Willig, Winnie's head, and my misbuttoned dressage coat.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Show jumping video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lMsOLq2xqw
To Willig's credit, Tom said several other hopeful horses stopped and looked at the same spot.
To Willig's credit, Tom said several other hopeful horses stopped and looked at the same spot.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Back to School Blast at Caber Farm
Today was our final derby for this year, with the Willowbrook Pony Club's Back to School Blast at Caber. Just like the last pony club show at Caber, this was well run and fun.
Willig was in 1st place after dressage (and he won an embroidered saddle pad!) with a score of 33.5. But then in show jumping, he got nervous about the poles piled next to the barn. Yes, seriously. It was windy, there were a zillion things moving, but heaven forbid should he go past poles stacked on the ground - just. like. at. home.
But backing up a bit. We were warming up with just one other rider in the warm up arena, and his horse was refusing the cross rail over and over again. His trainer came out and had him ride towards the vertical instead (on the far left; cross rail is in the center) and when the horse was approaching, she seemed to jump out at him to scare him over it? It did scare him, into bolting across the arena, with the saddle falling off, and therefore, also the rider. It also scared the bejesus out of Willig, who had been just fine up to that point, but his stupid rider (me) was riding him just a few strides behind but over the cross rail.
So his brain got frazzled, the way that it is wont to do, and rather than stay in the arena with what seemed to me to be fairly unpredictable riders (and all the jr. hopefuls about to swarm in), we went ahead to show jump.
I got two penalties for it, but I don't actually know how penalties work in show jumping, despite riding it my entire high school career - BECAUSE I never had a horse that refused before.
But we were doing excellent - cantering, even! And even with his head popping up to look and then back down and then UP to look and then back down and then UP just in case a new monster appeared, and back down, he was jumping gorgeous.
Until those poles. So he got jiggy, like crazy jiggy, so I just stopped and let him look, since we were still several strides away from the fence. Then I turned him away from the fence, rode it, and he shot out to the right (away from the poles), so we made a circle and went over it (still jiggy).
I'm assuming my decision to stop (not a refusal on his part) was the first penalty, and then his actual refusal was the second.
Going back in time - dressage felt so-so, but obviously was satisfying to the judge. He had a couple weird bobbles, like maybe he was thinking about bucking but decided against it - or he was just being clumsy? He got an 8 for his medium walk and an 8 for his gaits. The rest were 6s and 7s. For rider, it says "tactful" and I don't know what that means. Also, in a move of suave brilliance, I wore my dressage jacket misbuttoned by a hole the entire ride. When I looked down at the salute, I finally saw it. Which begs the question - if I can't button a jacket properly, what in the world am I doing on a horse? (Or driving a car?)
The other big difference from when I got Willig is he is now Mr. Smooth standing around. He was completely unflustered by all the activity. At least, outwardly. He did a series of his downward dog stretches which almost always indicates stress, but he wasn't acting up. He was also Mr. Tall, with at least 5 people asking me how tall he is (17.1, for those of you who have never seen him and aren't curious.)
Cross country was the same as last time (the same course), and he nailed it. We even cantered between some fences and cantered one! He was more focused this time though.
What I DON'T get is why we had four refusals at Lincoln Creek and none here either time (at x-country). I'm not riding that differently, but I also couldn't see what was different between the two. If I had to name one as scarier, it would be Caber, just because there's SO much activity back in the show jumping and tents, and warm up arenas with their colored flags.
So I think for next year we'll work hard all winter (and keep using J's fabulous help!) and try to get the size up and the scary factor up, and then start by entering him into hopeful again, but after three clear shows, move him up. The beginner novice fences are WAY scarier and bigger, and obviously, I still have things I need to improve if he's getting away with refusals, but the size of these fences was no longer even remotely intimidating.
Big pats for Willig. He's really coming along. I had fun on him again today. I was relaxed!
Willig was in 1st place after dressage (and he won an embroidered saddle pad!) with a score of 33.5. But then in show jumping, he got nervous about the poles piled next to the barn. Yes, seriously. It was windy, there were a zillion things moving, but heaven forbid should he go past poles stacked on the ground - just. like. at. home.
But backing up a bit. We were warming up with just one other rider in the warm up arena, and his horse was refusing the cross rail over and over again. His trainer came out and had him ride towards the vertical instead (on the far left; cross rail is in the center) and when the horse was approaching, she seemed to jump out at him to scare him over it? It did scare him, into bolting across the arena, with the saddle falling off, and therefore, also the rider. It also scared the bejesus out of Willig, who had been just fine up to that point, but his stupid rider (me) was riding him just a few strides behind but over the cross rail.
