Summary of Judge's comments coming soon.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Willig did great at the show!
For Training-1, he got a 63.043%
For Training-2, he got a 63.929% - despite me blanking on the test, picking up a perfect canter, immediately realizing (by its perfection) that it was in the wrong place, and then going on with the test. But he got marked down 2 points for that.
He was spooky about the stuff I expected him to be, but because I expected it, I was able to take some affirmative action and minimize its negative affect.
I was really, really pleased with him.
As a P.S. from my last lesson:
I need to work on getting my leg back at the canter, not my default anaconda-SQUEEZE.
And even tests always turn right.
Odd tests always turn left.
Pretty cool tip.
For Training-2, he got a 63.929% - despite me blanking on the test, picking up a perfect canter, immediately realizing (by its perfection) that it was in the wrong place, and then going on with the test. But he got marked down 2 points for that.
He was spooky about the stuff I expected him to be, but because I expected it, I was able to take some affirmative action and minimize its negative affect.
I was really, really pleased with him.
As a P.S. from my last lesson:
I need to work on getting my leg back at the canter, not my default anaconda-SQUEEZE.
And even tests always turn right.
Odd tests always turn left.
Pretty cool tip.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
I'm nervous about the show tomorrow!
I've always been excited about shows, but lately, with a lot of other things in my life too, I've started feeling more anxious than anticipation. I had trouble sleeping last night, so I just ran through the tests over and over again in my head - imagining every move and how perfectly I know Willig can do it. This is to counteract his being pretty much an exponentially increasing goober as the week went on. It will be interesting to see how he does tonight - where I am lucky to have one more ride after today's show ends but before tomorrow's begins.
I'm just imagining him on the bit, with his back lifted, and his ears flopping sideways, headed towards the judge, and I'm going to cling to that image, no matter what.
And - at the very least, my take away is how much better he responds when I get kind of mad at his hijinks and ride him really assertively. I think that's what Mike, Shannon, and way back when he went to John's - I think that's what they were all saying. A little light bulb went off on another totally obvious thing: Oh? You mean RIDE him?! Ok! (P.S. RIDING him vs. riding him, makes me breathe heavy.)
I'm just imagining him on the bit, with his back lifted, and his ears flopping sideways, headed towards the judge, and I'm going to cling to that image, no matter what.
And - at the very least, my take away is how much better he responds when I get kind of mad at his hijinks and ride him really assertively. I think that's what Mike, Shannon, and way back when he went to John's - I think that's what they were all saying. A little light bulb went off on another totally obvious thing: Oh? You mean RIDE him?! Ok! (P.S. RIDING him vs. riding him, makes me breathe heavy.)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Weebles wobble but they don't fall down
That's my attitude for our first show this year. Due to a series of bad circumstances (work (of course) and then an odd, temporary lameness) Willig is really only getting ridden this week out of this month, in preparation for our show this weekend at our barn. A month ago, I felt like we were on top of the tests and just polishing the details. Now we feel like chaos in motion.
Regardless, the chaos meant that finally (I can't believe I'm excited about this), Mike got to observe Willig acting up a little bit during our lesson. He was just being a goober about the far end of the arena (I heard that at least four horses got scared of the hose being in a new place, so that makes me feel a little better), and so Mike gave me some tips on how to deal with it during a show:
First - make several little loops as soon as I come in the gate so he sees the scary end at least twice each direction - THEN, if there's time - ride down and past the Judge's stand.
Second - as we approach, watch his ears! (c'mon self, you should know this by now), and BEFORE he pops his head up and his shoulder out and jumps around, correct him. It's ok to use a very firm hand and say "No. You will bend to the inside." Of course, combined with some leg like a half pass.
Third - If I need to, cut the corner a little. It's better to cut the corner and maintain his frame than to force him into the corner, he freaks, everything falls apart, and we lose points on every movement down there.
Other than that, we continued to polish. What's fascinating to me is that he was as good as he was, after all that time off (Mike pointed out it's a big shift in MY attitude since he first met us), and that I can feel the "blips" in the movements - something I didn't used to even notice. We're improving!
What remains discouraging to me is that we're riding Training 1 and 2. Willig is 9 this year. I'm 34. Although I took most of my life off, I've been riding enough years that it makes me frustrated I never learned things properly enough so that I'm farther now. Better late than never I guess.
We did Training 3 at the very end of the lesson, just because Mike had mentioned last lesson it has some odd movements in it, and because I'm riding it the weekend after this at another show. Holy cow, it sure does. Weird 20 meter circles. A stretchy circle at the trot. It's like they jumped an entire level from T-2 to T-3. T-3 to T-4 seems manageable, but I'm not sure I even have the memory for T-3! Yowza!
