A New Man in My Life...

...and who would've thought I'd have gone for a redhead? ;-)

It's true. Normally, I'm a sucker for a bay, particularly mares, but this 15.2ish chestnut Appendix gelding by the name of JJ ("Jentleman J" is his registered name) has stolen my heart. To make a long story short, he was graciously offered for me to ride by a friend not too far from my new locale in northwest Washington (yes, my bipedal man and I made it across the country...and what a big country it is) ;-)

So in spite of a few minor setbacks (saddle fit and JJ's soreness relating to an old injury), I have really enjoyed working with JJ and look forward to being able to show him in the spring. He is somewhat older at 14 but I think he can still do Training and First level, easily, if the chiropractor can fix him. The really exciting part is that I met a very knowledgeable contact through my saddle search who said she might be willing to coach me on JJ! I believe she has shown to 3rd level. She has a couple Dutch mares who are rather green as well as a schoolmaster. I have been to her farm several times and worked on the ground with one of her mares, both of whom are drop-dead gorgeous (if a bit on the hot side.) Believe it or not, she said I may be able to show one of the mares! Very exciting!

Anyway, back to JJ. I am going to start keeping track of our progress on a regular basis here. Right now, obviously we are working on the bottom rungs of the training scale, Rhythm and Suppleness. JJ was getting a bit quick in the trot at times, which I suspected was due to the arena footing. It has since dried up, and his tempo is more regular. At times I count the beat aloud to make sure the rhythm/tempo are even and correct. He has a wonderful free walk, but when I pick up the reins he shortens his stride/loses energy. This is something we obviously need to work on, and it's probably as much me as it is him. I need to remember to keep my aids on during the medium walk. Another issue we are dealing with is that although not always in front of the leg, he is very sensitive to the laterally driving leg. When I ask for a leg yield at the walk or turn on the forehand, yes, with my leg correctly behind the girth, he breaks into a trot. I do half-halt on the outside rein but to no avail. I tried doing ground work, using the butt of the whip to gently massage his side to have him step over, but he seemed nervous about it, so I stopped.

I'm hoping to get some pics and video up soon. They'll be me riding bareback for now, as the saddle I was using was way too small for me and put me in a horrific position (almost a chair seat--it was horrible.) The bareback pics may not be spectacular, but at least they'll put a face to JJ's name. He really is a cute little guy.... Is it obvious that I love him? :-)