This is a bit of an overdue post but if you read my last post you'll notice the theme of "lacking motivation" sort of carrying through...
This post will cover my last productive ride on my horse before her feet became too terrible and her feet too sore to expect a good effort. I did attempt a dressage lesson a few days after in the hopes that amazing footing would make it feasible but she was still quite unhappy, SO...shes been having some days off with some therapy on her feet to help her out :)
packing those feetsies
I am super happy with this new farrier and confident shell be back at it in a few days. She was already wayyyy better immediately following her trim yesterday just slightly tender on her left front which required more foot to be taken off than ideal with how shelly her foot was.
Anyway, before that started, I have been really focused on building my position over fences so its stronger and where it needs to be so Tillie can jump the best she can.
I convinced a good friend of mine to set up the infamous one stride grid for us which is not only beneficial for me, but Tillie too.
My form on the front side of the fence isnt bad!!
Grabbing mane on this one - hence the tenser shoulder
It was supremely beneficial for me and it was nice to have someone there to talk me through new ways to manipulate my body. I know I tend to grip with my thighs and I also realized I hunch terribly on the landing side:
like so
So off to work we went!! There were some break throughs, a lot of noise making on my part and Tillie was feeling quite good about herself through this whole thing.
What do you find helps you with your bad habits over fences? Do you do anything you want to fix?
Its been a few days since this at-home jump school so I am hoping I don't miss anything...I also realized too that its been quite a while since schooling at home on my own outside of a lesson or a show. What is interesting about that, is obviously things are a bit different...you dont have to get it done like you do at a show and you dont have someone coaching you when in a lesson.
One of the better moments/fences with nicer position
So definitely more room for error, but also more room to experiment. Which I am trying to do in the hopes of refining my position over fences.
In addition to this, I am also going to be trying to take lessons on other horses in the hopes I can shake things up and see if that helps at all as well. I am pretty fortunate Tillie is pretty game and tolerant of this stuff. She has her moments, dont get me wrong where she tells me I messed up, but she really seems to be ok even when I royally mess up...she doesnt miss a beat and she comes right back around to the jump all business and confident. I am extremely grateful for that since I know some other horses are trickier rides in instances like that and would back off or lose confidence.
Definitely not lacking and confidence here!
I jacked up my stirrups one more hole to the top hole per Dom's suggestion. I was a bit worried at first that they would be too short/uncomfortable, but after the initial getting used to it, I didnt really notice.
I notice that when I get too forward with my upper body before take off, my lower leg does come back, but for the most part I think that has gotten better. My main issue remains being too grippy with my knee and thigh once Tillie's hind feet leave the ground. So I need to do some serious homework in hunter land and channel equitation-like form.
Trying to fold more so I can release more...but not lay on Tillies neck either
The gripping is something I also do when cantering in dressage, so I have been working hard with C on that as well. Unfortunately the last few lessons I havent been able to convince anyone to come to be able to video...which bums me out because C lessons ALWAYS end up being so packed with knowledge I know I miss that I like re-watching. Its almost like getting my lesson all over again. I also am positive there would be noticeable change in Tillie and I really would love to be able to see it and see what it looks like compared to what I am feeling.
Anyway, thats an entirely different post ;)
Dressage makes Tillie sleepy...arent her big ears just the cutest?!
So here are the videos of us jumping...some misses, but overall I think pretty good! Any misses were totally rider error on my part and I am super please with how well Tillie is jumping. I also am excited shes getting better about getting that left lead!! Not 100% yet but definitely improving now that Dom helped us with straightness.
To wrap it all up, Tillie has been getting massages from my sponsor, Ashley Lynn Moorhouse Equine Services and I couldnt be happier with how Tillie feels. Its a clear difference and our recent dressage lesson the day after was by far the loosest in Tillie's back ever...to the point sitting trot on my part was back to being laughable.
She got one Monday after our derby and she was definitely sore...but Wednesday she was much improved!
In my post yesterday, I outlined my monthly goals going into March (RECAP HERE).
My biggest struggle right now is related to consistently being able to release over fences enough to allow Tillie to stretch. I have a hard time with this because her neck is fairly short, so I need short enough reins to have a good feel for her and keep her in the contact for flatting between the fences.
So lets take a look at few recent photos of us over fences to review:
Out of all the photos above, the first one is the ONLY one where my hands are not planted at her wither. I also notice in all of them, even the higher heights my hip angle doesnt really change all that much. I stay really upright in my upper body, which is always a BAD thing...but it certainly isnt allowing me to get those longer /lower arms.
