A "qualified" good lesson

As I've said in some of the recent posts, Willig has reverted to being scared of the exit door in the inside arena, and most of my rides for the last week have been (ugh) patiently going past that door. Although I managed to take him on one trail ride last weekend (a spook-fest, in honor of Halloween apparently), the weather hasn't cooperated for either me or J to ride him outside. So when my lesson coincided with only overcast skies (no rain or drizzle) and no downpours in the last 24 hours, I just knew Shannon would suggest we ride outside.
Both Shannon and I could see the "wild look" in Willig's eye, so she had us start on him focusing - with a nice inside bend (and nice is relative, since he was trying mightily to crane his neck for monsters on the outside of the fence) with impulsion. The main theme for this lesson is that I get scared and ride him slower and slower and slower, which makes it easier and easier and easier for him to leap out.
So we did walk/trot/canter both directions, and then Shannon told us to make a big circle and gallop. And she had to keep yelling "Gallop!" because while my leg was receiving the message from my brain, my hands were like "You're insane!" and fought it.
And just as when Shannon took us to NWEC to school and Willig did his rodeo loop, and she made us take off galloping (and redo the fence after each huge loop until he quit being loopy), it got the crazy out of his eye at home too.
He was perfectly nice until the &*#&(&# poodle came out with his human, and like a wild man (our Chinook is a wild lady too, so I get it, it's just that it's ALWAYS a training opportunity when I'm out there and never just riding) raced around in his yard. Willig got the wild look back in his eye, and when he had a particularly difficult time making the transition from canter to trot, Shannon had us halt, canter, and then do another gallop loop. This one was even harder for me to do than the first one, since I was watching him watching the poodle.
Given that, we had some quite nice jumping.
We worked on a bounce, then a double bounce, which Mr. Inconsistent was A-Ok with.
We worked on a vertical over flowers (ho-hum), a blue barrel under a vertical (he was looking, but jumped it each time, although Shannon had us repeat it until it was flawless - the looking was at the barrel (he refused some this summer) and pointed in the direction of the poodle).
Then we made a little course - the three cross rail bounces, right hand turn around to the flower vertical, left hand turn (which was much improved from two lessons ago) to the blue barrels, then big left arc to the wall.
His first time, we both saw it coming from a mile off, and he ran out to the right, and then it took me forever to stop him. I knew it was coming, Shannon knew it was coming, and Willig had every opportunity to keep it coming.
She had us ride back in front of it, halt, and he got one smack with the whip, and then I had to do it again. He did it kind of big, but did it.
Then we did the course a second time, and again, he took it kind of big, but did it. I know he can do it, because when I was working him a lot in the summer, I had him going quite nice over it.
So Shannon's main take away is that I am still not riding assertively enough. She can see him looking, see him thinking about refusing, but I just sit there and do nothing, but keep waiting for him to jump it - even when I feel the refusal coming also.
And he is nervous (and always will be nervous) about things he hasn't seen before (or seen in a while) and I need him to 1) trust me that he can do it, and 2) prefer to do it than face my wrath. Which is almost nonexistent.
We were at a dinner party the night before, and someone who used to ride hunter jumpers was asking me excitedly about having a horse. (I feel the pain of ex-horse riders who live in Seattle.) And as I was talking about him I realized that all this hesitation is coming from me. It's me who's holding us back, and it's because I'm scared. And the more I work without stirrups, the better I feel my position getting, and the more I jump him over big stuff, the more comfortable I feel heading towards it with my feet in front of me. It's just that I don't act fast enough to correct his refusals, and I think once I fix that, he'll stop refusing, and then we'll just improve and improve. So I have to act like he's not going to refuse (assertively, not passively) and be quick to respond, and then we'll be back on our upward spiral.
Overall, as Shannon pointed out, it was a great lesson. He did the bounces incredibly well, he had the wild look in his eye and hadn't been out, last year I couldn't even ride him at the poodle side, and the one run out provided us with an excellent teaching example.
Although I wish he was perfect and easy, this is pretty damn helpful for me becoming a better rider, and I think it also helps him learn to trust me.

Willig was finally naughty in front of Mike

He was lame for J on Monday (his left front frog was hot, but it was an intermittent lameness that was not really obvious, according to her). So Tuesday I had a lesson and got there early so that I could make sure the lameness popped up before my lesson started. We were very, very slowly warming up (I misjudged my timing and had half an hour of riding time before the lesson started) and we were walking back and forth and back and forth and back and forth ad nauseum past the scary door when Willig saw something and bolted. Now, I knew he was looking, but there wasn't long enough of a moment between when he saw the monster and when he started moving for me to feel it and do anything about it.
So we went shooting from one end of the arena towards Mike and his student in the middle of her lesson, I lost my stirrup, was trying to turn him in a circle to stop the bolting, and then he put his head down to start bucking and I was thinking "god dman it - I am NOT going off in front of Mike!" and yanked his head up and it surprised him enough that he kind of sputtered out.
So we finally got a lesson with Mike where we worked on Willig's tiny brain issues. Incredibly, he decided to spend the entire rest of the lesson (and yesterday and today) continuing to be very wary of the monsters that live down there. Towards the end of the lesson - like 2 minutes before we finished - this time with J on her horse and the owner's adorable daughter on her adorable pony - he tried to run again, and Mike agreed that he didn't see it coming at all either.
So we:
Worked on his head to the inside. By putting my inside hand (the direction I want him bent) on my thigh.
Then added using a bit of leg yield to make the turns on the corners (which means beginning to ask a few steps before we get there).
Then inched our way down towards the scary end, moving a bit closer each lap, using the head to the inside and the leg yield to make it past the short scary end.
Then we did a bit of the leg yielding along the walls and a bit of counter canter to show Mike what we worked on since the last lesson (he said much better, but still needs some polishing).
Then he did his second bolty spook (much smaller), and Mike reminded me (for the third time, I think, during the lesson) to:
The second he starts - yank him to the inside, thinking a 5 meter circle before we get going and a 15 meter circle for canter.
Don't yank and clamp, but yank and release. Jerk up and down. Don't let him pull against me, balance on his forehand, and just start barreling.
And try to relax. Talk to him, yell at him, whatever is appropriate, but break his focus on fleeing.
So it was a "good" lesson in the sense that I got more tools for my toolbox on naughty Willig days, and a frustrating lesson in the sense that I like working on the new, fancy, fun stuff with Mike, and riding a bolting horse is not new, fancy, or fun.

