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Post by Emma Santiago on Oct 11, 2008 8:31:51 GMT -5
Emma walked her excitable mare into the arena. She pranced by her side. The arena was empty, apart from a few small jumps, no high than 3ft. Emma decided that she would warm up quickly and do a little bit of jumping.
She got the mare to halt, and pulled her stirrups down. She checked the gel girth, tight enough to get. She gathered her reins, held onto the front of the saddle and jumped up and down 3 times, before bouncing into the saddle. She gently sat down, slipping her right foot into its stirrup. She lifted her leg and popped up her girth a hole or two.
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Post by Emma Santiago on Oct 11, 2008 8:39:05 GMT -5
Abbie hardly needed so much as a squeeze to ask her to walk on. She gently asked the mare on the bit while starting to walk a 20m circle.
“Good girl!” Emma said, leaving forward and giving her mare a pat, looking at the arched neck.
Emma sat up, placing her whip of her leg so it wouldn’t get in the way of anything. After walking round once, and walking a 20m circle she pushed Abbie into a trot. Abbie’s trot was fast. She was a speedy pony. “Whoa there!” Emma squeezed down the rein to ask her to slow down. Abbie did so for a few seconds, and then sped up, so Emma repeated. She trotted round, doing a few circles and changed of reins before coming back to walk, patting the mare on the neck.
She walked along the long side of the school, fiddling with her helmet strap. She looked to the corner and decided to pick up canter there. She nudges to Abbie from walk to canter.
Abbie’s canter, like her trot, was fast. The little mare gave a buck as she cantered round the school. This didn’t bother Emma. It wasn’t unusual for Abbie to buck, and it wasn’t a problem. She cantered round picking up the pace, ears pricked forward and tail in the air.
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Post by Emma Santiago on Oct 11, 2008 11:43:36 GMT -5
Emma decided to canter round once before jumping the first straight bar. Abbie flew round! Emma squeezed with her leg and hand for Abbie to turn the corner, which she did so. As soon as she saw the jump she charged at it, ignoring Emma’s aids to slow. Abbie jumped clear, easy. The jump was just over 2ft. Tiny compared to the oxers they normally jumped.
In fact, none of the jumps were as big as 3ft. Emma didn’t want to change them, for someone else had put them up, and she knew what it was like when someone went fiddling with her stuff.
She pulled up, looking over at the jumps, trying to make a course out of them. There were 4 jumps, not a lot to remember. She dropped her reins, giving Abbie her head and tightened her hair bobble.
“Right, come on girl!” She said, clicking with her tongue, giving the pony plenty of leg.
Abbie set of in a brisk trot, breaking into canter. Emma cantered round to the jump again, this time giving Abbie lots of leg, nudging her forward. She squeezed with her legs, cantering fast towards the jump. Emma folded as Abbie took the fence, as if it was twice the size.
They both landed neatly, Emma sitting up just in time for a couple of bucks from Abbie. Emma pulled her head up and reinforced her legs aids with a tap on the shoulder, as if to say “No.” Abbie got the idea.
They came out the corner and cantered towards a tiny cross pole. This time it wasn’t such a mad gallop towards it, but Abbie still jumped it huge.
The next fence was a straight bar made up of blocks. Emma half-halted in the approach, getting Abbie to slow down. Abbie listened this time, and popped over the fence nicely, unlike the mad twice-the-size scoopy jump.
She cantered round at a nice pace to the last fence. It was at the other side of the arena, but parallel to the first fence. It was exactly like it, just different coloured poles. Emma got the excitable mare to slow down. Abbie’s ears where pricked, lifting her head as high as the martingale would allow. Emma sat till the last stride, then let Abbie go. They flew over the fence.
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