My mare is the best mare

So there was the 2 weeks off due to my vacation. Then there was another  week off due to being sick (there was a short road/trail ride before I was officially sick). After 3 weeks off, and having about 75% of lung function, I saw this and couldn't resist.  Yep.  That is a jump grid.

Jomps?! Finally something other than flatwork?! YES please!

Can I say how awesome my mare is? On Sat and Monday I free lunged her and while she had some go, she wasn't nutso. On Tuesday I felt good enough to try to ride, saw the grid and I threw on my jump saddle. I forget sometimes how amazingly comfortable the damn thing is. 

I couldn't do more than a couple laps of two point at a time, but we went over the tiny little crossrails like a boss and Mia never set a single foot wrong.  The entire ride. Even when we did them all at angles. No speeding up, no taking off, no hesitating, no spooking, no acting like an idiot, she acted like we had been doing this every day for the past 3 months and was bored to tears. GAH I love this mare!

On Wednesday, they had taken down the 3rd jump but still had jump standards up for the first 2 jumps. So of course I had to jump again! This time I put the jumps up to 2' (eventually 2'6") verticals. Want to know what my mare did? She stopped this ripe idiot from falling off. Yep. So I started down the line at a trot (it was set as a canter-in distance) knowing we needed to be forward. Butttttt this rider sat there like an idiot. We went over the first jump okay enough. At the second jump, Mia was not at the right distance. The idiot was leaning forward from the awkwardness of the first jump. Mia WANTS to jump, so she does despite being at a virtual standstill (and no leg from rider). Idiot rider has no contact, no leg, no position, and does a small airs above the saddle.  What does Mia do? On the landing, she stopped and glared at me with her left eye. She didn't shift, she didn't sidestep, she didn't pause, all of which would have helped the rider fall off. Instead she looked at the idiot with a "WTF is your problem" expression.

She got lots of treats and lots of apologies for the rider not doing... well, anything, and for a thank you for not letting me fall off. All she would have had to have done is stepped, anywhere really, and I would have slid right off. I haven't come that close to falling off in a very long time, I am so happy with her. Low and behold, that was enough to snap my stupid idiot self out of whatever and we rode to every fence like seasoned professionals and had not a single incident afterwards.

I am good mare, so more treats?!

On the plus side, my saddle makes it SUPER easy to hold position. It is super comfortable to ride in and my horse was amazing. The downside is a really long ago habit apparently has popped up. At a bad spot, I bring my hands to my belly. Which helps exactly no one. The plus side is that when I do this, I open my hands (literally) and I never ever pull on the reins! The down side is when I land, I then have either A. super long reins or B. no reins.  Adding this issue to the "need to fix again" category.

It is now Friday and I am about 95% recovered from being sick. I have FELT fine since Sunday, however my lung function has been significantly diminished until this past day or so. I had to bow out of a clinic with Allie Sacksen due to my health (or lack thereof), but fingers crossed she will be back and I will be in fighting form. I hope everyone else has been riding and has avoided this death cold!