Third jump lesson; Duke getting back into it

For today's jump lesson, John gave us a little height and a little challenge.
We started with ground poles and a vertical; then a second vertical.
Rather than add the third oxer, John had us ride through, halt, do a turn on the forehand (which was absolutely pitiful), then ride back through the other direction.
Then we went back through and did it just one direction, with flow, until Duke did one absolutely perfectly.
As always, he gradually made the fences higher (ending at 3'11" -ish).
The biggest instruction to me was not to let him rush, and to slow him by using my upper body to sit back (and to open my chest), and to remember to use my damn voice.  After a couple times through where I thought slow and said 'whoa-whoa', Duke got the hang of it and rounded himself up and over instead of plowing through.
John had us work a bit to start on the flat, as well, trying to get Mr Strung Out round and do some half decent transitions.  We did some haunches in, outside bend, and - I think - inside leg to outside hand.
I thought the halt, turn around, and ride back through was terrifying, because it didn't look like we had enough "runway" to get through the fences, but Duke had no problem with it.
He was also much better about not rushing on the far side; I could easily halt him, or trot, or do a nice canter around the corner, unlike the first couple lessons where we were basically ramming the wall.
One time I let him drift left and John told me if I did it again, I had to ride without stirrups - I had to look up (it's easy to look down the line at the letter) and keep him in the center.
We talked about Duke's attitude, possible causes, possible solutions, and his diet.  John said he's put on enough weight now, it was just how much he was losing each trailer ride last summer, and he was too skinny by the end, so it is better to start him a little fat this year.  He said if he starts losing weight, we'll increase grain again (I replaced half a scoop of senior with half a scoop of rolled oats and cut out his evening beet pulp).
It was a really satisfying lesson, although the flat was not beautiful, the jumping felt a lot better than the last couple.  It was definitely too much time off.

Jump lesson with Christa

John started our jump lesson by making me ride without stirrups at the posting trot because I hadn't told him Christa was coming too.  When it got too pitiful, he had me switch to standing up in the stirrups; he wanted my ankles to drop, but my damn ankles weren't interested.  I had to hang on to Duke's breastplate to even stay up.
We did some trot and canter work, then worked our way through the grid - cross rail with ground poles, then to vertical, then to oxer.  Like last week, my job was to not let Duke put his head down and run on the far side.  We did better than last week, but I still had to ram him into the wall a couple times.
One time it worked great, and it was partly how I lined him up coming in, partly that I stayed balanced all the way through, and partly magic.  The rest of the times, I fucked something up.
Near the end, John suggested that I say "whoa" over the last fence (and also had me look the direction I wanted to go).  Like every other time John has reminded me of this, "whoa" out loud works amazing with Duke, yet it never occurs to me to do.
I have a trailer tire going flat, and like last year with my car tire, couldn't find an easy place to fill it on the way home.  So that's the next irritant to deal with.

Dressage

Duke and I had a great dressage lesson today.  John worked us pretty hard on getting the correct bend, and asking Duke to put his weight on his hind end ("sitting back") while still going forward.  We had a few good moments, but good god - my fucking hands were like somebody with Parkinson's.  It was agonizing.  I could not get them to be still.
Duke was good about stepping forward and under, bending to the outside and inside, leg yielding in and out, and his transitions.  He was just jerky with his head (making the reins bounce).
We talked a bit about how I don't have enough imagination to ride the flat by myself without lessons; I need what we worked on in the last couple lessons to work into my routine.  John suggested trying music that gets me motivated.
I also asked for help with the training schedule for this year (which technically hasn't started yet).  John said he was working on it tonight, and would think about it, but let me know he was disappointed in me last year, for being a sore loser.  I asked him if I showed the signs of being about to quit, and he said he hoped not, but that if I kept up like last year, yes.
He said he can still see progress, but he thinks I can't see it, and he thinks that is what will make me quit, feeling like I'm no longer making progress.
Lesson was trying to re-ingrain what we were doing a couple months ago, getting him round, bent properly, moving off of my legs, but stepping forward and under.
I told him when I sit up, Duke does a down transition; he told me to make sure my hips keep moving, so then we did really big hips at the canter, got him moving really forward, and then used outside rein to rock him back onto his haunches.  Duke was pretty good about this, but I had to really concentrate.

Back-to-back dressage and jump (!!!!)

After an incredible drought in the lesson world, I finally had lessons a few days ago, dressage on Friday and jumping (yay!) on Saturday.  We haven't jumped since EI, although John has jumped Duke since then, so I was a little nervous.
Duke was pretty good for both.  For dressage, we went back to working on the same issues as a couple months ago (so we haven't regressed too badly), on a circle, working on outside bend, inside bend, and shifting legs to keep him forward and "straight".
For jumping, we started with some flat work, and then jumped a cross rail (with a bunch of ground poles) to a vertical, to a closer vertical, to an oxer.  The big goal here was not to let him drop his head and root on the far side so if I couldn't make him soft before the turn, I had to stop him before the wall.  The wall acted like a natural barrier.  He dove down a couple of times, but was actually really great for how long it's been since we've jumped.
And John played the Queen song that is the theme of my life:  "Under Pressure."  Thank god it wasn't "Fat Bottomed Girls."

10 meter to 20 meter circles

We had a quick lesson tonight because fat, out of shape Duke (and ahem, me) got sweaty too quick for how cold it was going to be.
We worked on 10 meter circles, with a good inside bend, then we'd either leg yield out onto the 20 meter circle (the 10 meter at 3 touched the 20 meter at 9) or change direction and keep the outside bend, bend the haunches in, and then bend the neck in.
John said that is a good exercise for helping bend through the body, especially when he's stiff and resistant, because he kind of gets tricked by the change of direction.
After we did the circles with haunches way way in, I could really feel the spring in his back end, and it made the canter (although a bit rushed and unbalanced) feel WAY better than the canter we've had at home.
This is the beginning of our hell month, after last month's hell-of-not-riding month, and so John gets to ride him a bunch and he stays at Caber.  This will also hopefully give the rain a chance to start and kind of pack down my new arena sand.

Dressage lesson - foot still gimpy

Not lame, but Duke's right front foot - maybe because it was a little short and then the shoe got reset twice, feels just a hair off.  I can't feel it at home (in the too deep sand that John says yes, can cause soft tissue damage), but I felt it at John's.
October might have been my lightest lesson month ever - just the one dressage lesson.  Probably lightest riding month ever too.  I told John that he was right - Duke got pissy without the regular work.  He said if he runs away again, just give up and leave him out for a while.
He checked my trailer, we talked about work, talked about my bloodwork, Duke's weight, and November schedule.
I rode, then we took a break so Ashley could jump Luca, then finished off the lesson.  We both agreed that we were both pleasantly surprised Duke and I weren't worse after the time off.  So I guess that's good news.
We worked on getting him a bit rounder - just using my legs to shape the curve, giving a little with the inside rein, once doing a little bit of counterbend.
It was a light lesson as far as instruction (and he took some video but then didn't say anything about it).  I needed to use my legs in different places (e.g. one in front of the girth, other in regular spot) to get him round.
In November, John will ride him a fair amount because I have three different weeks where he needs to be at Caber because I have ridiculous all day meetings several days in a row.  And I'll squeeze in a few rides around those and a few lessons, but by December we'll hopefully be back to regular work.

Dressage lesson - short feet

John noticed immediately that Duke's toes were just a little bit too short.  On hard surfaces, it would have been noticeable.  I noticed walking down the little hill, but didn't associate it with the trim he got Wednesday.  Even after all those months of measuring.
I asked John to watch me ride first, and I told him how it felt, so he could match up my "feel" with what he saw.
We needed just a little more forward at the trot (while keeping him round).  John said ride him deeper at home than I would at a show, since at the show he'll come above the bit a little.
John expect that I either have him round OR forward at the show, but not both at the same time, and that's what we need to work on.  He had me ride it to feel it.  And he said Duke - especially when he's had a few days off or a few days of light work - will round his neck but not drop his head, instead he crosses his jaw.
For the canter, it was a little more "jump" - so more leg, and then more round (trot can go either way, get him round first or get him forward first).  This meant inside leg to outside hand, and inside hipbone down, but to keep my seat in the saddle.  John said that my adductors are grabbing me, not giving me enough flexibility to get the whole swing done.
We didn't work long, but Duke got a bit sweaty, and I could definitely feel the difference before the lesson (which felt fine before we rode) and after (which felt even better).  So ask for more at home.  More. More. More.

Jump lesson and some graphs

We had a great jump lesson today, mostly because John jumped Duke last week, so he was like riding a Ferrari instead of a beetle bug.  I did the same fancy aid as on the flat, lower leg squeeze to balance him back and "half halt" him, instead of pulling back with my hands, and that let me set him back on his haunches so we could take off long, short, or hit it correctly, but any of the three ways felt smooth and powerful.
We started with a little vertical, going long and then coming in shorter, then turned left instead to an oxer (same thing), then we did a three jump combination (two strides to oxer, one tight stride to vertical), then John made it crazy and had us jump the first of the combination over to the oxer, and then the middle oxer of the combination over to the first fence vertical.
Duke was very adjustable and obedient.

