Upping the Game

Since this last weekend, I am still riding the excitement of nailing the Training Level course at Waredaca. It gave me the confidence boost I needed to know we can do it and that stepping out of my comfort zone is starting to pay off...and its starting to feel a little more comfortable and not so out of the safe-box. 

Rocking the B element of a bending line

I chose to give Tillie both Monday and Tuesday off as a reward...and myself for that matter. I dreaded what I would get yesterday when I finally hopped back on her. At least it was dressage day with my favorite dressage trainer, C, and was hoping Tillie would showcase some of her less than stellar behavior we can sometimes get at shows so C could walk me through how to handle it.

Tillie usually shows up for C lessons all business and ready to work...which is GREAT but I would like the help on how to ride her when she starts testing me or is hyped up.

Like when she sees her friends and wants to gallop out to them

Sure enough, as soon as I got on her, I could tell we had some defensiveness happening...my last lesson with C went quite well but we established the need to re-treat Tillie for ulcers. After putting her on a 5-day test with Ulcer Guard tubes...she was a different, much softer horse. 

I of course ran out on Sunday morning so the ducking behind the contact was back. That is not an answer I have missed miss Tillie.

A good moment towards the end of our lesson

When Tillie gets like this its a little bit like she tests me...or as C puts it: "Im not touching you...." in the most annoying, goading voice ever. Its hard for me not to get frustrated, but C reassured me and coached me into being patient. Rather than using the quicker half halts we normally need, use longer and slower ones to promote her elongating and going into the contact. 

This ride was a lot more about getting her more honest in the bridle and more consistent even if it meant letting her get a bit lower in the poll to allow her to lift her whither, THEN let her come up...the trick being to let her do it so it was her carrying herself over me helping her. 

Like this wonderful moment in the canter

Another thing that C had me doing much more this lesson was dropping my hands realllllly low almost thinking of them as side reins. The hard part for me is keeping them there and still...I am not sure what it is, but my inside hand especially, "jiggle wiggles." C will correct me and tell me not to, but its not an intentional movement...She suggested thinking of keeping my elbows touching my shirt a bit more. 

Either way, its an issue that frustrates me...anything bodily or physically related is tough. Its like rubbing your stomach and patting your head while riding a horse. I know what I need to do, but getting my body to respond properly is a whole different animal. 

My position has come a long way since fall last year too...but its a never ending battle

 C basically told me we need to up the difficulty level for Tillie. Its time to start expecting more. Let her do more of the work and be very black and white with her where I expect her to be.

Think of her like an accordion; you should be able to elongate her neck and body and then package it back together again at any given time.

^^The above is what we are striving for more and more so that when I let my reins go a bit longer, Tillie should be following it and seeking it more. This requires getting her to unlock at the base of her neck which has always been a challenge...Tillie likes to stay in one place in her box. Getting her to trust herself or balance outside of that can be a bit hard to convince her.

Just re-ordered these again...

 Tillie does try hard though and when she figures out the rules, she does dig in and gets to work. While I never felt like our trot work felt phenomenal yesterday in our lesson...Our canter work shockingly felt hugely improved. It was a pleasant surprise considering and I expected it to be terrible with her inconsistency in the trot.

But we had some really nice moments of her giving me her back. A few times she broke into the trot in a honest mistake, but C was happy with that and said it was a matter of her learning to trust she can carry it.

Like when we first had to get her to trust lengthening her stride in the trot

So I know we will get there...it wasnt the most confidence instilling ride, but I left knowing what we need to work on and that the ulcer meds are definitely needed. So first thing am they are ordered and hopefully here by the end of the week.

Back to familiar territory but with new tests and challenges

I sadly do not have any new media for you guys...at least not a ton of interesting stuff. But the great news is that I finally have had two rides where my horse feels back in business.

Soooo sweaty

I chose to do two dressage lessons two days in a row to help kick start us back to our happy place. Tillie showed up ready to work and I couldnt have been more relieved.

Yesterday's lesson we finally ran through Training level test A since that is what we will be tested on at our next event. Boy let me tell you what a jump it is from Novice. Here is the test for reference: USEF Training Test A

We realllly hate flies even after being sprayed

Unfortunately the test is still in a small dressage ring, which makes me nervous about the two trot lengthenings and one canter lengthening...they are hard enough in the larger, full sized ring! So definitely something Ill be practicing in the smaller arena at home.