Indoor jump lesson - for weeknights in the winter

I asked Shannon for help with an exercise that I could use for winter weeknights, when it's dark and raining outside, but I don't have time to set up and take down a whole bunch of jumps inside. In addition to the 2/3/4 "corners" of a circle that we've done before, and the line of fences that I use to make a serpentine, she suggested two at angles to make a figure 8.
I also had a lot of flat questions for her. The first thing I noticed, as I do in every lesson, is that she makes me ride so much harder than I ride when I'm on my own. And this is a bit hard to describe, but it's - every second of every step we're focused on doing something and asking for more during the lesson - but alone, we kind of putter around. When I'm alone, it doesn't feel like puttering, it feels like working, but then when I have a lesson, I leave thinking that I'm not working at all when I'm alone (I'm usually out of breath within the first 10 minutes in my lesson).
Next I asked about the canter to trot transition that has been so bumpy, and she suggested (rightly) that I'm probably asking too much for trot and not enough pushing into trot. That cleared it right up.
She also set up a few of the "obstacles" (jump door open, cat on the wall, horse walking by) to make Willig work hard enough that he didn't have a chance to be spooky. (Ha! He's working just as hard as I am in the lesson!)
Then we worked a bit on my lame hand. That right hand is like a death clamp. And so I'd hold the breastplate with my fingers to keep my hands still (which was agony!) and then we put my crop behind my elbows (more agony!). And it was agony because I'm twitchy. I am constantly moving my fingers up and down the reins and letting go and sucking up again and moving them forward and moving them back, and asking him to bend with my hands instead of my legs. And it was absolutely awkward and terrible to ride with my hands being still. It felt like I was in a straightjacket. So I have GOT to work on that. My goodness.
Then we worked on my leg aids (prior post - I put my leg way back to ask, not just ask at the girth) and Shannon demonstrated that a proper canter aid is with your leg back - FROM THE HIP - like scissors - not swinging your heel up from the knee. Which made me wonder, once again, why Willig does anything for me at all. C'mon - a few carrots? Not worth it!
Shannon also pointed out that I "suck up" the reins (the "spider walking") and I should just grab and pull them. That's the way (grab and pull) I used to do it, then I retrained myself to suck up. So it'll be a relief to go back to grab and pull.
She also pointed out that some day, I'll have two different toe positions - one for dressage and one for jumping (which can be a bit pointed out, and is the way my toe likes to ride). But that's a detail that I don't have to worry about just yet.
So after all that, which was super useful but super hard to think about breaking those habits now, we moved to the figure 8.
This went pretty smoothly - we pretty consistently (like 90%) missed the right lead, but pretty consistently (also 90%?) got the left lead. Weird. Oh wait - it's my heavy right hand.
When he's trying to look at other things, Shannon had me make circles and make those transitions sharp and him respond when I ask him to respond.
Then she made the one fence into an oxer and the other into about a 2'8" vertical. Willig jumped both just great, but the vertical - which is close to the maximum height I've ever jumped him - he'd actually get round over, and I came home and told Tom, all dreamy, that he just floats. I've never ridden a horse like him before. When he is actually jumping, and not half-ass going over a fence, it feels like magic. The same when I get everything in dressage just right - it is just an incredible feeling! No wonder people spend the extra bucks on warmbloods. It is divine!
So then we wrapped up with me whining again about how I don't want to ride hopeful again, it's embarrassing, but I just don't see him mentally ready this year. Shannon pointed out that a) I should pick my shows carefully - the jump design varies tremendously; b) I will need to school him a bit, since it's the traveling and the scary outdoors that is hard for him and can only be overcome by time; c) I need to start at hopeful until he's being consistent - no stopping at a pile of poles on the ground, and where I'm comfortable with the fences and not intimidated by them (we were starting to get there at the end of this year); and then d) she thinks if we work hard, he can probably do recognized beginner novice by the end of the season, since there's quite a few derbies at the beginning, and then that weird June gap, and then quite a few recognized shows at the end. Yay! A new goal!
And he was so good. He has come so far in the last year. I'm getting quite fond of him. It's true - having to work way outside my comfort zone, while difficult, has made me really appreciate the progress we've made. I dare say I love him a little bit, and last year I was ready to sell him!

Tidbits

Last weekend, I was out of town for our "anniversary", and the Pony Club kids had Halloween at our barn. Apparently, a few of the horses with a front seat view of the costumes got a little spooked, and so the spookiness rippled through the paddocks. Willig was spooking spectacularly, putting on a little show apparently, and eventually, after what I heard were several very acrobatic bucks and rears ... fell down. At least five different people told me about it, and every one of them laughed at the poor goof. I didn't know when I saw him the next day, and fortunately, he was just fine.
So fine, in fact, that we had a breakthrough. Willig has been scared of deer, and whenever he's in a turnout (with me, again, ever since he lost his grass privileges), he runs and tears up and acts like the world is ending if there's a deer anywhere in his line of vision. I was waiting for the farrier Tuesday, and put him in a grass turnout without looking first for deer, and sure enough, there was one enjoying brunch. So I thought I'd scare it off while Willig was distracted on the other side of the turnout, and went marching towards it. Another deer, one growing in some antlers (or whatever they're called for deer), popped out from behind a tree, and then faced off with me. It stomped towards me! I was still planning on scaring them both off, but then I heard Willig see it behind me - because he started his racing back and forth. I kept going towards the deer, the deer kept coming towards me, and then suddenly, I heard Willig coming towards me. What I thought was "oh, great, he's about to kill me kicking as he runs past, scared out of his mind" and he did run past me, but not kicking. He was obviously nervous, but he was headed ... at the deer! He zigged and zagged, not really wanting to go towards the deer, and the deer stood his ground, and it was all terribly exciting, and then the deer caved, and Willig, triumphantly, chased it over the fence. He was so triumphant, that he did a celebratory lap, and then came by me, stopped so I could pat him on the neck, and then ate grass.
Let me point this out more succinctly: Willig, the biggest 'fraidy cat I have ever known, just protected me from a vicious, attacking deer! And then acted cool.
Obviously, he knew I was going to hear about how he fell down being a nut, and had to redeem himself in some way.

