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.