I'm excited about the show. I wish I'd had more time to prepare, but work has been crazy. I'm just glad I'm getting to ride this week. Also, when I haven't been able to get out for a while, I'm just so grateful to be there and ride at all, that his little hijinks don't bother me as much.
Regardless, the chaos meant that finally (I can't believe I'm excited about this), Mike got to observe Willig acting up a little bit during our lesson. He was just being a goober about the far end of the arena (I heard that at least four horses got scared of the hose being in a new place, so that makes me feel a little better), and so Mike gave me some tips on how to deal with it during a show:
First - make several little loops as soon as I come in the gate so he sees the scary end at least twice each direction - THEN, if there's time - ride down and past the Judge's stand.
Second - as we approach, watch his ears! (c'mon self, you should know this by now), and BEFORE he pops his head up and his shoulder out and jumps around, correct him. It's ok to use a very firm hand and say "No. You will bend to the inside." Of course, combined with some leg like a half pass.
Third - If I need to, cut the corner a little. It's better to cut the corner and maintain his frame than to force him into the corner, he freaks, everything falls apart, and we lose points on every movement down there.
Other than that, we continued to polish. What's fascinating to me is that he was as good as he was, after all that time off (Mike pointed out it's a big shift in MY attitude since he first met us), and that I can feel the "blips" in the movements - something I didn't used to even notice. We're improving!
What remains discouraging to me is that we're riding Training 1 and 2. Willig is 9 this year. I'm 34. Although I took most of my life off, I've been riding enough years that it makes me frustrated I never learned things properly enough so that I'm farther now. Better late than never I guess.
We did Training 3 at the very end of the lesson, just because Mike had mentioned last lesson it has some odd movements in it, and because I'm riding it the weekend after this at another show. Holy cow, it sure does. Weird 20 meter circles. A stretchy circle at the trot. It's like they jumped an entire level from T-2 to T-3. T-3 to T-4 seems manageable, but I'm not sure I even have the memory for T-3! Yowza!
I'm excited about the show. I wish I'd had more time to prepare, but work has been crazy. I'm just glad I'm getting to ride this week. Also, when I haven't been able to get out for a while, I'm just so grateful to be there and ride at all, that his little hijinks don't bother me as much.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Back-to-back awesome lessons
After our incredible jump lesson Sunday, I had to work (14 hours!) Monday and didn't get to try out Shannon's suggestions about steering from the outside rein, so my first order of business was telling Mike about how confusing it was to me.
Mike, like the wise Jedi he is, suggested all in good time, given the things I've thrown at him to work with so far. (Like the 3" of clearance that used to be between my butt and the saddle at both the canter and "sitting" trot. Har.)
Anyway, I was late getting to the barn, so I didn't have time to warm Willig up. It was actually interesting though, to have a "lesson warm up" to see how Mike would do it differently than I do. A lot like what I'm seeing with Shannon - when I'm left on my own I kind of putter around and make excuses - which is probably why when I have lessons, my glasses steam up, which never happens when I'm riding on my own.
Note to self: ride harder.
This was a lesson that was a great ride (although I almost started to cry at the end because my feeble leg muscles could hardly take it), but it was a whole bunch of new stuff and a whole lot of that was based on feeling, so I'm not sure how well I can capture it.
We started with circles and then the arena, keeping him bent to the inside, and noticing what my body is doing, which is, incredibly, my right hand is always almost back on my thigh while my left hand kind of flaps uselessly. Even when I put both hands on exactly the same spot on the reins, my right hand sneaks back.
Mike had two suggestions for this:
- Hold my right hand like I am holding a coffee cup - up a bit and in a slightly formal position. When I think about holding it like this, it gets out of my way, and I can then use my left hand to give inside bend aids.
- Touch my fingers together (or bridge the reins 5" wide) so that my right hand can't escape. This was the same as Shannon's suggestion - when I'm in my jump saddle I have the martingale on, and I can loop a finger on it so my hand can't go off in it's own direction.
I pointed out that Willig has been doing that motorcyle bend a bit at the canter. Mike suggested I look at myself, and sure enough, my body was doing the same thing, and Willig was just a reflection (albeit a big, easy to see one) of my weirdness. Always the human. Never the horse.
We worked on thinking "straight" and equal between my aids - a straight line on all the lines, evenly between me on the corners, and then Mike took it up a notch by suggesting I lift my butt on the left side - then lift it on the right side - and then feel the "even" place in the middle. This was pretty cool.
