Dressage at Donerail Farm

The only good thing about being unemployed is I have more time to take riding lessons. I have cut back in many areas so I can take advantage of having more time for my 'riding education' even though I currently have less money.

So Wednesday I took Faern for a lesson and we continued our work on getting me to ride her right side more and encourage her to carry herself more, shorten her frame and also to get ME to quit 'helping' her so much at the canter. Not that I should "throw her away" but I need to trust her to carry herself, and allow her to make the mistake of maybe breaking to the trot so I can make the correction so she will learn that it is her responsibility to a) keep cantering until I tell her otherwise, by just following her with my seat and b) weight her hind legs more. Marie said she takes back her statement that I have to ride her like she is a second level horse - she says I really need to ride her like she is a THIRD level horse. And speaking of third level, Marie had a 'pop quiz' on half pass at the trot. I have dabbled with it on Faeryn at the walk, and only a little bit at the trot. Marie told me to do it at the trot. And Marie was pleasantly surprised and I was even MORE surprised at how well she did. ;)

And today I took Faxx for a lesson. This was a milestone of sorts - it is the first time I have taken a lesson on him, or taken him anywhere, since he launched me in mid-September. My back still hurts from that. He was a good boy and did not mind the dump trucks that have been working endlessly on the property behind Marie's. And the cold weather did not make him silly at all. He worked well and I got some much needed help going to the right. It has always been his 'worst' side - he really does not want to bend - but it has gotten worse with not enough riding or eyes on the ground. Today I got some expert eyes to 'diagnose' and give me a 'prescription' for fixing the problem. It's not just that he does not want to bend to the right. He is also LEANING to the right while going to the right to avoid bending. Now I know why his saddle keeps slipping to the right all the time!! We did some spiraling in and out circles and also haunches in on the circle to help remedy that. So we have some good homework and a recipe to fix the current problem.

The Houston Dressage Society awards banquet is Feb. 3. I have been informed that Faeryn has won 'something' -- either champion or reserve champion in the schooling show division. She qualified for First and Second levels, but I think they have a rule that there has to be at least two other people who qualified at a level to be eligible to get an award. So she may have just won something at First level. Last year she was Reserve Champion at First level by just a fraction of a point. It would be nice if she was a Champion this year.

I am not sure I could have ridden in my arena today, but it was windy enough and the water drained fast enough (and we were dry enough previously) that I was actually able to find some dry 'real estate' to ride Faeryn on. Just a short ride - she's been off a few days and it was super windy. I took her for a lesson last week at Marie's and she took me to task for not asking enough from her. I am letting her go around in a training level frame and I need to insist that she shorten her frame - from back to front- and carry herself like the second level horse that she almost is. So even though I only rode her a short time, I 'upped the ante' on her and made her work a bit harder. Marie also figured out why she is tilting her head at times and how to fix it. She tilts her head when i am riding to the left - most often in the canter. She had me ride her more with my outside seatbone and leg and voila - tilt was gone. So I worked on that too today.

Hopefully my arena will be dry enough tomorrow so I can ride Faxx. i am taking Faeryn for another lesson with Marie tomorrow and signed up for another one on Friday. I am hoping to take Faxx if I can get a ride in on him tomorrow and/or Thursday.

I had every intention of getting up early this morning and riding Faxx and Faeryn before our forecasted rain. But the rain showed up early - as in the middle of the night - and did not stop until after 3 p.m.  You cannot tell where our pasture ends and the pond begins. There have been widespread tornado watches and all the bayous are out of their banks. To give you an idea of the magnitude - the Medical Center was closed due to the threat of flooding from the nearby bayous. So definitely no riding today - and so much for getting some work done on my arena - I was going to try and finally finish it.

Fortunately it did not rain on the Debbie Bowman clinic this past weekend. I rode Fling both days. The first day she worked really, really hard. First I pointed out to Debbie that she seemed to be drifting to the left a lot when i was going right - and Debbie diagnosed it as another evasion to using her right hind more. So we worked a lot on controlling the drifting and even counterflexing her a bit to 'force' her onto the right hind. We did 'squares' at the walk, trot and canter, controlling the drifting at each gait. Then we moved to working on the canter - asking her to carry more on her haunches and also doing some haunches in on the circle at the canter. One of the reasons I was not getting a good haunches in at canter is that I did not have her bent enough around my inside leg. I need to think of having as much bend in the canter when I ask for haunches in as I do in the turns on the haunches. We also worked on half pass at the trot and canter, and also the flying changes after the half pass. We finished up with asking for half steps. I spent about 10 minutes alternating between super collected trot steps and then sending her forward. It was warmer than it had been and Fling's neck and butt were lathered when we finished!  On Sunday the 'drifting' was almost nonexistant. We did some more work in half pass and more haunches in on the canter. Then we moved to working on our flying changes - the big bad bugagoo. Some progress there and Debbie gave me some exercises to do to try and fix a bad habit _I_ taught her. I tend to pull her over when I ask for the change - fearing that was the only way she would get the change. So now she is diving into the direction of the new lead when she changes. Debbie had me do changes across the centerline on the short side and focus only on the straightness  - and instead of turning after the change, we stopped. And if she got crooked before the change - I was to not ask fro the change but come to walk/halt and then just do a simple change - but STRAIGHT. Super good clinic and I think Debbie is beginning to see Fling as an upper level horse. I am aiming to show her Fourth level this spring.

