..and trying not to let the stress monsters win. I have a lot on my plate right now and I cant share it allllll just yet as some has to do with life outside of horses (all good things), but I have so much to juggle and its making my head spin.
In addition, I decided to add more to my plate with a weekend thats pretty much booked solid as far as time goes and if I run behind at any point, I will most likely be screwed. I am moving a students pony friday night, saturday am teaching lessons then going right to the Dom Schramm clinic and sunday rinse and repeat (yes I added a second day for the clinic!).
Tillie after our ride last night
I am excited I added the second day for the clinic....I am worried at how tired Ill be from hauling all that time each way, BUT I opted to do the second day after talking with the coordinator that the clinic is going to be geared as a progressive approach...first day grids, second day course work. I asked jump instructor P what level to do and she confirmed we should do the 2'11 - 3' classes, which I am ok with, but suddenly I am feeling nervous (Height usually isnt an issue for me, but this is a pretty public clinic and dont want to make a fool of us).
With that said, I need to not think of it as possibly making a fool of us, but rather why I am doing the clinic which is more experience for us. Those not so great "foolish" moments are what makes us grow right?
You know ones like these
Anyway, I have officially decided to put Tillie on pentosan for preventative maintenance as well as help her with any instances of hind end weaknesses like I felt in our last dressage lesson. She got her first dose Friday last week and Im pretty eager to see if I notice any difference.
Our schooling ride last night she felt pretty darn good even after having Sunday and Monday off. I was really tempted to jump a few things, but decided to be responsible and work on strengthening instead. We did big and small stride rating in all three gaits (I was super impressed with Tillie in the canter for this and how well she maintained elasticity in the trot) and then transitions from walk, trot and canter to the next gait up from the slow collected gait. Tillie tried soooo hard on these and was a good girl!
Her watching me from the corner of her eye....
We did work on lenthenings and at first she struggled and reallllly wanted to break into canter. So I sat up taller and really thought of C's voice in my head and tried to do a few safer ones to show Tillie staying in trot is what we want before going for it all out one last time which she did!
I am hoping with her feet getting trimmed today shell have an easier time at it since I could hear she was clipping let and right. She finished off with some (polite) stretchy trot and I decided to walk her up and down our pretty massive steepish hill a few times before calling it a day.
To cap it all off I dropped my trailer off down to road for some minor maintenance and repairs considering Ill be hauling so much and so far this weekend. Our farm driveway is quite riddled with pot holes and has done quite the number on a few of the fixtures.
poor trailer
But nothing to worry about, its a relatively easy fix thank goodness!! So fingers crossed my crazy scheudle all will fall into place and not drive me too insane in the meantime!
With competition season fast approaching...I am aware I need to crack down on a few goals for both myself and for Tillie.
My monthly goals are sort of spilling over month after month and sometimes are there sometimes arent, so I dont consider them confirmed (release being better, heels down over fences and on landing...)
I am going to break it down by phase and then by rider and horse.
DRESSAGE GOALS:
ME:
Work on my crookedness issues
Ride the outside aids more
Improve sitting trot
Ride the canter more brave and comfortably (ll gaits for that matter)
TILLIE:
Improve right hind weakness
Get stretchy trot more confirmed
Get the right shoulder lifting more
Dressage skillz
STADIUM GOALS:
ME:
Dont get handsy before a fence
Wait with my shoulders if I dont see a distance
Get braver and ride the more forward distance
Better timing on the half halt
Release more!!
Heels down more
TILLIE:
Jump more uphill more of the time
Stretch more over fences
Exhibit A
CROSS COUNTRY GOALS:
ME:
ALL stadium goals still apply lol
be braver about down hill terrain and down banks
Let Tillie go more forward and trust her
Canter fences!!!! no more trotting everything
TILLIE:
Gallop/canter more uphill
Jump without looking at the jumps all the way over so its more uphill
Be able to boldy jump skinnier fences and brush without hesitation
How not to jump a roll top:
I am happy to hear tips on achieving any of the goals listed above!
