One New Hampshire rider is sure to be glued to the TV for the crown jewel of Olympic equestrian contests: jumping. That's because she might very well join them...someday. Elise Lesko is just ten years-old, but it seems she's got the patience (and the pony) to see this dream come true.
Watch Elise and Snitch jump 3'6"...a little too close for comfort:
Instructor Katherine Dow threw out some pretty horse-y words during this piece. I tracked down what a couple of them meant.
Flying Change: A flying change is when a horse changes leads at the canter by switching the leading legs, without a downward transition to the trot. In other words, they switch which leg hits the ground first without having to be slowed down.
Dirty Stopper: When a horse is all set up for a jump and then simply refuses. Here is a video of a "dirty stopper" in action. Just wait until the second round of jumps this rider tries to take with her horse.
Lucky for me, this didn't happen when I was crouched next to the jumps taking pictures of Elise!
