Confidence

B-5 days and counting until Bastian officially comes home!!! I can't wait. I am so stinking excited. :)

I got to go out and ride him tonight and he was pretty darn good. I put my big girl panties on and shortened my jump stirrups a hole. They need to go up, at least to where I have them now if not even one more hole shorter. I felt a little tipped forward, but by the end of the ride it was much more comfortable. We even managed some nice counter canter and some nice lengthenings in our jumpy saddle :)

I've got to start riding my first fence more confidently. I've tried to decide between more confidently and more aggrresively and I am pretty sure that its more confidently. My first fence of a school session is always kinda iffy. I'm about 80% sure that he's going to jump it and be good, but there is this horrible 20% of me that says, "well maybe he's gonna refuse/spook/trip/overjump." So over that first jump I always seem to just let him make the decision about how the fence is going to ride. Today it was almost disasterous. We trotted into this 18" fence only to have him say "oh my god what is that thing!" (and we've jumped this fence like a ga-zillion times). Then he kinda jumped from a standstill and overall it was pretty fugly, not one of my proudest jumps but we did make it to the other side intact.

I needed more confidence, I needed to keep my leg on and say yes, this is baby stuff and we can trot this like its nothing. I need to give Bastian the confidence he hasn't had the years to develop that I forget he doesn't always have. Once I set the tone for the ride he really just goes with it, but if I don't set that tone then its popping over jumps and running at fences and not so much fun. After that fence the rest were pretty good. There were a few where I was left behind and the first few I went over I felt a little too forward, but that was just me getting used to my stirrups.

I am soooooo excited for him to come home on Tuesday. I've got a lesson lined up for Tuesday and Friday, then the show on Saturday! I am so stinkin' excited, and he is gonna be so stinking cute :)

Everyone else is away at Regionals and I am insanely jealous. I wish them good luck as their Championship classes start tomorrow! Go BEC :)