In riding news, I have been working on our "30 laps" of the leg yield along the wall, and as I go along our long mirror, I have noticed that I tend to move my leg back - WAY back - each time I ask for an aid - ANY aid. So when I'm working in slow motion on leg yield, it actually really helps me to focus on the details, which I had never even noticed before: keeping my foot near the girth, asking only when his hind leg is already moving, keeping my outside rein steady and constant, and not twisting my shoulders/hips. When I canter, and I now think about twisting my shoulders to the outside, it actually makes my inside hip (the lead I want him to pick up) feel like it lifts.
This is all so cool. And he's so patient about it!

Oh yeah, and yesterday he got his fall flu/rhino. Shannon thinks his nose "sunburn" might be a fungus, so the last two days I've put his iodine shampoo on it, and I got him some fungus ointment today to try this week. I think he's had the "sunburn" patch since August or maybe even July.

A "simple" (two areas of focus) lesson

It's simple in the sense that we really only did two things, but they were two very complex things that were hard for me (and obviously Willig has already been trained to do them - the sneaky rat!).
First, Mike gave us a "baby" exercise for shoulder-in and leg yield. We head towards the wall, hit it at about a 30 degree angle, and then move at the angle down the wall. This requires careful coordination of the aids - too much leg and Willig's head obediently (and oddly) smacks into the wall, too much "outside" leg and his angle gets too severe and he can't move "forward", too much "inside" leg and he gets too straight, too much right rain and he gets to bent and can't move, too much left rain (inside) and he straightens out. We are practicing this both directions 30x each way! Woo-wee. It gets boring very, very quickly, which ... makes Willig more than ecstatic to come off the wall and work off the wall or leg yield to the center line. And at about the quarter mark, when his haunches start trailing, I just think of the feeling of being angled at the wall, and whoosh - we're right back on track.
The interesting bit about this was that going with his left shoulder leaning (I'm heavy on the right hand), it was easy and fun.
With his right shoulder leading, it felt all weird and cramped up. Mike said Willig is moving exactly the same way on each side - it's my weird, distorted senses (my words! not Mike's!) that make it feel that way. So these exercises, in addition to helping us do leg yield without trailing haunches, also help me recognize, and ideally, correct, that weird feel I've got.
We did it at the walk, then at the sitting trot, which is harder and also much cooler.
Then Mike explained the difference between shoulder-in, haunches-in, renver, and traver - which are actually four different moves, not just fancy-pants frenchy names for shoulder-in, which made sense while he was explaining (and demonstrating) but which were slippery for my tiny brain. I'm going to have to look at them and draw them and mimic them by marching around on the ground pretending to be a horse. They are about which way the neck is bent and whether haunches or shoulder are on or off the "line".
Then we worked on counter-canter, at my request, since it is the "last" 1st level move that I don't know how to do. This gave us another interesting insight. Well, a few. First - Willig already does it like a champ. Especially when I get out of his way.
So I can scoot him in and out of the centerline on his right lead super easy. When I do it properly (not by scooting my outside leg further back, but by bending his hindquarters out - which is an aid I will need later for flying changes, and lord knows I don't need any more sloppy bad habits to have to fix in the future), it's a little harder but he still does it like a champ.
But when we switched to left lead? Oh my lord. My inability to bend him to the left because my right hand is like a greedy, iron clamp, is suddenly demonstrated for all the world to see. First, I twist to the inside (point my right shoulder back towards his right hip) asking him to pick up the canter, which throws his haunches out, which means he has to pick up the left lead canter. When I twist myself all in a pretzel facing the "wrong" way, he lifts right into the right lead.
When we come around the corner and I push him over to the centerline? As soon as we straighten, ker-flammo! - he falls into the trot. Mike says I'm throwing him away, but I suspect it is also something to do with that pesky right hand that has a mind of its own. Willig was like an x-ray machine today - showing right to my bones where I was making the errors.
Mike put us back on the angly line, and then back into counter canter, but we were at the end of the lesson, so it gave me the tools I need to work on it until my next lesson. It was fascinating how different my right side and left side are.
And just because I haven't mentioned it doesn't mean Mike hasn't - my pesky heels still spring up every single time a single brain cell stops focusing on them, and I am having to think much harder and work with more delicately-tuned aids now, which means I can't get away with as much (that I never knew I was getting away with before).
Mike also gave me a tool for Willig's latest hijinx. Instead of blowing his nose vigorously at the start of the ride (and yanking my shoulders out of their sockets - which Mike fixed a while back with "pretend like your arms are side reins - they would stretch but not drop the contact with Willig when he blows his nose"), once I started to implement that, he started a nose blowing/head toss thing. While I was warming up, he actually spit and then managed to land it on his own forehead. So Mike said he gets a firm "leg/hand" connection - the jiggly reins/jiggly legs, and when he gives with his head, big pats - and if he gets naughty about it - a smack. We're starting to "ride his haunches" in that canter work and our future work, and this is a disconnect and an effort to avoid taking up the bit at the start that is a naughty-can-be-punished (although probably also my heavy hands and weaker legs when we are just getting going).
Along those lines, in warm up, in addition to thinking about my &*#&*(&# heels, which I am beginning to loathe, we are working on "too bent - relax - too bent - relax" so that he starts getting a bit more round and connected and holding it for longer. Willig is such a trooper. He's actually quite a nice, willing worker, aside from how he's scared of the far end of the arena once again.
I also think I'm going to join a nearby gym and work out on my way to/from the barn (depending on how quickly I can get out of work) so that by next spring I've got good aerobic capacity, better muscle tone, and have lost some pesky weight for those white britches.

