Visiting the Hunter/Jumper World

I've been on the hunt for a local place where I can go school in an arena.  So far I've found a lot of options but they're either a bit pricey for regular work or the grounds aren't worth paying for.  I have several trainers that I like to take lessons from but at $60+ each, I have to space them out.  My available time to get away is also limited and between work and school I'm having to portion out things.

I decided to look for "cheaper" lessons if possible but ultimately, someone in town.  If I can cut down on the drive time, that would help things a lot.  I also wanted to work on jumping primarily and while I have two dressage people in town that I love, they're out for this (for the time being).

Poking around the internet and looking through old information I had saved from previous searches, I decided to contact Christian Wakefield-King.  She is near my house and from what I could see online, I liked her jumping style.  I friended her on Facebook some time ago and she looked like she cared and supported her students which is something that's important to me these days.

Upon calling her, I found out she was in a rough spot health wise but that she was getting help from another trainer that had trained with Peter Pletcher.  I vaguely recalled the name (remember H/Js is not my schtick) and a short google later I decided to come out and watch some lessons.  I headed out that week to watch Emily teach the lessons and the environment was very different from what I was used to and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  I was debating having Piper as a pony hunter prospect vs and eventer so it was nice to be able to bring her out and talk seriously with someone.  Also, being able to work on my riding was a draw.  Sadly my first lesson I did rather well position wise and rode like a boss.  Katy was less good as some of the jumps bothered her and even though I rode them perfectly, she ran out hard at one and I came off.

This was another "I didn't die!" moment that was on my list.  Everything happened in slow motion and I felt very in control so that was a big confidence booster.  Katy was naturally uptight after all the "serious" riding we were doing so we breezed over a few easy jumps and let her walk it out.  Looking forward to getting out there more and improving!