Yet another weekend has gone by and this one was a bit chilly but beautiful weather all the same. With it being a holiday weekend, I didnt get in as much riding as I would have liked, but I am excited for the small bit I did squeeze in.
sneak peak at our weekend!
I was a bit disappointed Friday when Emma mentioned P couldnt make our standing Saturday Jump lesson. I knew I needed to jump or do something with the Dom Schramm clinic coming up this weekend...and I was a bit unsure what to do. Emma mentioned she was going XC schooling and I was totally in to go, but my scheduling didnt work out with hers :(
BUT I got a good kick in the butt from another barn mate and we decided to take our own field trip anyway. So my disappointment turned into some fun!!!
So yes we did go XC school!!
I am not going to lie, I really wanted to wimp out on going because of nerves. I know that is so silly...I would have to go sometime right? But I was really hoping our first time would be under the guidance of P or another instructor to keep Tillie and I on track with trusting each other like we have gotten jumping in the ring.
But I got talked into it from my barn friend to go and just take it easy and do and jump only what felt good...make it about riding out in the open not the jumps. AND she reassured me I had my pelham to use this time if needed.
The Pelham certainly came in handy
Once we got there and got all tacked up, I hopped on and took a deep breath. I could feel immediately Tillie was tight all over and super "up". She was sweating profusely despite being a cooler day and was looking all around while power walking it and zig zagging between my legs telling me she was ready.
I took another breath and tried to remind myself we havent done this since Halloween so let her settle in and be patient. I would have loved to let her walk around until she relaxed before pushing up into a trot, but she kept wanting to jig so I felt that getting her moving would be better - so we picked up a trot.
One thing I realized is that she really does a good job enticing me to get handsy....she picked up this itty bitty race horse trot haunches swinging everywhere and I really did try to use my seat and leg to get her tempo where I wanted it, but no go.
So I tried not to overthink this and just decided to just keep moving. You know singing the Dori song from finding nemo in my head. I eventually decided the trot was as good as it was going to get and pushed into a canter. She did ok here and I started to push and pull the canter a bit to test just how much I could let her go without her losing her cool. I am sure we could have pushed more, but what she gave was satisfactory and I wanted to keep it safe and avoid major blow ups....that may be the wrong mindset but I want to try to teach Tillie jumping and riding out here can be just as low key as the ring.
Anyway, I bit the bullet and decided to start warming up over a few small logs with a few goals in mind:
Conquer cantering xc fences even downhill ones and just cantering down hill in general
Really sit on Tillie and dont let her ever get her head down which leads to bolting
jump a down bank until I dont get nervous anymore
I can say I was able to successfully do all three!!!
Warm up - weeeee!
She started off a bit quick on landing and a few times had to really sit on her and use the pelham, but it WORKED. After 2-3 attempts on her part (especially landing on a jump downhill) which required me to really get after her, she settled in nicely minus some general spookiness towards odd lighting which is a bit odd for her, but I am not worried soooo much about that.
I stayed a bit reserved for the first 20-30 min just jumping small logs and coops. We moved on to a BN and Novice ramp which Tillie jumped without issue and without bolting on landing so I was satisfied to walk over to the next field with the more legitimate questions.
I decided to go right to the water complex and we trotted in and out of the water 2x before I trotted up the small bank and right away before I could overthink it came back and cantered down the bank.
All smiles after the down bank
I am a bit disappointed I didnt try the larger one, but for now I did my goal and trying not to be too hard on myself.
I wanted to keep a rhythm so just sorta kept cantering and jumped what came along and felt good. Next came a sunken road question, which wasnt too high height wise but a solid question which Tillie seemed quite bored with. At this point I knew I needed to try some of the more beginner novice/novice sized fences but was having a hard time committing...luckily the barn mate said ok go do this one now! I usually dont have qualms about height of fences, but XC I still dont quite trust Tillie....so I was a bit skeptical.