1 Success; 1 Failure

We did some work jumping a little cross rail and vertical on a bendy line (they were actually in a line, so I had to turn left or right like I was on a tight circle), and maybe because the walls created, well, walls, but Willig was calm as could be. We did about 20 jumps without stirrups, and probably 15 of those were solid. Go rock stars!
But then I was giving him his next level of trace clip, and he loves it - like he's at the spa - even when the hay went around he was cool with being clipped. But then the grain came out, and he was like "ok, this is enough of this grooming stuff, I'm ready for dinner!" and while the clipping itself is easy, the matching both sides of him is surprisingly hard, so I think he's a bit mis-matched.

Nuances

The middle two weeks of this month, Willig was a bit of a pill. Even J commented on it, and she's pretty unflappable. I think it might have been our weird weather - he had been shedding a bit before that and then it got cold and crisp without a lot of mood-dampening rain.
This week he seems to be back to normal.
On the drive out, I was thinking about work and other boring stuff, and I got to wondering if maybe he's such a challenge for me because he's too much like me? We're both on the high-strung neurotic type A (if a horse can be Type A, it's Willig) side, and maybe, just like in relationships, we do best with horses who are kind of our complement, although not too far. I enjoy riding fiesty horses more than I like lazy horses, but I like a trooper who doesn't need a lot of delicate handling, because **I** need a lot of delicate handling. Just like I do best with a boss or a relationship where the other person is firm but easy going.
We've also finally hit another roadmark that I've read about but never understood: riding isn't enough to keep you fit enough to ride. I always assumed it was because I was kind of a twitchy, reasonably-fit person (and I have definitely had my fitness slip in the last few years), but I think I just wasn't really riding at a level that needed fitness. Working our three "speeds" at the canter completely wipes me out - I pour sweat, turn bright red, get out of breath, and my thigh muscles start screaming. I am finally going to have to buckle down and start finding time to do my regular workout (running, yoga/pilates, and some weights at home) or else my fitness is going to hold us up. That's pretty cool, although whew - yet more time.
Willig also, by the way, gets sweaty. It's not just me.

Shoulder-in, small canter, and general mushiness

We had another wowzer of a lesson with Mike today. I started by listing the issues I thought I had with the 1st level movements: I don't know how to counter canter (ignoring the entire movement on the wrong lead at Training 4 a few weeks ago), I don't "know" how to do the trot-halt transition, when we leg yield, Willig's back legs trail, and I'm having trouble getting the "floaty" canter to trot transition.
We worked primarily on two things, the first of which took me forever to catch on to, but when I did - once again, angels were singing and I was just grinning ear to ear.
Ok, so for hind legs trailing at leg yield. To teach me how to avoid the hind legs trailing, Mike taught me shoulder-in. This required MUCH demonstration on his part (trotting around on the ground) and then physically moving my body, which stubbornly refused to catch on for the first 30 minutes. Mike has the patience of a saint.
As we got to the point where I could move and try it (vs. just dumbly stare at him from a standstill), I had to ride with my tongue sticking out because I was concentrating so hard.
And all I can really say is ... well, you had to be there. Sort of. I don't know if it's because we're moving into uncharted territory for me, but it is so much more a feeling that I don't know how to describe it well.
A leg yield is walking, then holding the outside rein constant, squeeze and release on the inside rein, and then asking for him to move his hind leg under when it lifts up. (I need to go back and work on making sure I've got the feel right for when that leg is lifting.) Sounds easy, right? While Willig is a champ at it, everything has to be just so or it doesn't work right.
A shoulder-in is very similar, but produces a very different response. It is outside rein constant - kind of lightly pressure on his neck, the inside leg is like a pivot pole that is nice and solid, and then the inside rein bends his neck to the inside with the squeeze and release. And when you get this one just so - which is purely a feeling - I have no words to describe how it is different - just Mike's vigorous demonstrations - Willig goes on two tracks - when the wall is to the right, his right front and left hind leg track in the same track, while his left front and right hind have their own individual tracks. In the mirror, I can see the one line for those two legs, and the other two legs out to either side which is just crazy!
So, like I said, it took most of half an hour for me to catch onto that, which is just crazy and new and I just need to time to work on it and start to feel it and make it a habit.
So then we worked on the "float" transition from canter to trot. Mike had us get on a small circle around him (I suspect, although don't know, that it was smaller than 10 m), and then I'd ask Willig to canter, and then do a LOT of asking with my inside leg while I "lifted" with both hands. This was crazy hard, but then his back and shoulders would lift up like he was a hot air balloon blowing up, and then (most of the time) I'd get so excited I'd drop everything and we'd plummet into trot, but a few times (bless Mike's sweet patience), I'd hold it together long enough for him to talk us into the trot, and we'd float, like a leaf falling onto a still lake, into the trot. HOLY COOLNESS.
It was the craziest coolest thing.
And then he had us do it to the right (my dominant side), where I had another breakthrough. Willig had a harder time picking up the canter this direction, which was weird since it's his "easy" bend side since I overbend him by riding all heavy on that side. Well, on the little circle, another flaw of mine popped into view - to encourage the canter, I twist to the inside. Sweet sensitive Willig feels that twist, and has to throw his butt out to the outside to compensate for it, which makes him off-balance and have to pick up the wrong lead. Which he can't do when we're on a tiny circle. When I twist the "wrong" way, so I'm looking over my outside shoulder, he moves his butt almost into the center of the circle.
It did a great job illuminating Willig's patience with me. He's a nicer horse than I've ever owned before, and I'm sure that the last couple years with me, being ridden by me has been like somebody playing the radio at full blast between two stations. I'm all over the place! He can stop on a dime when I just stop the motion with my hips, and just a year ago I was flapping around like a wet noodle!
Which brings me to being grateful. I am so fortunate to board at a place that has such amazing facilities and such spectacular care. I am so fortunate to be able to ride with someone like Mike, who has brought me in a year farther than I went in the first 20 years. I am so fortunate to have Shannon for jumping, to help me build confidence without pushing me so hard we both get scared. I am so fortunate to have Jess, #1 in the nation!, able to ride Willig once a week to build an upward spiral of confidence for both of us over fences. I don't understand how a few flakes of hay and a roof could possibly make things even between us and our horse friends, but I'm grateful every time I get out there and get to mash my face into Willig's neck. He has been a huge challenge for me, but now I'm grateful for it. He's pushed me harder than I would have pushed myself, and he's making me a far superior rider than I ever would have been. This stuff is really, really cool, and right now, this is the most fun I've had riding in my life, and I just want to do more of it every day.