So his brain got frazzled, the way that it is wont to do, and rather than stay in the arena with what seemed to me to be fairly unpredictable riders (and all the jr. hopefuls about to swarm in), we went ahead to show jump.
I got two penalties for it, but I don't actually know how penalties work in show jumping, despite riding it my entire high school career - BECAUSE I never had a horse that refused before.
But we were doing excellent - cantering, even! And even with his head popping up to look and then back down and then UP to look and then back down and then UP just in case a new monster appeared, and back down, he was jumping gorgeous.
Until those poles. So he got jiggy, like crazy jiggy, so I just stopped and let him look, since we were still several strides away from the fence. Then I turned him away from the fence, rode it, and he shot out to the right (away from the poles), so we made a circle and went over it (still jiggy).
I'm assuming my decision to stop (not a refusal on his part) was the first penalty, and then his actual refusal was the second.
Going back in time - dressage felt so-so, but obviously was satisfying to the judge. He had a couple weird bobbles, like maybe he was thinking about bucking but decided against it - or he was just being clumsy? He got an 8 for his medium walk and an 8 for his gaits. The rest were 6s and 7s. For rider, it says "tactful" and I don't know what that means. Also, in a move of suave brilliance, I wore my dressage jacket misbuttoned by a hole the entire ride. When I looked down at the salute, I finally saw it. Which begs the question - if I can't button a jacket properly, what in the world am I doing on a horse? (Or driving a car?)
The other big difference from when I got Willig is he is now Mr. Smooth standing around. He was completely unflustered by all the activity. At least, outwardly. He did a series of his downward dog stretches which almost always indicates stress, but he wasn't acting up. He was also Mr. Tall, with at least 5 people asking me how tall he is (17.1, for those of you who have never seen him and aren't curious.)
Cross country was the same as last time (the same course), and he nailed it. We even cantered between some fences and cantered one! He was more focused this time though.
What I DON'T get is why we had four refusals at Lincoln Creek and none here either time (at x-country). I'm not riding that differently, but I also couldn't see what was different between the two. If I had to name one as scarier, it would be Caber, just because there's SO much activity back in the show jumping and tents, and warm up arenas with their colored flags.
So I think for next year we'll work hard all winter (and keep using J's fabulous help!) and try to get the size up and the scary factor up, and then start by entering him into hopeful again, but after three clear shows, move him up. The beginner novice fences are WAY scarier and bigger, and obviously, I still have things I need to improve if he's getting away with refusals, but the size of these fences was no longer even remotely intimidating.
Big pats for Willig. He's really coming along. I had fun on him again today. I was relaxed!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
1st level - woot woot!
Although I laughed and laughed last week when Mike suggested that I sit the trot while asking Willig to do his working/lengthening trot, it turns out it was only a week away. Honestly, every single time I sit the trot, I want to pat myself on the back. It took 20 years, but I can sit the trot. Yee-haw!
Today, we continued our foray into 1st level with a dash here and there of what will come in 2nd level. It was sooooo cool.
We started with the working trot. Willig needs to WORK it. I am so lazy on my own, it's not even funny. And once he's moving, he is just a gorgeous mover.
Then we worked on - oh, drat, Mike had a catchy phrase for this - at training level, the horse accepts the bit by putting his head down. At 1st level, he starts to accept the bit while lifting through his back from his hindquarters. At 2nd level, he's expected to always lift for his bit acceptance. We started working on the lifting connection - it feels like Willig's back arcs up like a rainbow (a soft, easy to ride, cushiony rainbow) when he lifts up, but he only does it a couple of steps at a time, and then he plummets forward onto his forehand again and my arms go GROAN from the weight of his head.
Then we worked on a german word that I also forgot (uberstriken?), where for one stride, once I've got him connected and in a nice frame, I put my inside hand forward.
Then Mike took the stirrups away and we did about a million hours (good ones, but my thighs were screaming) of sitting trot work. This was the lengthening mentioned above and then also some transitions - slowing him down as much as I can before he does a down transition, and also some interesting rapid changes. Walk - sitting trot - canter - trot - halt, each just a few seconds apart.
