Up and out

We took Jazz to a different place for his showjumping training today. It was really good for him to see a completely different course in a completely different place. They had a wall and a viaduct wall too, which are always game for a spook to any horse :-) We put the fences up, and out. I planned to get SH to put one spread increasingly higher and wider as we jumped it, starting from a low base. But he had other plans and as he is chief trainer, I took his advice. He put the spreads (there were five) at increasing spreads and all at just over three feet (95cm). Then he told me to jump a new one every time he got the hang of each of them. There was no doubt that Jazz initially doubted his own ability to do the spreads. He had to be persuaded that he was capable of it. He also refused at the viaduct wall, and once when he was surprised to come around a corner in canter and be faced almost immediately with a big spread. But he improved and improved, and he finished with a course of four spreads at over three feet high and a metre wide (to mix my measures!).

I was concerned about him still stopping but SH says look at how much we changed about what we were doing today:

• he was cantering into every fence from before turning the corner to it
• he was jumping spreads a metre wide with a height bigger than Intro from straight off
• he jumped most fences at the first time of asking, even with horrible fillers

Next time, we need to convert that performance into jumping a course of fences with no more than two refusals, having not warmed up first over any of the fences in the course. Can't wait!

I rode Zip on the outdoor before we went. He skips a bit when you mount carrying a whip, but he behaved fine. He can now keep his balance to do a complete circuit of the 20x40 in trot, though it's touch and go at times. Jonathan held him up, but I want him to find his own balance. In consequence, I let him stop when he feels he needs to and I'm playing a fine line between encouraging him to try carrying on when he is in difficulty, and letting him stop when he just feels like it. It seems to be going well so far and he is game to give things a try. He's a lovely fellow.

C