I’m not gonna lie. I have maybe spent some time worried that June wasn’t going to know how to jump. Or would be super awkward and not talented at all. I mean, I’ve never had a baby horse before. There is zero guarantee about anything. And sure, her Dad looks like THIS when he jumps:
Photo By: Janne Bugtrup
But hey, he’s only half of her genes.
Anyway, I was gone for 8 days, and while June got out a handful of times while I was gone, I didn’t want to ride her in my lesson the day I returned. So, instead, we decided to free jump her!
Now, I know what you’re picturing. Huge, elaborately decorated jumps. But, let me let you in on a secret. Free jumping actually isn’t as exciting as it is in those fancy broadcasts you see with super fancy horses. For us, we started with groundpoles. And we raised the jumps to about 2’3 at the end. It was lots of me chasing June around and trying to get her into the chute. It’s not glamorous people.
But it is fun. Especially when your baby horse figures it out quickly and thinks she is HOT SHIT and gallops around every time she exits the chute.
Clearing the groundpole…
IMO she had great form, a great brain, and was super excited about jumping! Not that I am biased.
2’3 was about 2 feet too small 😉
It was so fun to watch and worth all the running around to catch her and put her in the chute after each go.
Love those happy ears
Sadly the next day we were back in the round pen, with a dressage saddle, but she’s still thinking all about how great she was at jumping.