Jumping sans stirrups

Per Shannon's sage advice at my last lesson, I tackled a tiny cross rail without stirrups today. A mere two of my ten times over it were not me jumping ahead. So, this will be the new jumping de rigeur. (Although I like being able to count the good ones, because now I can track it as it improves and feel like I'm actually making progress objectively.)
We hit the weather just right - although the outside arena was soggy, the sun was shining, a weird number of birds (like Hitchcock lots) were out, and Willig was a goof with Jessica earlier in the week, so some lunge manuevering around the bigger puddles and then me slamming around was enough for him to think about. But then, because another part of Shannon's advice was to force myself to do what I need to (see above, jumping without stirrups) after my stirrup-less work, I worked him on a bendy circle over some poles on the ground, and poor ding dong had such a difficult time with that. He wanted to spook at the brick wall, then the birds, then a puddle, then the great outdoors, then we were back at the brick wall and it was still scary ad nauseum both directions.

He also got his first clip of the year yesterday, and a fellow boarder commented that he's getting some nice muscles and looking bigger. THAT'S why his butt has been looking so big! Unfortunately, mine has too, but not for the same good reasons.

NY Times article on dressage riders wearing helmets more

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/sports/29helmets.html?_r=1&hp

Chock full of lessons lesson

I had a jumping lesson with Shannon today. Although I really wanted the lesson, as the time approached I started feeling an uncomfortable feeling that it took me a while to identify - nervousness. Again. So I didn't want the lesson, but I did want the lesson, and I got all kinds of cranky, and had the lesson, and it was great and I'm so relieved I had the lesson.
Three main take-away messages:
1. Jump about 5 little jumps without stirrups every time I jump from now on. To cure the jumping ahead. Do a little bit of warm up, drop my stirrups and take the little jump without them, pick them back up and go on with my ride.
2. Ride him defensively (what I think of as assertively). I'm the boss. I need to stop being wishy-washy passive-pansy-pants cringing on my way to these tiny fences and hoping he'll be a good horsey and go over them. Man up, Martha.
3. And if he's naughty and runs out, make him uncomfortable. Yell and kick and hit him with the whip. Stop in front of the fence or get right back in front of it and make a big stinking deal out of it. And then make a little circle and come right back at it. Make it more uncomfortable for him to stand there in front of the fence than just go over it in the first place.
In more esoteric evaluation:
I ride like I'm 14 riding an equitation show jumper. Even with Shannon standing and yelling at me, it's really difficult for me to not ride passively to the fence. And if I want to ride Willig, I need to get over this.
I actually suspect this comes from work. I've noticed a recent, distressing and growing inability to make decisions. I suspect it's because I have to make decisions all day long where I feel out of my comfort zone but have to act confident, and it's just so exhausting that in the rest of my life, I just don't have enough energy left for it. I have been saying this a few times frequently in less kind terms - "Why am I such a bitch at work, but then I get on Willig and I'm this little wallflower?" Part of this goes to last year's debate - is Willig the right horse for me? - if I just want to putter around after work, then no, he's clearly not. But if I want to finally learn how to ride well, then he's a stretch goal - a challenge - and he makes me work and work and improve. It's hard, but I'm so proud of how far we've come from last year to this year. If we keep moving at that rate - holy cow - the sky is the limit. (Not literally. 3' is probably the limit.)
Anyway, so Shannon made those three points, and about a zillion more, in an hour of hard work. Like usual, several light bulbs went off for me that are hard for me to capture even just a few hours later. (One of which is that I am obviously not the type of person who is ever going to have horse intuition, and the more I can work with trainers, the better. Also, since I learned from a Practical Horseman a few years (?) back that I'm a kinesthetic learner - the reading and watching don't really click for me as well as a lesson does, where someone can say "feel that now" and I can match what I'm doing with the feeling and recreate it on my own.)
I still need to think about my heels down, and I still need to work on "evening" my hands. That &*#&*(#& left hand is still sneaking around on me. And bending him to the left. My lord, something so simple and easy to see and yet so impossible.
When I jump, I need to think "steer like I'm skiing" and not use each hand independently (which is too hard for my brain, and confuses poor Willig when my left hand is like "over here!" and then overshoots and my right hand says "you dummy!" and overcorrects). And steer him with my legs. He responds just fine to that.
I need to work harder and firmer in warm up. He was squirrely - WAY squirrelier than last week when he bucked me off (and as much as I get nervous, it is so good to have a lesson on a "bad" day so I learn how to work with it. While it's still educational, a lesson on a good day just kind of builds confidence), but Shannon worked us so much harder than I usually do during warm up, that he was just "yes ma'am, what next?" instead of "EEEK! A Leaf!!"
And this could count as #4, although I don't know how to improve it directly - improve my reaction time. I'm SLOW. I don't whip him fast enough, I don't see the problem coming and correct it fast enough (I know HOW to correct a lot of them, I am just too slow), and I don't praise him fast enough.
We did a low jump (with flowers, since he was eyeballing them) on a circle, then the same low jump at 3:00 and another low jump at 12:00 (going counterclockwise).
Then those two jumps, but a right hand turn to a vertical.
Then those three, but a figure 8 back to flowers, a 2nd figure 8, back over the 3.
Then the middle one got a blanket on it. And miraculously, we went over it (with my right side keeping him from running out - way to go lazy right side!), but then I was so excited I way overshot and missed the third fence.
So we did the same combination a few more times but with the blanket.
And it was HARD for me to make those turns - they weren't that sharp, but as soon as we'd add one or change direction, it was really hard for me to make it.
So Shannon suggested we keep working on little stuff, making it scary like with the blanket, doing some work without stirrups, and making some turns. And I agree, let's get that foundation super strong, and then go to height.
She thinks if I just act confident, that's what he needs. He's not a confident horse, and I just keep waiting for him to offer to do things against his nature. I guess that says an awful, uncomfortable lot about me.
And I was RED for like an hour afterwards - I am NOT riding him hard enough on my own.
He was great today. Another gold star for him.

