Tips from John, a grid, and flying changes

Today we started with a few questions.
First - riding 30-45 minutes 4x a week is ok, so long as we're working hard in that time.  But I should include about 20 minutes of walking (warm up and cool down).  John says 60 minutes of work is too long - to think about being a runner and how there are few benefits to just running for more than 60 minutes. 
Second - all horses break down eventually, and I can't do anything to prevent it.  But they more frequently break down from not enough conditioning (not being in shape, then going to an event) than from too much work (being ridden six days a week in the months leading up to an event).  John says not to worry, that I am not going to wear Charlie out riding him too much.
Third - Yes, Charlie can go to John's for two weeks of training in February, but he isn't sure he'll be able to teach him that lead change either.  (But see below for today's progress!)
Fourth - Yes, I should try to go to the Rebecca three day for Training this year.  It isn't too much to go two years in a row.
Fifth - I start conditioning and doing speed work as soon as the footing allows.  John says for the California shows, they have to just do tiny little gallops in the indoor arena because our footing doesn't get good soon enough.

Then, because we were chatting, John worked me all the way through the warm up.  At the trot, he had me bend Charlie a bit more to the inside than I normally do, and then a bit more contact on the outside rein to get him round.  Then a bit more of both legs for forward.

After that, we started working on the lead changes.  They were kind of brutal.  Charlie was half rearing - leaping up into the air with his front legs (and flailing, apparently) and then when I'd whip him, kicking out in a buck behind.  I was breathing hard by the time we got one.  BUT - we got them!  Charlie was really, really confused about what I wanted, but as we got through his thick skull, it took less time. 
Here's how:  canter on right lead.  Cut across the diagonal and change direction.  Bend Charlie's neck to the left.  Half halt.  Ask for the change of lead with a lot of emphasis on the outside leg.  Ride a few leaps and bucks.  Half halt again, get the bend there, and then ask again. 
Charlie would change in the front, but not the back, and then it is just the half halt on the outside hand to get the rest of the change.
What John said to work on by myself was to keep doing the simple changes, but get him supple to the inside (the new lead) and half halt and make sure he is bent, and then do my trot steps and change leads.  That will help him to recognize that when he bends to the inside, he is going to do a lead change and not be able to brace and avoid it (which is what his m.o. is).  He said if it takes a couple of circles, fine, but make sure Charlie knows he is going to have to work hard and eventually supple and bend and do the change.  I was really pleased that we got them at all - and going both directions.

We also did a grid that was a cross rail, ground pole, vertical, oxer.  The oxer ended about 3'6" and I did a way better job keeping my heels down and in front of me than last time.  I also, a couple of times, got my line a little straighter and corrected it on the way through.  When Charlie would land on the wrong lead, (the right lead, when I wanted left), we would circle at the end until he got the lead change.
Twice John had me do laps (one, then two) in a two point at the trot in between.

John is the best.

5 or 6 stride grid with John

Today we worked on two things, changing lead over a ground pole and then the same grid but in a different set up.
The lead change was encouraging, in the sense that it isn't me (for once), but Charlie genuinely appears to have no idea what I'm asking him to do, so when I was working on it at home, I wasn't totally out to lunch.
John set up a ground pole, and had me canter on a right lead circle, go over the pole and change direction and ask for the left lead.  Charlie pretty much did it twice in 15 minutes.  The two pieces I have a hard time with are having him enough forward, so that he has enough impulsion to change in the air, and then with enough aids enough ahead of time - this includes whip and leg a few strides out.  If he doesn't change, instead of changing through the trot, make him counter canter (with his neck bent to the left lead) so that it is harder work for him not to change the lead than to change it.  John tried throwing his hat at Charlie and also putting out a second pole, but it seemed to be more dumb luck - with Charlie leaping huge through the air for a change - than him catching on.  Sometimes he'd change just the front or just the back, but then he'd flip back to the right lead next chance he got.
So we can continue to work on that on our own - I was not on the wrong track, and the tips were super helpful.  John noted that Shannon found that Charlie did just fine going around on the wrong lead, so I think he never learned, and he's got 12 years of it not mattering under his belt that I'll need to get through.  He's really good on the flat with the simple changes, so I think it's just a question of helping him have the light bulb go off.
Then we did the grid, with a trot to a small cross rail, two ground poles (one canter stride - I stepped it but it was a weird distance, like 9' to the first one, but then 4 1/2' to the second?) and then, depending on what John yelled, either 5 or 6 strides to a vertical, which ended at about 3'6".  Charlie jumped it like a freaking champ, regardless of whether we were doing 5 or 6 strides, and because he was rocking back and lifting up, it was easier for me to keep my legs down and centered.  It was great.
John gave me a course to work on at home - he says that when I'm alone I really need to work on "flow", so having three fences that I can turn easily into a 7 jump course (vertical at E, angle to a vertical on center line, then vertical at M, then go down longside back to E and change direction over center line, then do M to center line to E, etc.).  He said also that I don't need to jump more than 3' at home.
Love the lessons with John!!

Sitting trot eureka

After enduring snow flurries and extra-cautious driving on the completely clear roads, we arrived late for a pilates session and lesson with Beth.
The pilates session was great - Beth had to go back a bit because I've been struggling at home with engaging the core muscles - something I can do with her but immediately forget as soon as I leave.  She gave me some simpler exercises to work on at home.
Then our lesson was amazing.  We worked on even weight (I sit heavy on the left - I can feel it under my left thigh), so trying to think about the weight being in the right.  When my left hand crosses over the top of Charlie's neck, that means I'm sitting off to the left and need to shift my weight right.  It's an easy indicator.  I also need to turn my shoulders (but not my head) left most of the time. 
Beth spent some time showing me how when I sit off to the side, it makes Charlie's ribs unable to bend, which is why he's reluctant to bend left but it is so easy for him to bend right.  I told her that I was having trouble with lead changes over fences (from right to left) and also that when we're going left, I put my right hand forward.  She said he actually needs a bit of release to the right.
We worked on 10 meter circles and transitions, and the first thing she had me do was sit the trot and then focus on having the right hip move like the left hip.  The first miracle was that I could feel Charlie's hind legs, so I could time the aids.  Then, I have to think forward and up with the right hip, but as soon as I do, Charlie's back evens out underneath me and he gets more balanced. 
He did all of his lead changes (simple changes, through the trot) perfectly, so he didn't give Beth much to work on there.
But then we took the right hip moving and added keeping my upper body still for the request for the transition.  It was much harder to do on the down transitions, but on the up transitions, if I consciously thought about keeping my upper body still (it tends to lurch forward briefly, just as we do the transition), Charlie lifts up into the new gait instead of lunging down and forward.  Beth said that he mimics what I do, so if I lurch forward, he lurches forward, and if I am crooked to the left, he is crooked to the left.
Following the still upper body and the hip, we suddenly got exactly the right balanced sitting trot, and I just went around and around and around grinning like a fool because it was so EASY to sit.  I didn't have to give him any aids, we just went around smooth and connected.  It was a total delight.  I can't wait to work on that more.
He had a bit of a hard time on canter circles that were smaller than 15 meters, but I think his back was sore because I overjumped him a couple days ago in my attempt to work on three things at once to save time.
I have been feeling down and like a lousy rider, lurching all around and just horrible in general, and I think that is actually a good sign.  I think that it means that we're working on the next layer of the onion, and once this starts to feel good, then we'll have to go back to horrible while we work on the next layer.  But overall, I think this is good - I think this is much better riding than last year, and Charlie is so sweet and generous, just waiting for me to allow him to move freely and then rewarding me by changing as soon as I get it right.

