Going Cross Country

For the first time in 25 years, today I schooled on a cross country course. Just thinking, 25 years ago, I was a bright eyed teen blond, with an elegant chestnut mare. The fences we schooled were substantial- big spreads, big height, fearless rider.
Over 25 years, a few things have changed.
I haven't, naturally.
This is where teens of today add an "lol".
But, such fun to be back on a cross country course! For the uninitiated, "cross country" is much what it sounds, the second phase in the horse sport titled "Eventing", cross country is a timed course you ride over ground, with natural style obstacles in the marked course. Ditches, water, hills, open meadow, woods, all with natural material jumps built solidly on the course. So, jumps are made of logs, stone, bushes, ponds etc. also things you may find in a field, like a wagon, hay bales, that sort of thing. The courses can be simple, or complicated, of different lengths, dependant on the level of competition. The idea is to gallop off and negotiate all the obstacles on the marked course without stopping, point to point. This generally requires a steady, fearless horse, strong, athletic and smart. The rider needs to be also fearless, smart, fast to create adjustments and able to think ahead.
Now, this is not the picture of me and my partner, Oslo. He needs a confident rider, because he is fearless about some things (deer popping out of the woods) and a chicken about others (less predictable). When chicken, he's a bear to ride. So, for this first attempt at cross country for the big man, I decided to school him over a very friendly, manageable size course. Rocky Point Farm near Dayton, was just right. The wonderful home, which we were welcomed into, as upon arrival at the farm the rain had decided to come, is a walk back into my childhood. It fits right into those memories of 25 years and more ago. A stone house, British mid century windows, packed full of comfortable furniture and devoted to horses. A breakfront library desk holds the past century of racing pedigrees, a dry sink has photos from lifetimes, all featuring a horse, or a dog..and sometimes a human. Everywhere is welcoming for dogs, boots on the end of breeches-clad legs, and the smell of a slightly dark tack room, dark and rich with leather. Sit, and a cat will promptly decorate your lap and test the fabric of your breeches.
The barns are single stalled shed row type with a central courtyard area. They look like they've relaxed themselves into the ground over the years. Not a straight edge or crisp angle left, rooves happily green with moss, horse heads hanging out chatting with neighbors. Delicious.
Oslo and I were transported there by friend, Kara, with her mare, Indy.  My trailer still in the no-man's land of insurance cluster since being clipped by a car last Tuesday. Kara is a good person to know, as she knows places like Rocky Point Farm- which might have taken me years and years to discover.  Kara and Indy are a bit farther along in their jumping ability- Indy is athletic. Very. But young, so just getting trustworthy.

This is neither me, nor a fence a Rocky Point Farm. In fact, the only way this photo has any bearing on this blog entry atall, atall, is that this is a cross country fence. A large one. This is from the Rolex Four Star FEI Event in Lexington Kentucky. The idea on this fence is jump up the bank (which has a deep ditch in front of it, so it ends up being about 7' to the bottom of the pit- which believe me, the horse sees. Then you land, and directly from that landing, jump again over the log fence on top of the hill. ( about 3'6" high) on the other side of that log, the hill drops off underneath you, so you don't land until about 8' down. Then, out of the frame of the photo, you have about 3 strides to another fence that is a narrow vee shape, about 4.5' high, with brush that is higher to jump through, the whole fence about 3' wide. This is not something I will ever do. Give me a nice log fence, wide and uncomplicated and I'm happy enough.

Os and I started out by walking out on the field course checking out obstacles. Then, we trotted to warm up a bit and took some warm up cross rails. (These are small jumps in an "X" shape. Much like that "X" turned on it's side). The first few warm ups were fine, then after one, he gave an unholy buck. I hit my left rib with my left hip bone. But, by golly, I wasn't planning to hit the ground, so he had to put up with my burr routine. After that, the silly- business was mostly gone, and we began to jump in earnest, and have a wonderful time. Although my lower back is going to take some stretching out. We did some of the little fences, and even some of the bigger ones. I planned one line where we jumped a log jump and then cantered all the way across the field to a raised log going uphill. About half way across the field he definitely voted for trotting. I urged him to keep up the canter, and he made it. Albeit, choosing to walk on the other side. His stamina is not large yet- just his bucks! After about  an hour of jumping about here and there, the sky decided we should quit.  Fine by me- a very successful trip! Now, to actually compete in an event.....