P suggested to lower my hands on each side of her neck and that would help, but clearly I am stuck in this position and no fence or change of anything causes me to adjust.
I do not want to lay on my horses neck like Ive seen all too many times...but I do think I have a stiffness somewhere or this safe place of balance (not unlike Tillie when we dressage) that I havent quite been able to branch out of and trust.
So I guess I need to figure out how to do this...and how to not get too quick with my upper body on the approach but get more comfortable once we do take off and land.
So back in December, I published goals and would like to try to establish monthly goals (see the post here). With the crazy weather we have had this winter, I sort of slipped in keeping up on choosing and writing about them...but here is my best attempt to try again.
Remember when this goal? to canter a fence in stride without holding or using reins for tempo?
This was the first time being able to do that and it was HUGE!
Here is a recap of my December goals:
Learn how to ride in double reins in the pelhamCheck! In fact, I havent needed to jump in it for a while now :) Lets hope it stays that way once we go back to the outdoor ring again.
Ride at least 4x per week despite work being nutty this month - This didnt exactly happen all winter, but the weather and a frozen ring were the culprit
Improve auto/crest release - I think this is improving, but it needs to be more second nature before I consider this accomplished. Especially after our twisting and turning jump lesson when my release wasnt that great.
even here hands are still stuck right at her wither.
Get Tillie more maneuverable in canter I am considering this done after our last dressage lesson(recap here), although I dont think we are confirmed with this goal yet...we did achieve it so the goal is now to maintain it!
UPDATED MONTHLY GOALS: (Pending weather)
Ride at least 2 days on crummy weather weeks, but at least 3-4 days if it isnt bad weather
Heels down over fences, especially on landing
Improve release over fences (maybe fold more in the hip without getting too quick with my upper body?)
I am trying to limit my goals so they are more attainable...but the last one # 3 is where Id like to start a discussion, but Ill save that for my blog post tomorrow.
What I love and hate about winters here is how up and down the weather can be...one day youll have fifty degree sunshine and the next frigid and frozen. This last Saturday for our jump lesson we happened to be on the kinder warmer day and lots of snow melting!
Tillie says I am ready!
I took the opportunity to practice self loading a bit more with Tillie before leaving...just going on and off, going partially on and standing and then backing partially off and waiting. Tillie was a good girl and it helped with her impatience of standing in the trailer before leaving. She can stand beautifully once we get where we are going, but at home will paw and get antsy. Not a huge deal at all...but something if we can work on it, why not.
We were solo this week in the trailer with our usual trailer mate out of town, but Tillie really didnt care.
Trailering alone means more hay more me!
It was pretty uneventful, which I am really starting to love. We tacked up and this time, I didnt even bring my pelham as a "just-in-case-we-need-it" and I had a moment of crap what I we do...but decided to start giving Tillie the benefit of the doubt and just go with it.
All professional and business now...who needs the pelham!?
We had a much smaller group this lesson with a lot less going on...so it was really nice and quiet. No distractions really and the atmosphere just felt really relaxed and much less tense. I noticed re-watching the videos that I had a much longer rein and trust in Tillie which lead to a much happer looser and relaxed Tillie.
Happy as a clam
Warming up on the flat Tillie seemed a bit inconsistent...just mistepping here or unbalanced there. Not hugely, just minor things that she would give a little head shake at threatening to be bad. First transition into canter she did a mini explosion, but for her it was just a matter of letting her get the wiggles out and then she was perfectly quiet when we did a few more both ways.
She really wanted to suck behind the bit and trick me into grabbing at her. In the confined space like this indoor she is really tricky - She likes to have me help her, but doesnt want the contact to be too heavy or a certain type depending on where we are in the ring. I tried not to play into it and just stayed steady and let her sort it out.
Nice Knees!!!
So P set up an outside 3 stride line to warm up over and we trotted up to it pretty darn consistent and without rushing...Tillie jumped both like she hasnt seen a fence before but landed quiet and together so just one more time over it was fine. Here is one of the warm up attempts through the line:
I love in the indoor I can ride Tillie forward without worrying about the other side. The indoor naturally makes her more aware and careful making it way more pleasant. The 3 strides rode really nice and smoothly.