She says I soooo pretty! Also really curious about the foals running around

Yesterday's lesson she was the perfect weight and contact in my reins...she felt willing to work both ways and we finally had some nice canter work. C commented my riding on our lateral work and said I am getting better at riding the movements and fixing Tillie when she attempts to give the wrong answer!! YAY!! Let me tell you, lateral movements fry my brain...but Im sure the more I get comfortable with them it wont seem soo challenging.

There's her pretty face!

Anyway, back to riding through the Training level test...not only is it way more going on than Novice, it all happens really fast in succession...you dont have large trot circles to help prepare, its literally one movement into the next.

Which, luckily for us, seems to ride pretty well for the most part. C hadnt remembered this test but was happy with how it rode for us and said it did tend to show off Tillie's best qualities.

After running through it once in the larger full size ring just to get the lay of the land, we ran through it again but focusing on the areas that gave us a harder time...which C said she was surprised at which parts did. She said she would have thought some other parts would but that she generally liked how we did.

The stretchy circle is tough because it comes right after the trot lengthening...so to change modes that quickly is really hard. Not to mention, stretchy trot with Tillie we always let it slowly build with her tendency to want to rudely root or throw her head down. It also happens to be the only 20M circle in the whole test...everything else is 15M.

C recommended we play it safe but to def work on it at home as long as she didnt start to pull down.

The other thing we worked on was getting our lengthenings to happen faster out of the turn because that small arena is small and there is not a whole lot of time to let things build. The trot ones we got pretty darn good!! The canter one I still am a bit of a weenie and dont really go for it as much as I could.

All in all I am super excited to have her back...now we need to go XC school to make sure *I* feel good out there too!

Dressage Skillz

Yesterday I had another lesson with C. We didnt tackle any new movements, but we did push the boundaries on ones we have been working on. I have more media I am working on uploading, so will hopefully be able to add all of it, but for now only have a handful of videos.

I was a bit nervous at first because it was my first real ride back since the fall. It was also the first day Tillie did not get bute, so I was eager to see how she felt (her leg looks totally fine!). You can hear me when the lesson starts asking C how she looks to reassure she looked as good as it felt.

Some bullet points that stick out to me from the start of lesson:

• Bigger trot needs to happen more...I tend to want to ride her trot a bit too slow
• Leg yields need to be straight and off the outside rein half halt, not the inside rein
• Dont let the reins bounce, be sure to hold them, have more weight/shorten the reins. Use the right side to soften her but then be quiet.
• Dont nag her with any aids
• Dont let her fall in or push into the right side when tracking right
• The whip, put thumb on top and point it at her ears
• BEND my elbows...shorter reins, longer arms

Next we talked a bit about the walk and leg aids...mostly keeping the leg relaxed and if you squeeze too much it changes the way my seat moves (not for the better):

Sitting trot portion and leg yielding:

• Tighter stomach in sitting trot, chin up
• My arms look weird lol Ill have to play with this
• Be quicker in my aids in the lag yields to get away from the wall faster
• Ride straight after the leg yield
• Dont be afraid to make it ugly...have a conversation to be able to correct it

I am still figuring out how to use my upper leg and thigh more without contorting my body in these movements. Especially when we leg yield off the left leg to the right, she needs more right leg to keep her straighter...but boy is it hard for me. 

Im sure it will come with time, and will make shoulder in and shoulder fore easier too. 

We rode through 1st level test 3 but it was taken on a different phone, so Ill be sure to share it once I get it!

oldie but goodie and some more updates

This post is going to recap a recent dressage lesson I had late last week before our event. Lets say it was B.F. - Before the fall.

Before I dive into that lesson, I have an update on this coming weekend's plan to go to loch moy and have dom ride Tillie. Unfortunately, the event couldnt allow it because they have a wait list so need to offer that persons entry to that fairly long list first. I am a bit disappointed, but also ok with it and glad to be having a rest...Tillie on the other hand needs to stay in work. The mare is ready to go lol. I do still have plans to go up to Dom and he will ride her at his place...so not all is lost.

screenshot from our ride

So back to my dressage lesson recap...its been a really long time since I have been able to capture footage of us in a dressage lesson. I was really excited when I managed to convince a student of mine to come and get some footage. Its been a few months since I have been able to see us or watch what we are doing...and C lessons are sooooo full of knowledge I love filming them because you end up catching way more things she said during the lesson I just didnt hear when riding.

