Clinic Videos From Show Jumping Day

Yep, I'm taking the lazy way out for these.  Highlights covering most of the types of exercises Eric used to get the horses rhythmic, straight, and balanced.

Warming the canter up over a pole.  Circle good, corners bad.  While Encore's trot needs to be much more forward at the beginning, I soooo excited about how much more steady he has become in the bridle.



Basic warmup line.  Don't allow your horse to speed up (I did, several times, oops), don't make a bid for the fence, do relax and wait for it to happen in its own time.



A single vertical on the circle (notice a circle trend?).  I'm super proud of Encore in this one, he is such a pro!!!



Of course, right after that triumph, I did this.  But I think it illustrates an excellent point that Eric made often:  YOU are in charge of finding the canter and the line.  Then you pass the torch to your horse and he is in charge of jumping whatever it is you point him at.



And our last course.

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Learning With An Irish Smile

Quick vid capture from today's jumping warmup

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Every clinic is different.  Infused with the personality and riding style of the technician, distilled over years of experience and mistakes and triumphs, and hopefully capped with the flourish of their unique teaching style.  Eric Smiley is no different.

It's difficult to accurately convey the details of this one though.  With a quiet humility and a ready smile, he says he's "not one of the big boys," but with accomplishments from 1982's Irish Field Event Rider of the Year to 2012's Belgian Olympic Team Coach, one could certainly insist that there is more than one definition of big.

A gifted instructor, he makes a quick connection with all of us, asking each rider (1) what they like most about their horse and (2) what is one thing they would like to fix THAT DAY.  "People coming to clinics always have a long list of negative things about their horses, but I want to get you to think of what you enjoy about them."  And this is only the first of many questions and insights that strip away all of the fuss and details and noise surrounding How To Ride Your Horse and reach down to the heart of what we are trying to accomplish and polish the gems of wisdom passed down through generations of horsemen.

I'm a visual, logical, process-oriented person; I like to understand why I am doing something and what end I am trying to achieve.  This is probably why I enjoy listening to all of Eric's lessons.  There is no "use outside rein, now more leg, now your left buttcheek, now inhale three times..."  Instead, he challenges us to really think about and engage into each ride, using questions aimed at simplifying and streamlining how you approach riding and training.  These are concepts which you then fill in with details and through this, deepen your understanding.  For example...

What is forward?  The horse should be taking you.  Not you chasing him or tapping him or nudging him.
What is impulsion?  Energy that you can then do something with.  I thought of it this way:  trying to ride without impulsion is like trying to wash a car with an empty bucket.
What does 'through' mean?  There are NO blockages in the flow of energy from your leg to hind leg to hock to stifle to hip to back to neck to poll to jaw to hand.  So, are there?  Examine each of these areas.
How many ways is it possible to jump a fence?  Four -- twice in each direction, one turning left and one turning right.  Know them all for every fence you see.
How do we turn our horse after a fence?  Using the outside aids.  Then the eyes and the inside hand show him where to go.
and...

DON'T RIDE CORNERS!  Yes, that's right.  Why?  Because they are hard.  Try that one at your next lesson, ha!  But in all seriousness, because almost no one rides them correctly.  They lose impulsion and rhythm in the corner, so when schooling your jumps, keep your lines on a curve and your energy flowing forward, stay out of the corners and you won't get stuck in them.  I heard this one alllllll day today, stadium day.

But I already know these things, you protest.  Perhaps, but have you really, really thought about them, the biomechanics and the definitions and the reasons, and applied that directly to practice?

Encore has been, in short, a gem.  On dressage day, I identified my one project as consistency -- in contact, in rhythm, in outline.  I'll be damned if he wasn't solid as anything.  Today, throughout the entire jump school, he remained attentive, balanced, steady as a metronome, and jumped as round and lovely as you could ever want.

Giant breakthroughs?  For us, no (although several other riders have made amazing strides with their mounts, particularly the very green horses).  Well, I was told my lower leg was completely wrong and got my stirrups jacked up two holes, details...  However, the sessions have nonetheless been extremely valuable to me by offering not only a vastly simplified way to think about what and how I want to ask my horse, but perhaps even more noteworthy, how to think about what is NOT working.  You can't fix a problem if you don't understand the cause!

What do you do when your horse is hanging on the bit?  Push his hind leg farther beneath him with your leg.  Why?  Because if he is hanging, there is too much weight on his front legs.  Placing his hind leg farther beneath his body shifts his balance back a bit, weighting his rear through the hocks and lightening his front end.  He is, quite simply, a teeter totter.  Understand this dynamic and you have the power to manipulate it into any variation of balance you desire.

Tomorrow is the best part, naturally, as we head over to Waredaca, just down the road, to school cross country both to ours and our horses' delight.  We've been lucky so far and not really been rained on, as well as having the benefit of Sunset Hill's massive indoor arena.  If the weather will hold until 3 pm, everyone will be home free!

Naturally, a wonderful part of it all, and one of the reasons I love this sport, is the people.  Meeting (and perhaps re-meeting, hey, I have a terrible memory) fellow Adult Riders, spending time with the awesomeness that is friend Beth, soaking up my doggy fix, margaritas by the pool and the best sangria you've ever tasted (hey, these things are important) and basking in the exchange of knowledge and skill between teacher and rider and horse; all of these pieces just make me hungry for more.

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The Becky Diaries: An Afterward

All eyes are turned to my favourite patch of turf right now, a park filled with history in Lexington, KY and an event that continues to change, but still offers the amazing spectacle of horse-human partnerships giving their all in an incredibly difficult test of courage, grace under pressure, and preparation.

Just before lunch today, behind those rolling fencelines, our hero and teacher, Becky, and her workhorse of an OTTB, Can't Fire Me, laid down the gauntlet in the dressage arena and I was lucky enough to watch online as they smoothly cantered into second place, just behind the legendary Andrew Nicholson.  While they are up there, checking and double checking jump gear and legs and footing for the days ahead, I figured it was the perfect time to wrap up my training series with the last few tips from the woman herself.  Turn your sound up!



When watching other jumping lessons, I'd often noticed Becky yelling, "Keep your body between the reins!" at a rider's cantering back.  I'm a very visual person, so the concept seemed obvious enough.  I had no idea that I did not practice it!  Becky demonstrates above in a way that makes it very clear to me why you NEED to separate your eyes from your body.  I have a very hard time with this and I also am mostly unaware of it unless I specifically think about it.  After repeating our jump line while working on this concept, I immediately felt a sharper, more accurate response from Encore too!



