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.