My barn mate reassured me that it wasnt that large and just see what happened. LOL in hindsight that logic isnt the best approach, but it worked out for us so I guess it wasnt soooo bad. Anyway, I took a breath and decided to give it a go...I jumped a friendly enough looking fence for momentum and came around to jump the big roll top.
Tillie soared over it without batting an eye and it rode really well...I continued cantering through the field and finished over a larger house which tillie chipped the first time. I came around a second time (the clip on the video) and she found a nicer spot. At this point she was doing a really nice job staying calm and not getting grabby with me.
As I landed from the house jump, I spotted a brush fence a little ways up and decided to give that a try. It looked good and scary and was in the shade halfway...and sure enough Tillie was very unsure about it and did some dodging. It was a bit narrow which I know Tillie isnt a fan of and will be a question Ill need to work with her more on...I gave her a pat to reassure her and came back around and she jumped it without hesitation.
I ended things after that since she felt so great by this point and I didnt want to over do it. In hindsight I should have jumped a few things more, like the roll top, to work on her form.
Once again, I am a bit disappointed to see the footage and she is jumping everything over her shoulder and looking at the fence the entire way. Which I know, I know is her being careful and unsure....and she never touched a single fence which is good...and she is jumping them without issue like this, but still. I just dont like that its not correct. Im trying not to let it bother me and know it will come with more practice...I just am hard on us.
I guess you cant have your cake and eat it too always and I should just be happy we didnt have any major blow ups or out of control gallops! I guess this is the epitome of a dichotomy...I am thrilled with how things felt, but a bit let down at looking back at the footage and it doenst look as good as it felt. My last xc clinic, I had the same reaction to images I saw of her jumping :/ so I guess I just need to accept this is how it is.
We all have highs and lows...and for me I am sorta moving towards a down swing to a low :( In addition to saddle fitting woes, which I am sure doesnt help me mentally with my rides knowing they dont fit, we just arent quite jiving on the flat. Over fences we are doing ok...nothing amazing, but nothing worrisome either.
Our best jump from our lesson last week
Right around the fix a test, I felt like Tillie and I couldnt be stopped. She felt great and we felt really in tune with each other. I actually felt like I could ride her forward without worrying about bracing or rushing.
Still from the fix a test
Not sure what is going on, but since then we had a ton of rain and an extreme cold front, even with the warm weather back and the footing dry she doesnt feel quite right.
I remember riding her early last week in the wet footing a day or two after the fix a test and said out loud to my barn mates, "She seems off and keeps tripping, does she look off?" Everyone didnt see anything too alarming and I shrugged it off as the crummy footing that was uneven, VERY wet and sinking in pretty awful in a few areas.
Riding her later that week when it was dry we hopped around over some stuff and she felt ok, I thought I felt some offness again when switching diagonals, but nothing that didnt even out so I rode anyway. I did poultice her up to be safe though but both legs felt ice cold despite it being a warmish day.
Adorable face
Our lesson with P Saturday in the extreme cold and rain/sleet/snow I really didnt notice it and P didnt because she never said anything....and she will if she sees something. I did however feel a less happy tillie when trying all the new saddles than I had the weekend before trying saddles, but again just thought maybe it was from all the poking and prodding and changing of saddles.
I had a student ride her Sunday and they both did a nice job and I didnt see any shortness or stiffness. When I rode her earlier this week though and still felt like things were off I decided we needed a C dressage lesson and felt like we were waaaayyyy overdue. Emma agreed she seemed slightly short right hind, but we both rode and finished on a decent note, but that comfortable forward feeling we have had was no longer there. So I begged C to fit us in.
On a brighter note, loving my rig!
I was a bit stressed to get there in time...trying to make it after a work day is tough and it was made tougher when the road to get to the barn was closed. It also happens to be the same road to get to the barn to C's barn. But we detoured and I managed not make it too late.
I fill C in about our fix a test and what I have been feeling lately which is the C magic is fading and I need to get back to that point. She laughed and we started off with a bit more time in the walk. We took our leg off and relaxed asking for more walk, then leg on asking for smaller steps. Tillie has started rooting again and being rude since my last ride and C really scolded me to get after her for that since I tend to ignore it.
