Hannah and Kal' Updates

Hannah and Kaleidoscope have been awesome all summer. They just keep moving right along in the right direction.

Now that we've woken him up and boosted his fitness level, Kaleido is turning into quite the jumping machine. I want the two of them to go to a jumper show in the near future, and Hannah is excited to try dressage with him again (and to see her scores improve).

After a few months of building flexibility, softness, and connection, we've revisited the subject of lead changes. Not surprisingly, Kaleido is starting to have some really nice changes! I suspect we'll be doing a lot of flat work once winter rolls in and we're stuck in the indoor, and I know both of them will go into spring much improved because of it.

For now, we've been taking advantage of the nice weather and the ever-growing outdoor course, and we've been focusing on a lot of jumping in our lessons. Hannah does her homework week in and week out, and she's reaping the rewards. Kaleido is getting handier and handier, and Hannah's timing continues to improve.

We did one lesson for height and Kaleido topped out at 3'9", which is no small feat for a stocky, short paint. It's hard to believe this horse used to duck out any time he saw something new. Refusals don't seem to be in his vocabulary these days.

I look forward to teaching them every week and I've taken about a million photos and videos this summer. Hannah has also taken up IEA and totally rocked her first show a few weekends ago. If I could have ten clients like Hannah and ten horses like Kaleido, I don't think I'd have anything to complain about!

Earlier this summer, working on the basics on the flat.

Form improving over smaller fences.

Then slightly bigger fences.

Getting stronger.

Looking like pros.

The fences are getting a little bigger.

"Ride it the same."

3'9"