It was kind of nice to have not seen what we look like in so long (outside of show footage)...it was definitely easy to see what has improved and what needs improvement.

Here is early trot work:

What I am seeing improvement: Me not as crooked! Yay! And Tillie being more accurate...she isnt always consistent but I do see her movement in the trot improving. We have been working more on our leg yields being straighter and its a lot tougher then it sounds, but its getting easier. I tend to want to make them too pretty, so as you can hear C say...I need to be better about having the discussion with her to be clear in what I want so we get the bigger effort and step.

Now here is where things got frustrating and hard: shoulder- in

Mostly it was an issue of me using wayyyy too much inside rein and Tillie not understanding this new movement. Weve been working on baby shoulder ins...but C wanted to up the game and get an actual true one with the correct angle. She always reassures me this is really tough because its the first movement you have to be doing different things at the same time on both sides of the horse.

So of course I had her get on and try so that way Tillie could have someone on that knows how to ask properly...C had a bit of a struggle at first but eventually got some nice ones! So she had me get back on and broke it down in the walk:

Tracking left is super hard for me and for Tillie...she is weaker right hind and I am crooked this way so tend to hang on her. But once we changed and did it tracking right I had a light bulb moment of the timing of the aids. Im sad we didnt capture more on video after this because then we started getting them really nicely both directions.

I was super frustrated, but it was a lesson that was needed! I realize after this lesson and the weekend, the more frustrated I get, the more determined I am to overcome.

Yet another Novice competition recap - Dressage

I feel like this 2016 season is flying by, yet I reflect back to our first event of the season at BN and am amazed at how forever ago it seems. So many things have changed some not as good, but most things for the better. The more we do all the things and do all the shows, the more I am learning...not only about showing and Tillie, but myself as a person.

Peaking out of the trailer after our go for the day and hanging out to watch our buddies!

Turns out, I am pretty damn confident (outwardly at least)...mostly its a face to pep talk myself. But also I am really super competitive with myself - Ill touch more on this later in this post. But I feel like the dialogue in my head is not super confident...mostly repeating "balance yourself mare!" over and over, but I do feel like that warp-like time speed thing when jumping is starting to become normal speed which allows me to process and make better judgements. I know its allowing me to be a smarter rider.

Like approaching the giant bench in a tree line expecting a questioning Tillie,
riding it more confident so she comes at it guns blazing.

All this repetition is allowing me to be a smarter rider BECAUSE we have been doing it and experiencing all the different ways to answer the questions being asked. The result is slowly chipping away and smoothing out some rough edges. Dont get me wrong, it isnt perfect, nor will it ever be, but I am really proud of the horse Tillie is becoming.

How we feel before stressage

It was a really early wake up call for this show since I knew the time between our dressage and jump rounds wasnt quite enough to untack, walk the courses, come back, stud and retack...If you have ever been to Fair Hill, you'll know its quite a hike to the jump portion of the event so I wanted to have more time to stud and be sure those were good with the ground being as rock hard as it was.

4:41 arriving at the barn

Even with really awesome stranger eventers offering us rides, I still felt a bit rushed and had just under 30 minutes to warm up for dressage. It sounds like a decent time, and at home it would be 10 min warm up 20 min working, but at a show Tillie gets unfocused and untrusting. She isnt bad, she doesnt misbehave or act up like she did a mere few months ago, but the best description is just protective and wont let her guard down. It is as if she holds her breath the entire time and lets it out right after we halt.

Almost done our test!!

I was pleasantly surprised with how she warmed up...and how quickly as well. It wasnt the horse I get at C lessons in dressage, but she was working well and working without soooo much help from me. She knew her job, would bending and listen to my aids willingly more so than any other show. Her canter warm up was flawless...I was a bit worried to push much more because she felt so great and comfortable. Sure, not 100% relaxed, but would go in whatever rhythm I put her in, bend off my leg and I didnt need nearly as much softening or half halts off my rein to get her attention.

Sneak peak at the final results...; ) and alllll the hay for the spoiled girl

While I dont think our dressage score of 30 reflected how happy I was with the test, I was thrilled. Tillie did pick up more tension once we got down to the ring (or I did)...but it sits slightly lower from warm up so she kept wanting to peek up there to see what was going on. It was never obvious, but she didnt want to work in the bridle as much this test. With that said, She was consistent. Something we have lacked in past tests, particularly in rhythm. I also felt like I was less micromanaging her and could leave her alone more.

