Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Epic, but in a different sense of the word.

I rode Bugsy again today, for the last jumping lesson of the semester. Today was not a good lesson at all, but I made the best of it. 
I started out with no stirrups on my saddle, so I had to snitch a pair from another saddle. That problem was solved quickly and without a whole lot of fuss. If we hadn't been jumping, I would've just worked without them. 
Jumping today sucked. I took a pain pill before I went to the barn in hopes that I would be able to avoid any hip pain. Hahahaha. Yeah. My hip started to hurt a little when we cantered. I decided I was going to ride properly, no matter what. I sat in the saddle and refused to two-point my canter, even if I couldn't finish the ride. Well, that didn't kill me...
Our first jump was bad. Bugsy approached the jump really well. He trotted straight to it, happy as any little pony could be, came to a near-stop, and proceeded to jump the fence. It wasn't comfortable for me, I lost a stirrup, and I jabbed the poor pony in the mouth because I seriously didn't think he could make the jump from a standstill and wasn't ready to take the fence. 
Then, we had to do the first jump again and a line. The whole line, evidently. I thought we were supposed to circumvent the crossrail in the line and go straight for the second vertical in the line. It was really difficult to maneuver, but I managed it quite well--and then Teresa told me I was supposed to take the whole line. I wondered why the turn was so difficult X_x
Then, we did the first jump, the WHOLE line, and another vertical that was out there somewhere. The first jump and the line were nothing special. I took the first jump with one hand because the other hand was using a crop to smack some Bugsy butt. That was no big deal. I don't rely on my hands at all, and it was actually kind of fun. I've always wanted to take a jump with my arms outstretched, like I'm flying. Maybe I'll do that in the future, once I get Stella jumping and my hip fixed :) The fourth jump, the hay bale vertical, was a disaster, though.
Have you ever seen someone fall off at a horse show? It was like that, kind of. Everyone was lined up on the rail next to the jump. Something funky happened with the jump, Bugsy took the jump and went one way, and I started going another way. Everyone was like "Ohhhh!" and "Ahhh!" and "Gasp!" I definitely thought I was falling off for a few seconds, but then I remembered that I am the master of "nice saves" :D I'd lost my near stirrup, but I threw my weight to the off side and managed to land with my butt in the saddle. 
However, not all was good. I was spared a mouthful of dirt at the cost of being able to walk. I'd already taken the one pain pill before my ride, but I could barely manage the walk back to the barn. I had to take another one as soon as I got back, which had some extremely pleasant consequences :) First, I was just in pain. Then, there was the euphoria. It was SO nice. Then, there was the drowsiness, which wasn't so nice. The drowsiness lasted until the medicine had almost worn off. My hip wasn't too bad when I could finally feel it again, so I chose not to take another pill. I'll see how I am in the morning.

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