Grid plus one with John

This week's grid was the same as last weeks, with a fourth fence, a vertical, at the end.  John made the vertical 3'11", which I think was a few inches shorter than the oxer last week.  It still popped me out of the tack pretty much every time, though.

We started with an excellent exercise over a ground pole.  John made me half halt as we approached it, and even when we hit the wrong spot, Charlie would add a stride, and he would round up over the top of the pole.  John said that a lot of times practicing ground poles, you just puke over them, which defeats the purpose of the exercise.  I have definitely been doing that, so this was a great exercise that was another "click" like last week's.

John also said he could tell that I had really worked on the half halt after last week - he said he could see a difference, and I could definitely feel one making the turn to come down the line.  Charlie didn't have to canter and we were much more "round" and could go in bouncy which saved everything.

The other thing the grid showed was how badly we are drifting to the left.  Even though we start straight in the center, we'd end up close to the left standard by the fourth fence.  John said to look right - at first he had it really exaggerated - he stood off to the side and told me to look at him, then he stood closer, then he had me look at the right standard, and then finally just to the right of the centerline of the pole.  Amazingly enough, that was all it took to get us through the grid straight.  What it did though - adding another thing onto the plate - was make it hard for me to remember to snap my head up and look out the exit, so I kept missing my leads.

Also, I had to really kick Charlie to get over the oxer (not that big, maybe 3'6"?) and then over the vertical (which felt huge, but was less big than the oxer last week), and that was good too, to have to kick in the middle.

It was really great to feel the progress from last week and that what I was doing made a difference, and the ground pole exercise was really timely since I've been working with them.  I told John I'm having trouble with lead changes, and he asked flying?  I said no, Charlie could only do them one way and he said, probably left to right but not right to left.  So next lesson (Thanksgiving week) I'm going to try those.

It was another great lesson.  John is really good at building things up and building confidence but helping get the lesson through my thick skull.  It was also a gorgeous, cold day.

Grid with John

Today we started with some flat work and then jumped a grid.

The grid started with ground poles, and ended with a cross rail, vertical, and 3'9" - 4' oxer, which is (I had to look it up), Intermediate (3'9") to Advanced (3'11").
I had trouble with the grid when it was poles, and then I had trouble with it again when it was huge - I kept popping out of the tack in the air.  John says I need a more secure lower leg (and about 10 other things, but he said since I can only listen to a few things at a time, for now to just focus on the secure lower leg and we'll do the others once that is fixed).
It was a "classic" John lesson - starting with the ground poles and working up to a fence so freaking humongous when I was done I had to walk over and measure it (my armpit).  He is a master at gradually building until you are doing more than you would ever have thought.
What I could not get - no matter how big the fence was, was the turn in the corner to the fence.  We would just puke down and then have to lunge forward.  The good part was how grossly obvious it was that there was a huge difference turning right and left - I could do the right turns meh, but the left turns Charlie would break into a pukey canter (and there wasn't room for me to fix it) instead of just freaking engaging his hind end.  John made us do some 8-10 meter circles to get Charlie to bend to the left and afterwards he showed me how it is "easier" for Charlie to puke canter instead of just bend. 
He said we can practice small circles but we need to make sure to practice them correctly.
Charlie jumped it like a freaking rock star - he would round his back up and actually try and we were in the air for SO LONG.  But it was also a good slice of humble pie because I was thinking I was a freaking genius who was going to go prelim next year (2016), and I just kept making the same mistake and then getting popped out of the saddle.  I couldn't keep my form most of the fences even though I knew it was coming.  We got a couple just right, which just felt divine.
John said Shannon never wanted to jump height, but that Charlie jumps much better when he tries - which is why when he slams a fence, then he respects them again for a while - and that now 3'3" will feel like a cake walk.  I like the height - with John.

We started on the flat with some bending.  The thing I'm not doing is asking him to bend with inside rein, and then using outside rein to make him round.  I need to get the proper bend, which uses inside rein and inside leg, then ask him to connect with outside rein, THEN ask him to go forward with both legs without throwing away the contact. 
It was much harder to do going left (huh, interesting - see above on the turn to the fence), because my right elbow would drift forward and not stay next to my hip.  Charlie has a harder time bending to the left, and apparently I am compensating by throwing him away.
Our transitions were pretty pukey, and while I would prefer to ride perfectly any time I am doing anything, even if it is something I have never done before, I felt a little "ah-ha" moment when John went through it step by step.  When he connected with the outside rein, I could feel his shoulders lighten - I could FEEL it, which is good.
So I can work on that before next week, and then once I have that down, go back and work on the transitions, which were a little out of my league for today.  I knew they weren't exactly right, but I couldn't feel the mistakes as well as I did on just the connection exercise.
I also need to drape my legs (my stirrups are not too long, I asked John to check) and not suck them up and nag when I'm trying to get Charlie to work harder.

Slimy layer of the onion with Beth

Today we got a little closer to the explanation for why I'm so crooked.  Not solved yet, but closer.
Right leg is stronger, especially in quad.
Exercises to do at home are quadriped (on hands and knees, right arm and left leg out - don't make a C curve when left leg is out); rocking on the ball and then roll back, making sure to elongate the back and shorten the ribs to pelvis, with knees relaxed - not just plummet back from shoulders; and scarecrow or swimming, with an emphasis on a long neck and the space between the shoulder blades, not the space below the shoulder blades.  Also, plank, but up on the forearms so it is hard to do only after a second or two.