Very cool and blustery today but a beautiful, beautiful sunny day. For kicks, I tried out the canter zig zag with Fling...you half pass a few steps, do a flying change, and half pass the other direction a few steps. Eventaully you do it several times each direction. I think this is way fun and could be a good way to teach Fling that yes, you CAN do a flying change and stay focused and through and listening to your rider!  I did not do more than one zig and one zag each direction but I can see this is not going to be a deal breaker on our move up the levels! I am so grateful for my wonderful little spotted horse. Even Marie noted yesterday that she thrives on hard work.

I rode Faeryn today and it could have been disastrous - windy day and Fling got a burr up her butt and she and Faxx went just blasting around the field when I was riding Faeryn. All I could think was, ok, Mike is out of town, I left my cell phone in the house...  But Faeryn, although she really, really wanted to join her siblings in their mad dash, listened to me and  was not naughty. I felt like I was riding a firecracker for a few minutes there but she maintained self-control! Good, good Faeryn! 

I rode Faxx yesterday and he listens to my seatbones very, very well. And, I got our first walk/canter depart!! Yeah Faxx!! Second level is just around the corner. I have come to the conclusion that second level is where it starts to get fun. :)

Happy New Year. At this writing, it is 11:14 and I would be in bed but the fireworks near us have been awful and the horses are restless. They have tapered off for now, but I am sure they will surge again at midnight and I feel the need to check on the horses again at that point.

I think Faeryn's major problem at the Schooling Show championships - and even the regular Regional Champs - was that we left our best riding in the warmup ring. I suspect I am warming her up too long and she is gettiing tired. Especially at the SS champs where she had two huge spooks in the warm up when a group of people walked down some steps from the main arena - said steps being directly at the far end of the warm up arena. When then have those huge adrenaline rushes - what goes up must come down - and I think she just ran out of gas during our second ride - which was the Second level champ. She worked beautifully before our ride - and we had less than an hour between our two rides.

Today I took Fling to Marie's for a lesson (which I also did on Wednesday) and we have been working on piaffe half steps. She has taken to it like a duck to water. Marie is very pleased and says at this rate she will have her piaffe confirmed in six months! We also worked on canter and I had an epiphany about how to use my seatbones to establish the speed/rhythm of both trot and canter. I experimented with this technique with both Faeryn and Faxx too, with astounding results!  A great way to ring in the new year!

A complete recap tomorrow, but Faeryn won her First level and Second level championship classes. To be fair, we were the only pair in the Second level championship - but we won the First level championship fair and square. ;)  She had a 65%+ average from the two judges on the First level ride and, a disappointing 58% at Second level. More tomorrow.

This weekend the HDS Schooling Show Champs are being held at Great SW Equestrian Center in Katy. The show is Sat and Sun. but my classes are only on Sunday. I am showing her in the First and Second level amateur championship classes. Amazingly enough, I am the only entry in the second level class and there are only three other riders in my first level championship. Tomorrow she goes to Marie's for a lesson and I need to have a 'beauty shop' day with her to trim her and try and tame her wild mane. Her mane keeps 'flipping' from one side to the other so it looks awful, since I pull/thin it from one side, and then before I know it, it's flopped to the other side and all the short hairs are then on top! I've never had a horse that had a mane that changed sides at will!

I had a great ride on Faxx yesterday. His back was up and he was taking really good contact. I am starting to ask him to make quicker transitions from canter/trot and walk/canter to start working toward our walk/canter and canter/walk transitions. His turns on the haunches are coming along, as are his shoulder-ins. He needs to go for a lesson soon. Debbie Bowman is coming in January, but I am going to sit this one out since I am on a very fixed income these days. I can take four lessons from Marie for the price of two from Debbie, and I need to get lessons on all three horses in the next few months.

I have to decide by the first week in January if I think Fling is ready to show Fourth level at a recognized show. My test sheet is still in the truck - I need to really read the comments on it and see the movements where she needs work vs the ones she did well.

Another milestone. Fling and I made our Fourth level debut at Marie's "Dickens on the Sand" show today. It was a fun show - this is always a fun show as everyone dresses in holiday garb which is a refreshing change since the usual boring dressage 'uniform' is black and white. It was COLD though and I am a cold weather WIMP. I had on a turtle neck and festive red plaid down vest, but was so cold I warmed up wearing a red down coat over that. Fling sported a red velvet saddle pad which was about all the 'bling' she needs since she is a pinto.