I think we've all done it (do it!) -- as we approach a drop, we slow down so the horse has time to read the question and he is not tempted to launch at terminal velocity, leaving an unsuspecting rider on top of the bank wondering if she found a crop or lost her horse.  This often takes some, er, convincing on the rider's part, so the horse's head comes up against the rein as we "discuss" this strategy.  We then arrive at the edge of the drop with an inverted horse who then might put his head down with a snort and skid to q stop to investigate the sudden appearance of a cliff at his feet.

What we should be doing instead is using our body and balance to ask the horse to shift his weight back while we let out the rein several strides early (see above video).  This encourages him to lower his head and neck so he can see the edge and put his body in the right shape to leave the bank rounder and softer and we now have far less of a chance of catching him in the mouth.  Another one that seems obvious, yet takes thought to get done.

Finally, a conundrum I have puzzled for many years.  There is an insistent chant in the horse world that when you first mount, you MUST let your horse walk around, stretch out muscles, and not ask anything of him for X period of time.  But my horse spends 23 (often 24, ha) hours a day walking around, rolling, galloping, stretching in the field he lives in, is the prior statement not better applied to horses who are primarily stalled, standing still?  I've gone back and forth in dressage and schooling warmups and never settled on either side of the fence.  So, after watching her school one of the youngsters, I just asked.

Becky confirmed my suspicions.  PARTICULARLY if a horse lives outside for all of much of his time, he's already moving.  When you get on, it's work time.  You can have a lap to check out distractions if you need it, but after that, we pick up the reins and get to work.  Of course, you still retain your common sense -- your starting work might be in a longer frame or focusing on serpentines or other figures to supple his body, but he is still asked to immediately move forward into the bridle, step under himself, and lift his back.  And asked is the key word.  He is working towards this -- a green horse, an older horse might take longer to get there, but he still has to be trying.

Talented young RJ (Telperion) out for a test flight.

Thus endeth the Becky Diaries of 2013 and one of the richest training experiences of my life.  Becky's graciousness, eye for detail, phenomenal instincts, positive teaching approach, insistence on correctness, and systematic approach to building a horse in both strength and skill all impress me endlessly.  She deserves nothing but success and I hope that this year is her year to shine in the Rolex spotlight.  I will certainly be waiting with bated breath until Teddy clears the last jump in stadium!

I can  honestly say that Becky is probably one of the best, if not the best, instructors I have ever worked with (and that is some stiff competition), both in terms of teaching skill and compatibility with my style of learning and riding.  It was truly a gift and an honour to live and ride with her for those two weeks (although my horse was probably less excited about the Raising of the Bar), thank you, Becky.  Thank you again to everyone I met and watched and learned from, thank you to Amber for coming down and helping, thank you to Encore for showing up for work and trying his hardest every day, and thank you most of all to my mother, who made it possible.

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The Becky Diaries: Day 10: Stadium Jumping

It was time to put it all together.  Adjustability, focus, position, balance, and accuracy.  All without running over Scrappy.  Yeah, I think you get kicked out for that.

We started out as we do with David -- a simple, tiny pole you canter in both directions.  Your goal is to be in a consistent rhythm, be steady in your position, soft with your hand, and have your horse in front of your leg without galloping around like a nutball.



Although apparently, you are supposed to approach jumps with a straight horse.  Sheesh.  So picky.



Next, we find our rhythm and pace to another single jump.  Keeping the straight approach and your position, settle and commit to your canter rhythm and just. ride. it. no. matter. what.  I was apparently confused by being in the XC field so I decided that we still needed to gallop fences.  Tiny show jumping fences. 



Becky, however, did not see any need for a 15' stride to a 2'3" fence (I wanted to be REALLY sure we cleared it!) and had us bring it down a notch to, say, a show jumping canter.  Crazy woman.



Then came something new for Encore:  a short bending line.  The first time through took some seat-of-my-pants steering (what, leaning doesn't help?) and he did some greenie foot-shuffling, but it improved each time until we finally got my eyes and both our bodies on the same page and he understood the question being asked.



Success!



With our eyes tuned up, it was time to put a few jumps together and NOT lose the rhythm, focus, and balance by thinking ahead and preparing.  No celebrating what you just jumped, no sigh of relief, no worrying, simply, ok, next this.  I honestly thought I would have to work hard to steer from a wide triple bar to a skinny vertical and that my horse would fall apart and rush after the wide first jump.  Colour me pleasantly surprised.



THREE jumps, with Becky emphasizing planning and waiting for your turn after the skinny to give you the squarest possible approach to the oxer, ENSURING your horse's hips are lined up just as we'd worked on over the warmup pole.



Finally, we get to our course.  Encore was very good; the hardest thing for me was staying mentally focused -- my tendency is to lose my brain about halfway through the course.  Becky made an excellent suggestion of picking the points on your course where there is some space between the jumps and bring your horse back like you were starting a whole new course with the next jump being your first.  It was a really effective mental exercise for, erm, ADD overthinkers like me.  *guilty*



We were given the option to be done at that point, but I wanted to fix our messy bit of the first four jumps.  I resettled my brain, promised my mentally tired pony we were nearly done and fixed it.  Well, the second time.



I think that is actually the first time Encore has ever bucked!  To be fair, I was trying one link tighter on the Pelham chain since he'd nearly ripped my shoulders out in the snaffle the day before.  It worked VERY well and I needed to be lighter on it than I was.  My leg strength is getting much better in PT, but we are still working on lateral muscles and I am just starting on rebuilding my abs so I do not fall back in the saddle as much after the apex of the jump.  *more guilty*

But to say I am proud of Encore does not even begin to cover it.  He came to the paddock gate and loaded on the trailer 20 times in 10 days without a single protest.  He tried so hard every day and never once tried to purposefully evade work; his protests were limited to explaining to me when things were hard, which is fair enough.  That horse knows how to WORK and caught me a little off guard by bringing it at a whole new level of pressure.  All I can say is...

GOOD BOY!!

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The Becky Diaries: Day 9: Adjustability

It is the end times.  *insert ominous music here*  Tomorrow will be just washing linens and throwing things back in the truck and hauling our butts back to what I'm sure will be a very excited Solo!

After a quiet Tuesday morning watching the girls long line Comet and RJ (Becky was off in Aiken Mon/Tues for the USET High Performance Training Sessions -- I wanted to creep there soooo badly, but figured that might be pushing it) and helping set up a new stadium course, I fetched a rested Encore and Becky was kind enough to squeeze us in at the end of the day when she returned.

It's springy!!!!!  Just like my horse.  Or is that jumpy?

By "rested," I mean completely refilled with insane amounts of energy and with renewed conviction that large, hilly fields are only for galloping and avoiding large predators.

