Three foot always seems to be a benchmark goal. Any horse that isn't lame should be super trainable up to about 2'. At that point, it's still just barely a jump. As you rise above two foot, things start changing for most horse and rider combinations. What used to be a simple three stride combo at 2' is a different animal at 2'6, and even harder at 2'9. Three foot? Math and science will tell you it's only 3" different, so what's the big deal? Experience in horses will tell you that it may be months or years down the road, if even achievable for that combination of horse and rider.
Cat has always shown herself to be very willing and talented, and we've both put in a TON of work this year. Starting in January, we worked on lunging, ground work, ground poles, jumps up to two foot while lunging (including bounces). Then we started riding, and it seemed like a long road doing our flat-work where it needed to be, occasionally throwing in some low cross poles.
As April/May came around, 2' became more comfortable and we worked on that a lot, as well as getting some lunging time on a hill. I'll tell you what - hill work is one of the hands-down BEST exercises you can give your horse. I think I could write a book about it. There is just nothing better to help them develop the exact muscles they need to carry themselves well, and the hill forces them to do just that. While they are learning better balance, they must lift and carry themselves and the development and changes that come from that are immense.
(Cat and I competing at 2' on July 11th, 2020 in Des Moines, IA.)
But, I digress. I'm going on a bit as this is my first entry about Cat, and she's my little super-star at the moment. June and July we moved to 2'3, 2'6, and even popped a couple 2'9 jumps. We were able to attend Cat's first show and she placed in all of her hunter classes and received Reserve Champion for her jumper division, up to 2'3. It was a really great training and learning experience for her.
Now we're looking down the road to a couple of shows in August and wanting to stretch our legs a little bit, so I opened up on either Facebook or Instagram about my goal to hit 3' this week, and sure enough - that was heard. My best riding friend reminded me of it this evening, and so we decided to go for it!
Three foot! I'm proud of my little girl tonight. <3
She still looks like she's saying this is no big deal, and she sure made it feel easy. I think there is a lot more height in this mare's future.
What are your goals that you're working on right now? Care to share some photos?
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