P put them up to about 2'6 and then added a jump on the opposite outside line with a barrel under it and had us try this line. Tillie was pretty whatever and unphased by it:
I love having these videos to watch back because I can reflect and almost get more bang for my buck and experience my lesson all over again. Not to mention, visually see what works and what doesnt. I noticed this lesson Tillies form is really getting better! She is stretching out over more of the fences and starting to use herself better.
My equitation woes look like they have helped improve my own form too!
P built on this other outside line and added another fence making it a 2 stride. It gave the horses a bit more to think about and required a bit more of a push ride. I tend to prefer trotting to jumps with Tillie's old tendency to get too forward. I know I need to let this go because she has proven she isnt a nut job anymore, but old habits die hard and this line I really was unsure about cantering in. Luckily, Tillie ate it up and again was pretty chill about it. I LOVED her form over the first fence in this line:
A Still of us over the barrel...Really proud of my equitation! and look Tillie is stretching out!
P then set up two fences in the middle of the ring that eventually would make up a course. I love that she sets these things up, has us jump them individually or in pieces before doing them all together in a course. Good thing because these jumps were a bit more narrow then Tillie is used to (I believe they were 8ft poles rather then the 12ft) and she questioned the gate the first time. It was barely anything, and kind of adorable...I simple said "no no" and encouraged with a little squeeze and she said "well ok":
The hogsback was a ton of fun! Mostly becasue it was the one I was the most skeptical to jump since it looked like soooo much. But it rode really nicely.
I think Tillie has a secret Hunter buried deep somewhere we are tapping into.
P put the diagonal fences up (the hogs back she said was 2'9) and then had us try piecing together the 2 stride outside line with the diagonal fences trying to think about riding a nice approach. Tillie and I really found our groove at this point and the distances came easy. Usually I need to count out loud and loudly to keep a rhythm and sort a distance out. Tillie was all business and really not giving any care to the higher height of the fences:
Big smiles from me! That last fence was just a moment so in tune with each other it felt sooooo good.
After this run through P changed how we were running the course making the turns much tighter....These diagonal fences subsequently because trickier more technical rides. P told us we had to ride more forward through the corner and really sit on the outside hind leg to keep them balanced through the turn. P had us thinking about counter bending through the turn to keep them straighter so their hind legs didnt squirt out behind them losing impulsion:
Our little blip was my error after the hogs back and not setting Tillie down enough and committing to the change. She does tend to get bracey and rather then sit and make her do it before the corner, I tried not to micromanage, but it turned into me not riding enough. Because I got the change so late tillie questioned the gate again, but was a good, honest girl and took it anyway.
Pay attention Mom!!!
Notice this round, P changed the first 3 stride line to become a two stride with the second fence an oxer. This helped getting balance back and regrouping happen a little easier for the tight turn to the hogs back.
Soaring over the oxer.
P had me try the diagonal lines one more time to make sure I got the change sooner, unfortunately the first part got missed, but I did get the simple change before the corner!:
All in all, I was super please with this lesson. Tillie and I both seemed to be on the same page and when I lacked Tillie picked up the slack like a seasoned pro. I am so impressed with how much shes improved and this footage from this lesson showed her form becoming much more consistent. Sure she still wants to curl under herself still at times, but shes stretching sooo much better and really sitting now. Here's to hoping this snow they are calling for isnt THAT bad or misses us so we can keep working at it!
Its hard to remember the fact that my first jump lesson with Tillie was less then a year ago. It was in an indoor when we could only ride 1-2x a week with the frozen ground...I also have to remember that, in the not so distant past, most rides where more "exciting" then not, even when we only flatted. They were riddled with a rushing and non-rhythmic trot, exuberance in the canter and just general over the top sass. The trot rhythm and tempo being the hardest thing for us.
Still trying out this double rein thing.
I say this to remind myself because I often get stuck in where we are now and feel defeated that progress isn't happening - at least not fast enough in my mind. While I am feeling a bit less excited at the moment in both Tillie's progress and my own, I must admit that being here in the land of boring is O.K.
Sure, we are not uphill enough yet...our canter isnt balanced all the time...she jumps too flat and from the shoulder, BUT at least at this point, we are doing these things with much less attitude and more understanding of our job and what is expected.
The only sass moment from our lesson...so things are 100% boring ;)
For Tillie, trying to get her to chill the fuck out and be boring has seemed to be my number one objective all along. It has caused me to ride very defensively and Tillie to get angry which starts a viscous cycle. I watch some of my videos and tear us both to shreds and hone in on every last bit of feedback we get to the point of agonizing over it. NOT GOOD and it really isnt helping me by doing this.