Her canter in particular impressed me the most. It felt smooth...something it hasnt ever felt in competition before. I didnt feel worried about getting her back to trot and her trot after felt way more free and promising of what we may get in later competitions.

Anyway here is our test:

There is a lot more to like about this test. It was clean enough to get us into third - WHICH btw we were competing in the open division with only a handful of other riders one of which is my own trainer Dom Schramm who kicked all our butts with a 22!!! The 2nd place rider had a 29 and change followed by myself. So needless to say, I am really hopeful with  more dressage work we can be up there with the big guns!

While a 30 is still ok, I am determined to get us into the 20's more regularly (see the self competitive thing I mentioned earlier).  I am hopeful this will happen and know we have it in us. 

no new media but so much going on

I really need to invest in a helmet camera or tripod or something because the lack of media is disappointing...but there is much to be said!

waiting for our lesson - See the giant scalped portion on her tail...

After Tillie's near miss this weekend, I took it real easy on her Sunday and Monday and did a short trail ride with some trot sets and then maybe a 15-20 minute dressage school. One I did in our smaller enclosed ring, the other in our grass dressage arena that we only set up in the summer around show season when we do mini shows for our students.

I have chosen to stay in the smaller rings lately because of the realization that when I ride tests, I get a bit claustrophobic and panic slightly when doing movements at how fast the boundaries come up. My new goal was to get comfortable not only riding in the smaller arena, but ride FORWARD in the smaller arena.

It was a nice exercise since it was during feeding time in the morning before work and Tillie was a bit unfocused to start...not unlike at a show. It was also nice because we did ultimately end up getting relaxed and a nice school in there!

I will supplement photos with all the healthy food im trying to eat

With Training level on the horizon, I am starting to take my own rider fitness more seriously, which includes eating better. The salad above was my take on paneras Asian sesame chicken salad with avocado and boy is it yummy! Ive pre-measured breakfast portions of fruit, really trying to drink more water and seriously considering getting a fit bit to track my steps to force myself to be more active.

This also means being more aware of Tillie's fitness so Ive been conscious of trying to incorporate hills, trot sets and soon to be gallop sets.

strawberry-blueberry basil infused water with pineapple salsa pork roast,
cilantro-lime shrimp green beans and roasted rosemary garlic mushroom potatoes

Why the sudden focus on this? Well, my recent dressage lesson with C on Tuesday really kicked my ass...and while I am getting better at events not getting winded, I know when we go up a level I need to be able to get out of my horses way and help her as much as I can when/if she gets tired.

Waiting to tack up for our dressage lesson

My dressage lesson with C on Tuesday was much needed and by far the highest level stuff we have worked on to date. We spent a lot more time in sitting trot (which I got a "its definitely improved!") and in canter. We really focused on more of the outside aids which is a newer thing/feeling for me because I dont think shes bent enough, but she is...

LONG overdue pics of my dressage saddle

Tillie's work on extending the trot has come leaps and bounds and we worked on riding them more into the corner and not just peeling wheels around the turn. So in essence, this lesson was all about the half halt.

As much as I worry about Tillie getting too strong in canter and not stopping, she kept breaking because of how hard the canter work was. I know its an old out of date fear, so C reminded me that when I half halt I need to make sure I add even more leg to keep the canter going. Part of the breaking at first is her saying OMG this is hard, the other part confused and responding to my half halt.

Front of the saddle!

We practiced cantering BIG and then bringing it back, cantering across our diagonal and at X asking for trot and making sure it wasnt a running trot, but balanced - again really using a nice clean and QUICK half halt.

We did some tear drop exercises and canter transitions were on point.

I worry we cant come close to that at home or on our own without C around...but Ill keep trying!! C is pushing us more and more to do more dressage shows. She thinks we would do quite well...but I responded that I would only go if she could to coach us lol.

So who knows maybe more dressage in our future!!

Dressaging until we die

In my latest mission to sort out our tension issues at events during our dressage phase, I signed up to do a fix a test at Loch Moy yesterday. This venue also happens to be where we score the lowest because it is so massive and busy that Tillie just cant seem to settle in. Or I cant seem to shake my own tension. Can anyone say stressage? Either way, some soul searching for this phase is needed to be had.

