Jumping Grids- Pony Club Style!

 Today was a beautiful early fall day to ride! The kids had a Pony Club lesson and worked on "grids". These are brilliant obstacles, several placed one after another that make the horse think, make the rider balance and point out all sorts of riding faults that need to be corrected in order to move forward.
Middlest was mounted on her athletic, but sometimes fussy mare, Nelle. The grid is excellent for making Nelle slow down and think about her feet!

 Youngest was on his new partner, Zac. They are doing so nicely together, and are genuinely fond of each other. In this partnership, the grid is perfect for making Youngest balance and stay with Zac over fences.
I like this sweet pony so well that I took him on a Hunter Pace yesterday, through woods and fields, jumping the whole way. We had a fine time together, and I think I can try to take Zac out with the  Fox Hunt!

  In the photo below, you can see the instructor has asked Youngest to turn his hands upside down on the reins. It is a nice tool for allowing a following hand to the horses head and mouth (with a bit on the other end that can potentially cause pain if you don't have soft, following hands!)

Middlest and Nelle take the middle section of the grid, a double "bounce" to a one-stride. The "bounce" is what you call two fences placed in such proximity as to make the landing stride the same exact stride as the take-off. You can see Nelle is going to place her hind feet right where she needs them to be in order to take off over the next fence.

Youngest is working on his balance over the bounce in the grid. He is doing a nice job of letting Zac have his head and use his body in the bounce. But you can see Youngest's balance is too far forward, with his heels lifted, knees pinching and hip angle open. This is why there is going to be a nice grid in our front field this week. If you're interested in watching a kid find his center of gravity...he is learning fast!

After a big day and night yesterday for both kids on the band field, I am so proud of them for switching hats and saddling up today (and, a bit jealous...I didn't get to ride today! )