And we did some leg yields both directions. Willig was doing these like he does them in his sleep (next time I bet it won't be so easy), but the pointers were not to move my leg back, to bend him opposite the way I'm going (if we're going right, his neck bends left), and to "straighten" him by using a tap-tap with my "outside" (the direction we're moving) leg.
This was another amazing lesson. It gave me plenty to work on, in addition to the huge list that I already work on each time I ride.
I've noticed another big shift when I look back also. I can ride Willig outside now without fear - all the way down to the poodle end of the arena and out in the pasture. Even when he spooks, because my seat and legs are so much better (I think), I don't move as much, and I can correct it faster (I can also feel it coming). I'm actually starting to have fun on him again because I'm not so afraid anymore. And I'm starting to really look forward to working through the winter so we can really show next year. I hope (!) we'll be ready for 1st level.
I was sure that I would have plateaued in my lessons with Mike a while back, but each lesson, I feel like a sponge, just absorbing as much as he can say in 45 minutes, and then working on improving it until the next lesson. I wish I had the time to take a lesson from him every week.
Today, we continued our foray into 1st level with a dash here and there of what will come in 2nd level. It was sooooo cool.
We started with the working trot. Willig needs to WORK it. I am so lazy on my own, it's not even funny. And once he's moving, he is just a gorgeous mover.
Then we worked on - oh, drat, Mike had a catchy phrase for this - at training level, the horse accepts the bit by putting his head down. At 1st level, he starts to accept the bit while lifting through his back from his hindquarters. At 2nd level, he's expected to always lift for his bit acceptance. We started working on the lifting connection - it feels like Willig's back arcs up like a rainbow (a soft, easy to ride, cushiony rainbow) when he lifts up, but he only does it a couple of steps at a time, and then he plummets forward onto his forehand again and my arms go GROAN from the weight of his head.
Then we worked on a german word that I also forgot (uberstriken?), where for one stride, once I've got him connected and in a nice frame, I put my inside hand forward.
Then Mike took the stirrups away and we did about a million hours (good ones, but my thighs were screaming) of sitting trot work. This was the lengthening mentioned above and then also some transitions - slowing him down as much as I can before he does a down transition, and also some interesting rapid changes. Walk - sitting trot - canter - trot - halt, each just a few seconds apart.
And we did some leg yields both directions. Willig was doing these like he does them in his sleep (next time I bet it won't be so easy), but the pointers were not to move my leg back, to bend him opposite the way I'm going (if we're going right, his neck bends left), and to "straighten" him by using a tap-tap with my "outside" (the direction we're moving) leg.
This was another amazing lesson. It gave me plenty to work on, in addition to the huge list that I already work on each time I ride.
I've noticed another big shift when I look back also. I can ride Willig outside now without fear - all the way down to the poodle end of the arena and out in the pasture. Even when he spooks, because my seat and legs are so much better (I think), I don't move as much, and I can correct it faster (I can also feel it coming). I'm actually starting to have fun on him again because I'm not so afraid anymore. And I'm starting to really look forward to working through the winter so we can really show next year. I hope (!) we'll be ready for 1st level.
I was sure that I would have plateaued in my lessons with Mike a while back, but each lesson, I feel like a sponge, just absorbing as much as he can say in 45 minutes, and then working on improving it until the next lesson. I wish I had the time to take a lesson from him every week.
Monday, August 23, 2010
"Air Bags for Horses" - according to Tom
New York Times article on the new inflatable safety vests for eventing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/sports/24airbag.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/sports/24airbag.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Uncharted dressage territory
I was a little worried about today's lesson with Mike. Due to that rascal work, who appears waaayyyy too often in this blog, Willig had basically a week off. (He went on a trail ride Sunday because of the heat, but that was it because I had a half day trial on Friday.) I was sure he was going to be a complete doofus, but instead, he pulled out all the stops to make Mike say "wow".
First:
We worked on my heels. Mike found a "magic button" - if I go into my jump seat - whoosh - my leg goes into the proper position. So I ride around like that for a while, then post a few, then jump seat again, post a few. ...
I am going to stretch my heels at home more and also when I think about really cranking my toe up to touch my shin (which hurts, by the way, not a pleasant stretch up the back of my calf, but pain in the shin, so I think they're too tight and I need to do lots of off-stirrup-stretching), my heel actually drops a tiny amount.
Next:
We worked on getting his trot moving. Thinking about a trot that works to the point of lengthening, when there is that moment of suspension and hang. That's our new working trot. And holy cow - it's enormous. It flings me out of the saddle. Mike suggested one day I'll sit it and I laughed and laughed.