Then we talked about skill and talent vs effort and time using graphs.  I showed John what I thought my learning style was with Charlie (steps up) vs. Duke (steady upward progress) but that what I was afraid was happening was we were capping out at my skill level (a solid horizontal line) and so John got me there, but I was sine waving up and down over it now.
He said no, there is rider skill level, rider and horse together, horse skill level, and then time and effort.  He also did one that was feel and rider.  Each one had a slightly different shape.
He said my skill level, especially with feel, was at 0 for a long time, then started to grow once I could feel what he was doing, then shot straight up mid-way through last season at training level, then kept growing but at a slower pace, and then - part way through this season, started going down again.
In contrast, Duke's line is a steady upward climb, and so he said he actually had to dial back how he was riding because Duke's responsiveness to the aids was getting too confusing for me, and we had to go back to the basics and focus on things I hadn't had to think about for over a year, like just riding straight to the fence.
He said that unlike the rest of the time he's been teaching me, as the season went on, I got tired, and wasn't listening, wasn't trying, ran out of emotional and physical effort.  (I agree.  EI was the final straw on a long slow decline.). He said if I want to compete next year, I have to be more dedicated, more focused, work harder, and have fewer distractions.  He said fine, my job can be hard, but that means I work 1000% when John has Duke so that when I go out for my lesson, I can focus entirely on John and be fully present.
He said that my competition line is a vertical up and down line, and that normally he can nudge me there during a lesson, that he can normally push me, but not this year.
It was pretty interesting.  And it made me think of the Dunning-Krueger curve.

Dressage lesson - post season tips

Get weight on Duke; increase his Senior to one scoop (currently 1/3 scoop), no more wet cob (currently 1/3 scoop), increase his Strategy to 1/2 scoop (currently 1/3 scoop).  Weight onto his back (he's a little ribby) and neck so he can turn it into muscle.
Try a new bit for dressage.  His jump bit is too strong for backing (at home), but his happy mouth dressage bit is too soft for shows.  Maybe a three jointed happy mouth with a "hanging" (?) snaffle ring?
Blanket him at night already.  He's too thin coated and is wasting calories staying warm.
We should have dropped down to Training to build confidence, but the water issue couldn't have been fixed because it doesn't exist at Training.
John says he'll work with me on how to rebalance him so he can take off from a short spot.  He says that the second run out I needed to ride him hard and perfectly, because the third one he just figured out he could get away with it.
If I do only dressage for a few months, Duke will be depressed.  He needs jumping to break up the monotony of dressage.
I'm probably riding less (and John is definitely riding him less) because of the rain and light.
John jumped him hard, so he'd be stiff, so I could ride him out of the stiffness in the lesson.
He rode great, because John's been riding him the last few days.  It was pushing his shoulders in towards John, or haunches, and then using legs at different strengths, sometimes holding, sometimes on-off, and sometimes counterbent and sometimes not.  He felt great, but it isn't something I expect I can repeat on my own.

Ugh. Lousy end to season.

Our first go at prelim was not what I hoped it would be.  At EI, we had our best dressage ride yet, but our worst placing (last place, 17th).  Upside?  Gap from 1st - 17th was only 10 points.  But still.  Last place?  He was nervous, but obedient, and had some great movements.  He had three terrible scores (not proportional to the movement) and then some really good ones, like a point better than normal.
Then cross country - we finally made it through the water.  Twice.
And then failed, utterly, at a chevron that we had no problem with in the spring.  He ran out to the left three times.
So I scratched from Spokane.  I don't know what's going wrong and we need to have a come to Jesus talk with John.  I made up a plan for training through next year, and we'll see how John modifies it.  We'll try to work really hard over the winter to improve his topline to improve his engagement and bascule, improve dressage, and improve obedience (??) for the precision to the fences.
Then we'll do extra schooling in the spring, combined with half time at John's, because I learned a LOT riding the day after John did.
Then try for prelim again.  And if we fail again next year - as in are not finishing in the top 10, then I'll decide whether he needs a better rider for an owner.  (Sigh)
I don't know if this is just part of prelim - in our classes, a lot of people frequently don't finish, if it's me, if it's him, if it's the fact that it's both of our first season at prelim? ...

May 2019 - Spokane - Modified
41.1 dressage, 1.6 time xc, 2 rails show jumping - 50.7 - 6th place, but for amateur, 3rd
12 riders, 11 completed

May 2019 - EI - Prelim
41.3 dressage, 1 refusal xc (water), 10.8 time penalties, 2 rails show jumping - 80.1 - 11th place, 9th (A)
21 riders, 15 completed

June 2019 - Aspen - Prelim
38.3 dressage, 3 refusals (chevron, water, crossed path in water), 2 rails show jumping - eliminated
21 riders, 17 completed

June 2019 - Inavale - Prelim
39.8 dressage, schooled water, 12.4 time xc, 1 rail & 0.4 time show jumping - 56.6 - 7th place, 3rd place (A)
17 riders, 14 completed

July 2019 - Rebecca - Prelim
37.9 dressage, 2 refusals xc (both water) & 13.6 time, *7* rails show jumping - 119.5 - 21st place, 13th (A)
24 riders, 21 completed

August 2019 - Caber - Prelim
40.2 dressage (my error, forgot movement), 1 refusal xc (B element of water) & 4 time, 2 rails show jumping - 72.2 - 17th place, 11th (A)
24 riders, 20 completed

September 2019 - Aspen - Prelim
42.6 dressage (I thought it was a good test), 2 refusals xc (both water) & 15 time, 1 rail show jumping - 100.6 - 17th place, 8th (A)
26 riders, 18 completed

September 2019 - EI - Prelim
37.7 dressage, 3 refusals xc (all same fence, chevron B) - eliminated
17 riders, 12 completed

Schooled the water again; also, tack cleaning tips

We warmed up over a few fences inside (it's been pouring rain - early, but spring was early too), then went out to the water jump.  John had us start by jumping over the roll top a couple times, then he had us come into the water "sideways" over a vertical.  Duke hesitated, but jumped in, and John told me to use my hips to finish the fence.  We did that a couple more times, then rode the gray/blue brush to the drop.  Duke went right on in.  We did it a couple more times, and John told me that he thinks I've used up my leg and I just need that little push to finish, so to look up, close my leg, and then use my hip to push him forward.
Since he freaks out about the whip.  He had a melt down yesterday when I whipped him, but John said it was just too much after he cut his face in his stall and got whipped the hardest ever by me on Saturday.  He said that he expects that Duke was pretty strong over fences on the far side when he started, and that someone halted him and backed him to train him not to run off on the far side.  And that because Duke is sensitive, and wants to please, when he got whipped after that, it just blew his mind.  So he thinks that's why Duke has problems both with the whip and with the rein back.
I did a couple in warm up, and John had us do one (without hands - omfg impossible), and Duke was ok about it.  Not brilliant, but not having a melt down.
I think I'm still going to school the water at EI.  Once he's been in once, Duke doesn't hesitate, but I think it's the reflection and not seeing how deep it is that is part of his worry too.  And he just needs to be with me long enough to know I'm not going to make him jump into water over his head - whatever it is a horse worries about for the depth of water.
Then John had to clean my tack because I was so slow clipping and cleaning Duke, and he said to just use a damp sponge to get the dirt off, instead of rubbing it into the leather with tack cleaner.  He showed me how gross my bridle was with one run of the sponge (yech) and Katy said my tack is always kind of sticky.
Good lesson.  But now I have to get up in 7 hours (?) to ride again because of stupid work schedule before this show.

Jump lesson, schooling water

We started in the show jump arena with a cross rail, vertical, taller vertical, and a little oxer.  John had me work on getting him forward, balancing, and then having him continue forward to the jump.  Even if our distance was a little off, if we were in the balanced, forward canter, we could take off from almost anywhere and it felt balanced, even if it wasn't the perfect spot.
The trick here was that when I half halt, to balance him, I MUST put leg back on afterwards, and not let him putter down.
Then we went out and rode the water.  Well, first John had us jump a roll top (a couple times), then the brushy vertical to the water, which Duke just stopped at.  I looked down, tilted forward, it was a classic bad ride.
John had me hit him.  Duke's mind was blown.  I thought he was going to have a melt down, he stood with his neck rigid and his heart thumping, but when I asked him to go forward, he pulled his shit together.  He was heavy and downhill, but he went into the water.  Over and over again.  John put up guiding poles, on the fence and on the edge of the water, to keep him in the water, instead of trying to jump out sideways to avoid landing in it.
John said I need more leg - to close my leg when I feel him hesitate and to look up.  So it's the same as the show jump ride, I need to send him forward, balance him, send him forward again, then ride him confidently (assertively) to the fence, leg on, looking up not down, ready to hit him, and RIDE HIM (teeth gritted when I type that) into the water.
He said we'll ride dressage Monday night and then jump him into the water again (deeper) afterwards.

Dressage lesson - possible explanation for Aspen?

