Gia - session 927 - schooling at hunter show

 We went to a hunter show yesterday, so I took Gia along to school a little.  It was raining pretty hard, but the arena was covered, so we just went straight down there, with no lunging.  It was a good day to see how she would do at a show with no lunging since it was a small, quiet show.  She was a bit looky and anxious when we first got in the arena.  I focused on riding her deep and low and forward.  I also worked on keeping my hands out in front of me, relaxing whenever she softened, and keeping her neck straight.  Once she was slightly better at the walk, we did the same at the trot.  She actually did fairly well!  I was able to work her through everything, and she eventually got to the point where she was much more relaxed and able to go on a longer rein.  I also took her over several of the jumps.  They were set at crossrails, so she didn't actually jump them, but she did listen to me before and afterwards, which was what I wanted.  When we left the arena, we watched the first class go for a little bit, and she actually stood very still!  I'm not sure if it was because they had partitioned off part of the arena for folks to stand in, or not, but I'll take it!  She always seems more business like whenever she is in an arena.

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