I knew I should have put the Pelham on.  I won't make that mistake twice.

Shoulders ow.

But it was time to install some new gears, or rather put controls on pre-existing gears so they appear when I ask for them, rather than at Encore's whim.  I quickly discovered it was NOT going to be a soft and round day, try as I might and I cursed myself for not rebuilding those core muscles faster after surgery.

Exercise 1:  Working in a circle, establish teeny tiny canter, as close to cantering in place as possible.
Key points:  Wrap your calves around the horse and use your core/thighs to (as my dressage trainer put it) "suction cup" his back and ribcage up underneath you without losing the hind leg energy.  It's ok if he breaks or loses stride, he just needs more strength.  Think of making a transition to walk, but do NOT lean back; this will only dig your seat into his back and hollow him out.  Keep hands low, connect your elbows to your hips, and ride through his assertion that he can surely go no slower.

Teddy watches big bro Comet give Dad a lesson.

Exercise 2:  Push him forward into a big, giant canter for about 6-8 strides, then come immediately back to teeny canter.  Stay on circle.
Key points:  Don't give up your position and seat when going to big canter or else he'll just get strung out.  When coming back to teeny canter, GET IT NOW -- don't fight about it for ten strides.  If you are not getting a change, you might have to get in his face a time or two.  Again, don't lean back, make an elastic wall of core, elbows, thigh, and butt suction him back up to that tiny stride.  Rinse and repeat a billion times and only do each (big, teeny) for a short time, maybe half the circle.

Exercise 3:  Get soft, round walk, pick up teeny canter for 5 strides, walk, reverse direction, repeat ad nauseum.
Key points:  Don't ask for the canter until you have a moment of topline softness in the walk, then lead with your inside hip.  Accept the first few tiny canter strides that you might feel like are just him being stuck; don't push him too far out of that, those are him really sitting on his butt.  Come back to the walk quickly and as you reverse direction, use the turn to unlock him.  Soften him, then get canter back. 

I have been a wuss and avoided exercises like these so far because even though I knew it was time to take this step, I was dodging getting him riled up.  Encore really did a lot better with then I thought, however, given that we had thusfar not played much with adjustability.  As Becky said, you might just start out the exercises going through the motions, but give them a chance to relax into it through repetition and it will get better.

Solo demonstrates the barrel in 2010.

Exercise 4:  Use a small jump (we had a single barrel on its side with two vee rails resting on it) and use all your canters in approach and landing.  For example, approach in big canter, land in teeny canter.  Approach in teeny canter, land in big canter.  Approach in medium canter, land in teeny canter.
Key points:  Approach is easy, landing is HARD.  Hold your position and committment to the gait you chose all the way to the base of the jump.  Get the new pace as quickly as possible on landing.  Even though this one was difficult, I really liked and could see its utility for a variety of training goals.  I'm not sure Encore completely got it yet, but he did very well at holding the rhythm I picked and not pulling me to the fence.

Hopefully, we can build on this work today when we finally tackle show jumping.  I tend to fall apart in the second half of courses, so I will be trying to improve my focus and slow things down.  Which will, please universe, be a bit easier with some brakes not provided by the snaffle -- Encore is really very good about understanding that arenas are for work now.  This is great news for, say, competing at the horse park.  He just needs to get the memo (which has not failed due to lack of sending, believe me!) that work can happen anywhere, gasp!

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The Becky Diaries: Day 7: Dressage

Monday is break day.  Well timed, as a windy, cloudy sky settles over us and makes for a good day to sit by the fire.

But Sunday was time to put together what we'd shown Encore during our first lesson and during his long lining session and see what we had.

The grey wunderkinds look on bemused.  Who is who??

The wind had changed direction and was blowing the fresh scent of the neighbouring cattle our way, so Encore was on high alert.  Add to that, the previous horse had dumped her rider (rider was unhurt) and hightailed it at Mach 10 back to the barn.  We tried to head her off but she gave us the finger and roared by, leaving Encore puzzled as to what the fuss was about.  I was left wondering if there was any chance I'd get a soft, round horse out of this.

Determined to stay focused, I started with our turn on forehand exercises we'd learned earlier in the week -- we've been practicing them before our lessons every day and Encore is getting much quicker at giving to them and I am getting better at keeping him moving forward into that give.  Suddenly, I had this lovely round walk beneath me and I began to feel a little hope for our afternoon!

Becky did not have us perform any special technical exercises this time; we just worked on creating quality within the gaits and enforcing the new Dressage World Order, since Encore had shown us he was perfectly capable in his long lining work.

Within the trot and canter, we just kept asking him three things:  (1) Move off thy inside spur.  (2) Go forward with thy hind legs.  (3) Give to thine contact.  Three commandments of dressage.

The tricksy part was knowing when to push for more and when to give and move with him.  Becky would have me sit, collect him into an eensy jog trot, leg yield him out and apply contact, pushing him into both to soften him.  Then, when his topline opened and relaxed, post and start pushing him forward over that line.  All while keeping your hands very steady, NOT throwing the contact away, and finding that hair-thin zone between riding into contact through resistance and just pulling his head around. 

At the canter, keeping him slow, again, I would sit, apply leg and contact, engage the core and thigh, and compress him, then immediately when his balance shifted and/or he softened, to relax and follow his motion forward.

Sara (working student) and Winston have more fun than Encore!

He was trying very very hard, but he still opined that the new rules seemed rather demanding.  He quickly figured out though, that life in compliance was much easier and less annoying and produced some VERY nice work.

I am so sad I was unable to get video of it; I guess I will have to reproduce it at home, ha.  But we were putting together elements -- Becky had fine-tuned my aids in our first lesson, then showed Encore the correct response on the long lines.  Now we were adding them up to equal more productive and successful work.  Building blocks were beginning to make a structure, one that is hopefully portable and doesn't blow out through the trailer slats!

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The Becky Diaries: Day 6: Cross Country

What could possibly be wrong with that?

A warm beautiful Saturday meant it was time to revisit our XC skills and work on some drops.  Apparently, my signature zombie move when dropping off a bank is neither correct nor effective.  Colour me shocked.  *sarcasm font*

I had expected to mount a very tired pony after his attitude in the long lining pen yesterday, so I hopped on with the intention of doing just a little lateral yielding to get his hind legs moving.  Instead, when I asked for trot, I discovered someone had slept well indeed and I was sitting on a rocket, ready for launch!

A little N table on the ridge

The exercises were basic -- a few simple warmup lines, small down-banks, some accuracy questions, and a drop into water.  But the theme throughout was optimizing my position and eradicating the zombie.

