Nicole Gibby: ‘Sometimes Things Don’t Go as Planned’

Nicole Gibby and Blaze left all the poles up, but now what?! Photo by Lorna Smith Moth. Nicole Gibby and Blaze left all the poles up, but now what?! Photo by Lorna Smith Moth.

Nicole Gibby and her mare Blaze found themselves in an unusual position during a “Back-to-Back” eventing clinic at Avalon Equestrian Centre in British Columbia last weekend. Blaze hesitated off the ground over a vertical show jump and ended up stranded over the top of the fence without a single pole out of place.

“For those wondering how we ended up here, Blaze wasn’t feeling super confident from the get go, and I wasn’t feeling great either due to the heat,” Nicole said. “I felt her hesitating, and I started to drive her forward, but I was too defensive in my position, which gave her mixed messages. She kind of did a pause/stop, and then being the trier she is tried to jump up and over but was lacking the impulsion to finish, so she stopped halfway through!”

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A clear second attempt for Nicole and Blaze! Photo by Lorna Smith Moth.

Nicole got Blaze — a Quarter Horse with possible Thoroughbred ancestry — as an unstarted 4-year-old and has been working with her ever since. Their experience and trust in each other came in handy in this situation: Blaze stood patiently while some helpful spectators lowered the poles under her belly so she could step over and try again. On their second attempt over the vexing verticle, Blaze made sure to put plenty of air between her legs and the poles for a clear jump effort.

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