On Charlie, we worked on halting or other down transitions from relaxing the inner leg, not squeezing him forward with my legs; then with an engaged lower ab and the motion coming right hip - left hip - not forward and back with the belly; then adding in relaxed legs, not gripping legs; and finally scarecrow back with the correct amount of tilt forward (that last bit is super hard).
Then we did some leg yielding with me not shifting my weight.  One way was easy, the other way much harder (off my right leg - I pushed my weight way over on my left seat bone).
Then a bit of sitting trot and posting trot without my right stirrup, which helped even out the snakey twist a lot, but Beth says don't work on too much at home because it might make my right leg clamp up more. 
For sitting trot, it was leaning back with my shoulders (which really wasn't in the mirror) and then feeling a lift up - like a hook was pulling me up by the belt.  I had a few really good sits where I had relaxed legs and could bounce up.
We did some trot work where I'd slow him down by slowing down my posting, but when we go forward, I tend to let everything go loose and let the energy all dissipate.
Charlie did a good job trying to stay under me but then got bored and nonresponsive, which was a good example of leg aid on, then off, then a smack with the whip if he ignores me.
Finally we did some canter work both directions, but I don't remember the homework.

There is a lot to think about just in the walk with the hips leading and pelvis staying still, and finding that balanced, even weight over the seat bones.  It still feels all vaguely out of grasp, like I'm not quite catching on, but I am getting bigger and bigger glimpses and feeling it more and more when I get it right, so I think we're continuing to make progress.

Another great lesson with John

We lucked out with some fabulous fall weather - warm with just a slight breeze - although with his full coat, Charlie got pretty sweaty.
We warmed up and John said to make sure to keep him connected and not to let him get too stiff going to the left or hang on the reins going to the right.  I had to push him forward and then bend him out with the inside leg.  We also did some half halts in the canter and then sending him forward.
Then we did a few tricky combinations.  We ended with an oxer - 5 strides - vertical - 2 strides - hard left turn to oxer - right roll back turn to vertical - 2 strides - hard right turn in 4-5 strides to an oxer - then a left turn to a skinny.
I could NOT get the left lead on the last two (oxer, skinny) so my first homework is just to set up a pole or a small jump and work on my left lead.  I could get it fine when it was just the skinny or just the plank, but not when I was doing it as part of the course.
Instead, I would pull hard on the left rein, but the good news was that I could feel that I was doing it, like that eureka moment when I felt I was pulling back before each fence and could finally stop.
We also worked on doing the line in 5 strides, then 6, but just a little bit.
I also had another eureka moment where I finally got "sit up" around the corner, and I half halted without losing impulsion.  Then, we bounced in and just flew over the fence, instead of kind of chipping over it.
A third eureka moment was when I got too close to the first vertical of the three combination, and how it screwed up the next two and I still didn't get it back together for the skinny.
However, since we haven't jumped since the derby, and John said we just jumped right in and were pushing Charlie, I was really happy with how well we did, considering.
My homework is leads and then to work on three fences in a row (two strides between each) but the center one wonky angled, so that I learn to ride to my spot regardless.
John said that yes Jumpernite is worthwhile - because any time in the arena is.  He said to ride one level below, my level, and if he's going well, the next level up.  So three classes.
He also said that Devoucoux are the best saddles, and there are a couple other good ones (one that starts with A and one that starts with R) but that I don't need to specialize between my xc and sj saddles until my second year at Prelim.  He said that's when I'll feel that with a different saddle, I could go faster.

Charlie majorly good for Major Beale

I forgot to include in yesterday's post the hardest part about the collected canter - doing the uberstriechen when Charlie gives with his head.  That actually applies to all things Charlie does - I'm a good clamper but not good at letting go (like the rest of my life, actually).  So I need to concentrate on that.
I started today by asking Major Beale for specific exercises to improve Charlie's musculature on his topline.  In addition to transitions and marching, he said to do lateral work and today's exercises.  I also asked about bending properly, and he said that yes, the aids were right (a squeeze on the inside, leg aid on the inside, and a firm hand (but a bit of give, to give him room to bend) on the outside).  He suggested thinking of it as a contraction on the inside and a lengthening on the outside, because a horse can't actually bend through its ribcage, but also it is ok to bend a bit more in the neck at this stage.
So then we got started, and he was not happy with the walk to halt transition, especially after we worked on it yesterday.  Ominously, he got up, got down a lunge whip, and came out into the arena.
If Charlie is working with impulsion, he will naturally halt square.  So all my efforts to fanagle him into halting square would have been better spent working on the underlying cause - adequate impulsion and proper carriage - than trying to skid him into it and all my other shenanigans.
What he ended up doing was NOT beating me with the lunge whip, but using it like the stick with Charlie's hocks to encourage him to step up and under - like I have seen Mike do when he is teaching piaffe.
We worked on "half steps".  This is walking, then pull both legs back a bit (hard to do in my hips, side note), and ask for a trot aid, but then hold it to tiny steps.  From half steps, we would transition down to walk or to a regular trot.
The regular trot then felt lofty.  It was not rushed - something I tend to do when I try to get "big" - but there was suspension - I could feel how long I was in the air posting compared to normal.
From there we worked on small circles around Major Beale (maybe 10 meter or 8 meter?) with haunches out but neck bent in - so if we were moving counterclockwise, haunches were out to the right, but neck was bent a bit to the left.  Then we would go bigger, reverse it - haunches to the left - and then straighten and go to a trot or straight to a canter.  We did this several times both directions, with improvement each time.
My left leg (and Charlie's left hind leg) are still noticeably weaker than the right, making it much harder to do it with the left leg as the dominant aid, and I am also slow to put on my "outside" leg to keep him moving "forward".
But when we connected all the dots and then did trot or canter - yowza - his shoulders were so high it was like sitting on a pillow.  It was divine.
From there we did some shoulder-in to trot lengthening exercises, with the important part being to give Charlie enough time to collect again and BEND before we headed into the corners - I would just barrel into the corner and he'd lose his balance.
Major Beale said it is correct to give him tomorrow off - he'll probably be a bit stiff and sore from using all those muscles for so long, but I have to say - Charlie was such a gentleman.  It was hard work - he was sweating and huffing and puffing, but he tried to figure it out and then gave it his best.  He didn't get frustrated or worn out.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to ride with Major Beale and learn from him.  He is very good at describing what the rider and horse are doing, and how that affects the movement.  I felt like I learned more in these two days than in years of struggling on my own.  And I am so, so lucky to have Charlie.  He is just a phenomenal horse, exactly the right personality at exactly the right time.
I feel like I am finally starting to catch on, and that maybe it isn't hopeless after all.  I've made so much progress from when I first rode with him!