Upon approaching a drop question, the horse needs to lower his head to examine the jump and then execute it, so my challenge was to make sure I let out the reins upon approach so when he needed to lower his head, the space was already there.  As he jumped, I was to focus on keeping those hands down, shoulder back, and give him freedom to do his job.  

Drop it like it's hot...with lower hands.

A few skinnies asked a similar question -- keeping Encore straight, as soft as possible, and keeping my hands on his withers the entire time.  The drop into water carried it one step further, making sure I did not choke up on him, which would then have him approaching the drop with his head in the air instead of down and ready to stretch over the edge.

Although we often took about 1/2 a mile to stop after each jump, it was great fun to have another go at XC when he wasn't fearing wild beasts (I'm sure having a schooling buddy helped!) and he put on his best bold, clever hat for the day and worked through it all like a pro.

It was a nice way to spend the afternoon before chilling the beer and readying the food for the annual farm party -- yes, live band included!  All I can say is that eventers of all ages have no issues with climbing up on those picnic tables and showing off their mad body control, shaking what their mommas gave 'em!

Our last lesson before his day off will revisit our dressage.  I have no idea WHAT to expect from him at this point as far as energy level is concerned.  It's very warm today and the wind has FINALLY taken a break, so hopefully I won't have quite the brick-mouthed machine of XC inside the little white fences!

It's hard to believe we only have three lessons left.  I have no words to encompass what an amazing opportunity and what a good, hard-working, hilarious, and genuine group of people I've met.  The real world doesn't seem to appealing; I'm in no rush to go back!

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The Becky Diaries: Day 5: Long Lining

With each day of surreally amazing experience & knowledge streaming in front of me, my brain gets progressively more loopy (a terrifying thought, that it becomes more loopy than normal).  It feels a bit like Cookie Monster with a funnel down his throat -- "me love cookies, but me can hold no moooorreee..."

Friday morning brought several not-to-be-missed items on the schedule, so I mashed real-world duties together quickly & scurried out to resume dutiful creeping.

Up first was a 5 year old mare, a lovely dapple grey named Greta who had come with severe contact avoidance issues, including backing & signature mare fits like mini-rears & insistence that such feats were simply not possible.  She was assigned to long lines & then a short schooling ride, so I had particular interest in watching the process again, given that Encore & I would perform it later this afternoon.

Suffice it to say, Mme. Greta does not appear to have contact issues anymore!  She did a lovely job & Becky was kind enough to talk me through as she worked.  The long lines had helped her along to a real horse breakthrough; in the pen & the consequent ride, she looked steady, duly educated, & confident in her new abilities.  Becky helped her figure out the right choices by many kind words & pats along the way.  I got even more excited about our later lesson.

Up next, I volunteered to be "pole bitch" for two gymnastic rides.  First was RJ, whom Becky described a rogue novice horse that she was beginning to consider keeping, as he reminded her of a young Comet!  I'd met him in the barn a few days earlier -- an adorable chestnut gelding with a white blaze & a huge, goofy personality.  I am sure that whoever grooms for her would be THRILLED if she finally brought along a brown horse...

I don't think he's a rogue anymore...



Then came Teddy (Can't Fire Me).  He is such a neat horse to watch, with a very professional attitude & a "what would you like from me?" demeanor.  Oh, and he can jump a little too.



Standing a foot & a half from the line, I really got a feel of how much power & pace you have to bring to a 5' jump.  Watching, it often appears as if the horses are just rocking nicely along.  When you are close enough to feel the breeze as they pass, it becomes clear that a massive amount of energy has been created, compacted, & channeled to fuel these big jumping efforts...and make them look easy.

Much to a tired Encore's dismay, his moment had arrived.  Becky watched me longe him briefly to get a feel for how he responded to my body language & how he worked on the line (thanks, buddy, for throwing in that belligerent kick; your opinion has been noted...and ignored).  Then I turned him over.

She started him on a straight line setup to get him use to the line contact.  Her system is not dissimilar to vienna reins, but allowed you to push them up into a steady contact & "ride" them with a live connection from the ground.

The warmup setup.

He quickly figured out what was being asked (although not without some comments of his own) & it was time to move on to the real work by adding a bit of leverage to help him find his shoulders & open his topline.  Junior was trying very very hard the whole time; I was really quite proud of his efforts!

Working setup.

After Becky worked him a bit, she handed the lines over to me, at which point I proved that I can even hang on the left rein while on the ground -- hey, we all have to have skillz.  It was surprisingly difficult (look, uncoordinated people can own it) but I was amazed at how much softer & "rounder" he felt in the contact.  No more brick mouth!  Becky felt confident that this would really help him understand the contact & how to relax & really swing through his back & body, so we will DEFINITELY be taking this one home (and practicing where no one can see me trip & fall).



It took a lot of focus to balance the feel on both reins & not crowd him too much in the bridle all while pushing his hind legs ever forward.  As we finished, he gave both Becky & I quite the look as he stood immobile, praying that if he just didn't move, it would be over:  THIS is my easy day???  Bless his golden heart, he got many pats & snacks & went home early to nap.

Next we'll have another XC school, only this time, we'll be riding with a lovely friend of Teddy's part-owners who I've had a blast talking to the past few days.  She has a gorgeous, catty little firecracker of a mare & I look forward to the fun!  It will also give Encore a buddy out in the tiger field, which will help him immensely, & give him plenty of breaks so he only has to work in short spurts.  Monday will be his day off; hang in there, buddy, we are almost to sleep day!

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The Becky Diaries: Day 4: Cross Country

You FB peeps already guessed who this snoozer is!

It was Pi Day!  But I forgot to get pie to celebrate, sigh.

The days seem too short, even as they technically get longer!  Although I am determined to catch more morning schools now, to heck with real world duties!

Today was a mini XC school -- we've gone through the three disciplines I think so Becky can get a feel for Encore and where he is and how he ticks.  Simple exercises to establish and focus on the basics.

It all began well enough, with Encore cruising in a lovely, round rhythm through yesterday's cavaletti bounce.  I could feel he had definitely used some energy in the past two days (haven't we both!?) but I'd stretched him in warmup and he still felt solid.

It was a short loveliness.

I felt his body stiffen as we paused to listen to Becky and his head whipped towards the barn up the hill.  It was the "OMG WARNING DANGER CONCERN!" body language and his ears (and brain) trained like a laser away from me to whatever silent menace he perceived.

I moved on to a simple jump series of BN bench/cabin-types, then added a N table.  He jumped but his focus remained elsewhere.  We were a hot mess the first time through and required some putting back together.

Two mares at the same time!  Lesson in leg yield.