Maybe the fact that I'm struggling to translate (and then practice) my lessons are part of what the problem is at the shows.  We're riding at the highest level I've ever ridden at, on a horse who is sweet and willing, but who hasn't been trained to this level by a pro, and who isn't a natural dressage mover.
Maybe the fact that every lesson is a stretch of my brain (in a good way), where we get, at the end, some absolutely beautiful and amazing work I never would have thought we were capable of - but I can't repeat it on my own.  I can get a movement, here and there, and over the summer, in our baby steps, we have improved dramatically, but it is taking tons and tons of repetition and practice and work and time with John before I can start to apply it myself.  I'm just not naturally talented.
But John was disappointed.  He said we looked fine in warm up, what happened in the arena.  And I said nothing - it felt the same to me.
So John told me to tell him when I felt like Duke was as round as he was during his test, and then he worked on making him rounder.
What we did was work on a 20/15/10 meter circle around John, and we would use counter flex, haunches in, leg at the girth, hand on the neck, elbow on my hip, etc. to fix whatever Duke was doing at that moment to avoid being round and springy.  John said that even with him riding, Duke just doesn't have enough muscle on his topline to spring around like a warmblood the whole test.  To avoid the bend, Duke would pop his head up (or his shoulder out) and my job is to - as soon as he starts to do that - put leg on to push him forward so he doesn't.  Then when goes round again, give a little.
John helped us set it up better than I do.  Like he would get him bent to the outside first, and then ask him to go forward.  And when he started to fade, John wouldn't let him get away with just shuffling around for a few circles, he had to go back to work pronto.
Trying to describe it is hard, because it is ... John has me react to each step, each movement, and so it is constant adjustment.  And the constant tiny adjustments make Duke look like he's being consistent.  Or feel consistent.  Every once in a while, we would get all the stars aligned, and Duke would just feel amazing - balanced - but even his "unbalanced" feels fine and good to me, so it's hard to retain the "best" feeling instead of the "good" feeling.
It was a great lesson, and I'm continually amazed that the two of us together can ride that well.  But I'm sorry we disappointed John (and that he's stumped) and that I don't know what to do different because I'm not sure what I'm doing WRONG at the show.
But like I was saying to John, man, we are so much better together than we were six months ago, or two years ago.  He's not even close to the same horse, and my posture and seat have improved.  Our dressage scores might not have - and I know that's the objective measure, but subjectively, I'm 99% confident that we are much, much better than we were.  At one point, John had me push him out to a bigger circle on the canter using my inside hip bone.  And Duke did it.  Immediately.  It was divine.

Aspen highs & lows; plan to attack our nemesis, water

We had a great ride at Aspen, but a lousy dressage score.  John helped us warm up, and Duke  was quiet and obedient.  I thought the judge's comments were mostly fair (except for the one that said his lengthened trot should be his regular trot - he's an OTTB, not a damn warmblood), just low.  Once again, we were very close to the bottom of the class.
Like the spring, we show jumped on Saturday, but unlike the spring, Duke did his damndest to go clear, with just one rail, at an exceptionally poor take off (fence 7, of only 8, but 8 was an A/B/C).  He didn't hit the rails most horses did, and overall, it was a rail heavy class, it felt like.  So I was very proud of him for that.  We rode very forward - kind of aggressive - to the fences.
Cross country he was great for 18 fences.  He jumped the terrifying huge ditch at the bottom of a steep hill to a narrow, jumped the angle angle cabin after weaving through the trees, jumped the huge tables, jumped the narrow to a one stride to a down bank with huge brush on top to a corner with a hard turn in front of the shipwreck, etc.  What he did not jump, and grrrr - very frustrated - was the water.
For the first water, he cantered right in without hesitating, went right up to the fence, and then stopped with his nose on it.  I thought he was going to climb over it, but he didn't.  We circled, he cantered right in again and jumped it.  Ok.  So I thought, well, we sort of already schooled it, so I won't school the second water.  Shoulda coulda woulda.
He cantered right up to the damn kayak and then skidded to a halt, even with me whipping him.  We went left (god forbid should we cross our tracks), he trotted into it, cantered around the fences in it, and then jumped right into it like a good boy.  Did not run out (unlike May), jumped the hanging log to the C brush element, and we were off down the hill.
So almost perfect, but not quite, and what the fuck is going on with the water.  He was an absolute dreamboat to ride all the other fences - took care of me, tried his heart out ...

I'm going to try to school him at Rainbow Meadows and Donida before it gets too wet, and at EI and Spokane this fall I will school the water before we jump into it.
Next March we will school once, April school twice, and May school once.
First show we will school the water (Spokane) and then - if all of that has gone according to plan - at EI try jumping right in.  If that fails, school water the rest of the damn season.

Dressage - lateral work out the gills

We had a most excellent dressage lesson today.  Although I felt like Duke faded quite a bit between our last dressage lesson (Saturday?, with John riding him) and today, John said he was actually pretty round to start.  We worked on lengthening him (or medium trot), and then bringing him back with the magical steady lower leg on instead of on-off-on-off, which works much better (steady leg).  Then, because this is peeling an onion, John added inside bend or inside leg to outside hand connection to make him go very round when he either slowed down or did a down transition.
We did a bunch of 10 meter circles, 20 meter circles, lengthen across the diagonal, and then leg yield.  We did some very very big medium canter (that's how it felt to me) sometimes with a come-back in the middle and sometimes not.
Duke worked SO hard. He got almost as sweaty as when John rode him a few days ago, and was really trying.
Well, not at first.  And John told me afterwards that when he just ignores me, and kind of braces himself, it's ok to be politely firm and say "no, you need to give me your head".  He said it's not ok to rip on him, and it won't work anyway with Duke, but that I get to counterbend and insist that he give it up.  Once he does, of course, I have to give immediately with the reins.
We did some of that, giving with the inside rein when it felt counterintuitive to do it, and Duke would usually get soft and relaxed.  We also did stretchy trot at the end, and Duke was like "thank god" and did an amazing stretchy trot, and then John asked for even more (!), just some leg on and off to really make him step forward.  It blew my mind.
Anyway, Duke was moving great, and we started by talking about the areas I identified where Duke has made some progress just from May to now (notably, not ripping around on the forehand when jumping and requiring a pulley rein in between fences) and John pointed out he's also improved a lot in his counter canter (he used to be very stiff).
It was a great lesson, but one of those frustrating ones because while it's great Duke can move so great, and that I can ride him to make it happen (we even got a series of "yes"s from John!) I don't know why I can't retain it better in my head in between lessons, to work on myself.  It's like it just takes forever for it to stick, and I wish it would stick faster so John didn't have to repeat himself and could spend more time teaching me the next thing, then the next thing, then the next ...

A jump lesson that taxed my brain cells

John did some flat work on warm up with us, to bring Duke back to the level John ended our lesson with two measly days ago.  I rode him one day on my own (sigh).  But it was really useful, because instead of taking John riding Duke, then 30 minutes of explanation to me, it only took a "few" minutes (10? 15?) to get us back to being decent and round.  Because we were in a jump saddle, I had to think much more about pushing my lower leg and heel down, and then, to keep from rounding, zipping up my front.
We did some bending to the inside, and then using my legs differently, to get Duke both forward and then round.  I don't know why this is so hard, but it's nice when we get it right.
From there, we jumped a vertical, turned right, jumped it again, and tried to get the damn distance correct.  First I was looking down, then I was looking too far left, then I was gunning him flat at it.  When we finally got it, John had us change the line, riding around another fence so we had to angle it.  This I screwed up so badly I had to go over it a couple times with my eyes shut.  John wanted us to go forward way out, and I was trying not to pull him too much back in front of the fence.  Duke eventually figured out (himself) that it was easier to put in a stride than keep launching over it.
From there, we jumped an oxer, then an oxer five stride to the plank, then another oxer, then an angle - angle vertical line, then an oxer with a roll back right turn to a narrow (where Duke kept thinking we were going to jump a different fence), then John put them all together in a massive course and had me ride it immediately.  That's the part that taxed my brain cells.  Even though we'd jumped each "segment" of it at some point, when he strung it all together, I had to hold the course in my head (without watching someone else do it) and then remember everything about every fence.  So we got a rail at the second angled vertical, but other than that, it was actually a quite satisfactory ride.
So if I can just figure out how to ride each fence when looking at them the first time, instead of on the third or fourth try, we might start getting only one rail.
I also told John how my mom said my posture was better, and he said "not how much better your horse is going?", which is kind of a compliment from John.  I also asked him why it's so much easier to balance cross country, even though you're going so much faster, and he said it's probably because Duke balances back when I sit up and I don't have to use my hands to do it.  When I use my hands, he kind of braces against them instead of balancing.
He taught this lesson on a horse, but I knocked down the narrow (twice) and then the angled vertical, so he had to stay on the ground for a while.
My stomach has been upset (for what seems like two months), so I was not terribly enthusiastic about the lesson, but it was a really good one.  I felt like we had a really good ride.

Dressage after four days off

Duke got new shoes Tuesday, immediately twisted one and stabbed himself in the foot with the clamp, and so got most of the week off.
I couldn't tell if he was a tiny bit off or just stiff from his week off and forgetting how to be ridden, but it led to John riding him, which was awesome, as always.
He was pretty stiff for John, and John did a lot of counterbend, some leg yields down the long side, and then counter canter.
When I got on, we worked on getting him forward and then round, and depending on which direction we were going (and thus, which way he was stiff), I'd keep my outside hand steady (going left, I pushed it into his withers to hold it still) and then move my outside leg back to push his haunches in towards John in the center of the circle, inside leg up in front of the girth, close to his shoulder, and then squeeze and release inside hand to get a bend.
We did some counterbend, moving him in a smaller circle around John, then bend, then leg yield back out onto the main circle.  Once he softened and gave over his topline, I'd release to reward him.
If he's tilting his head to the inside, I use the outside hand, but other than that, I keep the outside hand steady.
The big thing John reminded me of is that half halt aids are a steady squeeze, not a squeeze and release like a go forward aid.  I have definitely not been doing that right.
John said I should also work on a positive mental attitude, instead of always focusing on the negative.  That's a good life lesson as well.
It was good to be working hard again, and it will be nice when I can ride Duke as well as John does without needing John to talk me through every step.