He can warm up, but then he needs to WORK IT. And his stumbling? Him being lazy. Once he was moving, he quit stumbling. So that explains that.
Third:
Then Mike took away the stirrups. Because it was only 87 out. Ha. Anyway - then we did a lot of work without stirrups. I told Mike that I actually like cantering without them, and he looked nervous, but that turned out ok.
So at the sitting trot - this is where miracle number 1 happened. If I sit on him like he is a trampoline - no more working on softening my belly so I'm not a brick bouncing on top of the saddle, but now using pressure so that the moment when the trot bounces me up, I think about pushing down into him with my seat, like when your knees are bent and you're about to jump up on the trampoline - and WOW! He was like "What would you like me to do?" It was wild.
And then we worked on controlling the trot - making him go up and down (like a merry-go-round horse) instead of faster. This was a little trickier - we went over the trot poles so I could feel the "lift" when he lifts his legs to go up, and then I'd try to slow him down and lift him up as we approached the poles and in between. We'd get a couple great steps, and then go back to him plunging forward onto his forehand. This one is a little harder to describe and I need to work at it a bit more. I can feel it when it's right, but can't quite describe yet what I'm doing.
Fourth:
Then we worked on the canter without stirrups and the same lift in the trot - it's on the "up" motion (if you're on a swingset, at the canter, it's when your seat hits what would be the top of the swing) you ask for both a half halt/up and a squeeze with your leg (like a cat kneading) and he starts to lift up into his back. It's pretty amazing. The same thing happens in the trot too, but it's much harder to feel and do - maybe because the steps are so much faster. So for both up and down transitions, I slow him down by lifting him up, and then another miracle happened - I FELT the difference between flopping forward into the trot and riding the trot the same way I was just riding the canter. I don't know why this hasn't clicked for me before, but I was like "OH! Duh."
Fifth:
Finally, miracle #3. Actually, sidebar. When I picked up my stirrups after all the stirrupless work - whoosh. Perfect leg. And it FELT perfect too, instead of the weird toes in, heel *pushing* down, strained feel.
We were trotting down the long line, and Mike explained renvers and travers. (I have read about them in books, but never done them.) Because our bend to the inside with the left has improved mildly (enough that Mike can say something other than "bend him to the inside" when we're going to the left) but not quite enough, Mike had me ride a renvers when my right hand was on the inside. This felt wacky - like a twisty pretzel. It made my tongue stick out I was concentrating so hard. And then, just as I felt triumphant - Mike had us look in the mirror. With a total concentrating twisted up leg and hand, Willig was .... perfectly straight. And miracle #3 happened where something in my body clicked and I was like "oh. Ride BOTH sides of the horse." I have never felt it like that before. It was amazing.
So it was, overall, one of those spectacular lessons that makes me so glad that I ride and totally look forward to the next ride and *swear* that work is not going to keep slowing me down. It was so fun!
Next lesson Mike says we'll start working on the slight twisty canter off the long side, in towards the center, and back to the long side, to start working on our lateral 1st level movements. YAY!
First:
We worked on my heels. Mike found a "magic button" - if I go into my jump seat - whoosh - my leg goes into the proper position. So I ride around like that for a while, then post a few, then jump seat again, post a few. ...
I am going to stretch my heels at home more and also when I think about really cranking my toe up to touch my shin (which hurts, by the way, not a pleasant stretch up the back of my calf, but pain in the shin, so I think they're too tight and I need to do lots of off-stirrup-stretching), my heel actually drops a tiny amount.
Next:
We worked on getting his trot moving. Thinking about a trot that works to the point of lengthening, when there is that moment of suspension and hang. That's our new working trot. And holy cow - it's enormous. It flings me out of the saddle. Mike suggested one day I'll sit it and I laughed and laughed.
He can warm up, but then he needs to WORK IT. And his stumbling? Him being lazy. Once he was moving, he quit stumbling. So that explains that.
Third:
Then Mike took away the stirrups. Because it was only 87 out. Ha. Anyway - then we did a lot of work without stirrups. I told Mike that I actually like cantering without them, and he looked nervous, but that turned out ok.