Major Beale - major fun

I was a little anxious about today's ride with Major Beale.  Charlie got 3 weeks off of work instead of 2, and his right front hoof feels warm to me.  He felt off the last day I tried to ride him (so I quit) and a few days later he was noticeably lame. The one day I got to ride him (two days ago), he was downhill and rushing, and I couldn't tell whether he felt off or not.
And, like every other lesson, with Major Beale, it was miraculous.
First, I come in and loaf around.  No more.  Charlie can walk on a long rein, but he is going to MARCH forward. 
Second, I asked for help on the two 15 meter circles at X for Training Level B.  The problem is the outside shoulder - I'm losing contact in the outside rein, and Charlie's shoulder bulges out, and that's what makes the circle the wrong shape.
Third, I had lengthening the canter all wrong.  It made sense for a horse not round, but for a horse that is connected, there is a different way to ride it.  If Charlie has impulsion, then I don't need to kick, but just let my seat swing bigger - that stretches him out without driving him down.  But to collect it back up, I need to wrap my legs around him and then hold it in front. 
Lengthening the trot is not the same aid as canter.  There, I do need to use leg to lengthen - and also post higher.  But the feeling of bringing it back is similar.
Fourth, I asked for help with the trot stretchy circle, and as I suspected, it's because I'm not riding the right basics.  If Charlie is working over his topline, the stretchy circle is a relief, and he naturally goes round and low to stretch out his topline.  But if he's already downhill on the forehand, he has no reason to stretch, and I have to make him do it.  So after I worked him correctly, and allowed the reins to lengthen, he just naturally went down.
Fifth, when Charlie is tilting his head it means that he's not working symmetrically on both sides.  I can't always feel this, but it's good to know that's the root cause.
Sixth, I need to push Charlie into the halt (or whatever downward transition) with my legs and not pull with my hands.  I have heard this before and thought it was crazy, but today it totally worked.  I just kept my hands steady and used my legs and miraculously we stopped every time - and we stopped with lifted (lofty) shoulders instead of heading downhill.
Major Beale said that we have made definite progress, but that I need to sharpen Charlie up so that instead of it taking 13 steps to make a transition, it takes no more than 3.  He also said because Charlie is lazy and has always been lazy I really have to stay consistent and dedicated to working on making him move forward with impulsion.
He also said that Charlie needs to develop muscles over his topline.  It sounds like a chicken and egg problem.  If Charlie had those muscles, it would be easier for him to do this work, but he needs to do this work to get those muscles.  Mostly a lot of transitions but they need to be from a marching walk and done properly, not puked out onto the forehand downhill stuff.

Training work with John

I had a lesson with John following Caber.  He got to see show jumping, and I described the three fences that felt awkward from cross country (how to jump the down bank on the C curve - I had done it correctly*; the puke over the big table; and the chip on the narrow skinny).  The puke on the big table was because we were coming fast out of the woods downhill and then streaking across the pasture, so I didn't balance him but just launched at it.  This was true.  He said about 10 strides out to sit up and rebalance when you have a situation like that.
*Correctly was a C curve, but with a flat part to make the bank perpendicular.  Although you can ride a down bank at an angle, John doesn't think it's fair to the horses depending on which is their dominant eye (one will see the bank and water, the other will see the ground).
The chip on the skinny was because I tried to half halt and make a hard right turn at the same time (doing two things at once is still beyond my skill set) so I probably lost all impulsion and didn't have enough room to pick it up again.
That is what we worked on during the lesson because it was the same thing that caused the one rail down during show jumping.
John had some of the same fences set up - still huge, and we worked on making hard turns - 10 meter circles basically - while keeping forward.  A lot of this was controlling the outside shoulder.  If I let his shoulder drift out of a tight corner, we didn't hit the take off location correctly, and Charlie had to sproing up over the fence.  I also completely clobbered an oxer with a two stride to a vertical, I rode in looking at how freaking huge the oxer was, so we puked over it, and Charlie ran out on the vertical.
Like every lesson with John, every mistake was a gift, because he explained (and I could feel) what went wrong, how to correct it, and then I rode it again properly.
Much to my amazement, by the end of the lesson we could make hard right and hard left turns off of huge fences and get to the next fence with enough impulsion.
It is easier to ride Charlie over these fences because he brings the impulsion, so I don't have to ride in kicking and smacking and clucking, and can work instead on his balance.  And, because he is actually lifting up, it is so much easier to stay centered and balanced over him.
John said that I need to make sure not to get reliant on schooling a cross country course before I compete, and to just know that I can do it and Charlie can do it if I ride assertively.  The oxer/run-out was perfect for that because I rode it hesitantly, and then I got mad at the run out and rode it assertively, and it was night and day.
He also said that it's going to be tough when people start talking and saying this is all Charlie and not me.  He said Charlie is a great horse for the level I ride at, but I am not just sitting up there.
It was a great lesson - I left with that feeling of having grown as a rider and improving my understanding of the technical side as well, and feeling really positive that if I can keep working with John (and now I know on the flat I can also practice those 10 meter circles), Charlie and I can keep improving.  He is a phenomenal instructor.
John also said to put my foot on the outside of the stirrup bar (particularly the right foot), keep my legs down and long over the fences (I am pinching with my knee), and that someone competitive (like me) gets bored if they ride at too low of a level for too long, and will start slacking off working at home (true).

