NeI have a bit of catching up to do on sharing videos with you all so I am combining this post of my xc schoolings from last weekend and last evenings. We have been a bit busy with me wanting to really feel confirmed at prelim stuff going into the weekend.
Brother and sister stare down
Last Saturday, right from the start Tillie came out warming up super relaxed and waiting on me. It felt super comfortable and set the tone for the entire schooling. Its nice when shes like this because then I ride her more confidentially and forward like she needs to be for this level. This also was my first time schooling without a trainer there pointing at things telling me to go do it.
So picking and choosing was definitely something I had to think smartly about and feel out Tillie.
Here is some of warming up over some of the smaller stuff, but we finished off with the big table at the end! It felt nice and gave me more confidence to try the prelim stuff on my own.
This was pretty early into schooling after warming up. Tile came right up to this very confident. It was the first skinnier test of the day and she came in nicely without any worry. I knew I needed to keep my shoulders up with the terrain question.
Next we moved on to this bending line with corner/brush type fences. I knew my ride in needed to be accurate without drifting. We got a bit of an add to the second fence and it really should be a 4 stride not a 5 but we worked on this with Dom yesterday.
From here we moved on to the keyhole combo. I was very proud with how much Tillie hunted out the final skinny.
This was a fun combo to try! The first time through I came in too forward of a ride so came back and learned that I needed a better, deeper approach to the first log so we could be ready for the bending line out over the final log. It rode a lot nicer that way!
Then I felt brave and decided to give the big trakhener to the skinny a try. I knew we needed enough power to get over the trakehener but then be able to rock back and focus on the skinny. I was worried Tillie might land from the first and get too wooden before the second, but she shocked the hell out of me and coasted right along to the skinny.
Next up we moved onto banks...the dreaded banks. Its no secret that I dislike riding them despite down banks being fairly easy so long as you sit up and let your reins slip. Sounds so simple right?
But I knew I needed to conquer this because prelim drops, well, are much larger and more prominent on courses than previous levels. So I started with a bank down I did before so had that in the back of my mind to boost my confidence.
Tillie is super keen and has no issues with banks, so of course it rode just fine.
So I ran the house to bank down in reverse to add that shorter combo and timing to make sure I didn't anticipate too much and was able to keep my shoulders up. I knew I needed a deep distance into the house so she landed softly for the bank. Then we circled around to give the skinny a try that we have had issues with last year. Tillie jumped it cool as a cucumber.
We stepped up our game and did this bank complex. I remember looking at similar combos here before (they change jumps around but typically have similar questions around) and thinking wow that looks really scary. Tillie made it feel effortless. Riding this definitely turned a corner in my mind about riding banks!
Last but not least we moved on to water so I started with this slight bending line. Tillie came in a bit powerful to the log and I didn't let my reins slip enough. Luckily I sat up and recovered in time to direct her to the skinny out. NOTE TO SELF: Slip the reins!!!
I knew next I needed to conquer the larger bank into the water. At prelim there will be a combo there so I pulled up my big girl pants and gave it a try.
With that I ended our schooling for that day. Tillie gave me such try!
My kiddies
Up next (below) is a recap of our schooling last night. I don't have as much footage but will walk through the footage I do have. I wasn't feeling super great physically going into this schooling so came out of the gate riding more like a weenie. Which I believe caused Tillie to be a bit more keen to lean on me and be up to some old tricks to start like taking the bit any time she had a moment.
Dom reassured me its normal, we all have those days its just about getting the rideability you want before you go onto course. So it was actually nice it happened here so he could walked me through my XC warm up for Saturday in case she was more like yesterday's ride. He really implored when shes like that not to get too backwards. That I need to learn how to keep the forward and get her more rideable out of that forward canter without shortening it too much.
The first footage I have is this corner which she jumped great after this, but I only have the first attempt where I left her drift so she dropped her shoulder. She was still being a bit wooden at this point in the schooling but Dom talked me through it.
Up next we did the skinny brush bending line. This was the second attempt since the first one was nice and quiet, but he wanted me to come back and do it out of a more forward canter. While Dom agreed it wasn't as pretty, that's the canter we need to get smoother in these combos.
At this point I was still feeling a bit defensive and coming into this exercise was able to over come and ride it forward, but as we came to the table with it feeling a tad down hill I got a bit too greedy causing the dreaded gappy distance. We did finally manage to get the right ride, but no video footage unfortunately. This is the point in time we talked more about doing the homework of that forward ride...which until today has been better. He told me not to fret, just try to not make this the habit for Saturday which will likely be my go to with my nerves.
At this point she got much more rideable though and we gave the roller coaster complex a try. I was fully expecting issues from this one. This is the better take on it, the first one wasn't caught on film...but as a learning experience: I misunderstood Dom and rode the first time on a deep approach to the first jump causing a need to push to get to the second making the third jump just a tad less approachable.
So instead you want to come into this out of an open canter off the first with a longer take off so making the distance to the second you get that deeper ride. That way the second one backs them off on the landing so you have the adjustability to the final jump. My nit pick is I still got a bit forward in my shoulders here.
