One trainer, two trainer, three trainer, four...

Jumping back to the clinic and how much it helped Tillie and I...not to mention my elation at trying someone new, it sparked a conversation with some barn goers questions just how many trainers I have and why the need for soooo many? The answer isnt simple, but the simple one I gave is, it works for us. 

Totally working for us

I work full time, freelance design and web work in addition to teaching beginner horseback riding lessons to sustain my hobby of competing my own 7 year old off the track thoroughbred mare. If it sounds like an impossibly fully loaded schedule, that's because it is! 

Being accident prone certainly didnt help us

When I do squeeze in riding my mare, Tillie, I want to make every second count. I take my riding seriously, but by the middle of the show season last year I found myself feeling not so great and realized I wasn't really enjoying it. Half the time I was riding scared of what antics Tillie would pull in her exuberance and I always felt a bit let down that I couldn't handle it. We had few falls and near misses during last year that took a bit of a toll on my confidence which didn't help either. It forced me to question whether or not Tillie and I were the right fit for one another and if I needed a been-there-done-that mount to show me around the sport of eventing.

Sass moments like these were typical every single ride

This winter I committed to pouring every penny I made into carting us to lessons with more than one instructor. The goal was to try to figure out what worked for us and if we could form a team through more understanding and knowledge. Slowly, things started to smooth out in conjunction with Tillie becoming more of an adult rather than a reactive baby. 

All business now!

I currently ride with more trainers and instructors than I have saddles (I have 4 to be exact but don't tell my husband). While some people may think this is too many and prefer one steady program, I say do what works for you. This system has done wonders for Tillie and my own confidence. I actually have a ridable horse that I can trust more of the time.

Like trusting her enough to jump this big cross country

I have a fabulous dressage trainer that has made understanding the technicality of dressage so accessible. I have to work hard at it and riding was never a naturally easy thing for me, but she makes me feel like we can do it. I also have a fabulous jump trainer that puts us through some pretty intense grids and exercises but in such a relaxed atmosphere it made all the difference from a crazed overly excited Tillie and a tense me, to going around 3ft courses like it's just another day. She has made the largest impact on my confidence and ability to trust Tillie. I have a cross country and jump trainer who I learn so much about being a professional in the sport and how to ride a young, developing horse...while this trainer doesnt exactly hold my hand, they challenge me to be a better rider. This trainer also happens to be my role model and watching this person ride...its amazing how easy it looks. I want to become a quiet efficient and effective rider like that. 

Finally, all these other trainers I try for clinics or random lessons...they seem to help to really catapult us to a new level of understanding something we have been hearing from our routine trainers, but because its from someone new it resonates more. 

In conclusion....do what works for you and your horse. Have 1 trainer have 20! But at the end of the day, its all about feeling good and we know how fickle that feeling can be.

Riding the human human blender: Grids

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. 

New trainer...yay or neigh?

The new potential trainer/instructor made the drive out to the farm last night. He was polite and seemed to know a lot from what I could decipher from his accent.

I did my research on him before coming, the little that I could find. I dont want to share too much to keep his identity safe, but he is fairly new to the US (which I knew) so does not have many clients yet or any prospects. His background is in jumpers and eventing at the 1* level...which I did find records on.

So not quite as experienced as the other few trainers I have used and he is the youngest (not by much). BUT age and experience, while they do mean more wisdom, does not always mean they are good at sharing and teaching that wisdom.

He said all the same things about Tillie that I have been hearing from all the other trainers. The top ones that stood out:

1. She needs to soften her back more
2. Her lateral movements are shockingly amazing and nimble
3. She needs to use her hind end more  

He rode her first so I could see his style....and because this person or whoever my next trainer will be, will potentially help me with a training rides here or there like D does. Right away I noticed how much Tillie did not seem to mind him. New riders to her are usually like fresh meat...she tail swishes and squeals and threatens all sorts of non-sense before settling in to work. 

Tillie did none of those things and seemed pleased to work. Her ears were listening and floppy at times and you could see the wheels turning in her head as he rode her around. 

He did a lot of counter bending, asking for bigger steps then "shhhhing" her and asking for slower steps. He played around with some shoulder in too. 