Caber Contentment

Our first training show was a roaring success.
Charlie was spot-on for dressage, with a couple of stumbles in the grass, but otherwise a solid A.  Not an A+ - I couldn't get that last bit of sparkle out of him like he voluntarily brought at Rebecca, so I've got to keep working on that to figure out how to get him to volunteer it.
Our dressage ride gave us some breathing room to either be too slow or get a rail down in show jumping.
Cross country rode great.  Thank goodness John had me jump a lot of the fences last week without seeing them on the ground first; otherwise I would have psyched myself out.  There were three sets of A-B-C combinations (an up bank, down bank, skinny; a roll top, ditch, skinny; and a roll top; down bank into water; skinny roll top), and a table with a hard right to a narrow.  Although all the fences weren't perfect - Charlie had to save me on a couple - we rode the lines pretty much exactly as I envisioned and I had the speed spot on.  I measured by minutes instead of by fences, so I knew when my watch should go off at 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 and didn't have to look at it while we were going.  I also measured where to speed it up to make up for the places I had to slow it down.
It was so fun.
Then today I was super nervous since we seem to be weakest at show jumping and then the fences were freaking huge with hard turns to them to make it even harder.  Thank goodness there were just three sets of combinations, and none were triples.  I saw John while walking and he gave me some pointers, and then I just rode Charlie hard to each fence, thinking forward with my leg, but trying to use my seat and hands to lift him instead of hold him back.  In warm up and in the ring, he jumped everything like a champ, totally taking care of me.  We got one rail down, and John said we came out of that corner a little flat, but we rode the rest of it great.  I felt us bump a couple of rails, so we got really lucky, and we will really need to work on this over the winter.
It far exceeded my expectations and now I am really looking forward to working hard over the winter so we can stick with the accelerated schedule with my eye now on Prelim!!
Charlie is the best horse ever.

What is there to gain and what is there to lose?

Charlie and I had a great lesson with John yesterday.  He was working on cross country, so after warming up, we met him out there.  I told him I've been having problems with show jumping; I just can't get Charlie to lift his legs up, even when we go clear, but I figured John would diagnose it and could look at us jumping cross country just as well to figure out what the problem was.
We started with a little log, and then proceeded to jump our way around the course, doing some new stuff that was really fun.  And thankfully, far off in the distance until I was right up on it so I couldn't get intimidated.  We jumped a chevron, a three log split rail, a table with some cut outs, then a roll top to the up bank down bank skinny, down the long aisle to a bigger table with cut outs, into the woods for an angled fence, and around the corner to a roll top, ditch, skinny, then down the long side over the ditch with the wall behind it (!!), and then into show jumping where we did an oxer, right hand turn, vertical six strides to oxer, left hand turn, vertical with 1 stride to another vertical (that looked like a whopper) with five strides to another oxer.
Charlie jumped everything like an absolute champ.
John said he was surprised we hadn't signed up for Training at Caber and I said I had wanted to but got talked out of it.  He asked me to think about what there was to gain and what there was to lose, and if the potential gain outweighed the potential loss, I should go for it. 
I went home and looked through everything - the dressage test (I rode it today to try it out), champs, any year end awards, and my schedule, plus the things that can't be weighed because they're too uncertain - my goal to go Training, and the thought that who knows what can happen over the winter, and then asked to change my entry to Training, withdrew from Aspen at Novice, and signed up for two of the three derbies at Training.
So here we go ...
Riding Charlie over those wide tables was AMAZING.  We were actually in the air long enough to feel the difference, and Charlie just went for it with such gusto, like he really loves his job.
John's take on the pukey show jumping is that Charlie's strength - going fast - isn't utilized in show jumping, and then to compound it, I get nervous and try to suck him back, which just takes away all of the impulsion and he has to puke over each fence.  When John made the fences higher and harder so I couldn't spend as much time screwing around and just had to concentrate on riding and getting over them, things just flowed. 
Charlie isn't challenged by novice, and then I suddenly remembered our first lesson at John's, where he was talking to Shannon about how much better Charlie was when he went Training than Novice, because at Training he actually tried.

Amazing session with Beth (but my abs are tired)

I had my third (?) dual pilates and riding session with Beth today.  This one had a breakthrough!
I really get a lot out of the dual sessions because Beth has seen me often enough now that she works on the current issue inside, so I can feel it without having to think about riding - and then she gives me exercises for continuing to improve at home.
Then we work on the same thing on Charlie, which helps me feel how changing my alignment can really change how Charlie can move.
Today we worked on my upper back, which has to do with pinching my shoulder blades together, and not rolling my shoulders back.  We did quite a few exercises and they were surprisingly hard to do.  The right shoulder in particular is reluctant to move.  Using my lats, instead of my shoulders, was also quite hard.  The at home exercises are to do quadriped on a ball and to do scarecrow on the ball and then lift my arms at the end.
Then we did some work with Charlie at the sitting trot.  This ended up being genius.  Without messing around with the angle I create at the posting trot, I could focus on lining up the two plates - the lower abs, which need to come forward (tuck my butt under me); and my shoulders, which also need to come forward, but not until after they pinch back.  I feel like I am tilting forward with the shoulders, but once everything lines up, I quit being behind Charlie's motion and I feel completely solid and planted.
Then the next big thing to work on was to loosen my legs.  I tend to grip with them, particularly after a down transition.  When I consciously loosen them, I sink deeper into the saddle and have much better feel.
With loose legs, I could then think "up" and control the rhthym and increase the bounce.  It was actually kind of a miracle how much I could do with the tucked under butt - all coming from the abs, not the butt itself.  Using my butt actually defeats the progress.
I had a hard time with opening my fingers.  As we go, and particularly for up transitions, I loosen my fingers which doesn't help Charlie at all.  I need to pay a lot more attention to this because I don't notice I'm doing it.
Then we worked on canter both directions, getting an active walk where Charlie's shoulders lifted and I could feel either a halt or trot at any step.  Then we would trot, trot a 10 meter circle, and canter leaving the 10 meter circle.  We went out to a 20 meter circle, and then interestingly, when we made the circle more like 15 meter circle, to the right Charlie just fell apart.  For now, I'm going to assume that's coming from me, but it was a huge difference in his ability to hold that canter on the left and right side (I also had to ride him counterbent, so that's one of many reasons I assume it is me preventing him from doing them equally).
I got a longer whip after using Beth's, and I'm going to start riding him with my little spurs.  He's ignoring my aids again, which I know is my own fault, but I need to break that habit so we can work on cooler things.
It was a great lesson.  I felt like I started to feel how to use my core, and that will help motivate me to stay on top of the mat exercises at home too.
There were like 100 other tips and steps, but my brain is full from trying to feel it all so that I can work on it before next time.  This has been so helpful for me.

