Cross Country on Roger (I Jumped Bigger!) | GoPro

Sound the alarm, I actually jumped bigger than 50cm! 🥳 I don’t normally give myself much credit when it comes to riding, but I was actually quite proud of myself for not only giving the slightly bigger fences a go, but actually jumping the whole water combination pretty well and building confidence each time we popped through it! For once I was happy with how I rode and could genuinely feel the positive impact my riding was making through that particular combo (Miracles do happen) 😂

Roger was his usual legendary self in this cross country lesson, and did absolutely everything I asked of him (including going to far too fast a lot of the time because I always manage to wind him up XC) 😅 but other than a very silly stop at some shiny barrels (my bad, I gave him no time to see it), he was absolutely perfect.

I’m especially thankful for him getting us out of trouble during our first attempt at the blue boat fence - I pushed for a stride that simply didn’t exist and he took the wheel, meaning we popped over it from a very short stride with no trouble! Luckily I know that Roger has jumped all of the 80cm fences at this venue about 1 million times before, so he can do it all in his sleep, I just need to let him get on with it!

After the boat fence, the larger skinny after the water was plain sailing and I really enjoyed jumping through that combination, so much so that I actually chose to jump it again at the end when we had a free choice of the last couple of fences we were going to jump. Roger is such a confidence giver for me, and although he can have his silly moments, he’s the coolest pony and I’m very grateful that I get to ride him!!

🚨Anyone who leaves negative criticism/tips/advice MUST donate at least £1 to a charity of their choice 😊

QOTD: What horsey plans have you got for the last few weeks of the summer?

Ponies/horses:
Roger - 14hh piebald gelding

Helmet Cam: GoPro Hero 6

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⬇️ 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!

[ElliottCola]

I love Roger he is so cute!! Even when he canters it’s cute

[toastandbutterrr]

That course looks lovely, there’s lots of little options which I would definitely be occupying 😂 but there’s bigger ones too which, if I were feeling brave, would definitely do as well

[amandapersson]

I LOVE your videos! It’s very satisfying to count strides and I really need to practice that too😅 And you don’t just leave the “wonderful, amazing, perfect clips” in the video but also some of the fails and less-better rides❤️

[Cwpke.]

I’ve never done xc before because the horse I usually ride is used for driving but he can jump with a lot of encouragement. When I say jump he’s jumped a low straight. But he’s got feathers so he has bad mites so I can’t ride him in the school because of the ground it’s quite sad ✨but great video!!

[laraoakmore]

QOTD: I don't know to be fair. I haven't ridden for a week and a half due to being on holiday but for now I will probably have weekly lessons per usual :)

[Imperfectequestrian]

That looks so much fun!!! You make such a great team 😁

[becky]

Well done Claire you must be really proud of yourself and of course proud of Rodger for looking after you x

[ilikebeans]

Such a good boy! I’m proud of you for being so brave lmao!

[freyascott]

You and rodge make an awesome team
I love how cautious he can be with certain jumps - it’s so cute.
Ur so brave doing all this X country x

[sarah-zycn]

Roger was flying! You’re a lot braver than me 😅 I don’t jump a lot of xc so I’m usually extremely nervous on the occasions that I do but I suppose that’s natural!
QOTD: Unfortunately I’m back at school so it’s only really weekend riding for me, and the weather in Scotland can be a bit wild even in summer! Luckily I managed to make the most of my summer by riding quite a lot so I suppose that makes up for it x ☺️

[Ilovemypony]

Am I the only one that counts your strides and always gets them right😂 it’s good practise

[ponycrazy]

Whenever you go over a jump I like automatically lean forward 😂

[kateb]

Oooh that looked like fun! Great job! ♥️♥️♥️
AOTD: I’m actually looking at moving barns! 😱 I’m still riding, but I’m on the lookout for something a bit better, and closer to where I live. I’ll be looking at probably about 5 different barns and I’m super excited!!!

[Rachelvehiclespotting]

Great video. QOTD: Went a pony ride yesterday which had to wait 2 hours in the queue for but well worth the wait. Planning another hack at some point

[horsegirl]

Roger seems like such a nice ride lmao

[xlillybiezenaar]

First! So excited to see this! Wow those pictures at the end were amazing, you are coming along so well!
QOTD: Mainly hacking, but also want to get in some XC schooling while the ground is still good.

[lilah.equestrian]

Ahh, look at you and Rodger go!
Rodger seems like a lovely little horse, you both did excellent with Cross Country! 🐎✨
QOTD: Since I don't have a summer break where I live; I have no plans for the rest of summer holidays, but with normal horse riding I'd love to do more jumping! :D

[haneq]

AOTD: None, my lessons don't start back up until September 😅

[JorokaLodge]

when Roger has flies you rub his face I was just thinking I can't reach my horses head at all her neck is so long 😂

[L.C]

QOTD: The riding school I work at is having another end of summer camp 🥲 so that means I have to be there at 10am (my normal arriving time) to get every pony super clean and tacked up. Camp starts at 11am and so far there is 50 kids booked in (covid allegations are put in place!) with room for 15 more which mean me, my sister, the instructors daughter and three other main helpers 100% have to be there and it’s going to be a nightmare because I’m going to be a group leader and I don’t like little kids enough to put up with them for a day so my sanity will hit way past rock bottom😂😅
So yeah if you hear of 10 murdered children um yeah you know who it is 😂 (I’m joking btw!!)