We picked up a trot and C instantly said Tillie looked off :( She had me switch my diagonals back and forth and it was by far the most drastic I have felt...she had me trot away from her and change direction a few times and agreed right hind looked short.
She had us keep trotting and remarked even her left hind wasnt quite as active and in general she wasnt bending her hocks as much as usual and was kicking up a lot of footing. She asked if she was due for a trim and I am embarrassed to admit she is WAY overdue. My farrier, as great as he is, is quite hard to schedule so figured I could push Tillie a bit to get him on the same rotation as a few others in the barn to make life easier. C said being a sensitive red head mare, she could be reacting to that and being right hind is our weaker leg its just more prominent there, but her toes are too long which she thinks may be the issue.
In the summer she gets done every 4-5 weeks. Winter we can push it a bit, but I think its been quite a while since her last trim so I am hopeful when she is done weds this will resolve this issue.
I am really trying not to fret about it...but I am signed up for a clinic with Dom Schramm next weekend and reallllly dont want a kinda lame horse.
Just too cute
Anyway, we chatted a bit about my saddle fitting woes and maybe trying pentosan for preventative maintenance and off we went to more trotting.
Tillie eventually evened out and felt MUCH better than she has lately but she kept losing her left shoulder to the outside when tracking right and falling in/leaning in on the left when tracking right. **SIGH** horses.
C had us come in and trot the smallest circle we could and then ride straight out and bigger trot to a 20m circle. Poor Tillie struggled tracking right, but tracking left she was quite easy. We did some quick leg yields to get her limbered even more and worked on the same idea from the walk, big trot - slow trot - big trot.
Tired Tillie after our first bath of the year!
Then we moved on to sitting trot and I felt like it could ride it a tiny bit better without feeling like a moron. We did the same exercise of big trot little trot using my core and a lightbulb moment happened when C said think of pulling my belt buckle up to my sternum. Also think of the "j" motion my seat bones make and keep the bounce but make the curve of the "j" smaller to keep the activity in the trot.
Tillie did this well and gave a 5-10 good active small steps before it would get too flat. C said def do this for homework, but be careful to make sure it was a good trot and not flat so dont do the small trot for too many steps in a row.
poor croup high Tillie makes this dressage stuff that much harder
Then from the small trot C had us ask for canter which C wasnt quite expecting it to happen...Tillie did a head flick into it but she did it! We did this a few times both directions and C kept saying how hard it is and was impressed how much Tillie was trying and doing it. Left lead canter we had a bit of crooked issues from me that once I fixed, Tillie fixed.
So seems like both of us need some adjusting. I am sure we will be fine, its just tough to feel good about things at the moment. I am sorta guarded...but its tricky because these times are when I find my motivation waivers when I need to be riding her more even if its just a hack - motion is lotion as Emma says ;).
This weekend the saddle fitter made her second appointment back to see us after doing some tracings and watching me ride Tillie in a few saddles. She point blankly told me none of my current saddles are working for us. Whomp whomp.
She looked at 3 of the 4 saddles I own and ruled them out as long term saddles for us and recommended shopping for something else.
You know how much of a pain in the ass it is to sell saddles? I mean, buying them is fun. Ill buy all day long if I have the money which right now is the issue...I just bought a trailer and saddle shopping was the last thing on my mind. That is until I rode in someone else's saddle at the whim of my dressage trainer and felt my horse suddenly transform from a freight train into a dancing queen (ok maybe not THAT drastic, but it was evident).
She doesnt appreciate all I do with these mare faces
So my fitter seems to be more concerned with my Stubben cross country saddle...its a smidge too wide on Tillie (though she hasnt been back sore or showing signs of discomfort) and the flap she really doesnt like on me for my length of leg. She really is stressing to replace this one first before a dressage saddle which kinda burns since I went into this fitting for a dressage saddle and threw in her looking at this one too because her pricing included multiple saddles.