Rebecca Farm Logistics

For the three day

People to stable with:  Jessica Bryant, John Camlin (Caber Farm), Britt Roden

Monday:  Drive to Spokane (6 hours)
Gas at Ritzville - truck stop with big easy station
Stay at Spokane Sport Horse:  http://www.spokanesporthorse.com/ ($20/horse/night) - gmackie@spokanesporthorse.com or info@spokanesporthorse.com
Humans stay at Ramada Inn – use Spokane Sport Horse Farm special rate

Tuesday: 
Gas again in Spokane and gas at St. Regis - none really between interstate and Kalispell
Drive to Kalispell (5 hours, plus time changes)
Check in, check outside of office for times for sessions
Easy hack
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites is the closest hotel to Rebecca Farm - accepts pets, no fee
(Red Lion was very nice and had a good breakfast with omelet bar but difficult hours with horse show)

Wednesday:
In-Barn inspection (papers, with vets) 9 am - noon (ish)
Sessions begin (in hand inspection, roads and tracks ride, steeplechase session)
First inspection (gussied up)
Walks and ride
Walk cross country first time

Thursday:
Dressage
More sessions (10 minute box, course walk)
Walk cross country at least twice
Hack roads and tracks; measure it too
Measure steeplechase to 30 seconds and 1 minute marks

Friday:
3 day - starts early (8-9 am)
Walks

Saturday:
Final inspection (gussied up)
Show jumping

Sunday:
Drive to Spokane (5 hours, time change)
Good food and dogs on patios, Elk Public House:   1931 W Pacific Ave

Monday:
Drive home (6 hours)

Lesson #3 with Britt

I had another slew of questions about the three day, and started the lesson with those.   The first was how awkward going downhill feels.  Britt said to just keep working on it until the lightbulb goes off for Charlie.  She suggested starting on a small, gradual hill, and just riding a circle until he gets it and gets balanced and has cadence - then move to a hill that's a little bit steeper and work my way up to a real hill.  My second question was where do I warm up for cross country day, and the answer is - nowhere!  You just get on and ride.  No warm up fences in between A and B or C and D.  Third question was my same question to John about this time last year - if I work at it, can I do training level at the end of the year.  Britt's answer was the same - I can work at it, but I might not make it.  She explained that for training, there is a big jump in the technical aspect, and you really need to be able to rock back before the fence and have control over the shoulders for the turns because they are so tight.  And then I had to sheepishly confess that my fourth question was that I really struggled with exactly that since last week.  So we started by working on it with a new exercise.  She also told me that although Novice is a little easier, I probably am not going to have much horse for the Major Beale clinic the weekend after we get back.
Our exercise was to trot a long side, leg yield a few steps, then go straight a few steps, leg yield, straight - so there were three leg yields.  The part I focused on was using the outside leg (my left leg - we were going left) to "turn on" when I went straight.  At first, I just quit using my right leg, but once I started to use the left leg to make the outside frame, Charlie would slow down.  When I added the whip on the right with the left leg, he started to poof up in the shoulders.  Then we added circles - we'd leg yield, go into a smallish circle (15 meters), go back into the leg yield.  This really helped me use my outside rein on the circle.
Then Britt came and held the rein and held my leg and demonstrated the proper feel.  What I think of as contact is barely contact at all.  As soon as I added the actual contact, it made a huge difference.  The hard part was feeling the difference between rounding contact and flattening contact.  So Britt showed me which muscles to watch on his neck to see the difference.  The other tricky part with this was not to pull back to get contact, but to have steady contact, and when he gives, it releases just by his giving.  I don't have to fling the reins forward when he gives.
So then we did the same thing but at the canter, and other than a total out-take moment where I tried to switch the whip, got my rein wrapped around my thumb and the whip, then dropped the other side of the rein and careened around in a wild circle, this exercise was pretty good too.
So THEN we did our steeplechase triple bar.  Last week I set up a 3'1" triple bar without too much of a spread, and a 3'7" vertical since that is the maximum height the brush can be.  The triple bar was an absolute delight to jump, even at 470 mpm, but the vertical gave me trouble, so I only did it twice and decided to wait for the lesson.
First we did the steeplechase fence, and Britt noted that I'm probably working too hard, and so Charlie is tuning me out.  I basically whip him every stride all the way around.  And it was true - he kept going, even when I wasn't whipping him.  She also reminded me of the two whip rule, which was timely, although since I won't have my dressage whip, I feel like I'll basically be whip-less anyway. 
She also demonstrated, after the warm up fences, that I'm working too hard over the fences, flinging myself in half over his neck, when I should just let him close my angle, like you do when you're skiing moguls.  This makes perfect sense, and I have noticed that I fling forward (increasingly) but I couldn't figure out why I was doing it or what to do instead.  So then she talked about what the steeplechase is for (not sitting up before the fence, but letting the fence close your angle), and so we worked on it a couple more times.  It was too much change at once, and I got more stupid over the fence, but it was all good information.
Then we went from the steeplechase fence to slowing the canter and jumping the 3'7" vertical.  The first four fences were horrible, but then I started to get it.  I had to sit up and half halt until about four strides out, then kick to the fence.  It's the first time I've really had to ride two fences so differently, and it was a lot for my brain to take in, but once I got it, the light bulb kind of went off.  It also helped that I did them so badly at first, because Charlie wasn't doing my job for me anymore, and I had to think it through and actually ride the fence.  Britt said not to work on those on my own, but I'm really glad we did them.  I feel like another layer of gauze just got peeled away so I can see a little bit about what's in store.
I'm not sure this is going to be the year to go Training, but I did realize, in asking her about it, that I just don't know - I have no experience at all - what it means to have that connection and why it's so critical over the fences.  But this last exercise really helped me get it, and that gives me something concrete to understand and work on over the winter to get ready for next season.
Britt has a very patient way of explaining things that really helps with the stuff that is totally unfamiliar to me, and I feel like I am getting closer to the point where I am not just being tootled around on Charlie's back but actually starting to contribute a little bit.  At least, I am starting to see how I could contribute, which is leaps and bounds ahead of where I was two years ago and my whole life up to this point.  It is amazing how much I don't know.

Lesson #2 with Britt

We had two primary things we worked on today, after a barrage of questions I had about the logistics of the three day.

First, we worked on a circle at the trot, then at the canter, and worked on bending each direction without Charlie's shoulder bulging out.  In other words, instead of bending at the neck (and the circle getting smaller), Charlie stayed on the same track and bent through his body to make a "macaroni" shape.  This meant I had to use the outside rein as a half halt, and then when the bend flipped "backwards", the inside rein became the half halt.  It took me a little while to catch on, but once I did, I could feel him balance instead of bulge out.  Doing the small canter circle - where the circle is coming from his shoulders - it helps to count 1-2-1-2 to keep the rhythm and not let him slow down.

