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.