So at the sitting trot - this is where miracle number 1 happened. If I sit on him like he is a trampoline - no more working on softening my belly so I'm not a brick bouncing on top of the saddle, but now using pressure so that the moment when the trot bounces me up, I think about pushing down into him with my seat, like when your knees are bent and you're about to jump up on the trampoline - and WOW! He was like "What would you like me to do?" It was wild.
And then we worked on controlling the trot - making him go up and down (like a merry-go-round horse) instead of faster. This was a little trickier - we went over the trot poles so I could feel the "lift" when he lifts his legs to go up, and then I'd try to slow him down and lift him up as we approached the poles and in between. We'd get a couple great steps, and then go back to him plunging forward onto his forehand. This one is a little harder to describe and I need to work at it a bit more. I can feel it when it's right, but can't quite describe yet what I'm doing.
Fourth:
Then we worked on the canter without stirrups and the same lift in the trot - it's on the "up" motion (if you're on a swingset, at the canter, it's when your seat hits what would be the top of the swing) you ask for both a half halt/up and a squeeze with your leg (like a cat kneading) and he starts to lift up into his back. It's pretty amazing. The same thing happens in the trot too, but it's much harder to feel and do - maybe because the steps are so much faster. So for both up and down transitions, I slow him down by lifting him up, and then another miracle happened - I FELT the difference between flopping forward into the trot and riding the trot the same way I was just riding the canter. I don't know why this hasn't clicked for me before, but I was like "OH! Duh."
Fifth:
Finally, miracle #3. Actually, sidebar. When I picked up my stirrups after all the stirrupless work - whoosh. Perfect leg. And it FELT perfect too, instead of the weird toes in, heel *pushing* down, strained feel.
We were trotting down the long line, and Mike explained renvers and travers. (I have read about them in books, but never done them.) Because our bend to the inside with the left has improved mildly (enough that Mike can say something other than "bend him to the inside" when we're going to the left) but not quite enough, Mike had me ride a renvers when my right hand was on the inside. This felt wacky - like a twisty pretzel. It made my tongue stick out I was concentrating so hard. And then, just as I felt triumphant - Mike had us look in the mirror. With a total concentrating twisted up leg and hand, Willig was .... perfectly straight. And miracle #3 happened where something in my body clicked and I was like "oh. Ride BOTH sides of the horse." I have never felt it like that before. It was amazing.
So it was, overall, one of those spectacular lessons that makes me so glad that I ride and totally look forward to the next ride and *swear* that work is not going to keep slowing me down. It was so fun!
Next lesson Mike says we'll start working on the slight twisty canter off the long side, in towards the center, and back to the long side, to start working on our lateral 1st level movements. YAY!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
No Donida
Something went wrong and my entry wasn't received, and because I had a trial on Friday, I didn't have time to talk to someone live (and email failed to convey enough information) so that I knew whether or not to pack the trailer Friday night.
I'm disappointed, since Willig REALLY needed that extra opportunity this year with the skimpy amount of derbies we've been to.
On the upside, he got to stand around and sweat in the hot, hot sun at home, and I got to meet Tom and his friends camping a few hours earlier.
I'm disappointed, since Willig REALLY needed that extra opportunity this year with the skimpy amount of derbies we've been to.
On the upside, he got to stand around and sweat in the hot, hot sun at home, and I got to meet Tom and his friends camping a few hours earlier.
Weekly Schedule to condition for 3-days
From Gina Miles' spring training schedule in same issue of "Eventing":
Day 1: Dressage 30 minutes plus 30 minutes walking
Day 2: Jump schooling: low fences, gymnastics, 30 minutes walking
Day 3: Dressage 30 minutes & 30 minutes walking
OR Hacking out/hill work
Day 4: Jump schooling: parts of course plus 30 minutes walking
OR Hacking out/hill work
OR Dressage
Day 5: Dressage 30 minutes plus 30 minute walking
OR Jumping plus walking
Day 6: Conditioning/canter
Day 7: Rest
Day 1: Dressage 30 minutes plus 30 minutes walking
Day 2: Jump schooling: low fences, gymnastics, 30 minutes walking
Day 3: Dressage 30 minutes & 30 minutes walking
OR Hacking out/hill work
Day 4: Jump schooling: parts of course plus 30 minutes walking
OR Hacking out/hill work
OR Dressage
Day 5: Dressage 30 minutes plus 30 minute walking
OR Jumping plus walking
Day 6: Conditioning/canter
Day 7: Rest
Inspiring Quote
From March/April 2010 "Eventing" (I am quite a bit behind in magazine reading):
"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."
