see, Maxwell had one ride off the track before I brought him home almost a year ago. Yesterday, with the amazing support and help of one of my dearest friends, me and Maxwell reached a milestone. I was never sure what his capabilities would be as I restarted him, but kind of went with the flow and let him tell me how he felt. Yesterday we killed it. Maxwell jumped the highest he ever has. Which wasn't really that big at all, but was still a huge milestone for both of us, and opened the door to endless possibilities. He met that fence with such gusto each and every time. Summer spent a good portion of the lesson teaching me to set him up for these jumps, and by the end of the ride, the set up, distance and jump were pretty perfect. I learned a wealth of information about the horse I have. And I'm so happy to have finally reached that point. We may have taken the slow and steady approach, but it's my belief that we're building a more quality, athletic horse by doing so. I am forever thankful for the amazing support I find in Summer and the extraordinary heart I find in my horse. I honestly never thought we'd be past 18" by this point, but Max has clearly proven that he's game for this and therefore so am I. 

I jumped Bella 2'6 ONE time. ONCE. Prior to Bella, I hadn't ridden in 2 years. Prior to that, 3ft was a pretty comfortable height for me to pop over. But once you lose your Junior status, take some time off, and come back as an Adult Ammy, suddenly anything over 18" is pretty threatening for a while. I'll be the first to admit that my balls didn't come with me as I matured and grew up. I mean, they're there, but clearly they were sucked up or hidden somewhere for a while because once that fence gets over 2 feet, it makes my heart palpate just a little bit! WHY!? Possibly because as you move up the heights with a green horse, there's an extra level of uncertainty. I trusted my horse, my trainer, and myself on Saturday. This was scary at first glance. Once I realized how easily my horse sailed over it (let's be honest, he could trot over it or hop over at a near standstill technically), my confidence grew, and in that, so did his. Summer helped me find that sweet spot with Max. The pace that provided the power to the jump without the speed. The set up that allowed us to both confidently get to,over, and recover from, the jump. These are all foundations for jumping, obviously, but believe me, working your green horse on your own as an ammy with minimal outside help will quickly remind you that you DO need support. You CAN'T do it on your own. Even professionals require direction, support, and continued education. The first words that Summer blerted out to me while we warmed up that day: "why are you two going SO fast?! Why such a hurry?" When I didn't even realize how speedy we really were trotting around that arena. Once you set a pace and work on it day in and day out, you don't really realize, without eyes on the ground, that maybe you're a bit ahead of the speed you should ideally be at. Another simple example of why everyone needs someone. I'm so very proud of my Thoroughbred. He had SUCH a blast this weekend, and really proved to me that he DOES love this jumping thing. I'm not pushing him to do something that I enjoy doing versus what he actually wants to do (ask the same of the flat work, and he'll tell you that I'm pushing him to do something terrible, bahah). I've never seen a light in his eye quite like the glimmer every time I asked him to jump. I imagine it was the light he carried in his eyes as a race horse, when his heart was still in that game.

I love this horse. In case you didn't already know that!

Hehehe sorry for the weird music on the video, I was instructed to edit the sound out because Summer sounded like a little school girl squealing in excitement as me and Max took the leap and spread our wings. It's so special to have someone who feels the same passion and excitement as me, from the ground <3

OH! PS! Max has a birthday (and 1 year anniversary of ownership with me) coming up next week. I've ordered him oodles of stuff (not really). He's getting a pair of BOT quick wraps for his hind legs & ankles (and I ordered 16", so it's pretty evident I'll be having to return those when they get here tomorrow for the 14"...sigh.), a new dri-lex elastic girth (smartpak's), a new personalized fly mask (gotta wait a bit for that to arrive) AND! Smartpak's Plymouth Padded Fancy Stitch hunter bridle. That was an unexpected freebie due to a credit Smartpak issued me after removing a "guaranteed to work" supplement from Max's smartpaks. You get 2 months' worth of the supplement price credited back to your smartpak account. (more on that in another post)  I took that opportunity to finally upgrade Max's bridle. He'll be so happy with all his wonderful 8 year old Thoroughbred gifts!