My first (?) fall on Duke

I rode with Christa today, and with hindsight, made every mistake I know not to.
First, I hacked Duke Tuesday.  and I was at the Rolling Stones last night, so maybe John didn't ride him Wed.  Ashley told me all the horses were kind of hyper from all the noise with the jump construction and show prep (which I, moronically, said "good" in response).
Then, Christa and I were trying to stay out of Kristie's way, and then looking for John, and then talking, so we didn't do a real warm up.
John had us start with a cross rail, which became a huge vertical.  We didn't do any trot or canter warm up (like he usually does when it's me alone).
Then we did a big sweeping right hand turn vertical to oxer, than a hard left hand roll back 10 meter turn vertical to oxer.  I had a hard time seeing the difference in the two lines.  When you ride the sweeping turn to the oxer, you have more space than when you ride the tight roll back to the oxer.  John said we rode the roll back too tight.
From there, we were supposed to do a vertical to oxer, left hand turn, one stride to two stride (triple), right hand turn, the easy vertical to oxer.
Duke and I fell down on the left hand turn between the oxer and triple.
He was stiff in the bridle and didn't want to bend to the outside, and when it was obvious he was going to motorcycle through the turn, I panicked and instead of counterbending him, tried to open my inside hand.
And instead of fixing it - trotting, bending, turning, scrambling his legs - he decided to fall down.
He scraped his left side up with at least nine sand scrapes, and landed a bit on me.  My right back and left hip and knee are gimpy.
John had us sweep off, get back on, and ride it again, with a trot in between the oxer and left turn to the triple when he refused to get the correct lead (or trot) and then again.  Duke was just stiff and mad and knocked the rails, and got every single lead wrong.  But we did it.
I hurt already.  I feel old, and an ominous foreboding about how long my riding career will actually last if I hurt more and more with every fall.

Jump lesson after John rode

It's been a month (?) or so since John rode Duke, and god damn that man can ride a horse.  I rode Duke early yesterday morning and he felt great, but with a few instructions from John (outside leg up in front of girth; inside leg then bend then forward) all of a sudden in the trot in warm up, Duke *lengthened* like nobody's business - as in, I could actually feel his front feet and shoulders pick up. It was DIVINE.
Then we jumped some jumps, like rock stars.
Then John solved my life problems.  I asked him how he made me do things and he looked astonished and astounded and said "I don't TELL you, I ask you.  And when you're doing something [stupid], I ask you why you're doing it."

Duke jumped a cross rail, vertical, oxer, then a triple that was a one stride to two stride.  Sometimes we had to do it twice for me to get it right, but then we'd get it right and it was amazing.
John said that Rebecca FEI ring was lots of rails down compared to the other ring, and he thinks it was just too busy, it was too hard to focus on the basics (get your horse between your legs, get to the center of the fence).
I asked him if we should skip Spokane and he asked why, but the answer was no, Duke and I need the practice, and even though work kind of suck before, he'll help me like we did in the spring with Duke staying with him as necessary.

LOVE John.  Love him.

Cross country lesson at Caber

Today we worked on cross country.  Duke was amazing.
John had us start over a log, a little more forward, and then turning left instead of right.
Then he had us jump a decent table with cut-outs to a roll top in six strides.  The first time, Duke drifted hard to the left just before the table, so I held that line so I wouldn't mess up the six strides.  Next time I tried to get through in the middle.  Third time, John had me open my right hand, and that kept Duke much straighter.
From there, we went out and jumped his huge trakehener, right hand turn to a table, up the hill to the log on top, and down the hill through the two stride angled cabins.  I was afraid of every single one of those fences, and Duke just cruised them like they were a cake walk.  John asked why I don't ride him like that at the shows.
From there, we worked on the water.  First, I rode the log that had a stride of gravel before the water.  Duke didn't blink an eye.  Then the prelim drop into the water.  No blink.  Then the freaking intermediate drop into the water.  No hesitation.
John had us do the two drops a few more times, sending Duke forward, and then collecting him about six strides before the drop.  He said that I need to be more forward, but that if Duke is going to perch, do it three strides before he would, so that I can put my leg on and send him forward again - before the jump.  He said he thinks Duke is probably saying "I got this mom" and I'm just letting him get long and flat and that I need to control him - just a tiny amount - until he has more experience at Prelim.  He said he thinks Duke will get smarter and smarter as we go, but that I need to give him a chance to see the fence we're jumping, especially when it's busy (slow down, give him a long line to it), and to let him figure out what the question is (oh, this is a coffin, I know how to ride through this).
We talked about how horses see, especially how the water jumps at Rebecca have a lot going on, and it's hard for him to tell which is his fence until the last minute.
It was a good confidence builder, and it surprised me how eager and forward Duke was, yet how responsive he is to coming back.  He's a good boy.

Dressage lesson at sitting trot

Most of our lesson today, post the trauma of our first go at Prelim at Rebecca Farm, was at the sitting trot, which was pretty cool.  Afterwards, John said it was because Duke said he had a bit of an attitude (although I wonder if it was a little bit me too) and he needed to make him understand that he has a job to do in exchange for the hay he gets to eat.
We started by talking about Rebecca, how each of the three phases went very wrong, even though I felt like I was riding better - and better prepared - than last year.  John said Duke was tense (and thus, I was) at dressage, that the atmosphere is more than I think it is; that for cross country he has no excuse for the first water, but the second water he probably just really didn't see the fence until the last second; and for show jumping he was probably flat, and I really, really should have used Debbie, who John uses because she talks just like he does.  We did learn I can use my crop over fences on xc and the world doesn't end, but that's kind of a pittance lesson.
So we went outside and worked in the dressage arena (small court) and he had me work on 10 meter circles at the canter, then change direction, get Duke rounder and rounder using my legs more than my hands, and then cantering.  From there we did 10 meter half circles and counter canter, with a change of direction.  John also had us go all the way around the long side with 10 meter circles at each letter (at trot).
We spent some time after the first bit of 10 meter circles working on "walking" turn on the forehand each direction.  The aid for this was "inside" bend, inside leg, but - critically - outside leg and outside hand to make the circle.  If I could coordinate all those aids, Duke did great, but as soon as I let one slip, it was obvious.
John had me keep sitting up and sitting deeper, and carrying my hands.  I was amazed that I was able to do it, although it was a bit obvious that concentrating or for transitions, I round my shoulders and curl up.  But - like that one key lesson where I could suddenly feel I was pulling with my hand just before each fence - I could finally feel it, and even feel it before John said it, so long as I wasn't trying to think of 5 other things, I could sort of, half ass correct it.
It was an amazing lesson.  I can't believe Duke can move like that, or that I can actually ride like that.  Of course, John had to tell us each movement and each step, but it was still me getting the movements, which was pretty cool.
It'll be very interesting to see what happens tomorrow when we practice xc and the water.  And even more interesting, what happens show after that.

Smooth jump lesson

Although I didn't ride Friday night (John rode Thursday), Duke was master class during his jump lesson today.  John told me that in the future, if I can't make it, even if it's late, to let him know and he will go out and hack Duke if he can.
We started over a cross rail, using it to change directions, then it turned into a vertical, and then John started us on a small course right away, with a seven stride line.  Then we jumped a two stride to five stride, then to a triple bar.
Duke felt great.  On turns, I bend him a little to the outside, then use an inside open hand to move his shoulders back over.  In between the fences, I have to think really hard about keeping my left leg on so he doesn't drift out.  I don't need to look down at the fence, and for the love of god, put my damn heels down.
But other than that, Duke was a delight to ride today.  It was very much a confidence building lesson.

Amazing dressage lesson

Duke had his hocks done last Thursday, so he had Friday and Saturday off, a hack (at the walk) Sunday, light ride Monday, and increased ride with 20 meter circles Tuesday.
John started us by "breaking up his neck" where he holds his neck stiff at the base.  I opened my inside hand, used my inside leg just a little to keep him from collapsing in too much, and then as soon as he bent his neck, used inside leg to leg yield back out onto a bigger circle (and released inside hand).  If he tried to bulge out through the outside shoulder, I used outside leg to keep him on the circle, moving in.
If I couldn't break him up, I'd either do a couple steps of counter bend, or move his haunches into the circle with the outside leg.  Then, when he gave everywhere, we'd ask him to go forward a little (both legs on-off-on-off even) and John said he could see a difference in the trot (I could feel it) where it was more "swinging".
We did this, took a break, did it again, then did the other side, a break, did it again.
Then we moved up to trot, doing it again, and then canter.
John had us change directions through the circle, and then he did this absolutely amazing thing, where I could FEEL Duke lift up his inside shoulder (John said that was his hind leg stepping under), which was really cool.
Duke tried to figure out what I wanted, and tried to do it.  It was pretty awesome.
But what was amazing was not only could I feel him go round, I could get him to do it.  John had to talk me through it, but I didn't have to have John get on him first to get that amazing feeling.  Very very very cool.