- John Foster Dulles
Amen, brother.
"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."
- John Foster Dulles
Amen, brother.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Professional shots of us at Lincoln Creek
http://wwc.photoreflect.com/pr3/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0A9H00C91I0000&po=0&pc=11
(I'm #71, and if the link quits working it is actiontaken.com.)
(I'm #71, and if the link quits working it is actiontaken.com.)
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Disappointing, but shouldn't be, ride at Lincoln Creek
Yesterday we went to the Pony Club one day at Lincoln Creek. Willig was being naughty in the cross ties before we left, and I fortunately had a little pad of extra time for lunging - although he didn't act up too much on the lunge line, he did have a few head tosses to get out.
I felt like our dressage test was lackluster, although we did ok - 33.3, with about a point to 2nd place and another point to 1st place.
Tom watched him next to the trailer while I walked the course, which I felt pretty good about. The hopeful jumps were small and not very intimidating (I knew he'd be scared going over the dike, but since there was no way off, he'd have no choice but to go forward). The beginner novice fences, on the other hand, were huge and intimidating.
I got on him a bit early for cross-country, hoping to go early (only by 4 minutes, as it turns out), and watched the hopeful juniors slaughter their position over the warm up fences, then refuse several times, and more than a handful of falls.
Yet, I was still totally calm and confident - the thing upsetting him most was the flies (Lincoln Creek always seems to have particularly persistent ones), and he was kicking at his belly. He spooked once when someone came out of a port-a-potty, but nothing major. We did the warm up fences a couple of times each direction - he wasn't overjumping, was paying attention - everything was smooth.
Approaching each fence, he did a bit of the "snake" move, but I rode him confident and forward, using more leg instead of brakes, and he jumped the first three just fine. But when he went to the fourth - a trot over a ditch (solid ground - we didn't attempt the down bank since he was already being snaky) past a flat bed truck with lots of people standing on it - he started popping his head up looking for things to be scared of. Frustratingly, he could see those people during the whole warm up and couldn't have cared less about them.
Fence 5 was a little A frame that looked just like the A frames at Caber Farms two weeks ago that he rocked out at. He refused it. Ran out to the left, abruptly, right when he should have taken off, and accentuating the fact that I was jumping ahead. So we circled around, came back at it - this time me kicking HARD - and he refused it again. And by that point I was pissed, so we came at it a third time, me kicking him HARD!! and he jumped it, but with his head boinged up at the guy standing on the small hill recording our refusals - where we had to turn right onto the dike and also jump a very small log. Which we awkardly stepped over - continued our hesitant, leapy, jerky trot along the dike (by this time he was working himself into full blown panic and my normal solution at home to that is to stand around and let him cooooooollll down), went down the small hill, made a left turn to blue barrels (which we have at home), which he ... refused. Went back over them - me beating his neck with the crop and kicking furiously - another trot over a ditch which he could hardly stand by this point - to an A frame with brush on it, which he refused by halting in front of.
By this point, I was sure Shannon would kick me out of the barn, so I beat him over it from a standstill, and to add insult to injury, he was perfectly capable of jumping it from a halt.
Then we roared over to a big log, another damn ditch, and a modestly challenging A frame to complete the course.
Although a few people were eliminated in our division - presumably from falling since our refusal points were still more than a fall with no refusals (although how that works - do you get 20 points for the refusal and 65 for the fall?) - we still came in 5th place, after being 3rd in dressage.
Show jumping was equally calm over the warm up fences - no over jumping - and then the mad charging at the fences and trying to spook at everything that isn't a fence. Although he's jumping them just gorgeous, I hate the mad charging feeling.
What was so frustrating about this was I felt like I rode him the same as at Caber, where we had a spectacular ride, only I was more calm and not anxious, thanks to that spectacular ride. After Caber, I thought next year we will definitely be ready to go Beginner Novice. After yesterday, I thought (like sad Eeyore), "No, we're appropriately at Hopeful."
Other than being "calm", I don't know how I rode differently. Because I was less nervous, I had a clearer head to think of Shannon's instructions and follow them (forward, confident, help him) to each fence. So why didn't it work? I have no idea.
I was frustrated and disappointed. But then again, at this time last year, I had given up and wasn't even trying to show anything, let alone Hopeful, and I KNOW that if I just haul him around and build up his confidence he might be quite nice (still a bit wacky, but rideable), but it's just taking so. long.
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