I guess I asked right?!
I have had no luck selling either of my 2 dressage saddles for the last few weeks...and Ive reduced the pricing way below their market value just to unload them. I guess no one is buying right now...I have NEVER had issues selling saddles before.
When I purchased the saddle a few years ago
The fitter has recommended a kent and masters for our jump saddle and a Black Country eloquence for our dressage saddles. The price to purchase either one used let alone both is more than I have in my budget until I can sell the ones I have.
So we will see...I am also toying with having my fitter work with Hertiage bespoke and doing all custom so I get 100% what I like for both saddles at the same price point.
Luckily I dont have to rush, Tillie isnt complaining about what I am using right now but it will hurt a bit when the dressage saddle ive been borrowing from my friend is no longer around. Hence my reason for wanting to replace my dressage saddle sooner.
This past weekend was hopefully mother nature's last hurrah for winter...sick cruel joke if you ask me to have sleet/snow/rain for the first day of spring. Eventers are known for sticking it out through all weather, so we all loaded up, layered up and headed to our weekly saturday jump lesson with P.
Very wet and very cold lesson
I am not going to hide it, I was a bit of a baby after we stopped moving after warm up and in between our turn trying each exercise. But in my defense, my layers were not staying waterproof and ultimately soaked through which had me shivering and teeth chattering after a few minutes of sitting still. Tillie really didnt see to care and would have much preferred to nap instead.
#marefaces
Before our lesson, we saw the fitter to try a few different saddles to see what would work. Tillie was a star and stood patiently through the entire appointment even when it came to hopping on and off her a few times to try her moving in each one as well.
Yawning / Tired Tillie
We were hopeful as we drove to the lesson that the weather would hold off since it seemed to lighten a bit. But once we arrived it was pretty steadily coming down so we headed to the indoor to warm up. P came in and announced it wasnt doing anything that hard anymore so we should go to the outdoor ring (which is preferable with less dust and more space).
The lesson seemed straightforward, but it could have been my brain was so distracted from being wet and cold I just glazed over.
Or froze over...
I had a bit of a realization in this lesson. I really do a poor job as a rider with the approach to the first fence on course and lines the first time through...I can trot into fences all day long, but as soon as you ask me to come in cantering I just cant sit up and wait for that first fence. Exhibit A:
Before going into this, I had asked P if I could just try trotting the skinny fence since skinnies tend to be the fences Tillie sucks back and questions by fishtailing a bit. P told me quite boldly no lol and to own it and we would be fine. Clearly from the video, Tillie could have cared less.
P sent us around to try it again to clean up the first fence by using more of our turn on the approach which seemed to work well. I also rode a but more forward to the coop...which we didnt remove a stride or anything, it was more mental for me to ride her without needing to do much and let her figure it out:
So P had us string together the entire course together:
So we had a bit of a blip on the outside line...and I clearly dont know how to freakin wait with my shoulders, but Tillie was a solid citizen and saved my butt. I can see a few of the jumps where I micromanage she isnt jumping as well, but Im trying not to worry so much about her form and realize, shes getting over these without issue and isnt over faced so I need to stop.
P had us try the outside line on more time to get the striding right and man, when the forward stride works it feels so great...and it makes me realize I need to get more comfortable riding out of this forward stride now that Tillie is allowing me to half halt her without losing her mind:
I didnt really think all that much of good or bad outcome from the lesson...probably from being so could. But either way, its def one to check off for testing riding in crappy and less than ideal weather right?!
The still over the second fence of the open 3 stride line. LOVE Tillies form here :)
Being an equestrian means a lot of things to a lot of people...but for most of us that have full time jobs, our activity tends to ramp up over the weekends. Its when I teach lessons, schedule appointments for the massage therapist, chiro and acupuncturist (Those are all for my horse not me!). Its when I get to go to lessons, clinics or shows to continue to improve and grow.
GEC's finest weekend warriors... all smiles rain or shine!
