Applehurst
I have to admit, I've had a hard time getting into horsespace lately. Oh, I've been riding, all right, but I got hit hard with the drag racing stick again … Christine and I did the Applehurst pace last Sunday. The weather was perfect, and Clover really had an engine!
We jumped some of the fences on the cross-country course, there are several low-height combinations on the front of the course, and I tried to do all the right riderly things over a fence: weight in the heels, even contact from inner thigh to lower calf, not pinch with the knees, back flat, eyes up. Also, the release without throwing the reins away and dropping Clover the last stride. The fact that she was taking me to the fences again made the above mechanics much simpler.
We rode over tire jumps, used racing slicks from New England Dragway no doubt, up and down a newly-fortified bank, through water, over stone wall and rolltop. I attempted the bugaboo ditch/coffin, but gave up after 2 attempts. Not ready for some of those Training questions quite yet.
We spent the rest of the pace walking and trotting through field and wood. The weather truly was perfect, so the setting was that much more vivid. No bugs, either. I was sorry that the map didn't take us to the pond so we could water and wade the horses in to refresh them at the halfway point (it's about 10 miles), but they did have a water/carrot station set up.
I was feeling my age around the 8 mile mark—my knees started to ache and my butt was a little sore. Argh. Other than that, we had a great time, except for the minor fact that I was missing the final rounds of drag racing across the highway!! Such a conflict of life!
We jumped some of the fences on the cross-country course, there are several low-height combinations on the front of the course, and I tried to do all the right riderly things over a fence: weight in the heels, even contact from inner thigh to lower calf, not pinch with the knees, back flat, eyes up. Also, the release without throwing the reins away and dropping Clover the last stride. The fact that she was taking me to the fences again made the above mechanics much simpler.
We rode over tire jumps, used racing slicks from New England Dragway no doubt, up and down a newly-fortified bank, through water, over stone wall and rolltop. I attempted the bugaboo ditch/coffin, but gave up after 2 attempts. Not ready for some of those Training questions quite yet.
We spent the rest of the pace walking and trotting through field and wood. The weather truly was perfect, so the setting was that much more vivid. No bugs, either. I was sorry that the map didn't take us to the pond so we could water and wade the horses in to refresh them at the halfway point (it's about 10 miles), but they did have a water/carrot station set up.
I was feeling my age around the 8 mile mark—my knees started to ache and my butt was a little sore. Argh. Other than that, we had a great time, except for the minor fact that I was missing the final rounds of drag racing across the highway!! Such a conflict of life!
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