Oh, WOW!

I am having such a BLAST riding Jacco.

Although the temptation is there to start riding movements (and it is a HUGE temptation), I'm being good and focusing on really learning to ride his gaits--and it is paying off. You could hear jaws thudding left and right yesterday when we were trotting around the arena in our WORKING trot because he has such expression and elegance if I don't get in his way, and I'm not in his way the majority of the time now. One of the benefits to having been stuck at First Level so long with Quila is that I did have the opportunity to really focus on my seat, and on riding those P-E-R-F-E-C-T circles. It's all paying off now with Jacco, in that I'm finding that riding those super gaits of his isn't going to be impossible for me (though I sure am glad I'm also investing all that time at the gym--I had no idea how much Jennifer must be using those abs of hers when she rides every day--she makes it look so EASY when she sits on those huge moving horses of hers, and while I think Jacco is the bees knees, I have a sneaking suspicion that his movement is still an order of magnitude less than her mounts.)

Still, Jacco is super honest and willing, very forward (haven't picked up a whip since I got him), and lovely off the leg. He WANTS to do the job, and now that we've figured out the difference between the "Dutch" aids and the "German" aids and explained it to him, he's been very quick to adapt to our system of cues and life is going smoothly. His two goals in life seem to be 1) to be told he's a good boy, and 2) to be cuddled and scratched all over. Food isn't nearly as important to him as #1 and #2, though he's not a poor eater by any means, LOL.

Susan went to LAEC to compete this weekend, but I stayed home to ride. She's pouting. "My mom got a new horse, and she loves him more than me!" she tells anybody who will listen. She isn't getting much sympathy, though. It's reported that pretty much everybody is answering her, "Well, it's about time!"

The Best Horse Ever!

Sorry, Quila.

Tequila Sunrise is, and always will be, "The Mare of My Heart," and I will love her as I have loved no other horse, but I have had more fun riding the last two days than I have ever had in my life--and I was riding Jacco. Of course, in a tribute to her, much that I love about him is because he is so much like her only more so...

His trot has that same smoothness to it that you could sit all day, only he has suspension and loft that she lacks, at least in recent years, and when I ask for a lengthening, those afterburners kick in and I get a breath-taking trip across the diagonal that I know is beautiful to watch, too (I've seen Alena ride him).

His canter is large and uphill, also smooth and easy to ride, but with a natural jump to it that I had to work hard to help Quila learn to achieve (and which is still a struggle for Quila some days--though to Quila's credit, she proved the savants wrong: you CAN improve the canter, because hers went from flat and ordinary to becoming one of her best gaits, surprising everybody who knew her before and after, and even now at 19, it remains lovely to watch).

Both horses have equally fabulous walks.

And lovable? Same. Both would rather be loved on than eat. Both EXPECT to be adored. Jacco is King to Quila's Queen, but he makes dorky faces that are endearing, while Quila maintains her regal appearance except to flash her Ugly Mare Face at horses who dare intrude on her territory. Jacco isn't territorial. He just assumes he's so cute you'd never dream of sharing your affections with anyone else. By and large, he's right. The only horse he hasn't been able to steal attention from is Quila, and that's because no one dares. He has successfully stolen the hearts of all the other horse owners in the barn, much to their horses chagrin.

Jacco's had many surprises for me--he's my little Maserati, with handling that is far more sensitive and responsive than any other horse I've ever ridden. He's quite kind about it (thank goodness, otherwise I might find myself the riding-equivalent of wrapped around a tree, LOL), but I have found myself riding a 6 meter circle in travers when I'd intended a perfectly normal 10 meter volte, simply because I'd given him the aids it would have required to get Quila to do a 10 meter volte without losing her haunches. Oops. I'm adjusting, and learning not to "shout" and he's teaching me.

Can't wait until Wednesday, which will be my next ride, though I had so much fun this weekend, I've got "rollover grins" (think "rollover minutes" a la the phone company) in the bank, and I won't run out until long after I'm dead at the rate we'll be piling them on.

Jürgen tried to tell me that we're going to hit snags down the road, and not to expect every ride to be as rosy as the ones were this weekend. I told him, "Of course not, but somehow, I think my worst ride on Jacco will still be better than a lot of my ordinary rides up until now. All I have to do is remind myself what it took to get to this point, and a "bad" ride won't seem bad at all. I have a feeling riding Jacco is going to go from good to very good to great to damn exceptional."

In case you haven't guessed, I'm smiling.