What I am currently agonizing over, yet again, is her jumping form over fences and her general way of going which has the tendency to be downhill. We had our weekly jump lesson with P and she remarked how quiet Tillie looked, but she was still jumping too flat and not really pushing like she should be.
Found this gem from last winter...yes its a bit over exaggerated and Tillie taking the long spot, but its a good example of the jumping flat and not round.
Instantly I get myself all worked up because who wants to have a horse that cant jump? I mean she jumps and is super willing (sometimes way too eager) but as an eventer you want a horse that jumps well and safely for both of your sake. Ill give her credit, she is athletic enough that shes gotten by at this point and clears fences fairly easily but we are only jumping max 2'11 right now...most days closer to 2'6 or 2'7. My fear is that there will come a point this poor form will make or break whether or not shes can do this.
Leave it to me to take a perfectly fine lesson or ride and freak out...things calm down, get boring and I get all edgy and jumpy from the residual PTSD I have from the first year of owning this horse when I constantly had to look over my shoulder for a phone call she was injured yet again.
I do not like drama yet I seem to create it for myself.
The moment you forget to finish a portion of the exercise
There will always be something for us to work on. Horses and training are never ending, but I have this awful way of taking what that next thing we need to work on is and turning it into my this anxious worry that my horse wont be my partner in crime.
I want to reach my top goals on her. The far out ones like getting to a 1* and I would love for her to be a horse people see and go, man what a nice horse that is. I know the latter of that statement is me looking for validation...but I do still feel as though Tillie doesnt really get noticed when we go places and it makes me feel like maybe she isnt something special.
My weird tense riding at its finest.
I know that is my downfall and its something I should make a goal every month for the rest of the year to work on.
It doesnt help that I recently noticed a few things that are causing some concern (which seems to just make me that much more edgy and prone to being over anxious on all other things Tillie related).
Tillie has intermittently been off her grain. She always will eat her hay in her stall eagerly..but she has never been a picky eater or one to do this.
She is incredibly back sore. I feel like such a bad mom for not noticing because she hasnt been...back sore to the point I just lightly touch her and she buckles and dips so hard I worry she might fall over
Horse cant balance and stand in the freaking trailer
Tillie still seems eager to work and quiet.
I attribute #1 to the increased amount of work and more frequent hauling...I already started her on ulcer treatment BUT with her not eating her food that has it in it doesnt really do anything. I unfortunately think I need to invest in some of the paste which is like 2x more expensive.
#2 I have no idea yet what the cause is but talking with Emma shes talking me off the ledge and we are sort of leaning towards the fact shes been in much more aggressive work and jumping the most frequently she ever has. So basically like us when we start using new muscles get sore. I want to believe this to be the case with her still going so well and jumping so quietly. I fear it may be saddle fit issue, the new pelham bit or, worse yet, the hind end lameness I delt with last year possibly coming back to haunt me and its showing up here first. I have not decided my next course of action yet for this...I think I need to calm the fuck down before making any decisions or spending money of a vet if its isnt needed.
3 I will elaborate more on below...
When your horse canters over fences rather then jumps.
So back to our lesson Saturday, I had to haul us there with Emma being back in business on Izzy! Woo!! But Tillie HATES my trailer and cant stand up to save her life around turns...In another friends that is wider it isnt an issue at all. In Emmas she would mostly for slower turns after being stopped or really slow. BUT for some reason in my little straight load is the worst and you can see her shoulders flying all around, her head goes flying side to side and it just generally looks unpleasant. I have no idea why she still even loads because I KNOW how much she hates not being balanced. I have started using shipping boots for fear shes going to slice herself open in her scrambling.
I have no idea how to remedy this other then keep hauling and hope she figures it out.
Bitch please, Im fabulous
Other then that we tacked up with a lot of her looking around and just disregarding my space (a few good checks on that she was fine) and hacked up to the ring like a pro. I am so pleased with how well shes gotten this part down since the first few times she was so jumpy and jigging the entire way up there.
This was my first attempt to jump in double reins. It is really apparent I need a curb rein and my current one is way too bulky/uncomfortable, but it was good enough to attempt and P commented that this bit has really seemed to mature Tillie. She know seems to understand her job and despite occasional sass its usually when shes calling me out on something I screwed up.
