Hello everyone from the continued adventures in England.
The past couple days have been fun, and I had a great jumping lesson with Mark on Cooper as well as getting to jump a couple of his young horses. We have really been working on my position with coming into a jump and staying more with the horse. I tend to get behind and “drive” Cooper because I know that he is going to spook, but I then end up using my seat too much and not going with him enough. I feel as though I am really grasping the concept!
Yesterday I got to go on a gallop at Barbary Castle, which was so amazing I cannot even being to tell you, and the pictures most certainly do not do it justice. Mark had to go out there to meet David Green about the course, so I got to re-meet him again too, and he was very nice… probably feels bad about telling me to F*&^ off … JK. I went for a trot around before my canter, and the cross-country course there is so unreal … I cannot really begin to describe what it was like, but it rejuvenated me for what I am here to do. Cooper galloped well, and I remember Emma telling Cooper at his last gallop at TPF (True Prospect Farm) that the next time he galloped would be on amazing ground, and man she really wasn’t lying.
I think both Cooper and I looked as if we were kids in a candy shop, and I told David that I would be happy to pitch a tent there and stay forever… The whole place was mowed in perfect strips and combined with the haze and fog—it looked like something out of a Harry Potter book.
That evening I went with Petey Alliston to a college art show where she teaches, and that was quite interesting… It is eye-opening to see all this art that kids make. She then came up to me and told me that this guy was going to show me around. I was like mmmmm ok…. I went with him, and he took me back to his family and as we walked around I realized that Petey didn’t have a clue who this kid was. She just sent me off with him! He didn’t even go to the school! Well it was quite packed, and I think Petey spent a lot of time trying to find me. She thought I might have been sold off into slavery.
Tomorrow is my last day at Aston and then off to Maizey Manor (David Green’s farm). I have a sneaking suspicion that my blogs could possibly get a fair bit more interesting when I get there….
We will see!
Cooper and Jennie