Normally, it is not difficult to keep him up and in front of my leg as long as I concentrate, but now, I was riding Solo -- pushing him up into the contact and having to work for it.  No fair spoiling me then taking it away, horse!

We moved down to a wide ditch, but at this point, his brain had hit rolling boil and it appeared we were being stalked by a saber-toothed tiger.  He probably did not appreciate us laughing at him, but sorry buddy, work trumps invisible tigers.

So it took some coaxing to cross the ditch, but cross he did, although by braille a few times.  We continued to walk across it until he jumped it with some semblence of order.  Since he remained intent on his perceived predator, I had to compete hard for his attention to bring him back to walk each time.  It was extremely helpful when Becky had me lower my "whoa" hands from my shoulders (I know I'm not the only one whose hands come up when trying to stop the mildly desperate horse) to Encore's withers.  It helped lower his energy as well and bring him down more quietly as I kept my hands low and quiet and he finally began to relax a little.

A few exercises through the water and surrounding mounds and cavaletti followed, all very easy for Encore, but my job was to keep my position solid and still and my hands low over the rolling mounds and jumps.

We've all enjoyed this streak of Carolina blue skies!

Whatever it was he saw, he remained certain of its need for attention the entire time, so the lesson itself did not involve as much complexity as I might have thought.  However, it was a VERY valuable opportunity to have Becky there on a rare occassion when he does mentally vacate (I can probably count the times he has done this on my hands), as she was able to tweak my body language through my hands and core to help quiet him instead of ending up in a fight with him.  Because he is not trying to avoid work and he is a very honest tryer in all things; he simply got sucked into the horse parallel mental universe where invisible monsters live.

And now I am laughing because I bet to any horse owner, that insane-sounding place description elicits a completely blase, "Oh yeah, I totally know that universe."

Next on the syllabus:  long lining - the magical Holder way.

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The Becky Diaries: Day 3: Gymnastics

The porch view of the Windhaven dressage and gynmastic work area.

I did not get to do much creeping watching today; since I had to fetch Encore late morning and he had become so disgusting I decided to bathe him following our lesson, it was more of a day for peeks here and there.

Since it was another gorgeous, sunny morning, I ambled to the front porch to watch Teddy (Can't Fire Me) execute his gallop sets, which Becky mixed with cavaletti and ground pole work.  He really is a fantastic horse with a powerful gallop and Becky makes him look super rideable.  Watching him surge up the hills and then settle back into tiny rollback turns to the rails made me feel like I had a very privileged box seat indeed!

As I packed up to head to So8ths, I was also able to catch a few minutes of Comet's dressage school as he practiced his tempi changes, moving from fours to threes to twos.  He still has his signature aura of something very special and it's easy to see why he is Becky's Solo.

Junior horse in his hotel room.

Encore and I were the first lesson after the daily break, so we were alone warming up at the top of the hill, leaving Encore convinced that all the world's horses had deserted him to an uncertain fate.  I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before due to a loudly snoring temporary roommate, so I struggled to be patient and breathe and decided to stop and work on the turns-on-forehand from yesterday.

Becky and Scrappy arrived, the latter to supervise all parties, and our turns were pronounced much improved from the day before (it must have been all the practice I'm sure Encore did overnight).  Then we revisited the trot and canter work from the day before, alternating large circles with ~15m circles.

So8ths hovel of a barn.  Poor horses.

It was as if I had brought a different horse.  More likely, my horse was relieved that I was finally starting to use the aids properly.  But Encore was so much softer and willing in the bridle, trying hard to keep his withers up and push from behind and, miracle of miracles, staying focused on the work at hand!

Key points:  Stay even on both reins (I was caught multiple times with my trademark hang on the left rein, dangit).  When he is moving in a good rhythm and wants to stretch down, let him have the rein as long as he is not falling down the hill and then push him a little bit forward over that newly stretched topline.  Really focus on keeping the rhythm of trot and canter very pure (Encore can sneak a disconnected tranter in to try and avoid pushing at the canter).  Alternating very small circles at the canter, swing your hips to push his hind legs forward forward forward through the tight turns you make with your outside aids (this felt amazing).

They have a tiny dressage arena over there too.

Exercise 1:  Jumping a single cavaletti, alternate the approach on a small circle from the left and right.
Key points:  Use an opening rein and new outside leg over the jump to show him where we are going.  The primary focus is holding the rhythm and my position consistent the whole time (woohoo, something I am successful at!), not letting him fall apart or get strung out.

Exercise 2:  Jump single cavaletti to bounce cavaletti series to single to low gymnastic line.  I've drawn you a masterpiece of a diagram.  The low line is not pictured.  Because I was too lazy to redo it when I realized I'd run out of room.  Deal with it.
Key points:  Rhythm, hold position over jumps, use outside aids and really push him forward through the tight turns.  All of these are on the side of an incline, so you MUST stay balanced and not let him just fall on his face.

Nope, always got lost after 3rd jump.

Exercise 3:  Jump larger gymnastic line of vertical-two strides-wide oxer, then do 10 rollback turns over cavaletti (ok, it may have been slightly less than 10, all I know is I got lost every time).  If you get lost, just turn and jump something.  And yes, all of the turns were as tight as they look.
Key points:  Keep his hind legs swinging in the turns.  REALLY stay solid with your position over the jumps; be still and let him jump beneath you while you stay in the center.  Hold him together with your core and thigh between jumps so he doesn't get so strung out.

The last green arrow leads back to the low gymnastic line.  The goal was to alternate direction with each turn, which my confused self didn't do, but I did turn and jump SOMETHING each time and I started and ended in the right place, so was given the ok on execution, ha.

One of four beautiful wood sculptures at So8ths.

We did several variations on this exercise, but the goals and design were the same.  The turns continued to improve; I was quite excited to discover the Encore was much stronger than I thought and as he figured out how to sit down and pivot, it became easier and easier for him.

He retains his tendency to slow down when he is thinking about the question in front of him or if he needs to sort out his feet, so he would fade a bit in front of both gymnastics.  I heard David in my head upon approach saying, "go forward now!" but still could not get enough impulsion through the first line.  Becky recognized the effort and reminded me which piece I was missing:  since the line is built for a forward, powerful canter, build that in front of it by not just applying more leg, but keeping him balanced in front with your core so his rhythm does not get faster, but that power keeps building beneath the saddle.  Aha, got it! 

So now I just need to build cavaletti when I get home.  Oh, and a place to put them.  Next up for us:  XC!
 

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The Becky Diaries: Day 2: Dressage-ish

What have you done in the last 10 years?

Mind blown.

