Tuesday, July 28, 2015

It felt so much better than it looked....

I was oh so excited to see the pictures from the XC Clinic since we jumped some fun stuff and Tillie felt so amazing...But turns out we just dont photograph well. It is to no fault of the photographer. She got some pretty great photos of everyone else, it just seems me and Tillie just had awkward hats on that day or something.

I am quite disappointed...Everything aside from the first warm up fences were smooth (even the warm up fences were, just at warp speed!) I thought for sure we would get some pretty awesome pictures from the questions D had us doing. There werent any awkward spots or distances - at least none felt that way.

Instead we get this.....

This totally looks like she balked at this when in actuality it rode smoothly and in great rhythm. It felt like we totally nailed this....


and this.....

Ok this one isnt soooo bad, but my horse jumped everything so darn low in the wither based on the photos. She looks like shes about to land on her face. 

and finally....

Holy long spot! Once again...didnt feel like this AT ALL. Is it just me or does she look totally whatevs about the whole thing?
So back to feeling a bit down and out...these photos make it painfully obvious that my mare gets by for now but isnt really jumping properly. I always have known her form needs help, and we have been working on her lifting more from the wither. It is just really upsetting to see it so prominent...such a shame as she really loves to jump. 

I have had my trainers say they think we can get to higher levels but seeing these really makes me question that...I have invested so much time at this point so Ill ride the wave as long as I can. Just feeling a bit unsure. 


6 comments:

  1. Did anyone take video of the same jumps? Sometimes photos don't capture the moment well. Although I think all of these look good, your position is solid! :)

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    1. Unfortunately no :( She jumps almost over her shoulder rather than lift. You can see in my free jump blog post though she always jumps like this just better over larger stuff...

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  2. Bobby often jumps the same way on the rare occasion he's being sane over fences. So maybe Tillie just needs to channel her inner crazy? Hmm...I don't think that's actually very good advice.

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    1. bahaha we have been really working on eliminating the crazy over fences...so maybe the fact she was calm and jumping this way is in some way a good thing? I have quite a few shots where shes jumping "normal" looking but can tell you it was crazy and she ended up diving afterwards.

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  3. phew - finally catching up!!! i don't think it looks bad at all and would stick with your initial assessment that it was an awesome ride, especially given how well she's been jumping ever since. don't be discouraged!! we'll just have to try more gymnasties ;)

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  4. yay gymnastics!!

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