Tillie went through every exercise like it was no big deal...watching back the videos from this lesson though it is really apparent just how flat and low she is jumping AND just in general my lack of equitating even on the flat. WTF?! Just a few lessons ago I felt like it was better and now my heel is up and my back is hunches and my shoulders are so tense I look like a tool.
All in all the lesson was long!! a good 2 hours at least with a lot of standing around and catching up which was wonderful...it was a solidly boring ride from Tillie made not boring from all of my woes.
so anyway here is the video mash up of some clips a student of mine capture (sorry for the poor quality, Emma and I are definitely going to put her in videoing boot camp!)
Friday was my last lesson of the season with my trainer D since the migration to Aiken for the local eventers has started. It was a challenging one, but really appropriate one to leave us with since the lesson left many things to be desired but also many things to appreciate.
See you next season! Hopefully 2016 will be just as awesome for growth, but maybe a little less painful...
Our lesson was all about grids. Grids are so wonderful for so many reasons from educating the horse, to fixing rider form, to confidence issues...but it also happens to feel like a human blender. So I am really happy Emma made it out to help video because it certainly appeared better then it felt.
We spent very little time discussing flatwork this time (Hopefully that means it was just that much better?!) but D did have us work a bit at the canter to get her more through and scolded me a bit for letting my inside rein go before she really gives. So basically the idea is correct, but I need to work on feeling it better otherwise it doesnt achieve anything.
Well duh...
So we warmed up over a part of the grid to start and Tillie did not understand bounces and that adding an extra stride means its no longer a bounce. But we finally figured it out.
Then the fun part and D goes, well ok now the whole thing...
It just was a blooper shoot from the first fence and for the first time really messing up in a D lesson, rather then getting too much in my head about it, I laughed it off.
Thank god Tillie kept her head up and acted as an air bag...
Sometimes all you can do is laugh.
I was prepared the next time through though and, while it wasnt perfect, we completed the entire grid without wobbling, teetering or having airbags deploy.
So we came through again to try to smooth things out:
You can tell by now Tillie is starting to understand the exercise and starts to carry herself through more without needing me to push for forward. While I can sit here and rip my own equitation to shreds, I will not and just console myself with it will get better the more I do these grids.
So D then put the oxer up and widened it finally adding a pole diagonally across which to me seemed to read more like a table or xc fence. I have seen him use this before at home jump schooling, so was neat to see it put to use here.
Then we changed direction and came through the entire thing the other way towards the gate "home" so I knew she would be more willing to move forward through the exercise. Can we also just pause here to take a minute to laugh at that statement...wanting more forward from my horse, who normally, is tearing the reins from my hands because she doesnt want to slow down.
Anyway, here is the first attempt the new direction:
At one point we really missed the distance coming in and it involved some hairy moments...it wasnt caught on video sadly, but Emma commented on how I let the reins slip out, sat taller and let Tillie ride out the exercise to figure it out. Basically I rode less and did everything D is begging me to do every other time haha. Hey at least its in there!
So we came through at the trot one more time where she caught one fence pretty hard with her hind legs...but at this point she was pretty sweaty with how abnormally hot it was so didnt fault her too hard there...and because her trot right before this time through looked fancy as all get out.
To be sure she really understood, D had us try it at the canter so here is the first attempt where we had a nice forward canter but because D had me "let go" of my reins earlier, I could feel myself tense and you can see Tillie went through this much quicker then some of the other attempts:
So of course we had to do it again with the same energy just a bit more relaxed which has to be one of my more favorite "win" moments captured from this lesson.
At this point you can see Tillie getting a bit flatter over the fences as she was getting pretty tired...she wasnt blowing or anything, but as I mentioned earlier, it was really warm out so she was hot and sweaty. She hasnt had any issues sweating with her winter coat until this lesson so I havent clipped her, but will watch that with the next few days and see if it continues when the weather gets cold in the next few days.
But in true D fashion, it isnt over until you do it right both ways or off both canter leads so he had us go through one more time off the right lead canter. I was really trying hard to nail it the first time through for Tillie's sake, and I am so glad we did!
So all in all it was a positive learning experience...some interesting moments and some pretty glaring form issues on my part, BUT I had a controlled horse that didnt lose it even though she started off a bit heavy on me. In the past when she gets like that we would have lessons where I would want to cry every time D would want to send us back through lol.
So big hugs to Tillie :) And she got started on her ulcer treatment today so should hopefully get her bit less grumpy about tacking up.