It was the same feeling as bending Willig inside, then bending Willig outside, and feeling the "even" in between the two.
Then he took away my stirrups and we worked on the sitting trot.
There is just the tiniest shift back - it is "plugging in" my seat bones, but also my torso just a bit further back (I almost always, left to my own devices, lean forward on my pubic bones and in the torso, like an equitation jumper), and then the heavens open up, angels sing, and I can COMFORTABLY sit the trot - even when we make it a bit bigger. Ok, this isn't flawless and it still needs a ton of work and the details are kind of crazy overwhelming, but THIS. IS. SO. COOL. Last year, sitting the trot was this teeth-jarring slam-slam-slam that left me wilted. This year, it's like "could you get some more elevation in his front please?" all fancy pants.
So that's what we did next - thinking "popping the wheelie" which is actually asking him to go forward but channeling it into the reins - something I've always read about but never been able to do. Mike describes it like squeezing the toothpaste from the end but you have control over the cap and can channel it up. And it just feels - amazing.
But it is all feeling. I barely grasp the sequence of steps, so Mike has said (for what must be the hundreth time) to work more without stirrups in between lessons.
Then we did stirrupless canter work. This one was the same popping the wheelie (although it is easier to do and feel at the canter) and then popping it, slowing the canter down with my seat, and then easing him into trot instead of him dive-bombing (on the forehand) into trot.
This was the point where I was about to cry from my leg muscles (and ok, my abs too).
Finally, Mike did a bit showing me steering from the outside rein. This actually isn't as hard as it first seemed in the lesson with Shannon. I think it helps I've had a few days to think about it, but I actually do it a little bit. My mistake was that I thought the rein should never touch the horse's neck (god knows why I thought that), and so I wouldn't leave it there. I do tend to overdo it (not a surprise to anyone who knows me or who has been reading this blog or who even sees the length of the postings), and so when I overdo it, it feels wrong (surprise) because he's bent to the outside around the corners. I just need to tone it down.
Anyway, even though Mr. Willig had yesterday off (I was a bit sore from the jump lesson, so maybe he was too - although probably not) and not much riding last week, he was just as willing and sweet as could be. I have been so happy with him the last month. And it is so satisfying to be doing so much new stuff. Really fun.
One more exercise is to sort of leg yield him halfway over down a long side, and then leg yield him back the other way on the second half. That will also help me find the "even" bend in between.
Also, after my lesson, two women who can ride Intermediare (sp?) did a Pas de deux (sp again?) to music. It was REALLY cool to watch.
Mike, like the wise Jedi he is, suggested all in good time, given the things I've thrown at him to work with so far. (Like the 3" of clearance that used to be between my butt and the saddle at both the canter and "sitting" trot. Har.)
Anyway, I was late getting to the barn, so I didn't have time to warm Willig up. It was actually interesting though, to have a "lesson warm up" to see how Mike would do it differently than I do. A lot like what I'm seeing with Shannon - when I'm left on my own I kind of putter around and make excuses - which is probably why when I have lessons, my glasses steam up, which never happens when I'm riding on my own.
Note to self: ride harder.
This was a lesson that was a great ride (although I almost started to cry at the end because my feeble leg muscles could hardly take it), but it was a whole bunch of new stuff and a whole lot of that was based on feeling, so I'm not sure how well I can capture it.
We started with circles and then the arena, keeping him bent to the inside, and noticing what my body is doing, which is, incredibly, my right hand is always almost back on my thigh while my left hand kind of flaps uselessly. Even when I put both hands on exactly the same spot on the reins, my right hand sneaks back.
Mike had two suggestions for this:
- Hold my right hand like I am holding a coffee cup - up a bit and in a slightly formal position. When I think about holding it like this, it gets out of my way, and I can then use my left hand to give inside bend aids.
- Touch my fingers together (or bridge the reins 5" wide) so that my right hand can't escape. This was the same as Shannon's suggestion - when I'm in my jump saddle I have the martingale on, and I can loop a finger on it so my hand can't go off in it's own direction.
I pointed out that Willig has been doing that motorcyle bend a bit at the canter. Mike suggested I look at myself, and sure enough, my body was doing the same thing, and Willig was just a reflection (albeit a big, easy to see one) of my weirdness. Always the human. Never the horse.
We worked on thinking "straight" and equal between my aids - a straight line on all the lines, evenly between me on the corners, and then Mike took it up a notch by suggesting I lift my butt on the left side - then lift it on the right side - and then feel the "even" place in the middle. This was pretty cool.
