Well-balanced

After a grey start, another quiet sunny day grazing in our fly rugs. We came in at four and I was tacked up and taken into the school.

As we were warming up a course of four or five fences was set up in the bottom half of the school and Gem and Mollie were brought in for jumping practice. They were later joined by Bailey who mainly schooled around the perimeter in canter.

We worked on our own at the top end of the school in front of the mirrors. We stuck to much the same routine flexing and stretching in walk to soften and adding shoulder in and fore and leg yield. We trotted and worked on downwards transitions to virtual walk and back up again and flexing both ways in trot to loosen my jaw and get me on the bit. We only tried a couple of rein backs followed by nice subtle forward transitions into a soft and round trot. We also practiced many more ordinary walk-halt-walk/trot transitions.

Dad was pleased with my co-operation and concentration with the jumping going on and rip saws working loudly a few fields away. I didn't shy or forget the task in hand.

The surface felt deep and loose given the absence of rain for some time and Dad did not want to canter me on it. When I had worked softly and on the bit for a while, to finish we stretched on a long rein and went in for a hose down, apple and tea. Cobs prefer such a well-balanced day.