Also, you might as well start calling me Wrong Turn Reba; all these tiny SC roads around Encore's hotel look the same and as I'm driving along, lost in thought about all I saw in one day, apparently I decide to just randomly turn down one.  It doesn't help that you have to go by SR numbers...which are tiny on dark brown signs.  I think Encore is getting dizzy.

But you wanted to hear about horsey things.  As everyone else here seems to think this is a normal, day-to-day activity, I am the solitary creeper, following Becky around like a stray dog gathering scraps.  I should have brought all black clothing so I would be a ninja and no one would see me.  But she hasn't run me off with the longe whip yet.  I think Scrappy is rooting for me, I keep his ears well-scratched!

After finishing some work duties (it sucks being an adult sometimes -- an ancient old lady by comparison to the rest of the girls in the house, ha!), I spent the late morning filling the wide open creeper niche, stalking and watching.

One owner brought her gorgeous bay mare (when I asked Becky what type of horse she was, I was told "Eh, some warmblood thing or another"), who would throw enormous rearing mare tantrums when asked to connect, reportedly.  Becky got on and immediately began engaging her hind end at the walk, keeping her moving sideways, crossing her hind legs beneath her and pushing her neck forward and down.  Exaggerated turns on the forehand led to big leg yields, constantly pushing the inside leg over into the outside rein.  Yeah yeah yeah, I need to do that, I thought.  She did similar work in a stunning trot, which fancy mare tried to evade...by using passage.  Encore tries that evasion too, it's so annoying.  I mean, doesn't yours?  A similar evasion presented in the canter, where the horse would just bounce up and down in a teeny four-beat canter to avoid moving forward into the contact with the outside rein.  But no one beats Becky, so she was soon rocking along, being a very impressive little workhorse.

The staple diet of the horsewoman.  Creeping takes energy!

Next was a long-lining session with a younger gelding, a big, strong-looking WB/TB ("some warmblood thing crossed with a TB" -- there seems to be a trend in broad categories, much to my amusement) who was quite the tryer and had just come back from SoPines I at Novice.  Now I have long-lined Solo, but never like this.  I drew a picture of the line setup to try as soon as I get home -- it was certainly much more effective than mine!  In short, the inside line ran from high on the ribcage, through the bit, and back to the top ring on the surcingle.  A side rein was connected on the outside to block his outside shoulder and teach him to accept the outside rein.  With his brain whirling a mile a minute, he put the pieces together and then Becky showed his young owner how to work the lines (Becky used an outside long-line but simplified it with the side rein for owner). 

I already had to run back to the house to write things down and then a quick calculation showed I still had time to watch a few lessons before I had to go fetch Encore.  Students were working on some fun (ok, probably fun for me to watch, less fun for them to ride) canter/counter-canter/10-m circle diagrams for the Prelim dressage test.  I confess I was happy to see the rider before me was a woman on a (mohawked!) stocky bay appropriately named Sofa who was working on outside rein connection and stretching over the topline -- woohoo, my level!

Has anyone picked up today's theme yet?

This afternoon, 5:00 pm was not beer-thirty, instead it was go-time.  I'd warmed up Encore on top of the hill and thought I had him fairly supple and ready.  I was instructed to put Encore through his paces quickly, at which point he did his best prancy, carriage-horse trot on the side of the hill.



The Becky Assessment:  He has a huge step behind and comes very far up under himself, really using his hind end and back, but then it gets to the front and nothing is going on there.  Correct again.  I will never cease to be amazed at people like she and David and Jimmy who can assess everything in five minutes and one sentence!  Actually, I think she got Solo in about three minutes.

Exercise 1:  Execute turns on the forehand (oh, I knew I needed more of those!) at the walk.
Key points:  Don't worry about keeping the front feet immobile.  Focus on the hind legs crossing over beneath him.  Keep the outside hand in a steady contact with the pinky almost touching the saddle.  The inside hand is an OPENING REIN ONLY, no direct rein, no pulling back with it, EVER (this was very difficult for me, I was scolded many times).  Then push ribcage over into the solid outside rein, softening when he crosses over and gives in the bridle.  Every time he gives, it's "money in the bank," each step a training investment in your future performance.

Exercise 2:  Turn these into half circles at the walk and trot.
Key points:  Ride them the same way.  Don't move that outside hand.  STOP PULLING HIS HEAD AROUND WITH THE INSIDE REIN (this is where I have been going wrong!); simply use your inside leg on his ribcage, keep asking, and wait for him to find the right answer.

Exercise 3:  Graduate to full circles at the trot and canter.
Key points.  Ride them the same way, hahahaha.  Outside hand, STAY!  Opening rein, NO PULL.  Be patient and let him find the right place to be.  At the canter, you can make the circle smaller by pushing him in with the outside leg and feel him shift up and over under you.  Try not to pass out and fall off in front of Becky. 



Encore tried very very hard and was excellent; he had "read the book" but his rider had missed some important parts!  Her explanation of HOW to establish the outside rein first, then apply inside leg, then open inside rein was the one that finally made breakthrough sense to me and my little lightbulb nearly blinded me.  But after years of hearing that to supple the jaw, we must "give and take" or "vibrate the rein," it was extremely hard for me to just open that rein as a guide and then do nothing with it.

As the hamster wheel in my head spun like mad on the way back to Chateau So8ths, I realized that the circle exercise was the same as the one David has us do and the aid requests are the same.  Becky just nitpicked the details of my aids in a new way that allowed me to finally bridge the two.  Which is why clinics are valuable -- a fresh pair of eyes and a different vocabulary works as a complement to the trainers that know you well, giving your overthinking brain a new angle to gnaw on, because in this game, sometimes you have to throw a lot of noodles at the wall before one sticks!  

So, a month's worth of homework from my 30 minutes on Day 1.  This afternoon, we are to show up for cavaletti and gymnastic work after lunch and I will NOT forget my protein bar today (idiot) and I will NOT throw myself up my horse's neck/hold my breath/clench the reins/all the other things I do when I am out of practice and get nervous.

For now...I have some important creeping to do:  Comet gets schooled at 11:15!

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Balancing The Classical With The Practical

Such are the words from Camp David.

Encore and I were able to sneak in two excellent lessons before the snowstorm hit, although I did most of my jumping with snowflakes in my eyes, gah!  Friday evening, we allowed David to torture us in Death Circles on the flat, and Saturday, we attempted to brush the rust off my jumping skills.  Rebuilding of my left leg is DEFINITELY not complete, ugh.

Two things emerged as themes, though, as we worked through unlocking all the parts of Encore and reminding my battered body that it is NOT supposed to be on my horse's neck (who knew?).