That also means I never really get to have down time to do what most non-equestrians do like clean their houses (ahem horses), grocery shop or errands. Nope. My evenings and weekends are dedicated to all things horses.
I am so in love with this sport, that not having that down time is ok (my husband may disagree ;) but luckily for me he is supportive and helps me out with those things). But it really does sometimes feel like I over do it and go non-stop that by the time Sunday evening rolls around, I feel like I need another day off to just sleep, or have that massage therapist work on me too!).
Its the good kind of tired though. I feel like I have accomplished something...even when I am stressed or worrying (I am a worry warrior too remember) I can get into bed and fall asleep a little easier than most. I am not exaggerating, I dont even need a bed...Ill fall asleep sitting upright with wine still in hand.
I often hear the generalizations made about the sport and equestrians alike...sure a few (ok most) of them are true, but nothing ever replaces the network you enter into. I have made more truly supportive friends in the equestrian world than anywhere else (no I was never in a sorority but it sorta feels like my barn friends fall into that category.)
When your friend is dedicated to take this photo and video of a lesson despite it being frigid, freezing rain/snowing - Only a true equestrian gets it.
It never really occurred to me all the years riding alone, how much I needed a support system. Riding with other weekend warriors like myself has made it possible to feel good about my riding, feel encouraged and feel happy with what I am doing. I feel sad when I hear stories of barns where all there is is endless drama. Sure there is always drama at any barn, but I feel pretty darn lucky to be able to have buddies to be able to push me to try new things and get out of my comfort zone.
I bust my tail to afford this sport, as many of us do. So most of us know how important the time is we get outside of the office with our horses. Its pretty amazing when you think about all of us out there, juggling this on top of working. It requires dedication not just financially, but mentally and physically as well.
So to all the other hard working, dedicated equestrians out there. I got your back and will see you in the ring ;)
...is a lot harder sometimes than in lessons. Well duh! In lessons, I have an instructor holding my hand, giving me confidence which also gives Tillie confidence. So yea, it makes sense why the magic comes easier in lessons with the puppeting my instructors do that manipulates me and Tillie right where we need to be.
the beginnings of what we were trying to attempt (except this is the RIGHT way to do it)
The point of this post is to sort of laugh at myself and learn from my schooling ride last night with my barn mates. We had it all planned out. We would jump some jumps and set up a one stride line exercise of oxers.
Simple right? We do it every saturday in our P jump lessons...except P is there slowly building them up rather then putting them right up to the final height.
We are all smart adults...but for some reason we didnt think to go hmm maybe we should put these down to cross rails first.
So Tillie and I warm up beautifully. I let her canter out a bit more and she responded coming back nicely. My thought for this was, if I can find this balance during the show season where shes got enough gas to safely compete, but not too much she is harder to half halt Ill be golden.
Anyway, we pop over a small cross rail a few times, then a few random 2'6 ish verticals and she was fine. I worked on my release and trying to find a good distance in our rhythm and not always reverting to adding since that tends to be my go to.
The longer (non short) spot really promotes tillie to stretch better and jump up rather than over her shoulder
So after those felt good I looked at Brita and said ok lets try the one stride line (two one strides). I got a nice canter and made the turn...which in hindsight I should have circled because Tillie lost her shoulder but I closed my thigh and thought hey we got this.
Jump #1 we swiveled with Tillie taking off and seeing the other jumps and just reallllly backed off. so I landed in a heap, lost my left stirrup and in true - lets get er done fashion sat up, closed my leg and clucked her on.
Looking back to a more successful jump
We got through it. Barely. Tillie landed and cantered off like we just finished and grand prix course with my left stirrup flopping around and all. Which I was super excited about in a way because A) I ALWAYS lose my right stirrup not my left which means maybe, just maybe I am evening out from my last few schooling rides working on my own alignment and B) I didnt feel at all unseated without that stirrup which hopefully means my stickability is improving.
MMMMAAAAYBE we should have been smarter about this and opted to take turns slowly building up to a 2'6 one stride grid eh?
