All three in my good books!

The rain held off, so Radar and I went Farm Ride-ing. I was dead keen to go again soon because I had a feeling when I finished last time that he has really got the idea of jumping fixed in his head. Boy was I right! Right from the off, he was latching onto almost every fence. Some spooky ones he tried to run out at but if I held firm and kept him straight he jumped every time. We quickly gave up doing the tiny ones and went for the ones at medium height - 2ft 9 to 3ft. He is superb. For eight weeks training, absolutely superb.

He takes a hold, and takes me in. As long as I hold on and don't drop him, he snaps up in front and pops the fence with total ease. If I let go, then he does a bit of a nosedive over them onto his forehand, but he still jumps! He isn't rushing or pulling, he just likes a lot of support from my hand to balance against. It's completely fantastic to be on a horse of his size who obviously has both George's jumping capability and attitude. How lucky can a girl be to have found another one :-) !?

I'm feeling very virtuous because I also rode Jazz and Zip before I went, and I drove the lorry myself too. Now I am shattered but the dentist will be here any moment so I still can't sit down!

Zip has finally found his canter. He did some beautiful calm walk to canter and cantered quiet, balanced circles with me sat right down on his back, and his neck flexed but not "fixed" if you know what I mean. I could have swung his head left or right easily. He's taken six months to really understand this, but he certainly has got it now.

Jazz was absolutely lovely. Walk and trot lenthening, shoulder in, travers and 10m circles in quick succession as a warm up. In the days of riding failed racehorses and ID crosses I'd have thought that was a darned good schooling session and now it's just a warm-up!. Half pass canter as our first learning exercise. A great effort first time on each leg, better to the left, so repeated to the right (my weaker leg aid on that side shows in travers and half pass).

So, on to flying changes. To the left he got one full change absolutely perfectly with a slight tap with the whip to encourage the back end to change. I tried to repeat the same aid to the right but got the tap a little too strong. Blimey, did he throw a BUCK or what!! Stratospheric - but he came down on the correct lead!! As Jean says, bucking on a canter change is just an occupational hazard, there was no malice in it at all. I tried again and he got it in front and quickly followed up behind. He is doing better every time I try it, and he's a very clever boy!

I'm off out to hold Jazz and Zip for the dentist now.

C