Training at Tryon 

On September 24th, WallE, myself and our ground crew ventured to Tryon International for a day trip. I had taken WallE there several times for weekend horse shows, but never for a day trip. It is not that far away and we just decided to do it. 

He unloaded from the trailer and was a perfect gentleman, not one hoof out of place. We walked around, watched some classes, got settled and waited for our division. About an hour and a half before our division we tacked up and began our warm up. WallE was not pleasant. In the first warm up arena he tried to run after every horse that past us. We ventured to a less crowded area, but then he decided to be a wild rodeo horse and attempt to throw me. During this time he was neighing and getting frustrated because none of the other horses would respond. 

After the rodeo horse moment, I wanted to get off and leave, but somehow I convinced myself to keep going and work through the problem. So we finished our warm up on the flat, jumped a few jumps and headed towards the competition arena. 

Standing outside the ingate, I just knew he was going to dump me in the class. We do not regularly school over the solid hunter walls, we see them at horse shows, but do not have any at home.  Arena 4 (the arena our class was in) is the one with all the banners and tents next to it. The horses going before us were spooking and bucking through their lead changes. Not a great outlook. 

Somehow I took a deep breath and walked into the arena. We walked down the long side and picked up the trot, then canter as we turned off the rail. He seemed a little rattled, but once the jump was in front of him he was focused. Our first round was BEAUTIFUL. We were forward, got out lead changes when we needed to and he did not try to throw me once.  It made the rough warm up worth it. 

The second round was not as good as the first, but he was still able to listen and focus in on the jumps. And once again did not leave me in the dirt. 

I was very discouraged with his behavior, but need to remember that while he and I do venture out a good bit - his experience on the road is limited. We just need to do more and things will improve! 

In the meantime...at horse shows... as long as I can survive the warm up, I think our jump rounds will be great!