transitions

So the thing I took away the most from my lesson on Tuesday was the kind of forward yet collected walk I need to achieve decent trot transitions. I need to really think about rocking Radar back onto his hind end before the upward transitions, and need a fairly collected walk to do that. To get the collected walk, though, I need a forward walk which he can collect from. So much to think about! In the trot tracking right I once again worked on getting his right leg to step under, which helps it so much. That and the visual of facing my shoulders/hips right which therefore places my right hand slightly back and my left hand slightly forward. Which makes Radar actually go straight, instead of hanging his head left as he wants to do. The other thing I'm working on and am getting the hang of is making my turns onto the diagonals into pseudo turns on the haunches, making them crisper instead of rounded. Luckily that's easier on Radar than some of the other elements of the test. Our best part is the free walk, we always seem to be able to get that movement pretty much down. So much to think about in a simple walk/trot test!

We have a date!

Well, a show date that is. Our first show together -- my first dressage show ever, not to mention the pony's first dressage show -- should be the first week of March. I did a lot of walk work yesterday, basically running Intro A & B at the walk. Made me very thankful that the circles are trot circles at this level, as walk circles take forever on a 13hh pony! I'm getting a good sense of what I need to do to get from the medium to free walk (although I have to figure out just how much I want to let him move out, I don't want to get on the forehand or get too racy and unbalanced), and working on the transition back to the medium walk Mia had me tighten my right rein first, to counter his natural tendency to drift right, and that helped my transition greatly. Ran Intro B for the first time, a little more interesting than Intro A even though that free walk diagonal change is a tad bit challenging. So excited!Oh, and the totally adorable cellphone picture was what I found in his stall when I went to tack him up. Had to get some peppermints for bribery to get him up, he definitely thought 3:00 pm was nap time!

Running the test!

So we're officially preparing for some dressage schooling shows (Rancho de los Amigos, and maybe Hossmoor) this spring and summer! I've been running Intro A in my lessons lately, really working on centerlines and straightness and getting Radar uphill in the walk and trot. The walk work will seriously be the longest minute of my life there, I mean his free walk is actually pretty nice but it takes forever on a 13hh pony! Mia was going to see if RDLA wanted to run the tests in the short court, that would definitely save a lot of time! Our circles are coming along fine, as long as I remember to face right! Mia worked with me on a concept she got from Mary Wanless, that I needed to view my left shoulder and hip as a connected triangle that needs to always feel "in front" of my right side (which is in fact straight). Once I really concentrated on that, my circles fell in much less than before).

In other news, Mia found a hunt coat in black that someone had left in her house that fits me perfectly! Even the arms are short enough, amazingly. Since I think my cheap one from college is too big, that was a nice surprise. So I'm all set gear-wise, even though I'll have to end up covering my Tipperary helmet with a helmet cover... kind of tacky but whatever, I don't feel like it's necessary to buy a new helmet when I don't necessarily need it. And I made it into the New Year's Resolution column of Practical Horseman! Kind of a boring resolution, actually (ride more and write about it!) but I'm kind of excited.

of flamboyant Fjords and outside reins

Well, besides the fact that the idea of Radar as flamboyant is kind of hysterical, this visual has helped me ride the trot so much during my last few rides, really getting him to move uphill and into my hands instead of plowing forward onto the forehand. We did a bunch of sitting trot work on Sunday, working on the exercise where I get an inside or outside bend and then improve the trot from that spot. I realized once again that the saddle I'm riding in, a JRD that is custom for Radar and his owner, is not particularly ideal for me! I got so sore at the spot where the saddle skirt ends and meets my thigh. Definitely wasn't a muscle soreness issue, more of a hitting me in the wrong spot when I sit really deep issue. Oh well, as Mia said it's a mark of a good ride to have these sorts of issues. We got some really good trot work done from this place, more of the flamboyance--definitely skirting the tendency to collect and suck back yet still remain connected to the bit. Mia said my sitting trot has really developed recently... she tried to claim that on Radar it was one of the best in the barn, I don't know if I quite believe her but I'll take the compliment!

Today we worked on bending into changes of direction and circles, and I once again worked on activating my core and thus using my outside rein. It's fascinating that I can do one thing without activating my core properly, and have it slightly fail, but then once I'm organized and have my body aligned and activated correctly I can change both his way of moving and my own way of using my body. It was a really good ride.

Riding through the problems you didn't create, take two...

Seriously, this is the bane of my riding existence right now. I had a few months where basically me and Radar's owner were the only two riders consistently riding him. His owner doesn't really ask him to work that hard, so when I was really the only person consistently asking him to bend and give a bit on the reins he really was able to do a decent job of it. Over the last two or three weeks he has been getting used more in more serious jumping and dressage lessons and, ironically enough, these make him so much stiffer. Ridiculously stiff in fact, and more resistent to going forward. Usually forward isn't that much of an issue with him (with spurs and a whip!) but even that was hard at first last week. I really had to get after him. But we actually ended up having a fine ride on Friday, we really worked through his stiffness (I totally felt it the next day-- my arm ached!) and got some good sitting trot and canter circles by the end.

Mia said he was a lot better and less stiff on Saturday from my ride-- nice, but I wish I could benefit from someone else riding him before I do and getting him all nice and loose! I guess anyone who either rides other people's horses or even purchases their own horse who has prior training deals with this to some degree. It's somewhat frustrating but entirely understandable. I'm riding him earlier tomorrow so it will be before his other rider comes-- hoping that will make a difference for the better!

Riding what you didn't create

So today I got on Radar and immediately sensed a difference from my previous rides: he was resistant, stiff and in general not very forward. He kind of felt like the Radar of six months ago, not the horse I'd gotten accustomed to riding. Apparently he had a heavy weekend work-wise, and that definitely effects him. I warmed up as usual, then watched another lesson for a while. Mia pointed out that both me and the other girl riding were riding other people's horses, horses whose owners and riders had created problems or difficulties that we now had to deal with. I guess I never really thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense. Now I know that if I owned a horse I would create my own myriad of problems but it's still an interesting concept to think about. We worked on a lot of counter-bending and sitting trot work, getting him to pick his front end up and use his hind end--ending with some pretty successful circles. Mia said that really the only thing standing between us and an intro level dressage test is the circle, and that it's a goal we are definitely considering for the Spring! Exciting. Not that I don't expect to be beaten by some 17 hand warmbloods, but it will still be fun and different.

Radar as a furry exercise machine...

Yesterday I got on and was really tight and sore, so my lesson really consisted of me focusing on giving the right kind of leg aids to protect my muscles (thinking of an upward leg aid instead of just closing my legs tighter helps a lot) and keeping Radar as long and low (ha! Radar as long is kind of an oxymoron, but long for him) and maintaining an even pace while working a bit on getting off of my left seat bone. It was actually a good ride for both of us, sometimes you kind of need these kinds of relaxing-yet-still-productive rides.