I Used to Jump

Today is my last day of class EVER. NO MORE CLASS EVER. I have lots to do, so enjoy this post I wrote two weeks ago (look at me acting like a real blogger, setting up content so I don't go too long without a post).

It's hard to tell with all the DQness that goes on around here, but I used to jump!

I've actually jumped for a lot more years than I've done dressage. I've been doing dressage since 2004 (so 11 years) and I jumped from 199something to 2010 (at least 15 years). I did a little jumping in 2012 when I took the paint horse on, but he severed a tendon in his hock before we could actually do anything fun and then had a year of rehab before he could jump again. By then I was competing at the FEI levels and in grad school so no fun eventing horse for me.

Obviously I'm better at dressage than I am at jumping. Much of my jumping training was from not-so-great trainers at a low level and half of my dressage training has come from big name trainers at a high level. I also never put as much effort into my jumping as dressage. I find dressage really fascinating and I find jumping cool, but the level of fascination isn't strong enough to actually want to sink time into it. Maybe one day I'll have a horse that is SUPER fun to jump and I'll actually want to do it. Most of the horses I had (save for the paint horse) were slow off the ground and lazy to the fences = lots of leg. I love those horses on the flat. I hate them over fences.

Whatever horse I end up with though, I want to get some jumping lessons on eventually. I'd love to compete at Beginner Novice in eventing and maybe do a few schooling shows (hunter jumper shows are so confusing to me, I'd have to have one of you guys help me fill out the entry). I do like jumping, especially cross country. Just that on any given day, I'd rather be doing dressage.

Pictures!

Rico and I jumped together in 2007-2008

Rico wasn't the best jumper at first...

Dillon and I jumped a little in 2012, he's a pepperpot

I evented at Rancho Murieta in 2003

A combined test in 2004

Rancho Murieta in 2003, I stuffed him at the base and jumped
up his neck, quality riding right there! *note the difference in
me between 2002 and 2003, that is what a horse change for the
stronger and a trainer change for the worse does to you. 

This was in 2001 or 2002, I did the jumpers on Stretch

Stretch and I never did an event (he went lame) but we schooled
a lot of cross country for pony club

These were in 2007, I was schooling him before one of my clients
took him out in the field

He was so fun to jump, he always found the exact perfect distance

Quest in early 2000, he was great when he wasn't bucking

Pony club camp in 2000

2000 on Quest, note the devil horns! It was our Halloween show
and this was me getting him back for bucking me off all the time

1999 or 2000 on Dandy

2000 I think on Dandy

2002 on Stretch again

2003 I think, I show jumped a Gypsy Vanner!

The cutest connemara pony in 2003

I've shown a picture of this guy in the past on here- Novice at
Galway in 2010

His first event early in 2010