Im ready to try mom!

I had one goal: Test various things in warm up to see what works for us so I got on a good 45 minutes early. So I walked around in the top ring (which was busier) for a while and warmed up in that area and then walked around for a long while and made my way down to the lower ring where we would do our test and warmed up there too.

This was one of our better warm ups...not as great as Elkrdige (our first novice), but I was able to ask for some stretchy trot circles and soooome lengthenings. Doing the bigger trot helped confirm her more in my contact and realize forward is ok without cantering since she start anticipating canter a lot during this phase.

Unfortunately I didnt get it on video...and I wish I had, because the feeling of the first and second test, not so great. Granted, they were definite improvements from the last events and I did get some moments of softening through her back, but the mare is smart and she knows the test even though we never run through it at home. This means she anticipates and she baits me every. single. time.

What I basically need to do is stay consistent in what I am doing. If she blips or whatever she'll learn from it. I need to stop trying to help her.

I was good yes?

The judge couldnt have been nicer and agreed she could tell the horse anticipates, I need to step more in my left stirrup and it will help her and just work on over all suppling her. Most of my marks improved just from smarter test riding so my new goal is to practice at home schooling in the smaller ring and just portions of tests for accuracy. (No oval circles or early transitions kind of stuff).

Test 1 I was definitely in my head too much and I realize now most of our issues probably are my issues - like OMG this turn is coming up too fast, shes too heavy on my rein here shit it has to be fixed right now...just over all general heightened over the top trying to be perfect. 

I need to let it go. Just like TIllie does with her own tension (I am sure I am creating most of it)...its soo much easier said then done, but thats the new goal!

Test 1

Test 2

On a side note some other barn mates came and did the CT and it was such a blast!!! They also XC schooled after as well which I was insanely excited for them...poor Tillie thought I was killing her by not allowing her to participate and only do the sandbox for the day. It was so fun watching them both do so well! 

Loch Moy Dressage Break Down

As I stated in my post yesterday, dressage left little to be desired...especially with how well Tillie has been going for me lately. Don't get me wrong a 31.8 is a decent score, but I know we can be in the 20's and if I can get her going as well at events as I have been at C's or home, we would be in the low 20's according to dressage trainer C.

Basically Tillie when shes tense...all or nothing

I had a dressage lesson with C yesterday because I literally just cant get enough of her lessons and I wanted to pick her brain about the tension and judges comments from the event. Which were minimal and one worded comments BTW. Just not helpful and either she really didnt like us, or she didnt want to be there that day. Either way, C was pretty riled up at the lack of any remarks...there werent even collective comments.

Side note: I do love how Loch Moy is ran and the jumps are beautiful...but the dressage part of these shows now both times have my a little disgruntled. Both times I have competed there the judges have really lacked on the commenting or even completing the tests. My trainer, C, has been a bit peeved by the test too and flabbergasted at the lack of a completed test and remarks.

Soooo tense

Anyway, I planned to get on very early and just walk Tillie around on a loose rein to take in all the things to try to help. She did this quite well and was very relaxed. She even was pretty good when I picked her up in the walk, but as soon as I asked for trot all bets were off.

Now, there was no airs above the ground or blows up like we had a few events ago in warm up...but she just would not relax no matter what I tried. I tried everything from rating the trot - going slow to fast and back to slow, I tried lateral movements, counter bending, loosening my reins to see if she was claustrophobic, cantering a bit...the trick was it was also pretty hot, so I didnt want to get her overly hot...but C suggested yesterday maybe just let her canter it out next time a bit longer.

We chatted a lot about it and if its possibly me and something I am doing differently even though I feel much less nervous and more relaxed at events than I ever did last year. So our homework is go do some dressage shows.

Here is the video of the test:

You can see its slightly quick and shes against my hand pretty much the entire time...especially after canter she wants to root and pull down and low. That was the name of this test either bracing and racing or low and slow.

Its quite frustrating knowing how well she can go and THATs what I want to showcase...not this reverted version of a racehorse....**sigh**

I know I am being picky. I am still proud of her and shes come a lonnnng way with this, but it has been a bit of a consistent thing at shows I want to iron out. It also didnt help I came prepared to ride Novice A and realized when I was on deck I needed to actually ride Novice B - EEKS!!

