Cross Country Schooling - Outing #2 (May 2011)

So, following the hunter show in May in my last post, my trainer took us out for some cross country schooling. This was our second outing on cross country ever (our first being the Frying Pan Park outing in March), and just as exciting as the first! We worked on giving Sierra confidence over never-before seen obstacles, and really worked on encouraging her to be forward and have a "take-charge" attitude (within reason, of course!). She was a very brave girl, and we only had one refusal (that was my fault, because we came around a corner and I didn't "show" her the jump in time). So, without further ado, here are some pictures of us having a BLAST out on cross country :) (Disclaimer - I always wear my vest when riding. Even in the ring. I had forgotten it and schooled without it under my trainer's watchful eye. My husband wanted to kick my ass. I wanted to kick my own ass for doing this and will never do it again - I swear)


Warming up


Baby log


Bigger log


Our first bank - down we go!


Back up the bank


Wheee - bigger bank/drop


Around the corner


Up and over


Grinning ear-to-ear


Success!

We're both green and learning as we go, but having so much fun. I've wanted to event my entire life, and we're getting closer and closer to that goal!