Paint Party!

It has been beautiful weather here in the Kootenays. Fall is my favorite time of year as the intense summer heat fades and the leaves on the trees change dramatically to flaring reds, bright yellows and magnificent oranges. So it is especially fun to be doing cross country jumping.

We had a little paint party last week. The three of us played with our paints in the field doing cross country jumps and practiced going up and down hills. I worked on my "release". My piant, Teddy, has a big strong head and dives down on the landing of the jump. I don't want to get pulled down with him so I started throwing my reins away to allow for slack. However, this is a bad idea because I lose control of steering and breaks. My coach advises to hold on to the reins even if it pulls on his mouth as he will soon learn to bring his head up. So we tried it and his head stayed more level. Learning while having fun with horses is truly the best!

---