Luckily we have been riding that test...lol but it was one more unsettling thing to add to this phase.

Anyway...C watched my video and compared notes to the test. She said she saw lots of things to like and some not so nice things lol and we worked on a few more ways to get Tillie unlocked. It was one of the hardest lessons I have had in a while because it didnt FEEL good, But C reassured me and asked me to trust her - that we need to focus on getting Tillie unlocked at the base of her right side of her neck.

Mind blown after that lesson

We did A LOT of 10 meter circles tracking right basically over bending her and asking her to MOVE the F away from my right leg since C said shes a bit dead on it. She said this is also why left lead canter is tough because she locks on the right side. So LOTS of counter flexion in canter too.

What FINALLY helped is when C had me both in canter and trot totally ignore her fussing and being connected and just keep her poll up and basically leg leg leg to get her booty under her with a TON of outside rein and then be soft to let her be straighter and carry herself rather than me helping her. This made a HUGE difference in canter and a few moments she even lifter her back.

So we have some things to work on, but at least we have a plan and I am determined to make sure Tillie doesnt get too worked up with this new set of homework we have.

Tillie gets what Tillie wants

The story of my life...and now officially broke due to buying a dressage saddle Tillie prefers. BUT at the end of the day, it was needed and honestly fits ME the best too.

Literally eating away at alllll my money

Apparently finding a saddle that fits us both is a bit like trying to find a unicorn. The major issue being she's fairly wide for a thoroughbred but also short backed and bum high. As for me, many saddles have exacerbated my crooked issues and finding one that didnt in addition to fitting Tillie has been less than fun.

So i am now locking up my credit cards and resolving to pay down all my crazy debt. Anyone know of someone needing a website!? Lol but seriously...I dont regret buying it

Look at that face...of course she can have whatever she wants

We ultimately did purchase the Custom Saddlery VLX. I got extremely lucky and was able to snag the leathers, girth and crazy nice stirrups that the top adjusts and twists to wither 45 or 90 degree angles. P.S. its also brown. What are the chances of that?! Ill be sure to show photos in my next post but for now going to condition and clean it up a bit.

Tillie after getting traced

It was probably the most expensive saddle fitting I have ever had, but he also looked at my Stubben Roxanne jump saddle and agreed it wasnt perfect, but if we both were going well in it there is nothing alarming about it to have to sell to get anything new. That was a relief to hear. He did recommend using the prolite pad for both saddles and said prolites are great pads and the next best thing to a thinline, the only reason he doesnt carry them is the material being a bit slippery. Luckily we havent had too much of a problem with that happening.

Tillie was a perfect lady for the fitter and when it was all said and done, I got to hop on and try it out. It was exactly as awesome as I remembered riding in it the first two times. I felt really even and Tillie felt nice in it.

Mare glare

I only trotted her around a few times since I had been talking with C for a while about her riding Tillie to hopefully give me some insights from her perspective to help keep us moving in the right direction. 

Tillie's mind was pretty instantly blown as C started putting her through the paces and was talking me through what she was doing. C laughed at Tillie because she got herself emotionally worked up and was super sweaty despite not working all that hard. Luckily Tillie internalized most of it and really was thinking very hard and trying...sometimes trying many different ways to evade but eventually would give the correct answer. 

Happy Tillie

Here is what C says we need to focus on:

• Start ridding her on both sides of her body and get straighter
• Be more through on the outside aids 
• Bend her more off the thigh...basically use my thighs more to get what I want
• Keep the movability in her neck...work on this in canter especially as she likes to lock
• Do not let her get low on downward transitions

Tillie posing for the pretty dressage horses here

C didnt stay on too long and said she wanted me to get back on her and ride her now that she had and talk me through how to achieve what she did. 

Tillie cooperated and tried very hard...it just felt really different to me! It was a bit of a game changing ride and something I will need to adjust to. I know with this stuff there will always be more or new and I went through a similar feeling just a few months ago. 

Rainy day dressage day

This post is a bit out of order, but I was way too excited to share about yesterdays lesson...so we dressaged on Saturday. The weather here on the east coast has been, you guessed it, non stop raining. It sucks, but I am trying to make the best of and keep on keeping on with our training.

