Derby Videos

Here's the video of Intro Beginner Novice (1'8" max height):

Here's the video of Easy Beginner Novice (2'3" max height):

So there you have it! The green-bean truth, since video can't lie. Clearly we have LOTS to work on:

• drifting right
• moving forward rather than up and down (we need a horse stride, not a pony stride!)
• my lower leg needs major help
• rhythm

But I'm glad that we:

• didn't get eliminated
• got over all the jumps
• improved our 2nd round
• felt relaxed and calm throughout the day and after the rides

For our first XC competition, I really am pleased. We avoided the big E.  Elimination. So we achieved my goal for the outing. The next derby is in exactly 1 month. I need to talk to the hubby about whether we can afford another show so soon (you know, with the new house and all), but if we can then my plan is to do these same levels and add in a dressage test. Sure, Hemie can certainly jump higher than these levels, but it's not about height, is it? We need to work on rhythm and straightness and a proper stride before we can think about BN. There's no rush. We're enjoying the journey.