Willig's Peteton Dressage Videos

1-1
http://www.youtube.com/user/Tomonbelay?feature=mhsn#p/a/u/0/k5MGCeoq8F8

Tr-4
http://www.youtube.com/user/Tomonbelay?feature=mhsn#p/a/u/1/DUf4hNLngYg

Numbers (more my style of poetry)

Willig fits perfectly (based on standing in the cross-ties) in a Rambo Wug Size 81. I've noticed his blankets tend to vary by several inches, and I think it depends in part on the brand.
Also, I've been riding 20 years now. Holy cow. More than half my life.

Arty Willig Shot

Poetry

"I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they envince them plainly in their possession.

I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

Myself moving forward then and now and forever,
Gathering and showing more always and with velocity,
Infinite and omnigenous, and the like of these among them,
Not too exclusive toward the reachers of my remembrancers,
Picking out here one that I love, and now go with him on brotherly terms.

A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and responsive to my caresses,
Head high in the forehad, wide between the ears,
Limbs glossy and supple, tail dusting the ground,
Eyes full of sparkling wickedness, ears finely cut, flexibly moving.

His nostrils dilate as my heels embrace him,
His well-built limbs tremble with pleasure as we race around and return.

I but use you a minute, then I resign you, stallion,
Why do I need your paces when I myself out-gallop them?
Even as I stand or sit passing faster than you."

Walt Whitman (From "Song of Myself")

Willig was VERY well behaved at Peteton

The fact that we weren't brilliant was all rider error.
We got there late (I had 5 minutes of warm up, and that was with Tom's help racing to get over there), so I was a bit flustered for Training Test 4.
Then Willig picked up the wrong lead, I looked down at it, decided to ignore it since he felt pretty balanced, and he did a corner, a 20 meter circle, and most of the way through the next corner - on the wrong lead! What a superstar! (And what an idiot I am!) So most of the bad marks on my test are for that.
Then, the second to last move (stretchy circle at C) I forgot to do, so we got a mistake error (and it was a double score - drat!).
He only got a 53.6, but I was impressed with what a cool cucumber he was.
Then we had about 20 minutes for warm up (and it was getting warm - we got really lucky with gorgeous weather today - Mt. Rainier out - blue sky - sun!), and he just nailed it! He was Mr. Floppy Ears, ignoring the shooting at the gun range, just out for a little 1st Level - Test 1. I am so impressed with his great behavior.
He got two fours in this test too. The second one was again for the stretchy circle - I forgot to post, so it was a stunted stretchy circle. The first was for his first "ice cream cone" - the remarks are "center bent on coup nds L supple". I don't know what that means.
The judge's comment say he needs to be more supple to the left.
And we sat it! A year ago I couldn't sit the trot, and I just did an entire test sitting!
Gooooo Willig! (he came in 2nd of 4 in 1-1)
And then we covered the horse trailer for winter. Not as satisfying, but worth noting that since it was hot and I was hauling it, it was actually a good day to cover it because it is definitely dry underneath.
Here he is doing a 20 meter circle on the wrong lead and with floppy ears.

((Sigh))

Willig bucked me off again today. It's been a while, and he was riding a bit on the frisky side, but I wanted to see if I could manage it by getting him tired doing low, boring stuff, and if so, then I was going to tackle the three "hard" fences set up. The answer is no, I can't. He was a bit squirrely on the far side of the harder fences, and he bucked once after we did the fake water (a tarp), and he tried to run out on one and I was happy when I got him over it. But he was staying squirrely (as foreshadowing, he started the ride by spooking at a blowing leaf, but that's not actually that unusual).
So anyway, he went over the run out one fine, and I was turning him right, and maybe 2-3 strides after the landing, he did a hard buck that threw me up on his neck (so I'm pretty sure it wasn't bad position on the far side of the fence by me, because I was already turning him and everything) and it just was good timing to knock me out of the saddle and I decided to bail but my left foot got a bit stuck in the stirrup so I had to kind of kick on the way off.
Due to the kicking, Tom, who was watching like a good, patient boyfriend, said that as he took off bucking, he almost kicked me in the face. Thank goodness, I think I had my eyes shut - I wouldn't have wanted to see that hoof coming at me.
He ran around and around and around bucking and kicking and being a moron racehorse, and then when he finally stopped, I got on him and made him do about 7 more fences and then we quit. (Not the hard ones.)
I landed on my bum wrist a bit goofy, so it's feeling a little off (making me feel old), and while the ground was nice and squishy from all the rain, my pants got completely filled with the footing. Blech.
I'm a little disappointed in him, but more disappointed in myself that I can't ride him through it and need to get off and lunge. The good news is I can feel the squirrely days, so I just need to suck it up and know when to get off and let him get it out.

