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| You can guess what happened next… |
He tried to dodge, I corrected him, then became unbalanced and unseated. On the landing I made like a lawn-dart and crashed into the sand. To add injury to insult, Hemie kicked out at me and got my ankle nice and good.
“Good thing you’re wearing your vest!” someone yelled from the crowd. Gee, thanks.
But its true. I was the only one at that H/J show wearing a vest, and the only one who needed it, apparently!
I got back on, and we made it over a few more jumps. I almost fell off once more when he spooked, and he was clearly frazzled the whole time. But we did get over some jumps.
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| Note giant chipmunk! |
But before we could get over jump #4, Laurie called me out of the hunter ring.
Phase 3 – Jumper Ring (wherein Hemie has complete meltdown)
She thought that the jumper ring would be a better environment for Hemie. We schooled there previously, and there were some very “plain” looking verticals.
Well, I wasn’t feeling especially confident, not to mention I didn’t have time to memorize the course. So I asked Laurie if she would take him in the jumper class. Let’s just say Hemie was a handful.
She walked him around the property for about 20 minutes, until his brain seemed to reactivate and he quit spooking at everything. Then she walked him back into the arena, just to walk him around all the jumps in a relaxed way. He was back to his normal self.
Phase 4 – Back to the Warm Up (wherein the day ends better)
I asked Laurie if I could take Hemie into the warm up arena to go over a jump or two, mostly for my benefit but I also thought Hemie would appreciate it. After some hesitation, she agreed.
We spent a few minutes getting back into a groove together, and Hemie was clearly happy to be jumping and feeling like he was a good boy. We called it a day when we realized both of us were relaxed and feeling good.
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| Relaxed. The right way to end our first show. |
So, there you have it. I have a swolen ankle, a huge purple bruise under the left thigh (from hitting the pommel? who knows?), and I can’t turn my head to the left. I’ve been icing everything a few times a day. A new helmet is on the to-do list.
My next lesson is tomorrow night. Hopefully I’ll be able to cram my ankle into a boot!
Aw … big, fat, bummer. Sorry the day started out with a thud. Having recently been dumped at a show, I know exactly how that feels. The physical effects, as painful as they are, aren't as bad as the hit to your confidence. I want to trust my pony to keep his act together. Tossing me off doesn't do a lot to build that trust.
Good for you for getting back on (maybe – is anything more than just bruised?) and asking Hemie to work it out. Your final picture speaks volumes as Hemie's expression is a very good one. Hopefully he can bring that particular look to his next outing.
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Oh Hemie you rascal. Be sure to get your neck injury checked out they are no joke!
Feel better and I'm glad you guys ended on a relaxed note.
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Very dramatic! Good decision to have youu trainer ride. Things definitely ended better than they started. Really, it wasn't bad for Hemie's first time out. I'm sure next time will be better.
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boo… sorry it went down like that- now he owes you a good outing! Good for you for getting back on (as long as you aren't seriously hurt that is) and I am glad you had your trainer there to ride the wild man!
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