The second thing we worked on was some fences, using the same feeling to get on a straight line to go over the center of the fence.  First, instead of just turning my head, I need to also turn my shoulders towards the fence.  Second, the impulsion comes before the turn starts, not on that final few strides in front of the fence.  Third, use that same bending hands - like wheelbarrow handles, but thinking of having like a short broomstick handle connecting my two hands - to use to push his shoulders around the corner instead of pulling his head around the corner.  This is also outside leg.  Fourth, then, once we come around the corner, inside leg turns on to keep him straight so we don't keep drifting on the angle out of the corner.  And fifth, once he is heading towards the fence, I can quit working.  Kicking at the last minute doesn't help - the impulsion came from before we started the corner.  This is just counting and keeping the rhythm.

Britt showed me to use my leg 1-2-1-2 and then if I need to a BIG 1- BIG 2 - BIG 1- BIG 2, but not a steady anaconda squeeze.  It really helped to have her do the movement so I could feel the difference between what I am doing (and not feeling) and what she meant.

Pilates with Beth

I had my second dual mat session followed by a lesson with Beth Glosten today.  Like our prior mat sessions and riding lessons, it was tremendously useful.
The quick version of what I need to think while riding is the feeling of a rope around my waist pulling me to the right.  The second "clue" for correcting my position is when my right leg starts to curl and stick tight to the saddle.  That is my reminder that I am too far to the left, and I need to put my weight back into my right leg, which lets it relax and then be a useful aid.
The more complex version to fix my funny sashay twist is this:
1.  Use my left hamstring, plus the push up in the posting trot, to push my left hip up.
2.  Keep my left toe from moving forward, to keep my leg underneath me.  Using the hamstring properly kind of solves this one on its own.
3.  My hips need to make a plane with an angle that feels like it is with the left hip back and the right hip forward.  This is easiest to think about pushing the right hip forward (instead of pulling the left hip back).
4.  Then my left oblique muscle needs to shorten/engage.  This is the hardest one to do.  This one helps to think of the criss cross from the left hip to the right shoulder.
5.  Continuing to move up, my left shoulder comes back and my right shoulder comes forward.  This makes my sternum ride in the same plane as Charlie's.
When I manage to get all 5 of these together, the sashay gets dramatically diminished, and there is less wiggle in my spine.  But as soon as I drop one (usually the oblique, which then very quickly results in the toe moving forward), the sashay is back with a vengenance.

It sounds simple, but I think it is going to need some real concentration before I start to get the muscle memory and don't have to think so hard about it.  It is one of those things where I have to stick my tongue out while I am going around (I actually had my tongue out while I was typing it!) because I am concentrating so hard.
The oblique is really tricky.  I don't have very good control over it, so sometimes it responds and sometimes it doesn't.  What was useful was that it was the same way in the mat session, so it isn't just when I'm on Charlie.  Beth also gave me some great exercises to work on at home, to help strengthen it and feel it.
The good news is I can feel the sashay, which I couldn't the last time I visited her, and when we rode around with one stirrup dropped and then the other, there wasn't nearly as dramatic a difference as last time.
We did a bit of work on upper body, getting my shoulder blades together and then pulling down my back, and then sitting leaning forward just a bit.  I very quickly round up when I am concentrating on other things.
We also did some work at the canter, and Beth said the same as my dressage tests, the left canter is not as good as the right.  But she showed me how it was a lot of extra wiggle in my spine, and when I got everything lined up, all of a sudden it was amazing.  It was like I had Charlie's shoulders up between my legs so I could have turned him right or left or forward or back, and I was just completely stable and perfectly in place.  It was divine. 
I'm really glad to be so fortunate to be able to work with someone who can help me with these weird little quirks.  I want to get them resolved so that we can keep progressing and don't get hung up later because I ignored the problem.

Lesson with Britt

Britt has been coming to Forest Park every other Monday, and for months I have been meaning to take a lesson with her.  It was great and I'm sorry it took me so long to get my schedule together to try one.
She has a very good ability to describe the precise movement that the rider needs to make, in order to make an adjustment in the horse, and then to get the desired result.  For example, she described in the canter that when Charlie's neck comes toward me, that is when I should do a half halt on the outside rein.  That was easy for me to feel (his neck coming towards me), a precise movement (half halt on the outside rein), and then a result (rounder, lifted Charlie). 
She had several suggestions for how to modify my warm up for stadium jumping, to try to keep Charlie responsive instead of zoning out, since he knows his job and doesn't need a lot of drilling right before we ride.  She suggested instead of trotting the cross rail first, try trotting the vertical.  Then, jump the vertical at two angles, then straight, then the oxer at two angles, then straight.  After that, work on walk to canter transitions - to get that feeling of "jump" and to make sure he is responsive, and also try canter 10 meter circles to get his hind legs working underneath him. 
The first thing we worked on was not throwing the reins away when I ask Charlie to go forward.  When he's being lazy and I kick him forward, I just fling the reins out and so going forward isn't really doing anything but teaching him to run around on the forehand.  Britt suggested thinking of a wall and so with firm hands, he has to bounce up when he goes forward, instead of just flattening out.  Just holding the reins with more contact made a huge difference.  Charlie was like "oh, THAT'S what you want" and rounded up into the contact.  However, Britt said he was good at faking it - his front end would get round but he still wasn't really using his hind end or lifting up through his back.
Then the big exercise we worked on was a sequence of transitions.  We would trot, walk, halt, then rein back (going in a straight line, without his head popping up - because that is defeating the purpose of the rein back which is to get him to step underneath himself lifting his hind legs up - and when he does, I can feel his back lift), and then halt and go forward into trot.  It took a few tries for me to catch on, but then once I could feel what was needed, it became a really cool exercise with a big difference in the trot at the end.
Britt mentioned using yardsticks - to objectively measure how a horse is responding - and she thought the rein back was a good yard stick.  If I can't get Charlie to back straight, it means I lost his hind end in the trot or walk heading into it.  This was another really good exercise because once I got it right, I could really feel the difference from when I didn't.
Charlie was really lazy today - he had two days of Major Beale back to back and then was on the grass today, but in a way, that is good because that's where I need help the most. 
Then we worked on cantering and making a circle from the outside rein, without using the inside hand.  This is really hard, but for a few circles, I used the inside leg to outside hand and it was AMAZING.  All of a sudden, he was like a motorcycle popping a wheelie and I could steer him and float him and do anything.  Britt related it to basketball - it's the move where you can go forward, up, or sideways because you've got all the energy where you need it.
We did a few small fences off of the circles and this was also a really great exercise. Because I had to concentrate so hard on riding from the outside, Charlie rode in very balanced and could round up over them, even though they were little.  They were way more effective than my cheating method of just raising them higher.
Britt suggested that I really focus on always riding precisely to the center of the fence, because on a long horse like Charlie who likes to wiggle to escape hard work, it's going to catch up with me as I try to move up the levels, and it's probably what's causing my rails down, if I come in at just the slightest angle.  She said to keep the fences where I have to concentrate to ride the tight circle to get to them, but also to put a ground pole with a glove in the center and always ride exactly over the glove.
Having these kind of clear exercises, with a goal to see in Charlie, and clear instructions to obtain them - with measurable objective information on the other side - is exactly my style.  I'm so glad she's coming to Forest Park!

