Mort and I have
been trucking along on the half pad experimenting front. The shims are definitely helping, but I have
yet to find a really wonderful combo.
Last night I enlisted the help of BM to try a few different combinations. We both ended up liking extra shims in the
front right pocket of the half pad. It
was easier to get contact with our right seat bone, but it still didn’t feel
quite right. To me it almost felt
diagonal? I’m going to try another shim in
the back right pocket to see if that helps.
I guess the goal
is to find an acceptable shim combo that works until I sell some of my old cull
tack and get some money for an adjustment.
My parents brought a bunch of my old tack from when I was younger on her
last visit (to get it out of their basement), so I’ve got a lot that I want to
sell. Now I just need to get to our
local tack shop to actually get it on her shelves on consignment. Last week my old Stuebben jumping saddle sold,
so I’m one step closer!
Other than that
Mort and I have just been chipping away at all of our usual issues. I want him more responsive off of my
legs. I want him to stay relaxed in the
lateral work, especially in the walk. I
need to make sure I’m not drilling him because that is so much my
personality. We’ve been working on our
canter transitions and his transition to the right is really coming along. We’re staying connected through the entire
transition a lot of the time now. We’ve
got a few events on the horizon that will hopefully help propel us through our
summer training and help us reach my goals.
·
June 10-11 Britta Johnston clinic
o
I really enjoyed her last time and she stepped
us up to the next level of riding for Mort.
She really held me accountable for letting Mort get away with giving me
80%. I’m hoping we get some more of that
as well as maybe work on some more second level quality work. I’m really looking forward to riding two days
with her instead of one.
·
July 8-9 Holger Bechtloff clinic
o
I’ve not ridden or audited with him before, but
it’s very close and not very expensive so it is on my list.
·
July 15 SLADS schooling show
o
This is going to be a more expensive schooling
show than my ‘normal’, but it is at the National Equestrian Center in St. Louis
and that is where my recognized show is in October. I really want Mort to get to a big show
facility before I drop $700 on a recognized show and he’s too distracted to do
really well.
·
October 7-8 recognized show
o
This is still tentative at this point, but it’s
for sure a goal.
SLADS has another
schooling show October 2nd at the NEC that I would be interested in
if Mort didn’t do well during our first one.
There are a couple of other local schooling shows that I will most
likely attend as well. One of the local
organizations that I’m a member of has one each fall as well as WWU. I know the schedule isn’t super busy, but
with camping, vacations, and money that’s about all I’ll do this year. I’m sure Mort won’t complain about less shows
and more trail rides anyway.
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