(1) It was with great enthusiasm that David pronounced Encore worlds sounder than he was last year.  This news was received with equal enthusiasm, as the amount of money, energy, and time we have spent with Dr. Bob and his crew is not small.  Every bit is worth it though when I ride his left lead and he feel like one horse instead of two ends of a horse suit loosely tied in the middle, doing their own thing.  While I expressed that I wasn't sure if this was a compliment, David assured me that there is a difference between unsound and lame -- lame is limping, unsound is just...not right in the body.  I certainly can't disagree that between his back and his injury in 2012, Encore needed "rightening."

Last year:  a better haircut and less fat, but greener

(2) Traditional wisdom and training dictates that we ride our horse forward forward FORWARD into a steady, receiving contact and simply (simply....HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA) wait for him to offer the roundness we seek as he becomes supple through lateral exercises and transitions.  However, almost immediately on Friday, David had me slow my horse down and work his neck and poll in flexions and bending while moving off the inside leg.  My favourite instruction was, "Flex his poll to the outside while keeping his neck bent to the inside and his body bent around your inside leg."  Ooga booga, is that even possible and how the heck does one do that?  Apparently I did something correct by thinking about it, because he said, "GOOD!"

Our goal was to get him super round, even if he got slightly behind the vertical in front, and then let him carry the bit forwards and down.  When we did, I IMMEDIATELY felt his whole topline unlock and become soft and delicious.

This left me confused, though; this would seem to contradict the FORWARD and waiting thing.  One of the greatest things about David is that you can talk to him, so I asked him about this on Saturday.  His explanation:

Training is not black and white, it is all shades of grey (oh, goody, just like life).  With this horse, because he has a tendency to go tight in his topline and he stays locked in his poll and jaw, he has overdeveloped the muscle at his poll.  This in turn makes it even harder.  Were we to just run him along off his feet, he would spend most of the time working incorrectly.  We have to unlock these spots and supple him first and then ride him forward over his back.   

This makes sense to me.  In January and early February, I had been riding him simply forward in lateral work.  While we could eventually achieve some softening, there was a lot of back and forth, fighting, and a lot of time spent impersonating tense llamas.  Every step doing that is definitely not producing good results.

Using David's process, the difference was dramatic (although much harder work, so I guess it must be right).  It also meant I had a softer horse the second I got on Saturday morning, which caught me by surprise.  He continued to emphasize riding what was underneath me in the moment and keeping the focus there, creating the feel, instead of wasting time hoping for a horse that may or may not appear in the future.  This is why I keep stalking David around the region -- his tailored approach to the horse in front of him brings out the best in my partners, the way a generic program never would.  Drawing lines in the sand never gets us anywhere but frustrated when it comes to training horses. 

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In Which I Once Again Prove That I Am Daft

I've been working with Amber and Solo, teaching her how to dig out his trot from beneath the turtle shuffle veneer.  In the process, I have her with very little contact, just riding his butt forward.  And we all know that if you ride the hind end forward correctly, the back and withers lift, the neck becomes soft and round, and the horse reaches into the bit, right?  Which is exactly what I watched my horse do today.

Aww, I miss Muscle Solo

Which is exactly what I've been trying to get Encore to do.  I even said it out loud to Amber:  "Well, damn, looks like I can teach it, but I can't ride it..."  I spoke half in jest, but....

When we were finished, I got on Encore.  Thoughtfully.  I've watched David ride him.  I've watched Foy ride him (see Micklem review post below).  What did they have in common?  Both rode from the seat and leg with a longish, very soft rein.

I know it in my head.  I know it in my body.  I got another rider to do it on my own horse while I was on the ground.  I even get it with Encore, but can't keep it consistent.  But it didn't all mesh together and I wasn't riding it.

Idiot!

I was riding Encore into contact, but I began to wonder if it was too heavy.  Was I using too much rein?  I often feel as if I am in his face more than I would like.  I am not heavy-handed and I have become consistent and following with my hand, but I still feel like I am doing to much in the bridle.  David had said, both after riding him and watching him in our lessons, "The key to this horse is going to be a very light hand."

So even though our footing resembled a cranberry bog after yesterday's rain, I gathered up my reins and asked for a trot.  I rode almost entirely off my lower body, my contact barely there, just at the level of okay, I can lightly feel you but I shall remain passive and just give you the space where you should be.

Yes, yes, we know how this ends -- SURPRISE!  It clicked into place, even in the ten minutes of squishing around that we squeezed in.  When you ride correctly and thoughtfully, you get correct results.  It is slower in the beginning than pushing them into the shape that you want, but -- I know, ever more surprise *insert dry sarcasm here* -- you lose the tension in the horse's body.

Oh, we are SO getting that left lead back!

It's hardly epiphany -- if you've ridden for any length of time, you hear "ride back to front, don't worry about the head, ride the hind legs and the front will take care of itself."  Basic equestrian gospel.  Yet so counter-intuitive to let go and trust the process.  To REALLY let go and do it right.  We think we are doing it (or at least, I thought so) but then something causes me to make a tiny shift in my approach and I realize what I WASN'T doing.

It seems too obvious to even write about.  But one of the biggest challenges of being the (financially challenged) adult amateur who cannot do consistent lessons is that your training is a slow process of trial-and-error.  That starts over when you have an entirely different type of horse.  Encore is able to physically give so much more than Solo could, that to get more, I need to do less.   

From the Master of the Obvious, you're welcome.

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The Wheat From The Chaff: Separate It Does

This story is a little overdue, but no less worth telling.  Because it is a perfect illustration of the line of horsemanship those of us one side of it know perfectly and those on the other side are convinced does not exist.

Last weekend, Amber came out to practice her bending and I wanted to get her in a basic two point and cantering before I was laid up (ah, back when The Plan was still alive).  As we warmed up, she was doing worlds better with her bending (as in, Solo was bending!) in serpentines and circles (ok, I still tied her hand together) and making serious progress relaxing her upper body and guiding Solo with her eye.  We worked on trying to get a more forward trot and I even saw a couple steps approaching a trot that was awake -- not bad for three rides! 

So, let's do a couple of canter circles and we'll be done,  k?

No problem.  And she'd been great cantering on the longe, very well balanced and smooth.

I stressed that it was important to sit up, keep your leg wrapped around him, and to keep your spurs off of him when he was cantering and just keep a light seat, he might get excited.

She picked up her canter at A with a fairly prompt transition and made a nice corner tracking left.  Going down that long side is a bit of a down slope, so I saw Solo fall on his forehand a bit and cheat his way through by just going a little faster.  Before I knew it, he made a motorcycle turn across the arena and I yelled, "Half halt!"

