Showjumping Lesson! Roger Bolted...?!! | GoPro

What an absolute muppet this pony is. But I do love him. I was expecting him to be a little bit sticky in the grass jumping paddock as he’s been a bit spooky & silly in general recently, so I wasn’t particularly surprised when he ran out at the very first teeny tiny cross pole… He had been spooking at some abandoned red jump wings left in the grass just outside the field, which of course was the perfect excuse to run out of the jump we were actually jumping 🙄 Once he’d stopped being so silly, we started building up to a short course, and after the first 2 or 3 jumps, he started feeling much more confident (basically I think he realised that it was much nicer to just jump the jumps and enjoy himself, rather than being naughty and getting told off at every single fence).
Once we’d popped over everything once, he felt fantastic and gave me a super confident feeling into each jump, with a lovely adjustable canter (which we were definitely missing at the start of the ride!). Our final mini round felt great, Roger was listening and responding to everything I was asking of him (including taking a bit of a silly flyer at the last - couldn’t resist!) and we finished the lesson on a really good note. I popped in some GoPro footage from Robin's camera showing some of our jumps, as I know a lot of you like seeing raws, even if I don't always like posting them! Sorry for the worse quality of those zoomed-in clips!
Just as we were about to leave, the Red Arrows (Royal Air Force aerobatic display team) flew over the field in two groups, but the two ponies were absolute saints and didn’t move a muscle. They do fly over the yard fairly frequently, but it’s still always a bit of a shock! Unfortunately, that is where my praise for Roger ends, as despite the beautiful ride he gave me round the show jumps, and his calmness when the planes went over, he was an absolute muppet on the way back in and decided to spice things up a bit with a silly little bolt and some (frankly terrible) dance moves. There was absolutely no reason for him to be so naughty after being so well behaved during the rest of our ride, but I guess that’s Roger for you! You’ll have to excuse the fact I pull him quite hard when he takes off - he is deceptively strong and at the end of the grass theres a sharp 90 degree turn downhill onto the concrete drive, which I was absolutely not going to let him bolt through. He was lead in after that to stop him from bombing off again and bounced all the way back to the yard, looking very pleased with himself... Someone needs to remind him he’s a 17yr old riding school pony!! 😂
🚨Anyone who leaves negative criticism/tips/advice MUST donate at least £1 to a charity of their choice 😊
QOTD: Anyone else's horses & ponies that they ride feeling a bit fresh & silly at the moment?!
Ponies/horses:
Roger - 14hh piebald gelding
Helmet Cam: GoPro Hero 6
Follow me on social media for extra clips and photos!
💜 Instagram: / pony_cam
💙 Facebook: / ponycamofficial
💚 Twitter: / pony_cam
⬇️ FAQs ⬇️
🔵 DO YOU OWN THE HORSES & PONIES IN YOUR VIDEOS?
No, all the horses & ponies belong to a lovely riding school, or are working liveries at the same yard.
🔵 WILL YOU EVER GET YOUR OWN HORSE?
I would love to own a pony one day, but for now I am more than happy having weekly lessons on the fantastic riding school horses & ponies.
🔵 WHY DO YOU ALWAYS JUMP THE SAME HEIGHT?
These riding school ponies usually jump more than once a week, and sometimes more than once a day, so we don’t jump ‘big’ except on special occasions to ensure the ponies stay sound and live long, happy lives. Fence height has very little to do with jumping technique or experience.
🔵 HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RIDING FOR?
I’ve been having weekly lessons in riding schools for 16 years now!
🔵 IF YOU’VE BEEN RIDING FOR SO LONG, WHY DON’T YOU COMPETE?
I have no personal interest in competing or jumping huge tracks. I ride for fun, simple as that!
🔵 WHY ARE THE HORSES ALREADY TACKED UP WHEN YOU APPROACH THEM?
This is a busy riding school & livery yard and so the lesson horses are tacked up by the staff who work there to ensure they are ready to leave the yard on time and have been tacked up correctly.
🔵 DO THE HORSES STAY TACKED UP 24/7?
No. The horses are only tacked up right before their lessons and spend the rest of their time turned out in grass fields.
🔵 WHO IS ROBIN FROM YOUR VIDEOS?
Robin is my mum and she rides with me in my lesson every week. She's 65 and fearless as ever!