Debut Countdown...

Three, two, one....okay, maybe we aren't that close.  We're still nearly a day away from our first show debut.  But the preparations have begun already!  I will more than likely be the most overprepared person at the little CHSC show this weekend, seeing as how it seems pretty casual and laid-back.  But that won't stop me from having immaculate turnout!  That is one thing about my pony club roots - they always perk up when it comes to horse and tack presentation and rider turnout.  So I spent the evening pulling April's mane - OH how she HATED me - and clipping whiskers and chin fuzz.  I swear, if that mare could have stomped her way through the dirt barn floor, she would have just to get AWAY from me! 

On a totally high note, we had a jumping lesson Wednesday which was rather spectacular.  Aside from April being in heat and pulling a total mare fit and planting her feet a time or two, it was a really good ride.  I rode like a sack of potatoes half the time, but when we got it right it was pretty awesome.  I think it was the first lesson where Kelsey bumped the fence up to 2'6" and my heart never once skipped a beat.  I hacked home in amazement over the fact that I had taken several fences from icky spots - getting left behind, not being solid in my leg, and basically being tossed around a few times - and never once did the fear creep in.  We have made so much progress I don't even recognize myself anymore.  I keep waiting for the old reservations to start creeping in, and day by day, ride by ride, they seem to fade further into my past. 

I think I'm becoming a convert.  You see, I HATED MARES.  I was the consummate gelding girl.  Give me a steady-eddy never changing reliable boy, and I was as happy as could be.  The whole guessing game of never knowing what you are sitting on was not for me.  Yet I find myself increasingly intrigued by the mare phenomena.  I have ridden a different horse every night this week.  Literally!  One night was racing around like a FREAK, snatching the reins, ducking after fences, and generally driving me to the point of insanity (and exhaustion!)  The next night was our lesson, in which we warmed up with some of the most elegant dressage work that was light and soft and so enjoyable.  The jumping was pretty good as well, aside from the few aforementioned messy fences on my own account.  Then last night we had a semi-decent ride on the flat, and finished with the softest, calmest fences.  Steady in the in-between lines, balanced in the turns, and easy downward transitions - even after cantering!  And of course we had a little humor - April decided to try to eat the leaves off the trees as we worked on our 20 meter circle.  While we were at a trot.  And the leaves were a good foot above us.  Go-go-gadget neck.......

So, don't tell.  But I think I'm falling in love.  With a mare....