Jessica Phoenix Day 3

Day 3:

After the disappointment of Saturday I was just hoping that things went a little better on Sunday. The XC exercises that were set up looked like a ton of fun so I had high hopes. Corners, angled lines, triple bars and skinnies are all elements that are challenging but exciting so I was pretty happy to see all of them in one arena.

Photo courtesy of Alberta Eventer

And turns out, XC is our thing, even indoors. I never felt anxious, Dee was highly rateable and aside from the occasional bobble with not committing to the big open stride it went really, really well.

There was a really large triple bar set up coming out of the corner that required a very forward ride, especially to get the 2 between the corners. (The 3 was acceptable, but I was working on being more comfortable on the bigger stride). I need to spend more time on the bigger strides because I feel like we are gunning it and in reality we've got a good rolling canter.

This was the biggest take away for me. In order to move up I need to stop choking Dee's momentum. Just because she can jump from a tiny 6' stride doesn't mean she should.

Day 3 was the best day of the clinic, it's where I really felt we got the best instruction for us. I hope Extreme Stables brings Jessica back in the spring  because I would love to ride with her on an actual XC course.

I love this photo of us, I'm not really sure why.

This is the only video I have and I grabbed it off of FB, so I hope it works :)