Who is this dead head school pony?!

Stromboli and I attended Holly Hill Horse Trials in Benton, LA on April 19-20.  Somehow he was switched with a horse that looks a lot like him, but is very lazy, slow, and heavy in the dressage ring. 

He came out like a raging dragon for XC and we finished well under the optimum time and barely breathing hard.  Lack of fitness definitely is not an issue at this point!  We also accidently may have put one stride in one of the two stride combinations....oops!  I left XC almost mad at myself for being so nervous and maybe chasing him around a bit, when he has clearly proved that he is an absolute XC machine.  After this run, I feel like I definitely have an UL prospect on my hands --but I have to learn to ride him better and get control of my nerves.  

Overall, we placed 8th and yet again added one pesky rail to our dressage score of 41.  Stromboli does not want to touch the rails normally, but if I pull him at the base of the fence, he may hang a back leg.  I'm determined to not make this mistake again. 

We have a lot to work on this summer and I plan on doing plenty of dressage and jumper schooling shows to really up our game in these phases. 

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