Tillie and I had one more lesson going into this weekend. I left this one feeling satisfied and still in good spirits! Which right now, feeling accomplished and good after a ride is the ultimate goal.
Luckily for me, Tillie has been on point and allowing me to concentrate more on me. She has been far surpassing my expectations and all of my trainers lately it seems!
Tillie says this is easy!
So this Friday we did a gymnastics lesson that Tillie totally ate up while we focused more on my form. I really struggle with dropping her at the last second and something with my body over the last fence that instantly makes Tillie go wild.
I still see stiffness in my shoulders and butt not back enough which indicates a weak core.
So we worked on me staying taller and hands staying off her neck to get out of that safety blanket. I am still hunching/collapsing in my core...so I having a hard time finding the balance between staying taller in my body and folding at the hip as well as not sitting too soon for landing.
I guess it doesnt look too bad...lol but I have faith we will keep improving.
Some videos from the end:
Yesterday our farm hosted a fun Combined training show and I decided afterwards to sneak in a ride. I jumped around the Novice course and was just smiling like a big kid...Miss Tillie jumped everything no questions, slices, bending lines...whatever I threw at her. She ate it up and it feel easy and fun. WOOOO!!! there was a time jumping her was slightly nightmarish...heavy on the marish. So just getting on a schooling like it was no big was refreshing and again a huge help to keeping my confidence on track.
The last two rides I have been trying to focus on just going with the flow...not overthinking too much but also not letting things slide either. Tillie is way too smart to let things go. The trick for me is trying to the find the balance between taking it serious enough but also not too seriously.
I have been trying to ride with music lately and it has seemed to help. I tend to get so in my head I sort of realize I am tuning the music out at times. So I shake it off, take a breath and focus on the beat. It sounds silly, but its been working.
Between Tillie's attempts to mutilate herself, I have managed to get a few rides in since my last post.
Look Mom I'm trying to be like Harry Potter
We have also had quite the heat wave here but it hasnt stopped Miss Tillie or made her worse for wear. Ill break down what I have been working on for myself and then what I have been working on for Tillie (I know both relate so I will do my best to separate for the sake of making it easier to skim!)
What I have been working on for myself
Primarily:
Even hands - Left hand has this tendency to drop lower and be uneven
Tucking my butt under myself so my lower back isn't perched
Stepping into my right stirrup without bracing and skiing on that leg
Jumping flaws I've been wanting to fix:
Hunching on landing
Toes out, jumping ahead, swinging lower leg
Not giving enough release
Winging out toes and sitting too soon indicating weak lower leg and core
Hands rise the last few strides to a fence - anticipating
Hands drop the last stride at a fence (yes both of hand issues have happened simultaneously and its quite the skill)
Tip forward/lead with shoulders up to the fence
See told you I am up to no good ;)
What I have been working on for Tillie:
Taking the bigger step behind for more push and impulsion
Keeping the shoulders up no matter what we are doing (especially after landing on jumps)
Not bracing on my inside rein
Canter to trot transitions without needing hand
My ride yesterday:
Yesterday I rode and focused the first 30 minutes just on me. The whole hand thing I listed and all... Then worked on adjustability in our walk and trot...slow smaller steps to larger steps (without going fast and flat) I have tried to get out of our safety zone of the 20 meter circle and try serpentines and changing directions to really test acceptance of the aids. At first she would get a bit tight in her back through the change but by the end was perfect - in relative terms of course.
Next, I did trot to canter transitions without holding her and really stepping into my inside leg (boy is that hard!). She somehow lost the ability to come back to trot just on my seat which was frustrating since the last few rides shes done them flawlessly. BUT we took a break and I decided to test our jumping to see if our flat work is paying off.
Jumping from a more forward canter
Lets break it down:
Approach stayed in rhythm, hands are stable and I am sitting tall. Tillies shoulders are up!!! WOOOO!! Some tension though in my shoulders and lower back still.
Hands are the same! But tension in the lower back...at least I waited and didnt jump ahead right?
Good with the lower leg, still see tension though which is preventing a bigger release. Reins are better and much longer than usual but will become an issue with higher fences if I dont release better.
Siiting too soon still, only slightly hunching though! Lower leg isnt pushing forward and water skiing as much
ANNNNNND back to tension and hands coming back, at least my upper body is up and tillie isnt on the forehand.
Still with the hands **head desk** but Tillie is taking a nice big stride without being downhill
And just telling her how smart she is
Another "such a smart pony" because the downward transition after this was spot on with no hand!