To end we went to the water like usual and we ran through this combo and small bank down. We refined my shoulders for the down bank before moving on but it felt pretty good!
Finally Dom laid it on us and had us finish with the big brush out. I was extremely skeptical we would get over the big brush at the end the first attempt but Dom confidently said as long as I got my right line, didn't let her drift and had the right canter she would do it.
Of course he was right!
So here's to hoping she feels ready and I feel ready on the big day.
Fair warning, this will be a longer post that really dives into details so I can have an in depth account of my XC lesson yesterday. Mostly because I feel like Tillie and I are in another growing pain stage where we are pushing more outside our comfort zone to improve, so it feels a bit discombobulated. But I want to revisit this for my own merit so this lesson takeaway is my new mantra until we get it right.
Dressaging earlier this week after a storm...
I was so excited when Dom finally got back to me upon his return from his travels early Monday and said he could do a lesson Tuesday at windurra farm. With our approaching move up to Training this weekend I was really wanting one more jump lesson...and I was happy to jump on it being an XC one too since I feel the most unprepared in this phase at this moment.
So much water...but we needed it!
The ground was perfect after the rain we've gotten and boy did we need it. The ground has been so hard this season I was a bit concerned about continuing many events this year. But we finally got some rain so walking around at Windurra right away I was happy with how much better it was.
Tillie sees jumps in our field...this will become our homework after yesterday.
Its been a while since seeing Dom, and I admitted to him that Tillie and I feel like we've reverted to some of our bad habits...also mostly because some of my trust has slipped in her after the fall despite it not really being her fault. Ive fallen into the trap of trying to help her too much which allows her to lean on my hands and brace which helps no one. Dom laughed and understood completely and agreed when he rode her too shes a bit tricky regardless in that she does seek out "help" and used the most perfect analogy and it also happens to be the very theme of this lesson and the forefront of what we will be tackling:
Stronger or hot horses tend to make a rider want to ride half halting or holding all the time, similar if he said "hey, the brakes in my truck only work 1 out of 3 times you use them...you'll probably start break checking quite frequently to ensure you can stop"
Warming up
The trick is getting out of that mentality as far as horses go and use the other tools you have around you to get them to balance and slow down. So for us Dom wants me to start relying more on my turns and the approach to get it right and not fall into the trap of straight approaches and using my reins to get the right distance.
He made another excellent point that we need to find the happy medium between always me trying to get the perfect distance and letting the horse figure it out, but that comes with time and practice.
Get the gist yet? :)
Basically in a nut shell, stop using my half halts so frequently. Let Tillie make the mistake at times, but also let her carry herself. Use the turn to get the right distance and sometimes it will require pushing for it to get deep rather than holding the canter back.
If you arent bored to tears yet, Im going to go ahead and post my videos and break down each portion we schooled and what we worked on.
Warm up:
Here Dom is discussing using my turn better to get the distance. I went a bit too far out for his liking and wanted me to turn a bit closer so we dont have so many straight strides for the purpose of this exercise:
A little bit better, Tillie is still very excited and pulling at this point:
Using the turn finally the way Dom wanted us to and using my body over hands to set her up:
Putting together two jumps and incorporating turning
The first time through we achieved what Dom wanted at the first fence, but the second we had a bit of that flying distance Tillie likes to do if I hold too much. I probably needed to half halt harder on the outside rein father back in the turn, then be quieter:
Second time was better even being on the wrong lead:
Just a warm up over the small one which Dom wanted us very collected.
He wanted us to come back around and open up our stride more over the larger ditch then ride to the brush, but we didnt quite get there and stayed too compressed.
So he had us do it again:
It was at this point I believe he was starting to get me thinking about related distances and riding more prepared for the second fence rather than the first thing we are jumping. It didnt quite set it until a bit later.
Here is where we started really breaking down the accuracy question a skinny jump presents. Dom had me start with smaller logs and practice getting the right ride before sending us right over the larger wider skinny brush. He did have us walk up to too to present Tillie to it and introduce her.
Basically Dom said this one you want to ride sitting in the tack. You use the turn, get your ride and push to it but most horses will run out right at that last stride when most riders start to get into a 2-point. So he stressed to really ride it until her front legs lifted.
Hey - we know I have no issues riding defensively.
The next goal was the type of approach to it for your horse. You need to have just the right canter, not too forward or too compressed, but they need to be between both legs and pushing right to the base which we sometimes get that flyer when overthinking this...
Like so:
^^ basically exactly NOT how to ride it
So we try again and kind of over did it:
So Dom encouraged just find something in the middle:
He was satisfied with that and then sent us around to the double brush skinny:
Not going to lie, I feel pretty bad ass for accomplishing this one!
LOVE this still!
Before I could relish in how awesome it was, Dom sent us around to ride the corner to the skinny. He broke down how to ride it and it was definitely a more skinny and true "corner" than any other one weve ridden before:
You can see we hit the flag pole so my leg came back with it a bit...but Dom said he was impressed with our recovery.