Wet unhappy Tillie

Tillie has started her Doxy treatment and luckily hasnt been worse for ware since starting. She still feels really good and supple and happy to work.

schooling saturday and she was happy to work

We did a jump school Friday practicing what we learned in our lesson with Dom that previous Wednesday. It went and felt so much smoother which is nice because it tells me she is learning...the only mistakes were piloting error so I am trying realllllly hard to give her the best ride possible. I guess it will come with time...

Saturday was so yucky we decided to haul to the indoor where we take dressage lessons to school. I dont mind riding in the rain, but once in a while its nice to have access to such nice state-of-the art footing to ride on to eliminate the blips in the footing in our ring.

Starting to get better about those lengthenings! 

Tillie was all business when we arrived and ready to work. I started off trying to get her to stretch a bit with this being one of our goals. I know this will help keeping her loose and swinging in her back which will help her while being treated for lymes and its also a movement we will be tested on in training level tests so we need to get more confirmed at it now.

Pats for a good girl trying so hard

Tillie did a really nice job staying connected in the contact while stretching down...in the past shes poked her nose out and lost that nice full feeling in my reins.

Some video of stretching and starting canter work:

After this we did some canter work and while the transitions still leave something to be desired, the canter itself felt way more comfortable for me to ride and much more soft through her body.

Here is some video of our canter and lengthening work:

She did break once into canter, but C has told me in the past this isnt a bad thing and to not reprimand her...forward is good and its the correct answer, but usually shell break if I am not 100% even in both stirrups or half halting enough evenly. 

Starting to get more uphill!

I am very eager to try the Custom Saddlery VLX this week and finally get a dressage saddle again! But shockingly my jump saddle seems to have worked well for us in the meantime.

Just another weekend recap

Besides trying to sell allllll my random horse related crap I am not using, in addition to my TWO dressage saddles that dont fit my mare, I actually rode a good bit this weekend! Lately thats a big deal with the winter blues, especially since P was out of town so we didnt have our usual jump lesson.

Tillie happily schooling at home like its no big deal

I took the opportunity to school at home again...so this is the second weekend in a row without a lesson and jumping on our own. While it may not be a big deal for most, it is for me...because there was a time I was genuinely afraid I would die if I tried to jump Tillie at all.

Last weekend we did the grids, which always makes me feel safer...this week we did a bit more course work and single jumps which tends to open the door for building or sass. BUT much to my delight, Tillie was a gem. This leads me to feel incredibly bad for doubting her still...call it self preservation or PTSD, but I still dont always give her the benefit of the doubt.

The moment Tillie realized we were jumping a kids toy table

I admit, I need to be better in these situations really schooling...not just hopping on jumping around and basically coasting and overly enjoying Tillie being quiet by being a big kid and turning off my brain. My equitation goes out the window, My releases arent there, I dont do as good a job setting her up...etc. So basically I need to start having more purpose jumping at home.

Tillie couldnt have been better though and we did some bending lines, some jumps here and there. She wanted to get behind my leg and contact but be quick like she has the tendency to do, but I tried realllllly hard to not fuss with her and just let her sort it out over the height I had set.

Anyway, Emma was excited and pulled out the fun kid table for us to try which Tillie didnt even blink at.

Ignore my horrid equitation...Ill be beating myself the next few jump schools to force me to be better even when "having fun". 

I almost wimped out of riding on sunday after teaching all day, but realllllly glad I did because I tried a friends dressage saddle on Tillie and it was one of the better dressage schools we have had on our own that felt similar to what I get when I go to C. 

Tillie could actually canter without bracing on the reins...I had no idea how wrong it felt until I felt how right it could be in a better fitting saddle. I could do lengthenings and maneuver her better in the canter...it was all just so lovely.

We ended the short ride with a quick stroll through the gremlin field (most of the horses freak out up there) But Tillie was a solid citizen and walked around cool and calm! I was so proud of her :)

So now on to try to sell my saddles so I can get a new, better fitting one :/

Recent dressage lesson = TONS of homework

Continuing on my recap from the weekend...it also includes my Sunday dressage lesson. I dont normally do lessons on Sundays other then teaching my own lessons, but with it being overcast and a bit drizzly I jumped at the shot to slip in an opening that C had right after Emma had her lesson.

So we hitched a ride with Emma and I am thankful she got Tillie loaded up for me while I finished up with my last few lessons. After a bit of rushing around, it turned out C was running really late so I made it long before Emma got on and was able to watch hers! She'll be recapping her own lesson on her blog I am sure soon - here.

