June was a busy month and started off with a trip to Masterson Station Park for Alex's second field trip and potentially his first cross-country schooling. We had some trailer trouble getting to the park, which necessitated Alex's being unloaded on the side of the road and he handled it like a total pro. Once we got to the park, after initially being scared of a trailer full of jumps, Alex was fabulous...better than fabulous... I was completely over the moon.
Below are some videos... sorry they are small and a little hard to see, but you can still sort of see what we were doing.
As June moved along Alex and I jumped more and more and even managed to sneak a little more height in to the mix. He's continued to get more and more comfortable with other horses in the arena and with things going on around him while we work. He loves to jump so much that where he normally would be on alert when turnout starts at night, he pays no attention if there's jumps involved. Our last and biggest first was that last weekend I was finally comfortable enough to work without stirrups for an extended amount of time even riding without them through a little rain shower. Not bad eh? I think (hope) he's starting to grow up.
Finally, now that it's official, I'm happy to report that Alex and I will be moving soon. A friend has just bought a very nice farm, which is about to be made even better by the addition of a new indoor arena, and we have been asked to come be one of the few or the possibly only boarder. Given that our current farm is getting steadily more populated, meaning more trouble getting into the arenas and less choices for turnout, this is going to be an excellent move for us in the nick of time. The new farm will be considerably less crowded and there will be paddocks with run-in sheds, automatic waterers and grass as far as the eye can see. I can't wait!