Miracles by Major Beale, part 2

Today was just as miraculous as yesterday.
We started "where we left off" - which was a little hard for me.  It was good for it to be hard, because I won't see Major Beale again until August, so I really want to work as hard as I can in between, and even the very next day from how far we made it yesterday, I had a hard time getting Charlie back to where we were at the end of the ride.
The main thing missing was the promptness.  I let Charlie take three or four steps to get into the next transition.
And our eureka moment was why I let that happen.  It's because I'm slow.  I'm a slow thinker, and I'm an analytic thinker, so I am running through the checklist for each thing - whether that is an upward transition, downward transition, lateral working, making a circle ...) - and that gives Charlie lots of time between when I start to ask for it and when I finish asking for it. 
Major Beale said he has three levels of riders:  reactive, interactive, and proactive.  It is time for me to move from reactive to interactive.  This - I think - is the stepping block I have been butting my head against for too long.  I know (mostly) what to do.  And I know (mostly) when to do it.  But I think through it, instead of feeling and responding.
The second major thing Major Beale had me do, was instead of staring off into space - or up at the ceiling - or anywhere at random - to look at Charlie's ears (and where we were going).  When I focused on Charlie, and watched him (with soft eyes) while I was riding, I could suddenly feel so much more of what Charlie was doing, and by feeling it, I could react to it more quickly, instead of just being like, "When I want to canter, first I put my inside leg on, then I pull my outside leg back, then I squeeze with the inside rein."  It was a second eureka moment, and he did the Major Beale magic where he figured out what I was doing, why, and then explained how and why to do something else to progress as a rider.  It made the entire lesson worthwhile and I felt like I leaped forward a year or two in my progress.
But we haven't even gotten to the riding yet!  Then he had me work on very prompt transitions.  When Charlie was sluggish off my aids to start - he had me gallop, then trot, then canter, then walk, etc.  And they were quick.  He had mentioned galloping last time, but I have been doing it too long and taking too long to do it - his were quick bursts - to catch Charlie's attention and make him work all on his own.  He compared it to a grand prix dressage horse whose ears are pricked, he's proud of the job he's doing, and he's listening for what he's supposed to be doing next.  As soon as we perked Charlie up, he got lighter and more attentive.
Then we did some lateral work (shoulder in and shallow loops), including at the canter, and then we did the real work.  We did the exercise that was impossible for me last year - successfully.  This was, in essence, a circle on the forehand, converted to a circle on the haunches, then a brief straightening, then pick up the canter.
And when we picked up the canter, it was like that time in Mike's saddle - the heavens opened up, angels sang, and I was riding on a rainbow on top of a cloud with fairy glitter falling around me.  It was divine.  Charlie was lifted in his back, lifted in his shoulders, his hind legs were coming underneath him, and he was light in the bridle.  It was nothing like a regular canter, and I felt like I could do ANYTHING from it.  It was amazing.
So take away #3 was that I don't ask for enough from Charlie on my own.  I am kind of wimpy and afraid of ruining him, so I play it safe and am content with what he offers.  And the lessons with Major Beale show me that Charlie can offer like 100x more than what I have seen, and it is gorgeous.
I can't wait to see how much I can maintain and improve on this until he is back in August.  It was an absolute, 100% delight.  It made my whole month.
Also, yes, he should work like this all the time.  Even a relaxed walk should be a forward, energetic walk.
And a "hack" is mellow conditioning - trotting and cantering.  It is not just walking on a loose rein on a trail ride.
And hills are good work, but I can't let him run around on the forehand on the hills.

Major Beale the miracle worker

Charlie and I had the most amazing lesson with Major Beale today.  The essence of it was how to get Charlie using his hind legs more.  There were three things that brought it all together.  First, my expectations for Charlie need to be immediate response.  Not a few seconds after I ask, not after a few steps of walk, but when I say "trot", he says "how fast?".  So the first thing we worked on was transitions with prompt responses.  It helps to have another person saying it, instead of me, because then I don't get to pick the time and spot (although when I'm alone, I pick a spot - like passing a particular rail so that I make it prompt).
The second part was thinking about the first step of the next gait before I finished the transition.  So if I was doing a canter to trot, I started thinking about the trot, and how I wanted the trot to feel, just before I asked for the downward transition.  What this really was thinking through each part of the movement and not "blurring" it.  Instead of skidding down, I thought about a half halt and how the first step should feel.
The third was lateral work.  But - good lateral work.  I am prone to overdoing (overangling, more precisely) the lateral work, which defeats the purpose of it.  So lateral work needed to be prompt and responsive - Charlie's legs needed to move the same speed as they would if we weren't doing lateral work - but not too angled so that he hit himself with his own legs.  Major Beale had to draw the lines on the ground with his foot, but once he did, I could picture where Charlie's legs needed to go.  Head to the wall leg yield is only a 35 degree angle, which is much, much less than what I've been doing.
All of these, plus thinking about my outside rein and sitting back a bit more in the canter with my legs a bit more in front of me, allowed Charlie to lift up his back, get even through his shoulders, and then it was like riding on a cloud.  It was divine.  I was grinning from ear to ear.
Once we got there, it was magic, but it was hard for me to get there - I'm really uncomfortable with feeling it on my own.  For the walk, I had to think about holding him with my core while I tickled him with the whip and the spurs until he really lifted up and got moving.  As soon as he lifted, I could feel it, but it will be hard on my own to trust that I've got it right and am not just pushing him onto his forehand. 
I also needed to do a bit of shoulder fore in the canter to keep him from getting crooked.
For rein back, you ask with one side, then the other.  It isn't pulling back with both hands, which makes his head pop up.
And as a special bonus, with one halt, we were absolutely, perfectly square!
So transitions are prompt and quick and with impulsion - I want that feeling of his back lifted being the first step of the next transition.
It was a really amazing lesson, and I got what felt like a year's worth of information out of it, but in a way that was really easy for me to feel and digest and understand.  What a great way to start the solstice.