Jonathan Elliott clinic - day 1 report

It was a pretty cool day. I was in the second group to ride, and each group only had 4 riders, so we got plenty of individual attention, but we got to see what the other riders did right (and wrong) and learn from that too.
Willig was kind of upset yesterday and today because of the show going on at home. He got in the trailer after some hesitation (not much, compared to how bad that last trailer incident was), and we drove over to Aspen Farms.
Just after he got out of the trailer, the four riders in the first group went by, so he went ballistic because from 200' away they were his new best friends and they were abandoning him. He thrashed around on the side of the trailer, got lunged, thrashed around more while I put on the saddle and groomed him, got lunged again, and then got ridden, all before we rode in our group.
We started with some pole exercises - one on the ground and building up to 5. Well, before we even got to the poles, Jon told me to pull him together - he was all over the place, but I hadn't even noticed until he told me to pull him together, and then I was like 'oh.' (small "o" because it made so much sense and I hadn't even realized it was going on).
So, we've done poles, and Willig was good at them. Then we started with an easy jump and worked our way up to a few courses. The first several courses we went back to trot mostly, then we did a few courses where we continued or cantered completely.
Willig got a little strong towards the end, but he was also jumping great. He didn't refuse anything or knock anything down.
We had one PERFECT jump. I just felt it going in, everything was set up, we had the right space, he took off at the right spot, I didn't have to do anything, and we just floated over that jump. It was a great feeling.
The main things Jon told me were:
- Keep Willig organized.
- I let my reins slip long. Keep them short and keep my hands wide and forward (also keeps your shoulders flat).
- Sit up straight. I don't need to fold in half over a teeny tiny jump.
- Think about cantering on the other side - that will help him keep the impulsion and the forward movement over the jump.
It was really useful. I watched the two Novice groups after lunch (and miracle of miracles, Willig in the stall was like "no big deal" - how about that?), and we're right to be in BN right now, but I have higher hopes for Willig now that we might only need a year at BN (of course, that depends on a lot on dressage and how much I can get him out next season).
Some of the other horses had some really naughty habits, and Willig was only bad at the trailer. He was great while I was riding him and in the stall. And he really tried hard. Considering I've jumped him probably less than 10 times total, he didn't spook or anything - he just used his heart!!
Tomorrow we do cross country, and the BN group went and rode through the xc fields after our session.
Aspen Farms is amazing!!! I have never been to such a cool place. Everything is new, and nice, and huge. They have 240 acres!
Plus, it's only a half hour from my house, so I went home and picked up the dogs and came back to give Willig dinner (and he was STILL good in his stall!).