a good lesson, once I figured it all out...

Radar was a tad backed off in my warm-up, I was pulling him back into the contact instead of pushing him into it like I worked on last lesson. Once I worked that out the ride was really good. I'm getting a lot better about not trying to learn into the circle and remembering where he wants to slow down and fall inward. Good free walk work, too, as long as I remember that the long diagonal doesn't end at B! Radar is pretty easy to push in the free walk without worrying too much about him getting too fast and breaking so I'm less worried about that than the other stuff.

Sending in my entry for the test clinic this week!

Pushing, not pulling...

So yesterday's lesson focused a lot on the idea of visualizing my hands and contact as pushing Radar forward into my hands instead of pulling him back to establish contact. With him you can really feel this, unlike on lighter horses, so I immediately understood what feel I wanted to achieve. Once again, the idea of moving my shoulders and torso a few degrees forward also really helped me and changed the entire position of my lower body for the better. It still amazes me that I have to work on sitting back a bit after I spent so much time after riding hunt seat learning to not perch and lean back! Rode most (actually, I think all) of the elements of Intro B and definitely feel very prepared. Still have to string them all together for the full test, but that will come in the next few weeks.

A great ride

Radar was so good in my lesson today, really forward and uphill all lesson. I don't know where this extra (good) energy came from, but I liked it! At the trot we worked on maintaining a nice "arc" where he was uphill and forward but not strung out and fast. Mia also had me working on not getting my shoulders behind the vertical, and visualizing my heels and lower legs going slightly upwards - however weird/incorrect that sounds - and that really helped me engage my core. Did a few run-throughs of most of test B, I got some decent free walks and worked more on circles (note to self: don't let the second half of the circle become smaller than the first half!) and diagonals (it's better to go error on the side of hitting the rail before the letter than being sucked towards the end of the arena).

a hack & a lesson...

I had a good ride on my own last Friday. I kind of needed to de-stress, so I put Radar in what Mia calls his "furry exercise machine" mode and did a bunch of exercises for myself--really working on getting my legs long and stable and doing a bit of sitting trot work.

Today in my lesson we again worked on walk/trot transitions--unfortunately for us (since they are a weak spot) they're a big part of Intro level tests. So after we (re)installed the go-or-pay-for-not-going mentality, we worked on center lines (managed to turn too early, turn too late and get a few perfect turns over the course of the ride), diagonals and circles. Working on letting Radar walk out a bit on the diagonals without getting crooked is challenging, those free walk diagonals are going to be the bane of my existence for a while. The trot work, although not perfect, is easier to organize.

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.