im not giving the lesson

[hunterjumper]

allie, im sick of this!!! you always say your gonna be and you never show up. im always the only frickin player on the frickin msg boards. until you can make yourself committed to your word, im not going to wait around, wasting my time, so i can give you a stupid lesson, which i dont even feel like giving anyway. if you really want me to continue giving you lessons, you will respond to this by 6 pm. if not, forget it.

[Allie]

I'm sorry Kelsey....something came up where I had to babysit at the last moment...and then I was grounded because I didn't want to do it. I don't know what to say...if you don't want to be my trainer thats fine...I'm really sorry...I know things keep coming up, but I can't read the future...I'm really sorry...Allie

[hunterjumper]

its okay, just try not to let it happen again! I can still be your trainer. How does tomorrow around 10am sound?

[Allie]

What about today? I'm here now.

[Allie]

Tomorrow's not good, I've got a volleyball clinic from 8-12.

[hunterjumper]

today is fine

[hunterjumper]

I gave Allie and Kiki a lesson today. I haven't given her a lesson on Kiki before, so I asked her "What do you usually do with Kiki in the jumper ring?"...

[Allie]

We normally warm up steadily and go over a few verticals or lines with low-crosses. Then we move up to bigger things. She does CC so she can jump pretty well.

[hunterjumper]

Okay, i guess we'll start with that.....I made and small vertical for Allie to warm up over. She went over it good, but her release was a little long for a small vertical. "I think your a little too use to the CC jumps!" So she got her self together and went for the jump again. This time her release was good. i used the other set of standards and made a little line with cross rails. "Go ahead through the line" and she did. She made a circle and went for the line. 1, 2, 3, jump, 1, 2, 3, jump. Everything was good. "Kiki's doing really good, Allie! Think she's ready to go higher?"...

[horsgal517]

I think she would be fine a little high...but just be warned we are both in the cc spirit...once she gets past 4.3 she really pushed off strong!

[hunterjumper]

i dont know what that means, but okay"... with allie's approval, i made the line 3.0. She made a circle again and went for the line again. Kiki perked her ears foward, ready for and alert of the jump in front of her. She bounded off the ground and soared over the first fence. Allie was a little left behind in the motion, but she quickly regained balance for the next fence, going with the motion this time. "That was good, except you got a little left behind over the first fence. That's really, i mean really, not good because you catch Kiki in the mouth when you do that and it can teach her to stop at fences because she will expect that everytime. So, do it agian and be ready for the fence" Allie seemed a little discouraged but did as she was told. Circled and went for the line a last time. The first fence was better than the last time and the second fence was the same. "Thats better, Allie. Thats what I like to see. Im going to make a oxer, okay? Okay" I took the second set of standards and moved them next to the first set. I left the jump cups where they were, making it a parallel bar oxer. "Okay, take her over that. After all the spreads and wide jumps on the CC course, this should be like a gallop in the pasture for her!" Allie just smiled and gave Kiki a pat. I really, truly think, that Kiki is a great jumping horse. I didnt tell Allie that because i figured she already knew. So Allie circled and went for the spread. Kiki started to anticipate the jump just a little and threw her head up, causing her to have to make and extra effort with her hind end at the base of the jump. "She still had good conformation over it, but the take-off was a little shakey..." I was telling Allie. She just shook her head in agreement. She went for the fence again, this time trying to relax Kiki so she doesnt throw her head up. And it worked. Kiki calmed down, making it a nice jump. I was feeling confident in Allie and Kiki, so I raised the back rail to 3.6. I told Allie to go for the fence, but she hesitated and just stared at the jump. I was confused since CC was her "thing". But I wasnt too concerned, since she quickly regained herself and went for the fence. The outside automatic ring lights flashed on and spooked Kiki, causing her to stop at the fence and Allie to fall off. I ran over to her, making sure she was okay. But she complained that there was a pain in her right wrist and that she didnt think she could go for the fence again. So I asked her if it was okay if i got on Kiki ( i HATE ending on a bad note) and she said it was fine. So i took her GPA helmet and snapped it on. Then i caught Kiki and let her to the mounting block. I still had my tall boots on, so i was comfortable riding. I took up the reins and made a trot circle in front of the fence, relaxing Kiki since she was so startled by the lights for some reason. When i got to Allie, who was sitting on the benches outside of the ring, i asked for the canter. We were off in 3 steps. I got myself in line for the fence. I was a little nervous myself, since Kiki was a relatively small horse and i was used to my 17 hand Thoroughbred, and the jump was really big. The biggest jump I've ever gone over was 3.3. Yea, i was really nervous. I dealt with my fear and headed for the jump. Kiki leapt and soared over the oxer with perfect balance. It was soooo smooth, a huge smile spread from cheek to cheek. "I wont do anymore with her, i just didnt want to end on a bad note. I just wanted to make her do it and not learn that if she stops, she wont have to work anymore. Do you know what i mean?" Allie shook her head yes. I sent Allie to the office in the barn to get an ice-pack for her wrist while i cooled out Kiki in the ring. After about three times around, i took Kiki to the cross-ties and untacked her. I just left Allie's tack in the aisle, since i didnt know where it went. I took Kiki to the wash stall in the back and hosed her off nice and good with cold water. Not freezing, but just cold enough to cool her out so she could go back in her stall. After that i sqweegyed her off and took her back to the barn. 2 times she tried to get grass, but she only suceeded once. I gave her a pat on the neck and led her into her stall. I felt bad about getting Allie's leather halter wet, but i would appoligize to her later. I hung the halter on the hook and went to the lounge to find Allie. She was sitting on the couch with and ice-pack on her wrist. "How are you feeling? Hows you wrist?" "Im fine, but my wrist is a little swollen and it hurts. But ill live" "Well thats good! We can't have you dieing right before the show, now can we?" we both laughed. I sat with her for about 30 minutes. "Oh, Allie, im sorry, but its really late. I have to go. Will you be here tomorrow?" "I dont know. I have this volleyball thing. Ill try though" "Okay, seeya later" And i left the barn for the night. I stopped at Fly's, Rocky's, and Prince's stalls to give them kisses good night. "Seeya guys" and i turned out the lights and went home to bed. I was exhausted!!!