Martha's Dummy Version of the Progressing Test Movements

1st Level is a doable goal for next year.
1-1: Sit, Lengthen trot, 3 loop serpentine, 15 circle at canter, Stretchy trot circle
1-2: "Long" leg yield, lengthen canter, Trot to halt, 5 seconds still at halt
1-3: "Short" leg yield, Change lead through trot
1-4: "Tiny" leg yield, 10 meter trot circle, one loop counter canter

Way out of our league right now!
2-1: Collected trot!, shoulder-in, rein back 3-4 steps, shorten stride in walk, collected canter, 3 loop serpentine at canter - no lead change, simple lead change
2-2: Travers, counter canter
2-3: Half turn on the haunches
2-4: Renvers, 2 simple lead changes in 3 loop serpentine

Refinement lesson with Mike

In today's lesson, we worked on three main things:
Two dressage movements for Tr-4 and 1-1 that I didn't understand from the test, and
The decreasing canter.
We started with the canter, and had a small light bulb go off - poor Mike was repeating for the 8 millionth time to get my heel down and decided to try a different tactic - the instant he saw my leg and heel go into the right position, he asked me what I was thinking to get it there. This is so embarrassing - "frog legs". Once in a lesson, Mike said something about thinking about jumping like a frog - in an effort to get me to get my knee back and my leg back and push the weight back instead of pinching with my knee and hunching forward. And for whatever reason, it worked, so whenever I think "frog legs", I get off my knee and get my leg straight and back (even though it feels back behind me, like a frog jumping) which makes my heel go down naturally, instead of forcing.
Mike suggested that I ride in my regular boots, instead of paddock boots and half chaps, because they are more rigid and don't allow your ankle to flex all over the place (like my ankle was crazy dancing today). He also suggested thinking that I have a cast on, that holds my leg immobile.
Which led to my next light bulb - the pestering question of why my leg can be so fine in the walk and then go all to shit in the trot (and then even more bizarrely, back to pretty good in the canter). Well - it's because I'm asking Willig to move-move-move at the trot. And I do that my clenching my knee and then lifting up with my heel and gouging Willig with the bottom of my boot - instead of the tippity-tap-tap kind of like a cymbal on his side.
So I'll hold my leg in the "new" position, and then when I want to move Willig forward, I'll revert to the "old" position, and then try to cram back down into the new position. Huh.
After that breakthrough, we worked on the canter and the feeling of slowing him (and lifting), and I pointed out that Willig would only do it for a few strides, then he'd fall out or I'd have to ask him to move forward. This is because it's hard. Der, Martha. He's got to build up to being able to going all the way around the arena, and so it's ok to just ask him for a few strides, then ask him to stretch out again. It's teaching him I can ask for different speeds and it doesn't mean different gaits. What's amazing is his sensitivity to my butt - as soon as I start thinking about slowing down - seriously - he slows down. I have to think but not think it to get prepared.
Mike was riding the horse before my lesson for a few minutes, so he had all his riding gear on, and next he got on Willig. It was interesting to watch all the teeny tiny movements he is making (and his tippity-tap-tap leg - something I can see, but can't imagine feeling so I've got to really think about that one) and how good Willig looks.
But here was the miracle. He got off, I got back on, and it was like someone had blown up a balloon in Willig's shoulders. He was - FATTER yet lighter! And sooo easy to ride and such a delight and it was just bam! bam! bam! with what I wanted. With like, 5-10 minutes of Mike on him.
So that was super cool to feel and to see what we're moving toward.
We wrapped up with Mike attempting to help me ride the two patterns I didn't understand, and then fortunately, Jess came in for her lesson, so I just followed her while she rode them.
The 3 loop serpentine is a 1/4 circle, 1/2 circle, 1/4 circle. It's going to be a super fun test to prepare to ride next year.

I don't want to jinx myself, but another great jump lesson!

Holy cow, Willig has pulled himself together. Looking back to a year ago and how I was just buying time and making some last ditch efforts before I offered him for sale - to now, where I look forward to riding him, and miracle of miracles, the fear of jumping is slipping away and I'm actually starting to enjoy it again! I owe tremendous thanks to both my trainers, Mike and Shannon, and to Jess, who has done an incredible job working with him since March.
We had a jumping lesson with Shannon on Saturday, and I was all antsy about riding him outside since the Pony Clubbers were there, and I didn't want to be humiliated in front of them. So that's where we rode.
After an odd lunge line experience. Poor Mr. W had Thursday and Friday off because I had to write an unexpected brief for the Court of Appeals, and so I got there for an extra half hour of lunging. And very uncharacteristically for him, he was like "Let's see how craz-ee I can be on the lunge line! Wee!" and proceeded to buck and jump and just canter and canter and canter and canter, switch leads, switch back, and keep cantering.
Shannon pointed out there is a purpose for the side reins, and that I should take the extra 30 seconds to put them on. Especially when I think he might be a bit of a nut. She also said that when he starts bucking, to whip him so he scoots his butt and runs forward, which breaks the buck.
Once I got on, we hopped over a little rail on a circle, Shannon dropped all the fences from the pony club ponies (another fat slice of humble pie for me), then we cantered a little course.
He ran out at the oxer, and that is the only complaint for the whole lesson. Here's the fix:
I felt him hesitating as we approached, but I assumed he was looking at it but going to go over, since he hasn't been refusing lately, and so I gave him a light extra squeeze, but that was it. I didn't cluck, I didn't whip, I didn't kick, I didn't yell. And when he ran out, I just gently looped him back into a circle to come back at it.
The correct response was, at the moment of hesitation (or even a suspicion of hesitation), I can kick, yell, whip, and generally make his life easier by going over the fence than by refusing. I suspect he learned in the past, before me, how to run out, since he's been sneaky and inconsistent with it ever since I got him, but I need to fix that. And if he does try to run out, YANK his face back in front of that fence, and clobber him until he goes over or through it. This is just a show jumping oxer, and we can go through it instead of over it.
Other than that, he did great. After the first "successful" course, Shannon raised all the fences to a "normal" (looks like about 2'4" - 2'6") and we did a slightly different course at the canter, and he jumped a narrow, the oxer, the wall, and felt great.
I still need to keep working on my pesky heels being down, and evening up my right and left hands, but now I am making the jumps a bit bigger and bit scarier (today I brought out a piece of plywood to make one look solid, and a tarp to create a 'water'), and I'm feeling good about how far he's come.