An indication of how our lesson went...a tired and itchy Tillie

I mentioned in my Part 1 recap from Saturday's lesson that lately I have felt Tillie falling back into the old habit of wanting to put herself in a safe zone and not being all that agreeable when I ask to change that. She'll happily go around straight, bent to the inside, high or low but once I put her there, that is where she wants to stay. She is quite smart and only recently did I figure out this is what she was doing rather then just being stiff or harder one way vs another etc. 

C pointed this out right away and said that while its a much better place shes putting herself in, we still need to be able to adjust her more readily and have more give at any time. So we went right to work and I can summarize all I can hear in my brain after the warm up:

1. Push her around the inside leg even more - SO much freakin inside leg
2. Watch out for a stiff right hand, but open and close to have more bend in both elbows especially the left (nice to know I have issues on both sides)
3. My left shoulder creeps forward making me crooked/twisted in my torso
4. Dont be afraid to take the rain until she softens BUT I must soften and follow her back

 Tillie had a few moments of "No I dont think so" before she settled into a nice rhythm and really started to dig into work. She was so into it, her vibe was contagious and I felt a bit like the little engine that could as if she were thinking "I think I can" over and over.

C had us going on a 20 M circle spiraling into a smaller circle focusing on really getting her to give and wrap around my inside leg before using a fairly quick leg yield to push her out without losing the shoulders. Here is where we talked about leg use and keeping it longer when applying it since I have the old habit of lifting my heel and my leg then shrinks about 6". Ok maybe not THAT short, but its a bad habit among many others I need to break.

Here is a video of warm up...notice Tillie really starting to dig it by the end of the clip:

After the warm up we continued trotting but started asking for leg yields, but really quick lateral ones to promote getting her out of her comfort zone. Tillie was all business. 

It felt really good and still amazes me how well she is progressing despite not riding at all during the week with our ring still frozen. After a bit of a break which had a lot less rude pulling and rooting then usual, C had me start back up said, "ok, now sit your trot"

Lol I made a face apparently because she laughed and said everyone makes that face!

Being fairly new to sitting a trot where my horse is actually going...it is not the most pleasant thing in the world. Ill admit, I feel as though I am riding it ok, until I watch the videos. The amount of discomfort that I am emulating is so apparent I was uncomfortable just watching it:

At this point, Emma started filming since my phone died. C  prompted for me to canter (I love how we will be going along and rides as you go and gives us commands a few strides before she wants it). Sadly we missed capturing on video the first and most wonderful right lead canter transition. It took both Tillie and myself by surprise that C even laughed and said it was all over my face.

C had us move onto leg yielding in canter to get her more mobile and rideable in canter. At this point its been all about the basics of balancing her and keep her from diving on the forehand...so it felt really good to receive a command that required taking our canter to the next step - which as you can tell in this clip Tillie wasnt quite prepared for: 

What I have loved about the sitting trot despite how uncomfortable it is, is how much it has helped me get a better feel in the canter. I can only describe it as me feeling more balanced and stuck in the saddle which allows me to use my seat to better help Tillie. The leg yields in the canter were quite fun! Tillie gained a bit of speed through them, but it didnt feel too bad with how soft she was. 

So we moved on the left lead canter which is our harder and weaker lead. C guided me on how to use a better timed half halt to get her more balanced and using herself better without me grabbing and bracing on her. 

It produced quite a nice canter and we were able to do some of the maneuvering from this lead as well. At the end C had us try some lengethings in the trot across our diagonals to promote testing the boundaries of balance which Tillie tends to err on the side of caution. You can see in the clips she gets a bit unsettled and really doesnt let go of her shoulder just yet in them...but C reassured me it would take some time for her to trust herself to just ride very straight, weight even and both elbows stay at my body. 

The lots of homework part includes:

• Taking Tillie big around the entire ring to test try to get her trusting lengthenings more
• Sitting trot there is no head wag which means rising trot happens from tension on my arms
• Bring my left shoulder back/straighter
• MORE inside leg and MORE bend to get her out of the safety zone
• Sitting trot practice rocking back more and letting my "crotch bounce" 
• Stretchy trot (which we did a few circles of here)

Poor Tillie was so tired after trying so hard she was ready to go to sleep: