I’m proud to report some real progress! It looks like moody Miraed has really turned the corner, and finally decided to stop being a racehorse, and a reluctant show horse, and to become an enthusiastic showjumper instead. Yesterday we took her to a small local show and entered her in the jumping classes for real beginners – which is what she is, in showjumping terms. All she has done before in this line is a few goes round the Clear Round course at shows ( where the fences are about 2 inches high, and you can have as many tries as you like till you get round. The first time, I led her round in-hand, because she’d never seen coloured obstacles before. It’s strictly for fun and practice – but for those not lucky enough to have a full set of show jumps at home to practice on, ie most people, it’s a great opportunity.) She really seemed to enjoy this, and is always much more enthusiastic in our schooling at home if our two sets of jumping poles are included somewhere. Clearly flatwork is just not exciting enough for her, and showing , whether in-hand or ridden, is in Miraed’s view totally dull and boring.
But this showjumping, now – that’s a bit more like it ! A proper job for a horse like me ! This seemed to be Miraed’s opinion of yesterday’s activities. In the Clear Round she had a refusal at one fence – a type she’d never seen before – but cleared it at the second attempt. Then Miraed’s motor started firing on all cylinders, and in the next Training Class she did a perfect clear round. Not only that, but she was obviously thinking about what she was doing, and enjoying it. My instructions to rider Becky were to not ‘interfere’, but let Miraed sort herself out as far as stride and take-off were concerned. It was wonderful to see Miraed doing this, adjusting her stride, putting some bounce into her canter, and starting to get a bit of rhythm going. And she can certainly jump !
Then came the jump-off, against the clock. I told Becky to forget the timing and just take it steady. (There is no point in pulling young horses off their feet and getting them flustered and confused. Far better to give them a quiet, confidence-boosting experience.) Even so, Miraed covered the ground well, and the time was not that slow. She was unlucky in clipping the top rail of the very last fence. (It fell for Miraed, but not for the next horse, a big cob who really booted it ! Ah well, that’s showjumping .) So Miraed ended with four faults in a respectable time. And came second ! Thus much rejoicing for me and many more polo mints and horse cubes for Miraed.
The day was already a great success for us. But, on a last-minute whim, we decided to enter Miraed in the late-running Ridden Ex-Racehorse showing class as well. After some hasty polishing, oiling and tail-plaiting ( no time to plait her mane), Miraed went back into the show ring. She must have still been in a happy and obliging mood; she went beautifully, and won !
But this showjumping, now – that’s a bit more like it ! A proper job for a horse like me ! This seemed to be Miraed’s opinion of yesterday’s activities. In the Clear Round she had a refusal at one fence – a type she’d never seen before – but cleared it at the second attempt. Then Miraed’s motor started firing on all cylinders, and in the next Training Class she did a perfect clear round. Not only that, but she was obviously thinking about what she was doing, and enjoying it. My instructions to rider Becky were to not ‘interfere’, but let Miraed sort herself out as far as stride and take-off were concerned. It was wonderful to see Miraed doing this, adjusting her stride, putting some bounce into her canter, and starting to get a bit of rhythm going. And she can certainly jump !
Then came the jump-off, against the clock. I told Becky to forget the timing and just take it steady. (There is no point in pulling young horses off their feet and getting them flustered and confused. Far better to give them a quiet, confidence-boosting experience.) Even so, Miraed covered the ground well, and the time was not that slow. She was unlucky in clipping the top rail of the very last fence. (It fell for Miraed, but not for the next horse, a big cob who really booted it ! Ah well, that’s showjumping .) So Miraed ended with four faults in a respectable time. And came second ! Thus much rejoicing for me and many more polo mints and horse cubes for Miraed.
The day was already a great success for us. But, on a last-minute whim, we decided to enter Miraed in the late-running Ridden Ex-Racehorse showing class as well. After some hasty polishing, oiling and tail-plaiting ( no time to plait her mane), Miraed went back into the show ring. She must have still been in a happy and obliging mood; she went beautifully, and won !
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