This might be met with silence/tumbleweed as it doesn't really require a response as such, but we had such a happy day with the pony on Sunday that I wanted to share:
This is DD's second pony, we got him in June last year, but were still competing first pony at championships that we had qualified for so didn't do much with him until September....then we had a couple of outings, an SJ and a dressage and both went well...smoothly, no expectations, new partnership, but nothing popped up as concerning. He is almost 9 but has only been backed about 18 months ago so very very green in every respect. He's also very different from her previous pony so she is almost having to learn to ride again, as a 'young adult' (although she's only 13 - I mean riding properly with her seat and leg to hand, which with old pony wasn't really a thing, it was containing her fizz from start to finish with her).
We then entered The Most Depressing Winter Ever, with all that rain, couldn't really get out to much, was supposed to be honing flat/dressage over winter but hormonal teen, dreadful dreadful weather etc. and we've barely been able to keep him ticking over.
We had a couple of SJ outings recently and they've been a bit inconsistent after our promising September/October outings. A couple of unnecessary swerves where she just wasn't really riding him properly, and just feeling a bit disjointed and not really in partnership. In training and at home they jump beautifully so it was sort of disappointing when things hadn't gone brilliantly, and DD was getting upset....she is used to doing very well at SJ on old pony so it is a bit of a comedown for her to have difficult days.
Sunday, it was our first riding club XC....it was meant to be April but delayed due to weather/ground. I was nervous...I thought if they're not working brilliantly at SJ yet then XC is going to be harder. They've been hacking a lot for fitness and doing plenty of work in the school the last few weeks, but we'd not really done anything big to prepare him.
Well....something just changed! It was beautiful, they just clicked, she rode him like an absolute boss, and he turned into a complete machine! It was just marvellous and I cried with relief that we hadn't made a mistake buying him, and that they could do amazing things together. It was just marvellous....and the best thing was they both looked like they were having the time of their lives!
I know we will still have ups and downs, good days and bad days etc. and we take nothing for granted with ponies, but Sunday was that marvellous chink of light at the end of the tunnel and it was really lovely to see.
Hope this isn't intolerable to read. Maybe it is...but it's done now!