It was the same feeling as bending Willig inside, then bending Willig outside, and feeling the "even" in between the two.
Then he took away my stirrups and we worked on the sitting trot.
There is just the tiniest shift back - it is "plugging in" my seat bones, but also my torso just a bit further back (I almost always, left to my own devices, lean forward on my pubic bones and in the torso, like an equitation jumper), and then the heavens open up, angels sing, and I can COMFORTABLY sit the trot - even when we make it a bit bigger. Ok, this isn't flawless and it still needs a ton of work and the details are kind of crazy overwhelming, but THIS. IS. SO. COOL. Last year, sitting the trot was this teeth-jarring slam-slam-slam that left me wilted. This year, it's like "could you get some more elevation in his front please?" all fancy pants.
So that's what we did next - thinking "popping the wheelie" which is actually asking him to go forward but channeling it into the reins - something I've always read about but never been able to do. Mike describes it like squeezing the toothpaste from the end but you have control over the cap and can channel it up. And it just feels - amazing.
But it is all feeling. I barely grasp the sequence of steps, so Mike has said (for what must be the hundreth time) to work more without stirrups in between lessons.
Then we did stirrupless canter work. This one was the same popping the wheelie (although it is easier to do and feel at the canter) and then popping it, slowing the canter down with my seat, and then easing him into trot instead of him dive-bombing (on the forehand) into trot.
This was the point where I was about to cry from my leg muscles (and ok, my abs too).
Finally, Mike did a bit showing me steering from the outside rein. This actually isn't as hard as it first seemed in the lesson with Shannon. I think it helps I've had a few days to think about it, but I actually do it a little bit. My mistake was that I thought the rein should never touch the horse's neck (god knows why I thought that), and so I wouldn't leave it there. I do tend to overdo it (not a surprise to anyone who knows me or who has been reading this blog or who even sees the length of the postings), and so when I overdo it, it feels wrong (surprise) because he's bent to the outside around the corners. I just need to tone it down.
Anyway, even though Mr. Willig had yesterday off (I was a bit sore from the jump lesson, so maybe he was too - although probably not) and not much riding last week, he was just as willing and sweet as could be. I have been so happy with him the last month. And it is so satisfying to be doing so much new stuff. Really fun.
One more exercise is to sort of leg yield him halfway over down a long side, and then leg yield him back the other way on the second half. That will also help me find the "even" bend in between.
Also, after my lesson, two women who can ride Intermediare (sp?) did a Pas de deux (sp again?) to music. It was REALLY cool to watch.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Superstar Jumping Willig!
We had the only jump lesson I could work with my schedule this month today, and of course, it had been raining all day, I was racing around like a madwoman (had to go to work, got to barn late, rush-rush-rush), and it was the tail end of Pony Club, which was inside because of the rain. Fortunately, Shannon's indoor arena is huge, and so even though the group lesson was at one end, and three other people were riding, we managed to squeeze in five minutes of lunging (Willig also got most of the week off - only ridden by J while I worked crazy hours) where he wanted to buck (he did his pre-buck-head-toss but couldn't get his bucks out because the circle was too small).
So all that being said, I thought, grimly, "Well, at least it will be a day where Shannon can teach me how to react when he acts up." Maybe because it was SO overwhelming, or maybe because Shannon immediately made us do 200 things at once, so neither of us had time to think about anything but following directions - he was just fine. In fact, he was better than fine.
He did one little kick when I smacked him with the whip inside (and we did some work on my hands being off - more to come on this towards the end), but he leapt forward, and so Shannon said to praise him anyway. Plus, I kind of deserved the attitude - I was frazzled with expectation about him being bad and so much going on that I wasn't doing a good job giving him clear aids.
The heavy drizzle turned into a light drizzle, so we went outside and jumped a little jump a few times, when, of course with the way the day was going, the Pony Club group lesson ended so people, horses, and trucks and trailers were going every which way, and it was me (ME!) who had trouble paying attention to the jumps and what Shannon wanted us to do - not Willig, who, while flicking his ear mildly in that direction, had (!!) kind of a "ho hum" attitude about it all.
Someone had set up a really cute jump course (earlier in the week I was looking at it enviously) with some ivy and flowers on and below most of the fences, so then Shannon took it up a notch and made us jump a course. At the canter. Over very tiny fences. And I had a big gulp and she told me (colorfully) to ride it aggressively. So with her yelling the necessary instructions (heels forward! sit back! breathe! kick him forward! stop pulling back on him!) we aced it.