"Feel" and jump lesson

I had an epiphany about "feel".  It's taken a while for me to learn it, but when I talk about how Duke is "talking" to me, it's feel.  And that's thanks to re-reading the books, understanding that feeling what the horse is doing and responding to it is "feel."  I get now how some people have that instinctually, and how I've had to learn it by repetition and John's instruction, but at least I can do it a little bit.  It's been - probably - mostly riding Duke after John's ridden him that's taught it to me.  Very interesting.

Brief jump lesson summary - John said we still have a bad drift, but our distance is ok, that what I need to do is keep Duke between my legs (perpendicular to the fence) so that he doesn't twist in the air over the fence.  He thinks it might be the twist that's catching the rails at the show.  The other part is setting him up ahead of time - doing that bit of counter bend around the corner and then not rushing towards the fence.
There was, of course, much more to the lesson, which was great - with Duke making great turns and jumping huge fences and coming back to me well, and it was a great confidence booster.
The one thing I'm nervous about now is down banks into the water, but I'll ask John when we walk xc if I should just school it to be safe.
Duke's a great horse, John's a great instructor, and I'm pretty lucky to have a life where I can work with both of them.

Super quick summary of jump lesson

We jumped a few days ago, but I am so behind in unpacking and mowing and etc. that I haven't posted.  It was a good lesson; Duke felt great after John rode him while I was in San Fran - his back felt lifted, his mouth was soft, and he was very forward.  We jumped a few singles, then a vertical on each side of a circle, then John made a very complicated course, which Duke jumped dreamy, even though I forgot where we were a few fences from the end.  John said just circle next time I forget.
We worked on putting six strides into a five stride line, and then at the end John had us work on the flat.  The huge lightbulb was the half halt, closing my legs, keeping them closed, and then giving the rein aid.
Today Duke saw the farrier and John said from now on, always have the farrier at least 10 days before a show starts.

Dressage lesson

We had a good ride and John talked me through some of the issues from EI.  He said he was hard on me because I hadn't learned the letters for the dressage test and was looking for them, that when Duke was stiff, I didn't help him relax, and that yes, I do need to work on my posture.  He said I should wear the shoulders back aid at work.  He also said that the trainer next to him said she didn't know that he had students with bad equitation, and when I looked horrified, said she was sort of joking with him.

He said Duke helped me out a lot in jumping, but that he thinks that Duke was doing it for me - that he wouldn't necessarily do it for John or for Ashley and that I should be proud we finished a prelim together when neither of us had ever done one.  (And therefore, I'm not wasting Duke's potential, if he's happy with me.)

He said that we can only think of so many things at once, and so that's part of why I couldn't feel and fix things, but that some of it I should know.

He also said that we need to improve before we can move home, and to plan on staying all of June (until Inavale) but it's not written in stone.

For the lesson, we worked on 10 meter and then 20 meter circle, bending Duke and then counterbending, and then feeling him go round and giving.  For the canter, we worked on me actually sitting down, and feeling the difference in the moment of lift in his canter when I had my butt planted in the saddle, vs. flattening him out by leaning forward.

As always, a very useful lesson, and good discussion.  And Duke was lovely, and I wish we could translate that directly into the show ring.  As I type it, I realize that no one can - that's part of the show pressure.  

God damn, I'm lucky to be able to ride with John.

EI - our first prelim

Woooo.  We learned a lot and have so much to work on, but successfully completed.
Quickly:
Icing is 20 minutes - 15 off - 20 minutes.  Whenever he exerts himself.
Scrub his legs with betadine after he goes through water, to keep from getting little infections in the little scratches.
Put baby powder inside his boots to help prevent rubs.
Wrap immediately after icing, unless it's so hot he's standing in the stall sweating.  Wrapping later doesn't help.
No hay or grain two hours before he goes cross country.
He gets a hack on Monday and Tuesday off after an event.

Our dressage was good in warm up, but he was resistant in test.  We need to improve that, so when I tell him to leg yield, he does it, and doesn't gnash his jaw and stiffen his neck.  And I need to SIT UP.
That's good though - we could do it in warm up - so we just need to move it over to the test.  And he did the 4 steps of rein back!!

Cross country started rough - he was good in warm up, but the first half (10 fences) were like he'd never jumped before.  He seemed surprised, would leap up over them like a deer, land in a heap, and then shoot off again.  Then we had a refusal at the down bank into the water (which apparently several horses had trouble with), which led to time penalties as well.  However, after that we pretty much got our shit together and the second half of the course (the bigger half) was smooth and great.  We had to scramble over a few fences at the start, especially the "roller coaster" with a dip.  He just wasn't listening to my leg telling him to go forward.

Show jumping warm up was spectacular.  Then we took a break while we waited and I fell apart.  So he saved me on the first fence (we got two rails, but Ashley and Katy said it was his left drift that got me), and then it went pretty well.

I'm going to San Fran for four days this weekend, and John said it's too long.  He was hard on me in the warm ups, but at the end said we saw what to work on the rest of the season and it was good I completed.  Duke came in 11 out of 21, but after dressage we were fourth from the bottom (18).  I couldn't have done it without John.  I wasn't shaky nervous, but I wasn't comfortable.

Excellent dressage lesson

Duke had the vet last Friday, a light ride Saturday, and had Sunday through Tuesday off (round pen Tuesday and today) because he had an abscess (?) come out of his left hind hoof bulb.  His leg has been warm and swollen (worst on Sunday), but the bulb itself hasn't been bothering him, even after it burst on Monday.
I thought he would be a maniac, but he was excellent in his dressage lesson.  John took it up a few notches, so it was pretty hard work, especially sitting down yet tall and not leaning forward at the canter.
We did work on 10 meter circles (trot and canter), going forward, leg yields (to wall, abruptly to wall, and to wall and then back over), then 10 meter circles changing direction going down the center line, and 20 meter circles.
John had me work on bending him around my leg, and for one canter, I had to reverse the leg aids (inside back, outside forward) because his haunches were too far in and then his shoulders were going out.  John had to explain Duke's mechanics, but then it made sense, so that was pretty cool.
John said to ride him boldly; that if I ride him bold at home, I'm not asking him to do more at a show.
At the end, we did a halt and rein back, and Duke wasn't the least bothered.
It was a fantastic lesson.

Jumping and Spokane summary

Yesterday we had a jump lesson, but thanks to the rain, we started out inside.  John had me work at the trot and canter on the proper bend and getting Duke round.  We rode 20 and 10 meter circles around him, then around the arena.  He would call out the circle just before we got to the letter.  Then we rode down the quarter and center lines and did leg yields (hind leg crossing under) and then a bit of half pass (?) at the canter.  Duke was great.  To get the proper bend, sometimes we had to do just a bit of counterbend.
Outside, we trotted over a cross rail, then cantered, then cantered over a vertical, then cantered over a vertical with guiding poles on it.  Then we jumped the oxer six strides (sometimes seven) to a vertical, a Liverpool, and the plank to vertical.  The first few fences I had to use a pulley rein (leaning back doesn't work because your legs go out in front of you) and the aid is OUTSIDE hand pressed into the neck.  But after a few, Duke understood, and I just had to start the pulley rein aid and he'd give up and go round and slow down.
John said that we need to stay at Caber (instead of moving week after next) at least through EI, because I was so anxious at Spokane.  He said we also need to make sure we don't have another situation where I can't ride the two days before the show starts.  I was very grateful that John hauled him there and rode - it would have been a disaster otherwise - but I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep work from interfering.
He also talked about the technical aspect - how Duke can't get so long and flat that I can't get him back in between fences, and how although Duke thinks he's all that, if I don't help him out and set him up properly, he's going to get surprised at a fence (especially a corner) and we want to avoid that.
It was a great lesson.  Doug came to watch, so John talked to us and then Doug for a while afterwards.

Half halts and the importance of a proper jumping warm up

While we had a serious improvement in our jumping, it was a rough lesson.  John had us do lots of flat warm up - bending Duke outside, then inside, then changing direction, making 15 meter and 10 meter circles, getting him very round, asking him to go forward a bit, and then asking for half steps.
He then started us into the fences right away, and told me to keep the canter the same as it was on the flat.  Duke did great until we started the combinations, and then he'd rush a bit on the far side, but he'd come back pretty much right away, as soon as I gave him the aids.
John had me at the end work on circles again, more trot, and down transitions, similar to the warm up, but a bit more focus on bend.
Duke got pretty sweaty, and I was struggling, but I'm not sure why.
We started with a cross rail, then vertical, then changed directions over the black and white vertical, jumped the plank, then the plank to oxer, oxer to vertical, then slightly bending line oxer to vertical.
A few times we had to circle 10 meters or 15 meters in between, but Duke quieted down.
John said that I need to commit to riding modified and then prelim; that Duke can handle the height and the dressage test (if I ride it and don't wuss out), and that it's just modified.
He said that when I'm riding, I need to ask for more from Duke.  Ask him to be round and don't let him get away with flipping his head and blowing me off.
I'm glad we did better, and I'm glad he worked me through the warm up I need to ride, but I've been pretty anxious about how far we slipped (and today I felt super out of shape and fat, even before I got to the lesson - not enough hours so I'm half-assing everything) with show season starting next weekend.  I'm not sure we're ready for the big leagues, even with the step in between.

