Lazy Monday? I think not!

Since I jumped Governor a little bit on Sunday and I likely have a jump lesson on Tuesday, I was leaning towards a bit of a lazy ride last night. We started out on the trails with our buddies, Annie and Emily.  I always say that Govey could have a career as a trail horse and be completely happy. He loves the trails - on the farm, off the farm - doesn't matter!  He has turned into a calm and relaxed trail partner, for sure. 

After that warm up, we couldn't resist doing a bit of flatwork in the freshly mowed back field. Governor wasn't convinced that doing actual work was a good idea, but he humored me for 15 minutes or so.  We trotted and cantered up and down hills, worked on our straightness, and managed some prompt and correct transitions. 

I still marvel at how far Govey has come. How strong he is. How fit he is. 

If I can learn to ride the horse I have at shows like the horse I have at home, there will be no stopping us!  

Tonight, we have our last jump lesson before our first beginner novice horse trial at the horse park next weekend. I'm trying not to let the nerves get to me. I need a good, confidence building ride tonight. 

Updates tomorrow!!

Our next show

As I kick off my blog, there are some recent events I want to go back and document.  I will try to get to that this week. For now, though, I will start with the present. 

Yesterday, I entered Governor and myself in our first beginner novice horse trial at the Carolina Horse Park. We did attempt a beginner novice schooling HT at Jumping Branch in February, but it really was no bigger than most maiden courses. We also had a stupid runout resulting in a rider fall and ankle injury toward the end of XC, so I prefer to just forget that one ever happened.  I am excited about the upcoming competition, but mostly, I just want to get the first one under my belt.

In preparation for the HT, I need to do a lot of jumping. Not necessarily a lot of fences each time we jump, but a few fences most every day. Jumping is such a mental game for me. I have to do it a lot so that it doesn't get the best of me. 

Yesterday afternoon, Emily was at the barn with me, so I took the opportunity to jump a few short courses. When I ride every stride, we do very well. When I quit riding the last stride or two, we have ugly fences. I'm working on it. All in all, it was a good ride. We will work on more courses in my lesson this week. 

Meet Governor

Govey is ready for our stadium lesson at a recent clinic.

Governor.  Where to begin....?

We'll start with the superficial.

• Governor is a handsome bay gelding with 4 white socks of various heights.  He has just a few white hairs on his head, near his left eye, that don't quite qualify as a star.  Okay, it's really not even a close call.  
• He's somewhere between 15.3 and 16.0 hands high, but his petite frame makes him appear much smaller.
• Governor's mane is out. of. control.  I've finally made peace with the fact that I just have to keep it short.  I tell myself that his mohawk gives him character.  
• Speaking of his petite frame, Governor has a very narrow build.  I have finally resorted to riding with super-short stirrups in order to feel that I have leg on my horse.  I'm only 5'4", but have frequently asked others for reassurance that I'm not "too big" for my horse!  Finding a saddle to fit his long withers and short, narrow back was quite the undertaking.  But I am completely happy with my County Innovation with an extra narrow tree and forward flaps.  The difference this saddle has made in my balance is tremendous...and worth every penny!

Love my saddle!  I've used oil to darken it significantly since this photo.

So what else do you need to know about this handsome boy?

• Wayfoong Governor is a 7 year old New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding.  He was bred by Jen Campin Bloodstock and was born October 16, 2007 in NZ.  He was sold at the New Zealand Bloodstock 2009 Select Yearling Sale for $5231 and was exported to Hong Kong in June of 2011 to begin his racing career.  
• There are two racecourses in Hong Kong, and Governor raced at both of them.  He ran just 3 times in early 2012 and finished 9th, 8th, and 10th, respectively.  He won $0 in prize money and that was it for his racing career.  As far as I am aware, he suffered no injuries or illnesses.  He was simply not fast enough for a successful race career.    

"Sha Tin Racecourse Overview 2009" by WiNG - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sha_Tin_Racecourse_Overview_2009.jpg#/media/File:Sha_Tin_Racecourse_Overview_2009.jpg

"Happy Valley Racecourse 1" by Minghong - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Happy_Valley_Racecourse_1.jpg#/media/File:Happy_Valley_Racecourse_1.jpg

• In the fall of 2012, Governor was shipped to the USA with several other horses in hopes that he would find a career outside of racing.  He was purchased by a kind lady from Virginia who wanted nothing more than to bring him back to good health and eventually sell him to a good home.  He spent several months at her farm before moving to Southern Pines, NC to begin his retraining.  

Hard to believe this is the same horse!

• I first met Governor in August, 2012.  I was looking for my next event horse, and I quickly fell in love with this boy's sweet demeanor and desire to please.  He was still very weak and very green, but I knew he had to be mine.  I was out of riding shape, so I figured we could improve together.  Within a week, Governor was part of our family.

The past 2 years have been full of ups and downs, highs and lows, laughter and tears.  I've fallen off and gotten back on.  I've been afraid, and I've felt invincible.  We competed in our first show (a local combined test) last September.  Then we tackled our first "green as grass" 3 phase horse trial the next month.  We've since completed a handful of maiden level horse trials and are aiming to move up to beginner novice in a few weeks.  Two months ago, I would have told you that our future might consist of treat-eating and trail riding.  But we seem to have some momentum now, and I wouldn't trade our ever-developing partnership for anything in the world.

With this blog, my intent is to document,  for myself, all of those ups and downs, lessons learned, and goals achieved.  It will be a place for me to dump lightbulb moments and mental breakthroughs.  In time, I hope I'll be able to look back and see just how far we've come.  

You are welcome to follow along on this journey, but please do not expect great words of wisdom, examples of good riding, or even much entertainment.  I promise nothing.  Let's just see where this goes....

Introduction

In the routine of day-to-day trips to the barn, rides, and lessons, it is easy to get caught up in the "things that go wrong" and miss out on the overall progress that is made.  "Gambling on Governor" is my attempt to maintain a daily log of the mundane activities, lightbulb moments, setbacks, and milestones that shape the course of my journey with my equine partner, Wayfoong Governor.

Govey is a 2007 NZ  Throroughbred gelding I've owned since August 2013.  Together, we are learning the value of trust, bravery, and fun.