I cant speak for the rest of us, but I can attest that my brain wasnt all there yesterday with how stressful life has been lately in other non horsey areas so Im giving myself a "laugh it off and Ill try to use more of my brain next time".
We did ultimately lower it and go through a few more times just fine and just sort of play around to rebuild our confidence (mostly mine). I found myself not feeling too happy with Tillie being uphill enough and wondered if I was being too hard on her, accurate in what I felt or if the judge from Sunday was still in my head.
Tillie also felt a bit different when switching diagonals which leads me to believe she was a bit weaker on one of her hinds...which it felt the right hind again to me. I always worry, but am trying to chaulk it up to some pretty crummy footing probably making her sore because when I got off to check her legs and poultice her to be over the top safe, both legs felt cold as ice.
So I did feel a teeeeennnyy bit better when a barn mate said she sneaked in a video and I saw it showing Tillie jumping pretty darn uphill. So maybe I need to stop worrying so much about it and just let her figure it out:
Shes getting over stuff without having trouble, she doesnt take rails down a lot at all...so the uphill thing? Who cares (well yes it matters but I think it will come). My horse may not be a power house jumper, but she has game, is brave and does have scope even if it doesnt look all that amazing. And hey, these struggle bus rides that I apparently plan but not enough...Tillie clearly tells me what she thinks and it keeps us knowing where we need to be right?
As far as seeing my form, I now am realizing my release is getting there and my heels are too...but I now notice it isnt the release that is posing a problem, its how quickly I am sitting back in the saddle on landing. So back to the age old question of how to prevent that without my shoulders getting ahead?! UGH.
In light of a recent photo sale...I bought a few more photos of Tillie and I. Quite a few of them have pretty darn funny faces not just from Tillie, but myself as well.
I apparently am giving the next jump the stink eye and annoyed with it or something...Tillie meanwhile looks quite happy with what shes doing (tearing my arms out)
This, I believe was the last fence in the course and I must have been excited by the look on my face here that we made it out alive...I look pleasantly surprised.
Me: Oh god I am going to throw up...We arent going to be able to stop
Tillie: Oh yea more jumps?! We jump the fence to Xc right?
Relief and exhaustion...with a good girl pat for Tillie for listening.
My face here is pretty par for the course when riding...But tillie here looks pretty tired
Just a fun post :) Hopefully Ill have more riding updates later!
Sunday was our first show of the season and I really thought the nerves would get to me. Granted it wasnt a full three phase event...and I think because it was a dressage fix-a-test, I went into it thinking more or less like it was a clinic. An opportunity to learn, which I should try to channel towards ALL shows no matter what format they are. So my overall goal for 2016 - stop being so nervous for shows.
Tillie certainly wasnt nervous
It was a great way to ease into showing because of a few reasons:
it was at the same farm we go to most Saturdays for jump lessons so Tillie was familiar with the surroundings, as was I.
Trailering has become not as big a deal with how much we've been doing it lately.
Fix-a-test format meant less horses and people around crowding warm up or making the atmosphere soooo busy which can get Tillie wound up
Warm up
By the time I got to the farm to tack up, the rain had started. Not really ideal, but hey we eventers can handle a bit of rain. I fell in love with my new trailer even more after I had plenty of room and was able to get her fully tacked up in the trailer to save us both from getting too wet in that process. Tillie was a bit unsettled initially standing on the trailer without a buddy but once she got a good look around and was moving, we warmed up like a well oiled machine. I tried my best to go into warm up with a plan, keep it to a minimum and save the schooling for home. Just push the buttons, get her moving and let what we've been working on reflect itself in the test.
(This mindset is a pretty huge step for me since I have always had a tendency to approach show day tests like they have to be perfect).
Test #1
I went in confident and for the first time rode my horse in a test...what I mean by that is, she was soft and not a ball of energy like she has been in past shows and I had a much more rideable horse. I still chose to ride it smart, not pushing for too much but rode it very much like I would have at any other event (which really means reserved to make sure we dont have any bucking fits or attempts to jump out of the ring).
