Gia - session 428 - more schooling at a show

 I took Gia to the Portofino show this weekend to school.  This is an event she has never been to, so I was curious to see how she would behave.  She was actually pretty good!

I started out lunging her near the trailer.  She was a little distracted by some horses running in a nearby field, but otherwise, she was very lazy.  

I mounted her near the trailer, then walked through the paddocks and other trailers to get to the warm up area.  She was a little nervous at first, but then seemed to relax when we were about half way there.  In the warm up area, I walked for a bit, until she felt relaxed and stretchy.  It didn't seem to take as much time as it has in the past.  When I picked up the trot, she was not as tense or anxious as she has been at shows previously.  I only had to sit the trot for a few minutes before I felt that she was relaxed enough to post.

This warm up area had mirrors, which she has never seen, so I kept her at the end of the ring away from the mirrors at first.  As she relaxed, I started to gradually work her closer to the mirrors.  She never really reacted to them at all.  I think she noticed them, but they didn't seem to bother her.  I worked all over the ring at the trot - lots of changes of bend, leg yields, and even a little bit of trot lengthenings. 

She was feeling good enough that I decided to ask for a little canter.  She was a bit fussy, and threw in a few kicks out with her legs, and even a really big buck that did unseat me, but didn't dump me.  However, I was able to get a decent canter from her in each direction.  After that, I decided she had had enough, and she walked calmly back to the trailer.  She was even fairly good standing at the trailer for the majority of the day!