They trotted A LOT. He seemed to have the same approach as C in getting her going before asking to connect. He worked with her on her wanting to brace through the changing rein when changing from tracking right to left. I like what I saw when he would put his inside hand forward giving her a floppy rain for few strides and pat her before picking it up again...something I am really bad about doing.

They then moved on to schooling canter transitions. He said she needs to be better about sitting when going into them and make it clearer rather then the few quick trot steps before leading into the canter. He also instigated a more forward canter to attempt to get her excited (since I mentioned this was an issue) and then correct it by using his seat. 

 He was quite impressed at the walk and trot how responsive she was to the seat for transitioning and said she just needs that same level at the canter. He then was trying to get her to stretch more at the trot, but she just didnt relax enough in her back to allow for that. I heard him using his voice and "shhhing" her a lot which I thought was cool.

He then had me get on to try to recreate the canter transitions he just schooled. So it was a little bit of a taste for what a lesson would be like. Immediately when I got on, I notices how much more in the reins Tillie felt. It's hard to say if it was a good feeling or bad, it just felt like I had a lot more there...usually the contact is so light so sometimes its hard to make that half halt with her. 

He gave me some homework to do - which I always love homework! I need to be able to recreate the lesson without my trainer there to a certain extent. He suggested lots of random ground poles to randomly work over them to help "surprise" Tillie and ride through that to promote getting her relaxed...Also raise caveletti in trot work to build strength. 

When jumping she recommended only using placement poles. 

So here is their first few rounds of trotting...so she wasnt quite as relaxed here. But I look forward to hearing anyone's thoughts and open to suggestions on other local trainers. 

Even riding instructors need instructors

Occasionally Ill get the question: "Why do you take lessons when you yourself teach lessons?"

The answer is one I am sure both professionals and amateurs can relate to: Because there is always room for improvement. That sounds so simple, but for some reason it still doesn't seem to satisfy the questioner or give them the answer they are looking for.

So lets delve into this a little deeper.

We commonly throw around terms like, Coach, instructor or trainer. Each mean very different things to me.

• Instructor or coach: I put both terms together because their definitions quite literally are the same when looking it up - Someone who instructs; teacher.
• Trainer: One who trains, particularly animals. 

So not really a huge different in those definitions is there? But for the horse industry, the difference is much more pronounced. See if you can follow me:

A trainer can be an instructor and an instructor can be a trainer. A trainer is one that can improve a horse's skills and install buttons or cues the horse clearly understands, thereby being able to recreate it with another rider that also knows the cues.  An instructor is one that can improve a rider's skills so they can recreate what they learned independently.

Tillie and I in a lesson with one of the trainers I use

The beauty being both in the horse world is that horses are their own living, thinking and breathing animal in addition to the student. Teaching is not as simple as it is in a classroom explaining a theory and it works every single time. Horses evade, outsmart us and constantly change the game on us requiring slight tweaks in a theory. There are so many different methods to achieve the same outcome or answer. 

 The bolded sentence above is more specifically why I still take lessons.

Tillie and I in a lesson with one of the trainers I use

While I don't consider myself a professional in the same regard 4* riders do, I technically do accept compensation in exchange for teaching one how to ride. I have passed on students that I felt like would better flourish under someone that has accomplished more than I have, but I am confident I have expertise to offer and offer it in such a way it makes sense that the lesson student could recreate what I taught without me in the ear or even without me present.

Riding is an art. There are so many different approaches no one will ever be "finished" and all knowing. The more well rounded I am, the more I can help my horse or my students find the easiest path to their solution. Why fight so hard to stay on one road when there are so many others?

Even my trainers and instructors all have their own professionals they pay to continue to improve upon....even their trainers and instructors do too. As we grow as instructors and trainers we rely less and less on needing others and paying for those services, BUT we will always need help at some point when we get stuck. Everyone gets stuck.

I imagine in my head top 4* riders calling up one another or having one come to their farm asking advice  one's  knowledge to educate another?

I often do that now...bounce ideas back and forth with fellow riders. When I have a hard time implementing those or still feel stuck, I set up a lesson. Each instructor offers me something different and has their own style of teaching. After all, the more knowledge I obtain, the more tools I have in my toolbox for when I need them.