Tempered the jumping a little bit

We jumped outside today, and Duke started out with his same ... eager ... approach.  He quieted down towards the end, but I think he just got tired, rather than me riding better.
John had us bend him to the right in the warm up - Duke was very resistant, and later John explained that he needs to bend and not just hang on the left rein.
We started over the plank, then plank with a pole, then a vertical, and then did an oxer - 6 stride - vertical, and we had some problems getting the line.  We had to halt a few times on the far side, rather than Duke motorcycling around the corner.  Then we turned left, then we made a figure 8, with a plank to an oxer, and then oxer to vertical.
Duke got pretty wound up, and John had us circle, then ride past it without jumping, then ride just the oxer without jumping the second vertical.  Then he had put up a guiding pole (leaning on the front of the oxer) and gradually inched it forward.  We did this fine while it was just a circle over the oxer, but as soon as we added the vertical back in, I jumped the oxer too far to the left.
Duke listened, in between the fences, but he was still very forward, and I'm pretty anxious about how the show season will start.  It feels like we've gone very far backwards since our great jumping this winter, but I'm not sure why.

Amazing dressage lesson

Today was a great dressage lesson, where I felt a lot of what John's been teaching me start to really make sense.
We worked on not breaking the connection by bending my wrist or putting my elbow forward.  Duke responds much better when my elbow is "connected" to my hip, and I pull straight back with it, rather than curling my wrist.
We also worked on connection from the inside leg to the outside rein, and shifting from a "C" to the inside of the circle to renvers (a "C" to the outside of the circle).  We did this by riding 10 meter circles, changing directions, and then leg yielding - just a bit - out to make the circle bigger.
Duke was great.
I, however, need to work on my posture.  In both canter and in trot, I need to sit up - pull my shoulderblades back, and in the canter, put my seat down (sit - glide - sit - glide) and then let my knees go "long", which felt a little bit like pushing my legs forward just a bit.
This was one of the very intense "feel" lessons, where I felt the aids connect to get the result, but it is - once again - hard to describe.  I don't know if that's because it's about feelings, which don't translate well into words - or if it's because it's still just a little bit too new and I'm just grasping the concepts.
Either way, Duke felt great.  It feels like we've made so much progress in two years.

Jump lesson - Duke still spicy

Tonight we jumped in a solo lesson, but Duke was still grabbing the bit and rushing at the fences.
John had me half halt, bend him to the outside, steer him (both hands) to the inside, and halt after the fences.  We jumped little fences, and John had me kind of sneak up on them, but once Duke caught on we were jumping, he was still an eager beaver.
It was a good lesson to work on riding him, but it was kind of frustrating that we're still struggling with this.  I'm not quite sure what's going on.

Dressage on the jalapeño

That's a bit of a misnomer, because Duke has actually been pretty good under saddle (other than the one day I let him go crazy) on the flat - it's just over fences that he's excitable.
John had us work on a 10 meter circle at the trot and then canter, and then go out to a 20 meter circle and back in.
Duke was really great, but John pushed us to get more round and for me to not just accept as much as Duke gave.  He had me pull my right elbow (at that point, it was the outside elbow) into my rib cage, which Duke reacted very strongly to, so it must be an aid that John uses regularly.  It helped make him round.
He also had me half halt by closing my legs and squeezing (and slowing down the trot by slowing down my posting or sitting - I posted slower) and then, once Duke was round, doing on-off-on-off leg aids.
I did - I think for the first time - think "inside leg to outside hand" and then did it, and then thought "omg, I just finally did it" so that was kind of cool.  I mean, it's taken 30 years, but I finally got it.
John wanted me to sit up and down more in the saddle, not in the perched half seat, but with my seat bones down in the saddle.  With short reins this was hard, I had to really use muscles to push myself back.  But once I was there, I could really wrap my legs down and around Duke, and feel like I was lifting him up into me.
We talked about changing his grain when he's done with his current bag.  John said the Omolene 200 makes them hot - it has a lot of carbohydrates - and Duke doesn't need to gain weight.

Continued jalapeño

We rode with John's Oregon student today; John wanted to see if Duke was a firecracker because there was another horse there (and work on it) or if he's just full of energy.  Well, it could be either because he was still a firecracker.
We had to ride into the wall to halt (then pat him) and do some half halts on the way in.  Duke wanted to grab the bit and just lunge at the fences.  It was easy to stay with him, but not terribly fun to ride, kind of frustrating.
The funniest part was when John said "whoa" really quiet and Duke pretty much came to a standstill. We all cracked up, and John said he guessed he'd have to stand in the middle of the show arena and do a "whoa whoa" rain dance.

Duke the jalapeño

We jumped last night with Christa, and man, Duke was ready to go.  I put him out in the round pen first, which evoked one leap, but that was about it.
Then I got on him, and he was like "yyyaaaaasssss!"
We could not share with Christa.  Instead, I had to ride him to a halt, because he'd LEAP the final stride and then charge after the fence.  I saw Parker ride one of John's horses using the wall to halt a few weeks ago, so I did that, until he got calmer and we could halt earlier, and by the end, we didn't need to halt at all, we could make the turn (a figure 8 from an oxer to a vertical which I saw Andrea doing last weekend and thought I could never ever do) and go to the next fence.
John checked him about half way through, after he got sweaty, to see if his leg muscles were tensing up, and he was ok, but he said not to go to OHC this weekend.  I thought Duke was just too wound up, but John was focused on him coming back up to work after the incident.

Dressage after the "incident"

On Monday, Duke was a little rowdy and then declared he was completely and utterly lame in his left hind (and if he put weight on it, then on his right hind).  Tuesday he got hand walked, Wednesday lightly ridden, Thursday a bit more, Friday a bit more, and yesterday a dressage lesson.  He was tossing his head when he picked up the canter Wednesday - Friday, but not with John there, although John did have to walk next to us at the start with his hand on the inside rein to get Duke round and on the bit (and then he stayed there, pretty much).
We worked on using the leg to do down transitions, halting, then walking again, and twice a rein back.
Take aways:
For hand aids on down transitions, it isn't a heavy contact, but a squeeze and release while I am closing my legs.
For halting, soften my hands once he halts.  (Thanks to John, Duke then drops his head.)
For rein back, tilt forward on my pelvis, then pick one side, then the other.  Duke did these fine.  Well, he did the first one great.  The second one we went in a curve.
At the canter, he needed to be more round, and this is a half halt with the outside rein, and then a bit of give and release with the inside.
After John has ridden him, Duke's back is much more lifted, he's much more quick to respond to the aids, and he prefers for me to ride him off of my leg instead of off of my hand.
Great lesson, but John said not to jump him until Wednesday, just in case it was tying up, so that everything works out of his system.  He said sometimes a horse can make himself so anxious that it looks like tying up.  He also said that letting Duke rip around to get his ya-yas out isn't ever going to work.  I'm going to give him a similar workout today, John will give him a harder workout on Monday and Tuesday, then we'll try jumping on Wednesday.

Dressage after John rode

Yesterday John rode Duke, and today I could tell.  Duke was light in the bridle, forward, and very responsive to leg aids.  After John rides, Duke doesn't like for me to give a lot of aids with my hands.
We worked on 10 meter circles, cantering with loose hips (and relaxed back) and then pushing Duke forward when he needed it with the hips, and then making a smaller circle around John with Duke counterbent, crossing his outside leg over his inside leg, and then moving to correct bend and pushing him out on the circle so he led with his bent body, NOT with his outside shoulder.
We worked on down aids by closing my leg (with a little inside rein to keep him from going above the bit), and moving him forward and bringing him back with mostly leg aids at the trot.
It was a great lesson, and Duke was a delight to ride.

Jumping with Christa - outside!

We got to jump outside today.  Duke was a little strong but obedient, until John told us to do a round again, but better, and so we crashed into the first fence, then I stupidly hit Duke with the whip twice, and then his poor little mind was blown.
We started, like usual, with a cross rail, then a vertical and Duke was just dreamy.
Then we jumped an oxer.  Still dreamy Duke.
Then a little course - an oxer on a bending six stride line to another oxer, a left hand turn over a narrow, a right hand turn down a four stride line (vertical to oxer).
First time through, Duke dreamy.
Second time, crash.  From there, Duke was so panicked he just wanted to grab the bit and run.  So then John had us halt in the middle of the four stride, then act like we were going to halt.  Then halt, then trot then canter then jump a vertical.  Then halt, then canter, then jump.  Then halt, then canter, then walk.
Duke maybe forgave me a little bit after I let him eat grass for half an hour, gave him an apple, rubbed off his shedding hair, and gave him carrots, but he was NOT happy that I hit him.
I wish we'd jumped it "better" but at least it was a good learning opportunity, and it was great to ride with Christa again.  And be outside in the warm sun.

