Sally Cousins and our February Plans

There's nothing I love better than being south in the winter and being able to ride without frigid temperatures, snow and frozen ground. I've made plans for February for Leo to be in training board with Sally Cousins down in Aiken. He'll be there a little over 2 weeks which coordinates with a vacation Mike and I are taking. The plan is for me to drive down a one or two times week for lessons and the rest of the time Sally will be working with him. The 2 weeks will culminate with me competing him at Jumping Branch's schooling horse trials.

I don't expect Sally to "fix" Leo in the short 2 weeks that he'll be there. Sally is someone I trust and someone Jane and Becca trust and I know she'll be able to give me actionable feedback on how to proceed with Leo. Sally has ridden, trained and competed countless horses and she has a particular knack for thoroughbreds (as many top eventers do). After having problems with Leo all fall, I want to start the year off right and get a game plan together for keeping Leo happy, working and learning. Leo's the first off-the-track, highly opinionated horse I have had. He's at the mercy of my limited education and the knowledge of the people I work with. Sally's experience will significantly offset my lack of experience.

I can also learn a lot about riding Leo by watching other people ride him. I'm a visual learner after all. It's why writing things down helps me commit them to memory. I need to look at the physical manifestation of the thought. Watching people ride is the same for me. The image is something I can hold in my mind and relate to.

Interestingly, I have come across some people that think putting a horse in professional training is a cop out, lazy, or that it's a misguided decision in some way. I say bullshit. I am the lone person responsible for myself, my horse, our training and the happiness of our partnership. I refuse to answer to anyone else's ideals, nor will I repeat mistakes and missed opportunities from my past. I will always live my life true to myself and expect others to do the same. Ultimately, everyone will make different decisions for different reasons and have different experiences because of all the variation in our lives. I'm a firm believer that there are no universal right or wrong decisions, but I've always been shocked by the number of people who believe there are.

Ideally, I would like to work with someone local that I could take lessons with on a regular basis. BUT at this point in time, I want to stick to people I know and have worked with before. Trust is a huge component of training a horse. A new trainer takes a leap of faith and time (for them to learn about your horse and for you to learn about their training style & philosophies). I have a history with Sally (though its not deep and expansive by any means). She has taught me on Leo before, I have gone with Becca to watch her lessons, I like her teaching style, personality and her riding. Plus, we want to move back north and Sally is definitely someone I would want to continue working with up there!