Schooling away from home!

My friend and I decided to go school at the only barn with xc jumps open in our area. I stalked Forest Reach stables online and it looked like a gorgeous place to check out. It's pretty wet around here so not much is open. I wasn't sure if I would jump anything. I wanted to take him to a strange place, go on some trails, see scary things, and go through the water obstacle. After leaving the barn two hours late and getting lost for 30 mins we arrived. I expected Dickie to be sweaty and worried (we were on the road for over an hour). He was dry as a bone and perfectly happy. He's decided her mare is the coolest buddy around and his haynet was filled with straight alfalfa. Hot lady and food, that's all you need for happiness. 

He snorted a bit when he first stepped out but overall did great. Other horses walked by and even a little dog came up to visit.

He wanted to say hi but is starting to accept being tethered to a trailer. I've tied him a few times back home and he gets better every time. Rosie tried to act like Dickie annoyed her but ended up eating out of the same haynet. 

I was so proud of his manners while we tacked up. He's not known for his patience so it suprises me how well he tolerated being tied with so much cool stuff going on. 

They don't have a long course but there's a great loop around the property. At the back of the property they've built some fantastic cross country jumps. They have several ditches, a big water feature, banks, logs, and a huge to die for outdoor. 

Two gracious young riders led us to the jumps and gave us a tour. Is was the first time he's been to another arena and the first time he's going out in a group. I was suprised when he got a bit jiggy and wanted to be in front. I have to admit I was happy that Dickie is finally starting to show his competitive tb side. Despite wanting to go in front he listened and went in the middle of the pack.  

The footing was a tad wet but my friend was able to jump everything and her horse looked solid. She was loving it. Dickie and I worked on being in another arena and listening even though there were scary things. There are jumps around the edge if the arena so you can jump and out. There is also a mini grand stand with bleachers and a roof. Plenty of things to be afraid of. He looked at them all and tried to llama neck quite a bit but never tuned me out or spooked. 

I would be lying if I said he was an angel about the water. I had to get off and trudge through it the first time. In my grand wisdom I went with half chaps instead of tall boots so I ended up soaked almost to my knees. He tried to tell me he couldn't do it once I got back on. I called his bluff because when I walked him in he was splashing and drinking the water. Didn't behave the least bit scared. Pretty red mare led the way and finally he would go in without hesitating. 

I didn't jump anything because he was behaving so great. Getting him through the water was enough. We went through parts of our dressage test and cantered both ways. We even did some canter circle figure 8s trotting ten strides or so for the lead change. That was a huge change for him considering a month ago he was still being pissy about canter period. 

We got off to a rough start but it ended up being a wonderful day. It was a dream come true to load up the horse I broke myself and go on an adventure with an awesome horsey friend. I'm feeling much more confident about our show in two weeks. He was so easy to handle and I

didn't even have to lunge him first!