~Lisa's Corner~
That’s what I’m talking about! My woo-hoo!! day finally arrived! We put 2 jumps together at the canter today! Next stop, an entire course! Cotton has had some extra time off because of my busy life outside of Oak Hill Farm so when I do ride I’m
~Lisa's Corner~
“You might as well jump that little jump while you are working on your canter” Awesome! I thought we’d have to iron out a few more wrinkles before we were ready to canter over anything – Lesley made my day! Ever since we had that major break through in dressage
~Lisa's Corner~
This time I did fix it! To give us both a break from the redundancy of the arena Cotton and I tried riding out in the field this morning. The green heads were relentless. Cotton was thrashing around desperately trying to rid himself of the little pests and we weren’
~Lisa's Corner~
“I thought I had fixed that!” Today Lesley put Cotton and me to work on our canter – the last obstacle to overcome before we’re ready to do stadium courses (I hope). Right away she got on to me about my posture! I thought I was lifting my chest. I
~Lisa's Corner~
Update – Cotton needed two injections last week and has had the past 5 days off so I haven’t had anything to write about! Today I worked him for just a little while since it was his first day back. We had 2 days of stadium work right before his
~Lisa's Corner~
OK – y’all are NOT going to believe what Cotton and I did today! (Pause while you guess) We did dressage out in the XC field in his snaffle and he was awesome!! See, I told you you wouldn't believe me! Lesley rode him for the first half
~Lisa's Corner~
It is great to ride a normal horse again! For the first time since we moved to Oak Hill 5½ months ago Cotton is cantering all around the stadium ring and XC field completely relaxed and calm. I love it! For our last ride, after our trot work, we cantered
~Lisa's Corner~
Lesley schooled Cotton for me while I was visiting my parents this past weekend and again before my dressage lesson yesterday. She had him going so well – he was absolutely gorgeous to watch and when it was my turn to climb up…Oh. My. Goodness! He was a completely different
~Lisa's Corner~
Oak Hill has worked it’s magic. Caitlin, the saddle fitter, gave Cotton a check up today and announced that his top line had developed to the point of not needing his extra pad and withers inserts! This new outlook on riding is extremely refreshing. With my boys home for
~Lisa's Corner~
Well, when I got him in from the pasture on Saturday morning his back was fine so I started loading up for the show but he reacted pretty severely when I squeegied him off after his bath so we stayed home - bummer. It turned out to be the best
~Lisa's Corner~
Every time I ride my confidence in Cotton and in myself grows a teensy bit. Monday we did XC flat work and then a few stadium jumps. Even in this hot, hot weather he still has plenty of get up and go! First we trotted in 2-point all around the
~Lisa's Corner~
Lesley gave me the boot – she completely kicked me out of the nest! She schooled us over just about every small fence in the XC field, one at a time, both directions. Our first two jumps were refusals (see below) but after that it all went very well! We trotted