Holy Dressage Lesson

Tonight's lesson was chock full of useful things, that I (hopefully) absorbed.
First - I finally - FINALLY - felt my elbow and why it mattered.  If it is out from my side, I lose the connection in the rein.  John was talking about my elbows, and then the next time I cantered, I felt it when it went loose.
Second - John had us work with a little more weight on the inside hip, which pushes Duke to the outside.  He said we'll use it just on 10 meter or 15 meter circles, and then cantering lengthens just at the start and just at the end.  He said Duke is the sort of horse who will learn to ignore it and/or his back will get sore, so don't overdo it.  He said next we'll apply it to leg yields, and if he pins his ears, just back up and don't work on it anymore that day.
Third - we got a high five for the rein connection and hip.
Fourth - we earned hill work!  John had us walk up the hill past his house (round) and then back down, twice.
Fifth - John said that yes, we'll start with Modified at Spokane, and his goal is that we'll ride Prelim this year.  He said that sometimes he might make us drop down to Training, just so Duke has an easy round, and to trust him on that.  And I said of course.  He said sometimes it's hard for the riders to back down, but it's for the horse.
Sixth - John said to ride with the inside hand just a little shorter rein than the outside, so that I don't have to pull my inside hand back so far, and so the reins don't look lopsided.
Seventh - we talked about the show.  He said I was still cutting the one line in too much (despite working on it in my lesson (twice), at the clinic, and then having rounds to do it at the show).  John said that the 3' too short lines will be part of how to ride at the show, and that horses get faster and flatter as the course goes on, so putting a short line at the end of the show means people get rails on the last fence.  He said that Duke rides best when he comes around the corner and looks at the fence, instead of grabbing the bit and charging to it.
We also talked some about Duke's personality and how he likes to be ridden.  John says he doesn't like even connection on the rein, so each side you have to ride him just a little different.  He said it took him about 4 months to figure Duke out.  And that he memorizes the tests and starts doing the movements too soon, so make sure not to drill them in order.
We worked on 20 meter circles, then would do 10 meter, and the art here was using legs to bend him around the circle.  He said that I'm doing it fine in show jumping, so I can definitely do it in dressage too.
It was a lot more work getting Duke round, at one point John gave me 20 seconds to do it (and, even being generous, we made it by a hair).  There was some think flex to the outside, but before he bends go back to inside (without moving outside elbow).
It was a great lesson.  Duke worked really well, and I feel like we've started to make some forward progress.  John said he thinks it was Duke's response to the 10 meter circles this winter, as well as seeing and feeling how different he moved after John rode him.
It was also great to have a clear day after Daylight Savings, so it was still light when we left, and I even walked the dogs too.

Clinic and JumperDaze (#2)

Yesterday, Duke and I rode with Allison and Sara, which was intimidating and kind of cool.  Duke was much better than last time, but it was still a pretty rough ride.  Afterwards, we walked around the track with Allison and Mojo, and she said that he might not be more difficult in show jumping after cross country this year because the height of the fences might back him off a little bit.
John said that I have to balance him in the corners, but then keep my leg on to the fence.  I'm also having trouble with the tighter turns - it is kind of going "too far" and then lining back up with where I want to go; otherwise, I cut in and miss the striding.  Since these turns have to be ridden just right, I really need to figure this out.
Duke did much better with me telling him "whoa" in between fences, and also a little more nuanced half halt, with lower leg squeezing.
He had a few times he got strong, and John doesn't want him to get bad habits, so he had to halt afterwards (or halt on the way to the fence), and then we had to re-ride some when he leaped in long and flat and fast, to get the 5 strides (instead of doing it in 4).
Watching the other riders made me feel a little better because they seemed to have some of the same issues as me, although I bet we looked a little rough too.
Both Allison and Andrea said that Duke is looking really good, and he definitely loves jumping and tries hard.  I'm still pretty anxious though about whether we're really going to be ready to ride prelim this year.
The good news is I had the height wrong.  It's not 3'11", but 3'7".
It was good to ride in the nice weather, and an improvement, but I'd like to have an honest conversation with John about expectations.

Jumping with Parker

Today we worked on similar exercises to the jump lesson we had last week with Christa.  John was working with Parker when we arrived, and so we did some warm up and then John had Parker take a break while we warmed up over fences.  Mostly he had me work on getting Duke round, like he was yesterday, which was pretty easy, but I had a eureka moment.  For the down transitions, Duke likes a steady calf pressure, not a squeeze, not on and off, on and off, but solid pressure.  This worked really well, if I could use my calves properly.
We started over a green vertical, then added the yellow oxer, then went over the two stride, and then down the angle/angle/angle with two strides in between.
Duke was getting a little feisty like last week, so John had me either use the outside rein, or halt.  We had a hard time with the five stride bending line, so John had us ride it towards the E, and then halt instead of jumping the fence.  Then he told me to ride it and halt again, but two strides in, told me to jump, and finally we jumped it perfectly.  We ended on that, and then walked down the road and back in the gorgeous weather.
Duke was a bit sleepy on the ground (I assume tired from his hard work with John yesterday), but he pepped right up.  John said he didn't want him to get any bad habits, so to make sure that he halted.
John said it was good he rode Duke yesterday (and I agree), and this was a better lesson than last week, but I suspect we're going to have a hard time with stadium in prelim this year, especially the day after cross country.
John said that what makes Duke a good cross country horse (he jumps anything I point him at from wherever I point him) is going to create some challenges in stadium.
(On the other hand, his lengthening today was world's better than yesterday, after one ride from John.)
He said when I'm riding the course, I want to know where I want to go, but I don't want to look ahead of time, so that Duke doesn't get latched onto what happens next, especially since he can make the turns so sharp.

John on Duke

John rode Duke (he was already in riding clothes so I asked him to), and it was nice to watch him ride.  He would counterbend Duke and then ask him to lengthen or straighten.  When Duke got tense, he would make some circles or do a bit of lateral work.  Duke looked great under him, but John said that we're going to have some trouble with the scores for the lengthenings, just because of the way Duke's front end is built.  John also worked with him on halting, and waiting until he took a breath, then praising him (patting him and telling him good boy) and letting him move forward.  Eventually, Duke seemed to figure out it wasn't a crazy ploy, and he could just halt.
After John rode, I got on (Duke had a frothy butt) and John had me work a bit on the aids, which was closing my leg (no spur) for halt, and then squeeze/release inside hand for both up and down transitions, and then inside leg to outside hand for everything.  Duke's back felt like it was like 3 inches higher than before John rode him, and he was so light and forward.  It is always amazing to get on after John has been on him, even for just a few minutes, to feel what Duke's potential really is.

Few lines with Christa

Much to my disappointment, we did not jump a million times better today than we did at the derby last weekend.  Although maybe I should be glad, because it gave us another chance to work with John.
We started with a little cross rail which became a vertical.  These were fine.
Then we did a bending five stride line, which was a hard right turn to a vertical and then four strides towards E and then the last stride was the turn to an oxer.  Christa rode it beautifully every time.  I couldn't make the turn correctly to save my life.  We launched, we chipped, we flailed.
Once - ONCE - we got it right, immediately after John told me to focus on the top rail, but I felt it as we came in that we had the distance right.
From there, we added a left turn to oxer to vertical, and then John added a line down the center of three angled jumps.  Then he switched the direction (instead of turning left to them, we turned right), and then a couple other combinations of those same fences.
I'd say about mid-way through the lesson Duke quit flying around and we started riding a bit more controlled, although one left turn I tried to wrestle him around and it made his hind legs buckle.  John said I need to give a little and although it felt contrary to all instinct, when I did, it made a huge difference.

Dressage in draw reins

We had our first dressage lesson in several weeks and it was a great one, with Duke getting a frothy butt.
John had us put on draw reins from the start (although he got to watch us warming up), and he said it was just to remind Duke that he needed to work over his topline, since he's been running around with his head in the air.
Duke was instantly very obedient, and worked hard on 20 meter circles, down the long side, and 10 meter circles.  I needed to sit up and back more, but I am doing much better about not dropping my left hand.
Mostly John wanted me to get him more bent, and then we would go bigger.  After a while, he had us do these tiny bends - turn right, turn left, turn right, turn left - which got Duke very soft and then helped him lengthen a lot.
We did a slightly less extreme version at the canter as well, and even a bit of canter lengthening.
John said that the difference between the Oregon derby and the Freedom Run derby was that Oregon was inside and the jumps weren't maximum height.  He said it was also that I got nervous about the Freedom Run fences.  Duke, however, was eager.
He said for my back hurting, to bring the stirrups up one hole.
We also did a few leg yields off the quarter line, which Duke did quite nicely.

Jumper Daze at Freedom Run

Duke and I did Training level and two Prelim rounds, with John coaching.  He was a little strong at Training, and then we had to wait a while to ride Prelim, where he was super strong.  When I said "whoa" (after John yelled at me to say it), Duke would slow almost to a trot.
The first round, my reins slipped around fence 5, but the turns were so tight I couldn't get them back, so I had to ride with my hands pulled back to my waist.  John had us canter/trot/canter/trot and bend him for a while, until he got soft, and then we rode it again.  The second time was better, but he was still strong.
The "nice" thing about it was we still made it (although with some rails and it was kind of sketchy) but we finished, and I had to RIDE him and not think but just react (although it helps when John is yelling).
The other interesting part was that the two girls from my clinic yesterday and some new folks also rode Training before they rode Prelim, so it wasn't me sucking that led to John's recommendation.  (Although we did kind of suck, but we did finish, so I'm still going to be proud.)
Also, when I loaded Duke, the trailer window hit my lip and busted it.  It's gross.  I went to the show instead of getting stitches.

