Yesterday's ride was short. We rode over to Wendy's to use the arena, but there was a horse turned out in there. So I backtracked to Jane's and practiced in the outdoor. The trot looked good, but the canter was so-so. Jane was working her horse at the same time and it really seemed to dull Maddie down. On the way home I tried to jump some logs and Maddie stopped with two feet over and two feet behind. Something about having another horse nearby robs her of her impulsion. And nobody believes me when I say Maddie is a good jumper now, on account of her doing terrible jumps when anyone is watching.
Today we met up with Wendy and another rider on the way over to her barn and chatted a bit. Everyone is amazed at how calm Maddie is! This is the best part about her. Once in the arena, we were joined by another rider on a Morgan. Maddie paid him no attention and really went well. We cantered on both leads and did a lot of trot circles around the big ball. In walk we did more half pass, doing the zig zag exercise to try to even up the sides. Right now the right half pass is about correct, while the left half pass is a little squirrely and can turn into a side pass. We had a good ride home.
In the evening Maria & I came back for some trailer practice on the small stock trailer. We could not safely close the door but made a lot of progress. I was able to get off a couple of times with her tied to the blocker ring. We quit and Maria hopped on for a 20 minute bareback ride. She joined two other riders and just looked lovely across the field.
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