If you are somewhere cold I don’t mean to brag but… this weekend was GORGEOUS. Like, perfect weather. Highs in the mid-high 60’s, I basically lived at the barn this weekend. Hugo got his first body clip right before the weekend, and I heard he was an angel for it! That’s definitely a relief since he’ll probably get clipped pretty often. My friend Liana helped me get our first confo pic and I’m excited to track his progress over time ah la Carly and Opie style.

I had lesson number 3 on baby Hugo Saturday and he was a STAR. He is already just incredibly chill about everything and I feel so comfortable on him.  Our flatwork warm-up went super, with lots of playing within the same gait. As long as I’m clear with my aids, he is already understanding the difference between a working trot, lengthen trot, and even a baby collected trot. He is also doing a great job of really self carrying and just overall figuring out his balance.

This was his first full week of training, and I can tell that both of us need to keep working on our fitness. He was great during our warm-up and our first few fences, but I definitely felt him (and myself!) starting to lag as we started to jump around at the end. You’ll see in the vids that we are a bit TOO chill and losing out motor at times.

A small part of me didn’t want to share these videos because they aren’t “perfect”. Then I remembered that I am DETERMINED to show the whole journey, as it is, and not worry about perfect. I think that I have the right mentality when riding (I was THRILLED with our ride and his efforts) but a small part of me still worries about posting less then perfect rounds on social media. I think that with Rio, way back in the beginning, I really only posted curated videos showing the best moments. As time went by and our partnership grew I was bummed that I hadn’t documented his journey more authentically, because it was harder to truly appreciate our growth.

I am not going to do that with Hugo, I want to share all of it. Right now we are very much in the “sometimes it’s hard to keep cantering” phase, and I know that soon it will be a thing of the past. Right now I am learning from it, and whole heartedly enjoying the process. He was pooped on Sunday and we did a veryyyy light hack just to chill and stretch his legs. Otherwise I smothered him with treats, which he now eats with no problem!!

In other news, I moved Rio back to parents’ house this weekend. I do plan on finding him the perfect lease, but I need to get organized for that and also mentally prepare myself. He’s going to enjoy some turnout with his buddies in the meantime, and I hope to get some more trail rides in before I get serious about leasing him. He definitely seemed happy to be back home!