Next up, how to ride a larger wider fence then compress for the tighter shorter stride combos we may start seeing at Training level. Dom warned me the first jump was much larger then it appeared so I needed to have a nice forward enough canter to it to make the width and let her gallop a few strides but use a quick half halt but be soft and get a compressed canter for the one stride at the angled roll / offset roll tops:
We got in a bit too deep so we came back just to do these again:
We moved on to a baby ditch combo where Dom said for these, you dont want to come in too under powered either because the one stride for this was quite longer. He also warned the jump had a bit of a downhill landing so not to let myself get pulled forward like I tend to happen when I hold too much with my reins:
Tillie put her foot in the ditch this first time lol, so we came to do it again, but otherwise Dom liked the ride and approach.
Second time:
This way coming in, made more sense to me as a rider. I struggled a bit more when we came back and did this combo in reverse. Once again, too much holding and trying to get deep or that perfect spot:
So we try again to no avail since my response was to try to sit her back more:
Dom finally said something that clicked about getting to the base doesnt always mean wait or add...it sometimes means the push. So we try one more time:
Dom was pleased with this one and said we came in a similar way all three times, but the way I rode it changed the way the combo rode. Try more for adding the leg not bring the canter back...which for me is sooo hard when I am lacking that trust in Tillie.
After the fence in the water Dom wanted us to do these skinny brush fences in a line around to a water combo. which we got a bit stuck at the brush fences when we ran into the same issue of Tillie not wanting to wait.
Part of it was being unbalance with the wrong lead around the turn, but Dom has us do it again and make it educational for her:
So we came back one more time just to set it in stone:
Which finally was our get out of jail free card to continue to do the water combo which Dom pressed to make sure I keep my eyes up and not let them drop on landing (another bad habit of mine) and really keep my shoulders up:
It went quite well! Dom did say he was pleasantly surprised with how well I stayed up and didnt get caught up with getting pulled forward with my shoulders. Tillie got quite excited with this combo!
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Corners Bending line
We ended the day with two corners on a slight bending line. The first attempt we took a bit long spot for the 5 but Dom didnt completely dislike it, but wanted us to try more for a controlled accurate distance and add for the 6:
All in all, I am proud of Tillie being so game...and doing well despite my slight hesitation. I am not quite on my A game like I have been earlier this season, but I am starting to feel some of my mojo come back. I wouldnt say I am nervous and scared when seeing jumps, But I am back to riding defensively. So I need to work on trusting Tillie again and I DO believe when we get there, my position woes will also come with it.
Our homework is to go home when we can and jump outside the ring, in a field where we can use the turns to help with distances and focus on not pulling so much. When Tillie does use other tools to get her to listen.
It has been far too long since I have been able to make it out to a jump lesson with P. I finally caved and we got one on the books for last night which typically we dont do weeknights. A little distance isnt a bad thing...because it was nice to catch up with P and talk about what she has seen improved, what she see still needs work and actually get to work!
Sleepy Tillie and Wick
It has been such a long time I found myself getting anxious in anticipation to see P and wondering if Tillie would even remember being at this farm. Tillie was fine, and has become such a pro at new places (minus the whole dressage part). She hacked out to the ring with her head so low and relaxed I thought she might face plant.
She warmed up wonderfully, which after the previous day's ride was a pleasant surprise. What is so nice about lessons with P is the small stuff I usually work on for dressage I can sort of let melt away and test its staying power here...also for both Tillie and I to let loose and NOT have to stress about the small stuff every single ride.
Gettin it! Tillie didnt even bat an eye at the corner
We warmed up over an outside line and Tillie hit the striding dead on. P sent us around to warm up over the skinnies...Tillie just jumped over them like no biggie guys - which is awesome considering skinnies tend to be the rare time where she questions.
Video of the skinnies:
Next P has us jump a three jump line which rode in 3 strides each...the middle jump was at an angle though so we had to jump it almost slicing it. I knew Tillie wouldnt be bothered by this at all and just sit up and maintain an even 3.
The second part we got a bit short, but P admitted her set up was off but liked how Tillie adapted despite that. She adjusted it and said we would get to do it again when we did the entire course.
Then P pulled out the corner which I felt fine with, but knew I would have to come in really tall and confident since it was skinny. To my surprise Tillie ate it right up:
P put the jumps up a bit higher and sent us through a course. I realize in hindsight that I need to start getting better about riding distances when height changes...I am bad about this in the moment. BUT what was cool about my fails, Tillie really stepped up to the plate and showed me how much shes grown up. While there were some looooong distances which got Tillie a bit flat, what I really likesd was how well she recovered and excited that now we can start getting better at finding the right distance.
All in all it felt really good. P seemed to be pleased and really didnt have much feedback other than the obvious ride more to the base but felt that I did a good job when she didnt recovering and fixing it for the next one and reassured me it would come with more miles for both of us. She agreed based on what we talked about the Training level was within our sights and we chatted about the possibility of trying it out at the recognized event this farm hosts since we know it and can school it before they close off the course.
P actually said she felt height wasnt the issue for us, but rather the questions out XC since she hasnt seen us go XC yet. Can we do coffins? Banks into water etc... But promised we would try sometime soon to try to get out there and start testing the waters.
So we shall see! Where ever we are thats feelin this good is where we will be.