Unfortunately, I did not really allow enough time to warm her up, considering I had taken her straight from her stall where she'd been standing all night and then loaded her into the trailer to go to the show. I got on her 30 minutes before our ride time and 40 would have been better. She really needed to just walk for 10 minutes before doing anything else. I had to rush her into the trot/canter without spending enough time stretching and bending her at the walk. Between the time constraint and other people in the warm-up arena, I did not even get to practice a flying change before we had to do it in the test. Totally my fault.

I was not really nervous. Nothing riding on this - just a chance to actually ride through the test in a show situation. There is really no substitute for riding a test in a show situation, even if it is just a schooling show. I ride through portions of the tests at home, but can never make myself actually ride the entire test from beginning to end.

The trot work went ok, but she's 'lost' her right half pass and her right turn on the haunches. Those movements were some of her better. Her haunches are trailing in the half pass - we need to work on that.

She was late behind in her first flying change and the second direction, she uncharacteristically broke from canter to trot during the counter canter before the change. That was my fault - I almost dropped my whip and in futzing with that and trying to move it up higher in my hand, I quit riding and that's when she broke.

Her canter to halts in the entry and exit were good, and her canter half passes were better than her trot half passes. She also nailed her downwards from medium and extended canter and her very collected canter strides from quarterline to quarterline within a 20m canter circle. And, because Pam was judging, she got a 72.3. Truly a "Christmas gift." I think the high score of the show ended up being a 77 or a high 76 at training level. Marie saw some of my ride in between calling it for me and she said it looked pretty good. I am most happy with her canter  - she is finallly listening to my aids and not blowing me off when I ask her to sit and collect more. Now if _I_ can learn to _think_ and prepare her and cue her properly for the flying changes, and fix our half pass right and turn on the haunches to the right, we'll be ready to take on a recognized show.

I took Fling to Marie's today for a lesson. It is my last 'prep' before the schooling show on Sunday. We worked on getting her straighter - i am tending to bend her too much - really more 'pulling on the inside rein' than bending. So Marie has been having me do two things  to get her straighter...think about riding her more with my outside seatbone and put her in slight renvers. It is working and has made my flying changes better. It also helps to KEEP her from changing early in 4/1 where you have to do half pass from D to E and then keep the counter canter along the side and through the corner before doing a flying change at C.

So once we worked on getting her straigher and 'carrying more' at trot and canter, we worked on the movement from 4/1 where you have to go across diagonal in medium, but then do six or seven strides of collected trot over X. Marie said I need to think half steps and really think about 'bouncing' her a bit with my seat to get move activity  not just slower. We then worked on the similar move at the canter where you do a 20m circle and show show six or seven strides of very collected canter between the quarterlines.

And then we put it all together and it was magic. I have been riding her mostly in the field with only an 'approximate' idea of letters and distances. The half pass from D to E/B is pretty steep - but was not difficult at all to make it to the letter. And then we put it all together -- the half pass to flying change and then immediate circle with very collected canter from quarterline to quarterline. And it was magic. Effortless. Clean flying change. She came 'back' to me easily and she felt like she could do canter on the spot when I asked for very collected canter between the quarterlines.
When we finished the sequence I stopped and threw my arms around her neck and almost cried. And then she got a peppermint. Those are the moments you live for. And make you so grateful for these generous creatures.

It was threatening rain, and, in fact, a short sprinkle got me cooled off as I was about to get on and start warming Faeryn up at the schooling show this morning. I could have used a bit more time to really get her supple, but I just did not allow enough time for our warmup. I got her right out of her stall where she'd been cooped up all night and put her in the trailer to take her to this show. I love being the first ride when the show does not start until 9. ;)

I really did not know what to think about our ride. It is very difficult for me to  be objective about my performance anymore. I am more critical of myself than any judge. This was our first outing at the more difficult Second Level Test 3. Up to this point, I've only shown her 2/1. Second 3 includes shoulder in to renvers, a lot of counter canter work and you have to do a walk/canter transition on the counter leg  each direction ON the rail, and there are turns on the haunches.

Faeryn struggled with one 10m canter circle and broke early but the judge did not seem to notice it. I will say her 10m circles really WERE 10m this time and not 12, as they seemed to be last time.

I was very happy to get a 63% from a fairly tough judge for the ride. and interestingly enough, she got mostly 7s on her canter work and mostly 6s on her trot work. I was happy with 6s on the shoulder-in to renvers but know she can do better on her mediums. She also got 6s on her turns on the forehand, and she should be able to get 7s on those.

She gets next weekend off, and then goes to Great SW for the HDS Schooling Show Championships Dec. 17-18. We are arriving late Saturday afternoon and competing on Sunday.