Clinic at Freedom Run

Duke and I rode with two girls in the prelim level clinic with John at Freedom Run (which is next to Reber Ranch and has a racetrack!).
Duke was pretty good, especially considering he had all of last week off, was in his stall all week this week, and didn't get ridden two days.  He was a little strong and excited, but he did his best to get over every fence.  We were definitely not the best of the three, but I was just happy that we didn't totally embarrass ourselves (that I know of).
We started by trotting and cantering both directions.  My main instruction in the trot was to bend him more to the inside and to get him more round.  On the right lead canter, we had kind of a funky turn around a fence, and John said to use the outside rein to balance him.
From there, we trotted a cross rail, then a vertical, then cantered it.  Well, it was actually a gate.  I jumped it once while John was fixing it.  :(
This one was pretty easy, Duke didn't think much of it, he just sometimes landed a little strong on the far side, and I had to use the outside rein to push him around the corner because the ground was so sloppy.
From there we started a course - an oxer off the left lead, to a four stride line, then a triple (2 strides, 3 strides).  On this one, I knocked a couple rails, and John said what we needed was to do the half halt earlier - after I landed - not just before the fence.  And the first time through I didn't have enough go to the oxer, but he wanted the other girls to see the difference between that first fence outside after you've been schooling inside all winter.
We did that one again, then added a triple (2 stride, 1 stride) along the outside fence.  Duke was ho-hum.
Then John had us do left lead over the roll top, then angle/angle an oxer to a vertical.  Duke handled it great, but I had a hard time trusting the first angle.  The second time through, Duke drifted left and I hit the standards with my foot, we were so close.  But Duke was like "just be confident in me and I'll get us through this".
The last one we did was the oxer to the Liverpool, then angle/angle two verticals, then back through the original triple (2 strides, 3 strides).  Duke was a sweetheart.
John said that I let him lose power after the second angle, and didn't put my leg on because he had kind of pushed through the angle/angle, and then he was on the wrong lead so I didn't feel it.  He said if I had put my leg on earlier, I would have felt the lead and then had more time to switch it.
I'm super proud of Duke.  I thought he did a great job, and I loved being in a clinic with riders I didn't know and getting to watch them ride the same lines and hear what John had to say to them.  They both had really nice form.

Dressage yesterday; jumped (with a stop) today

Yesterday was our first dressage lesson in a few weeks.  I've been riding with my stirrups a couple (?) holes longer, which makes my leg look correct in the mirror but feels weird.  John measured it with my foot first, and said it looked ok, and he didn't say during the lesson to shorten them.
We did a lot of work getting Duke round, which is still squarely in the realm of feeling rather than describing.  It was a lot of inside leg to outside hand, using outside hand to half halt but inside hand to bend (with leg), and then using my outside leg a little bit back on the circles to keep Duke from moving too far out.  It was challenging, but I could feel when Duke rounded up over his back (which I think is actually tucking his tailbone and stepping underneath himself with his hind legs.  John showed me at the end that Duke got quite sweaty in his butt, and he said that's how I can check at home whether he's just flopping around or if he's really working.  He said to accept what he gives me at home, but then to ask for a little bit more.

It seemed like it actually made Duke a little tired (not sore) for today's lesson, where we had a stop.  We rode with Christa, and he was doing great over the ground rail, vertical, ground rail, and we were doing a pretty good job with lead changes (or landing on the correct lead) and then the fence got so enormous that I couldn't look away from it, and we were coming in at a trot, and it didn't feel like enough power, and Duke stopped in front of it.  John lowered it several holes, and we did it a few more times, gradually raising it up, but not to the super height it had been.  John described it perfectly - it felt like we didn't have enough power at the trot, it was so huge to my eye, and so at the last second I flung my body forward instead of using leg.  I ended up on Duke's neck and had to hop backwards into the Seattle.
After that, we did the grid, with a reasonable small oxer, and then John took away the ground pole, cross rail, and vertical, and it was just four (?) ground poles at the canter to the oxer.  We did that for a while, and Duke was really consistent.
I asked John at the end if we could jump the gigantic one again, and he said no, Duke was too tired, but sometime in the future we can.
I feel like we're doing better after we land, like I'm not tilting as far forward, so that I can get him around the corner better, and he does a pretty decent job offering the lead changes on his own once he realizes which way we're going.
Afterwards, he napped tied to the trailer, so I guess he was pretty pooped.
Duke is a good horse.  John's a great teacher.  I feel really fortunate.

Jump lesson with Christa

Today we shared our jump lesson with Christa and Freebie, which was awesome.
John had us work on trot and canter both directions to start, and my main instructions were to get Duke more round (and bless his little heart, as soon as I asked him to, he stepped it up), and then to work on my position - elbow in, heels down, don't lean forward.
We started over a little cross rail, with a ground pole about 6' (maybe 7') in front and on the far side, which Duke just stepped over; he didn't even pretend like he was jumping it.
John eventually raised this to what seemed like about 3'6", with us trotting in.  Katy sent me a slow mo video of us jumping it, which was interesting to watch.
Then we did the grid, which started with a ground pole, cross rail, ground pole, vertical, and then ground pole.  He ended with an oxer that was about 4' tall and wide by the end.  I couldn't look down at it, I had to look up and over the top so I wasn't staring it down.
Duke was great every time.  The only thing we really had to work on was to steer him with my legs when he started to drift a little, not to use my hands.  And a couple times, just to give him a bit of a nudge with my legs to keep him going.
I also had to sit up and help turn him balanced after we landed (same old same old, but I think it's getting better), and at the end, when it was huge, John said that I needed to sit up, but not put my hips down.  So instead of using my hips to leverage my upper body up - I need to break them apart, and keep my hips still and lift my chest.  This is apparently the next level of body parts working independently.  It was hard enough to get my hands different than each other, but to separate my shoulders from my hips - yowza.
I also had to work on keeping my heels down.  I thought we felt pretty smooth, and like I had a lot more time on the far side of the fence to get Duke balanced and round around the corners, so I think we're progressing.  And good lord, Duke jumps like a dream boat.  I love the 4' (ish) fences because we're in the air for So. Long.  It's awesome.

Jumping with the poles removed

John said I had a good eye for distances tonight; I only missed a few times, and not at all once he took the ground poles away.  We were only jumping like 3'3" though, so ...
He said I needed to make sure to use the outside rein to turn after the fences (on the tight turn) especially when riding in an indoor arena.
We started on the flat, and Duke was a little tense, so John had me bend him to the inside (I had to put my inside hand behind my thigh once, and give forward with the outside hand, and once open the inside hand), and then use a little bit of outside leg before using the inside leg to leg yield him over.
He stayed tense, so John had us just canter around the outside on a looser rein, and he calmed down really well.
It was really satisfying - I feel like we have more time after we land before we turn, and that I'm doing a better job staying balanced in the turn, when landing, and with my lower leg over the fence.
John said to try bending the base of his neck at the walk when we start, like we did with the open rein, just for a step or two.
We started with a little vertical, then John raised it, then he rolled in the ground poles from each side, then we cantered into what was normally the grid, but John had moved the trot poles, and then he kept taking poles out until it was just an oxer.  Making the "10 meter" half circle on the way into the grid was the hardest part, but so long as I planned ahead, it worked pretty ok (except the one time Duke stumbled).

2 hour chase, dressage, then jumping superstar

On Saturday, Duke made me chase him for TWO hours before he agreed to be caught.  He was quite tired for his lesson.
John had us work on 10 meter circles and 20 meter circles, getting Duke connected from the inside leg to the outside hand, using a bit of outside rein to keep him from tilting his head.  I'm writing this a day late, so it's shallow on the details.
Today, we had an early morning very chilly lesson that was spectacular.  John had us start over a cross rail with ground poles on each side.  We were, eventually, trotting over a vertical that was maybe 4'2"!
Then we did the grid - two ground poles, cross rail, ground pole, vertical, and oxer.  We ended up with a maybe 4'2" oxer with a maybe 4' spread - with another pole diagonal across it to make a top.  Duke jumped like a champ, and I had a much easier time either doing a down transition to a trot or riding him around the end of the arena, instead of careening.  When the jump got huge for the last couple times, it also seemed a little easier to push my heels down and forward in front of me, and there was so much time, I could give him a giant crest release.
He stumbled a couple of times near the cross rail, and John said not to even think about it or worry about it - it's so tiny, don't let it disrupt me from looking up and over.
I had to do some half halts on the way in and then a bit of a squeeze about a stride out, but Duke really just enjoyed himself, and so did I.  Ashley took a video, so we have this one documented.
John said we should go to the indoor schooling show in Oregon next Saturday, so I am going to sign up for Training and Prelim.
It was totally worth the cold feet for the lessons.  They were both spectacular.

Jumping (4'!)

We had our first jump lesson in 6 (?) weeks or so, and it was great.  Duke was a little strong at first, but it was a good opportunity to work on half halting him with my legs and hands, to try to get him to sit back instead of just slow down.  John said that I was trying hard to find the right spot, instead of just going over the fence.
Then we did the grid (trot in, ground pole, cross rail, ground pole, vertical, then oxer).  For this one, I worked on my position (shoulder blades back and down; back flat; not going into superman (hands forward, legs back)), and then, on the far side (and on the approach), I could tell a huge difference in how much time and space we had to make the turn back around.  It was easier when the oxer fences were lower (we ended at about 4', which Duke jumped like a dream boat, but was kind of huge), but it was about sitting up, and then pushing him into the outside rein with my inside leg and curving him around the turn, instead of wheeling him around with my inside hand.
John said that he is fine with his own legs if he messes something up, so just keep riding forward over the fence.  I had to also work hard on keeping my head up - looking up and out over the last fence, not at each fence all the way through.
I thought Duke did great.  It was really fun.