I was pretty pleased with the ride I got and felt it was better than average for us. Tillie was obedient despite being a bit leery of certain areas of the ring and gave a solid effort. I didnt get ANY sass in canter in or out and her trot transitions from the canter were nicer than past tests where she offered them without leaning like a freight train on me.
Here is the footage from that test:
Right after finishing the test the judge was very nice and asked how this test felt in relation to previous tests. I told her it felt pretty darn good and it was our first Novice test and that we have been doing BN up until this point. She looked a bit surprised and said, well good news is for a Novice test your ride was above average and quite good, but we will talk about how to make it better and think how this would rate at a rated/recognized show where the small stuff matters more and the competition is tougher.
Whew that surely is a relief to hear we are riding well at the level we are aiming for...
Some things she said about this test:
Nicely ridden and adored Tillie - "SUPER cool mare"
Tactfully ridden, a bit reserved and felt Tillie had a lot more swing and action to offer in her movements but could tell I was holding it back
Right side was weaker (Ill elaborate in a minute)
here is the score sheet:
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Workshop Portion
So we moved on to the discussion/fixing portion of the fix a test. The judge shocked me and said that tracking right was scored lower across the board and gave away easy points because Tillie was lowering her inside right shoulder, losing the left hind and just more inconsistent that way. Typically this is our stronger side and bending her this way tends to be easier for me. She RAVED about how beautiful her left lead canter was and then disappointed in the right lead.
whomp whomp.
So she sent us out and tried to get us lifting the right shoulder by activating the left hind. Here is where I got a bit lost if you will...maybe I am just so used to the way C teaches but nothing seemed to jive here. I found the instruction a bit vague and repetitive without really helping. Now, I admit, I can be a bit dense at times when riding in lessons because I think sooo hard so it takes a bit before the "AHA" moment happens...I clearly understood the issue, I just didnt understand clearly how to fix it based on what was being instructed.
She had me track left first so I could feel what felt correct in the trot and canter. Then switching to right rein she asked if Tillie jumps that way...whomp whomp again. I said well yes she has had a tendency to jump down hill but much less recently. (side note: I recently did a dressage clinic where the clinician asked how she jumped and was shocked when I said she isnt always uphill so goes to show it depends on the day still for us).
So the judge kept telling me to fix this side by riding it like I would approach a fence. Which isnt wrong, and I am sure works for most, but it didnt really connect for me. She also said ride the outside more but have her follow that outside connection more. This felt a bit contradictory to me, BUT I also know dressage can be when generalized, but the timing of when to do one or the other is when the magic happens. That timing to create the lift just wasnt coming under this instruction.
She recommended riding square turns at home to help fix this issue. Sure! Homework, I love that! But honestly I am quite eager to get in a lesson with C to delve deeper and get a better understanding of how she would have us fix it.
So time to think about how to change and improve the next test...I honestly walked away prepping for the second ride through to just be more brave and let tillie move out more.
Second Test
Tillie started feeling a bit tired by the time we got to ride this test. It was the first time ever I had to ride leg on leg off and really drive her forward in the trot and canter. I didnt hate it, and can attest that shes been more like this at home too which leads me to think she is just getting more rideable, but I realize I need to stay on top of our conditioning. It isnt a great feeling to ask for go and not have it from my usually hot to trot mare.
She felt pretty good again through this test. Her canter trot to canter transitions felt like they got rushed because of trying to use what the judge said, but she didnt fault us for it and even said she preferred to see that then the shortening / backing off she saw in the first test.
I felt like our center line halt salute would have scored better, but All in all felt it was a nice improvement :)
I am not entirely sure how they ribboned this show, but when my helper came running out with these my inner kid got very excited.
In conclusion, it was a great success and did exactly what I wanted and needed the show to do. 1) not be so nervous and really just ride a the test, trust Tillie and settle into a good place. Tillie was far more rideable than any other test Ive ever ridden leading me to be excited for what 2016 will bring us pending cross country schooling of course lol.
