Back to work

After so much gloom and blustery rain, it was a pleasant change to wake up to a dry morning with a blue sky. It was colder, though. Dad took me in the school for the first time in five days. We warmed up slowly in walk and trot and put our stirrups down by one hole. This seemed a little more comfortable, but made Dad tend to lose his stirrups from time to time in canter.

We practised Prelim 17 a few times with Other Dad watching. My paces were reasonable and my shapes were accurate, but I lacked any consistent roundness and wasn't properly on the bit. We will have to work on this. It's difficult when you practice a different way of going; you improve in some ways but seem to lose the benefit of other recent work and progress. It's frustrating.

We stoppped after forty-five minutes and I joined Dibby and Cricket out in the field until 4.00 when we came in for grooming and tea. Dad could tell we had been playing around in the field since the turf was quite cut up. It seemed strange schooling after such a lay-off. Fortunately cobs don't mind getting back to work - especially when it means more minties.