She raised the fences, added a couple more, yelled pretty much exactly the same instructions, and we aced it again. He hesitated a bit at the blue barrels, and then he eyeballed her jacket hanging on the fence, but man oh man - J's riding him is REALLY showing.
So it was a huge confidence booster - I was just beaming and patting him and he continued with his "ho hum" attitude, but then I casually asked "What do you mean by steer him with the outside rein?"
Oh lord. Apparently this is one of those huge gaping holes that is so obvious that no one would think that I didn't know anything about it. But I don't. And I didn't understand the mechanics of it and so Shannon had to, very very slowly and patiently and repetitively, explain it. This is something huge that we are going to have to work on. I am still not totally getting it, but Shannon described it as being like a wheelbarrow - you don't turn just one of the handles. Or on your bike. Or, apparently for everyone else in the world, on your horse.
So all this time when she has been telling me and Mike has been telling me to give with my inside hand - they mean something entirely different than what I have been trying to do. And this plays into why my hands are so uneven (another thing I really need to start correcting).
So this is a huge lesson that I'll be working on.
But oh my goodness. What a great ride with Willig. And I've gained a tiny bit of confidence back, J riding him is a great thing for both of us, and I need to stop being such a chicken and just ride him. Today was just hugely full of great lessons, but T is waiting for me to watch a movie (my tiny bit of relaxation for this weekend - next week is another mad rush through the week with too much to do at work for the hours there are, let alone ride and run and clean the house and walk the dog), and then my mom, sister, and nephew are visiting. Then we start getting into lots of summer horsey weekends - yay!
So all that being said, I thought, grimly, "Well, at least it will be a day where Shannon can teach me how to react when he acts up." Maybe because it was SO overwhelming, or maybe because Shannon immediately made us do 200 things at once, so neither of us had time to think about anything but following directions - he was just fine. In fact, he was better than fine.
He did one little kick when I smacked him with the whip inside (and we did some work on my hands being off - more to come on this towards the end), but he leapt forward, and so Shannon said to praise him anyway. Plus, I kind of deserved the attitude - I was frazzled with expectation about him being bad and so much going on that I wasn't doing a good job giving him clear aids.
The heavy drizzle turned into a light drizzle, so we went outside and jumped a little jump a few times, when, of course with the way the day was going, the Pony Club group lesson ended so people, horses, and trucks and trailers were going every which way, and it was me (ME!) who had trouble paying attention to the jumps and what Shannon wanted us to do - not Willig, who, while flicking his ear mildly in that direction, had (!!) kind of a "ho hum" attitude about it all.
Someone had set up a really cute jump course (earlier in the week I was looking at it enviously) with some ivy and flowers on and below most of the fences, so then Shannon took it up a notch and made us jump a course. At the canter. Over very tiny fences. And I had a big gulp and she told me (colorfully) to ride it aggressively. So with her yelling the necessary instructions (heels forward! sit back! breathe! kick him forward! stop pulling back on him!) we aced it.
She raised the fences, added a couple more, yelled pretty much exactly the same instructions, and we aced it again. He hesitated a bit at the blue barrels, and then he eyeballed her jacket hanging on the fence, but man oh man - J's riding him is REALLY showing.
So it was a huge confidence booster - I was just beaming and patting him and he continued with his "ho hum" attitude, but then I casually asked "What do you mean by steer him with the outside rein?"
Oh lord. Apparently this is one of those huge gaping holes that is so obvious that no one would think that I didn't know anything about it. But I don't. And I didn't understand the mechanics of it and so Shannon had to, very very slowly and patiently and repetitively, explain it. This is something huge that we are going to have to work on. I am still not totally getting it, but Shannon described it as being like a wheelbarrow - you don't turn just one of the handles. Or on your bike. Or, apparently for everyone else in the world, on your horse.
So all this time when she has been telling me and Mike has been telling me to give with my inside hand - they mean something entirely different than what I have been trying to do. And this plays into why my hands are so uneven (another thing I really need to start correcting).
So this is a huge lesson that I'll be working on.
But oh my goodness. What a great ride with Willig. And I've gained a tiny bit of confidence back, J riding him is a great thing for both of us, and I need to stop being such a chicken and just ride him. Today was just hugely full of great lessons, but T is waiting for me to watch a movie (my tiny bit of relaxation for this weekend - next week is another mad rush through the week with too much to do at work for the hours there are, let alone ride and run and clean the house and walk the dog), and then my mom, sister, and nephew are visiting. Then we start getting into lots of summer horsey weekends - yay!
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