On the Line

It’s a new week, which means it’s time to stop feeling sorry for myself (see previous entry.) Worse things have happened, the horse will recover, etc, etc, etc. And if I ever want something to take my mind off mind-numbing rehab schedules, I need only to watch my friend, trainer Chrissy Christensen, jump her new horse Vaalexma:

They see invisible jumps. . .

The jump they just cleared is behind those yellow flowers in the corner of the frame.  Proving once again that a “free” horse is never free – Vaalexma was a jumper out of Mexico with a teeny, tiny little speed issue. But, apples to oranges, what I call a flat-out bolt Chrissy just calls “fast.” Vaalexma came to Chrissy straight from a three-year stretch as a pasture ornament, and against all odds she figured out how to control the mare just in time for the Woodside Summer Classic.

Chrissy is on my list of people I will write about: she trains dressage horses, jumpers and (to mix things up?) Saddlebreds in Menlo Park, CA. She’s determined to ride grand prix dressage AND show jumping, and when she does I’ll be sure she makes the pages of Sidelines. For now though, watching the looks on people’s faces when Vaalexma tears into the ring is entertainment enough.