He was pointed almost straight at the arena rope now and I saw the conflict on his face.  Never jump out of the dressage arena!  But she's pointing me at a thing and digging in her spurs and saying go!  NEVER jump out of the dressage arena!  But she's telling me to go faster!  NEVER JUMP OUT OF THE DRESSAGE ARENA!  OMG!!!

Fortunately for the long run, Solo made the correct decision and politely said, no ma'am, you have requested the wrong thing, and slid to a stop with his ankles against the rope.  Amber, less fortunately, had lost her leg behind her and tipped forward and did the MOST superlative Superman impression out to the side that I think I have ever seen.  We're talking full-body, stretched out, completely level airtime here.

R U OKZ?

She hit the ground on her butt, rolling (yesss, someone who knows how to roll!) and Solo sidled two steps over to me with worried eyes, saying I'm sorry, mom, but she was wrong.  I yelled to Amber not to move, patted Solo and told him it was ok, he did the best he could.

I knew Amber had a pre-existing back sprain, so I didn't want her to get up (I never let people get up anyway), to just take a minute and breathe.  She popped up a little soon, but insisted she was ok and climbed back on the horse to walk it out.  I had her walk around, stretch everything out, breathe and chat, and just relax.

This, this is where the line starts.  After calmly assessing she was unhurt aside from some road rash and bruising, she climbed right back up and said, "Let's do this because I don't want it to be a thing."

Right on.

I re-emphasized the spurs; "Now we know why we don't dig them in, yes?  Do you feel like you know where they are right now and that you can control them?"  Because Solo is nearly impossible to ride without a spur and he knows it.  She thought she was good, so I said, ok, let's try this again.

I always cantered Solo perfectly.  Ha!

We did the right lead, his easier one.  It was perfectly uneventful and had some nice strides on the short end.  When he got unbalanced, I had her take a tug and then release to rebalance in a crude sort of half halt, but she was able to keep Solo from slithering down the hill. Yeah!  So we changed direction and hit the left lead again, although I had her stay on a 20 m circle at one end this time.

Solo picked up his canter and after the first few strides, I saw Amber get a bit wobbly from nerves.  Solo shifted a bit and tried to keep his balance under hers as they turned towards me.  I love my horse.  But as they turned in the arena corner, she tipped forwards and lost it again and rolled over his shoulder, albeit much less dramatically this time.

I will say now that I HATE when people fall off when I am teaching.  I know it is part of the process, but standing in the middle of the ring, I am responsible for everything that happens there.  It's why I've been keeping our work mostly in the small grass dressage arena from which I've removed all the rocks and know every inch of the footing.  Much nicer than the bigger arena down below where you land on rocks and a very hard base....  

But Amber hopped up immediately this time (I'm going to have to work on that!) and came back over and climbed up again.

That's the line, right there.  Many people walk away after the first fall.  Most of the rest are gone after the second.  Especially within 15 minutes of the first.  Given of course, that no injuries in need of medical care occur.  One must, of course, take of those first!  

Well, I'll be.  She's the real deal.  She's someone who knows that Rome wasn't built in a day and it is definitely not a painless process.  Colour me impressed.

The second fall really gets your adrenaline going though, so I made sure she spent lots of time wandering around, relaxed, doing breathing exercises, talking about other things.  Oh yeah, and I took the spurs off.  I felt confident that Solo was awake at this point. 

I said, "I'd really like you to canter a left lead circle one time before you leave, so that this is resolved.  However, if you are not feeling comfortable, that is absolutely fine and we can pick it up next time and I have no problem with that."

Her reply, "No way, I don't want this to be a thing and I want to DO it."

RIGHT ON.

So she picked up her trot, settled her shoulders back, asked for the canter and I yelled "Relax your leg and sit up!"

And she did it.  Then we dropped back to trot, did a bit of stretching for Solo's back, stuck a fork in it, and called it done.

I hope that Amber went home feeling very accomplished (well, after she got the dirt out of her pants), because it was indeed a big thing.  It takes courage, dedication, and a heck of a lot of try if you really want to ride and she displayed every one in spades.  I would have been ok if she had just wanted to fall off once, but I guess she had something to prove... 

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Red Alert: An Opportunity For You!

For those of you who are not Facebook subscribers to TFS (for shame!), I wanted to let you east coasters know that September 15th, you can come and have a lesson with our amazing David O., jumping coach extraordinaire.  He will be in southern VA at the most beautiful farm owned by a friend.  You too, can be epic in the arena!

Please contact me if you are interested!  I cannot make it up this time and the owner needs spots filled!

You can do a stadium, XC, or dressage lesson and David is phenomenal at them all, focused on bringing out the best in your horse, which he magically succeeds at any time.  He also (besides being wonderfully patient with my dorkiness and very kind) teaches to your level, no matter what that is -- a Prelim horse went before me, I rode Novice, and a young horse who had only ever jumped a couple tiny x-rails went after me.  There is never any judging or denigration, only encouragement and improvement under his awesome eye.

Again, for details, contact me through email link on the sidebar -- you won't regret it, if you can make it!!

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Don't Yell At Problems -- Solve Them

That was definitely the theme for our lesson on Saturday, so I will let you take my lesson as well!  Encore did very well and feels in fine form, just in need of more strength as usual.  Our warmup felt solid and I was particularly pleased with his left lead canter, which no longer feels like you are riding a washing machine out of balance.

Video hint:  if you want to see details, click the little gear at the bottom of the YouTube window and you can pick HD.

Trot trot trot...



Ca-anter!



As always, David had a gymnastic for us to start with.  Encore ate it like it was nothing, but decided he'd rather throw in a lead change AT THE TAKEOFF STRIDE so he could do the whole thing on his right lead, which he much prefers.  I never said he wasn't quick with his feet.



Fixed.

Then we were allowed to begin our courses.   Watch very carefully as I jump the first oxer here, I think you will see a magnificent example of equitation the way it should be -- a moment of harmony I don't even have words for.



Heh.  After Encore proceeded to scare himself by overjumping the oxers, we set about fixing that too; David always emphasizes breaking things down and being very methodical in your training, one careful footstep at a time.  In fact, he should just wear a t-shirt that says, "Be Methodical" and it would save him a lot of breath.



They are all green horse mistakes -- I was not supposed to let him run out and I was set to make him eat it, but he is so quick and athletic, his body moves faster than I can think!  Lesson:  never never never take a jump for granted.  Keep that leg ON even if you think you are already at the point of no return!  At least until he gets some more solid mileage this fall.

Hopefully, on Saturday, all our fixing will fall into place and we will be ready to eat up some jumper courses!

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