Can a 4Runner pull a light horse trailer?

We're contemplating "downsizing" from my F-250 and my lead bottomed 3 horse trailer to a car that can also pull an alumnium 2-horse trailer but is a reasonable size for daily driving. The new 4Runners only tow 5,000 pounds, which seems to me like it's pushing the limits, but the ones that are just a couple years old tow somewhere in the 6-8,000 range (the exact number escapes me).
Does anyone have any experience pulling a horse trailer with a similar size SUV, or know of any stories?
The only SUVs I've ever seen or known to pull horse trailers are the big ones - like a Suburban.

1st? 2nd? It's all new to me.

We continued to build the next level above our foundation in our lesson with Mike today. He said that yes, next year I should show Willig 1st level, while continuing to work on 2nd and 3rd level moves (!!). He said that he thinks every horse and rider have the potential to go to FEI level if they work hard, because unlike jumping, dressage builds as you go, instead of having the natural limitation of the scope of the jumper. Later, he said that Willig and I were talented enough to keep going, and I took that as a compliment and rolled it around and around with me.
We started with a discussion of my dressage test and how the judges score. Mike gave some input into how he scores, which for any of you who haven't scribed at a local show, you should definitely do it, just for the insight and experience. I was mostly curious about my "tactful", and although Mike wasn't there, he interprets it as a comment for when the horse is being a bit of a goof and the rider doesn't overreact.
So then we started with a repeat (I couldn't do his job - repeating the same thing to me every other week!) about starting him out WORKING. I let Willig blaahhhh down into trot and bllaahhhh around instead of having snappy work starting right away. It's a bad habit, and there's no reason for it. He can start working on the bit after he's warmed up. He doesn't need the first few transitions to remember how to do a transition from walk to trot.
And of course, Mike continued to remind me about stretching my heel down and my knees relaxed. As soon as I think about other things, and especially when I'm trying to get Willig to move out, my leg sneaks back up.
And, let's not forget the left bend. I still don't bend him equally, and my pesky right hand, all during the lesson, kept being further back than my left. Even when I touch my thumbs together, when Mike tells me to look down, that hand is in the wrong place. It's actually kind of creepy.
For the bulk of the lesson, we worked on the trot to canter to trot transitions. This was hard. I asked Willig to come UP but with the same tempo, and then LIFT up into canter from this position, instead of running into canter. Then I'd ask him to hold his head up and slooowwww his canter down (this is sitting back, making sure I'm wiping the saddle with my pelvis, and half halts at the "front" of the wipe combined with some leg aid) and then speed it up again, if we didn't break into trot (which we almost always did). This is teaching Willig to use his hindquarters, but also that there are different speeds I will ask for, and slow down doesn't always mean go down a gait. Mike pointed out that Willig goes twice as fast stretched out as I can get him to slow down, so we need to practice on the slooowwwwiinngg.
Then we left the 20 meter circle and worked the whole arena, doing leg yield both directions. At 1st level, it is center line (A) to R or S. At 2nd level, it is A to B or E. Willig does this fairly well, despite me really having no idea what I'm doing. Mike's main comment is to not let his neck get too crooked, and once we totally lost impulsion when he saw a horse outside.
Then we lengthened down the long sides and across the diagonals. At this (which we did a bit of right at the start too), I tend to, once he really gets moving - bizarrely - throw him away. Even when he leans on me a bit, if I hold him up, he doesn't kind of "splay" out when we really get moving.
Also, at the start, I showed Mike how Willig likes to scootch out sideways (usually towards the wall) when he has been falling asleep (ha ha - I can't even believe I just typed that about Willig) and I ask him to get back to work. Well. Guess who that is? Right! Me! It is my failure to use the outside aids - the rein and leg. As soon as I include them, he straightens right out.
We also came down the center line and did some trot, slow down, walk, halt, walk, trot, halts so I could feel the smoothness of keeping him connected into the halt.
We wrapped up with some stretchy circle at the trot, which exhausted Willig was grateful for.
And Mike suggested that one thing that gets a horse used to show jumps is to take him to like a jumper night, and enter him in 10 classes, and even if he's bored by the 8th one, make him go 2 more rounds. This is a genius idea, since otherwise, it takes him 10 shows - and all spread out so they lose their impact. I was thinking I was pretty much done, but Mike also pointed out that whether I'm riding him 1st or training or 2nd, he's going to be a goof about the same stuff, since that's how he is, and I just need to get him the experience under his girth. (He also, like the wise sage he is, pointed out that I COULD just ask him to do something else when he starts to be a goof.)
So overall, Willig is starting to work more on his hindquarters, lift his head up, we're working more on crisper but more balanced transitions and starting some lateral work, and I'm continuing to work on my lower leg and heel. It still feels like I am riding pigeon-toed (to barely be in the right position) but it's less weird than it was a week ago.

Coming soon - Willig's portrait by Mary Cornelius!

She was at our barn today (we have two elder horses for her project, Ace and Dante) and I was there for a lesson, and I managed to squeeze Willig in, slightly scruffy, for his portrait.
She couldn't use the same lens as for all the other horses because he is so freaking huge that she had to back so far away that a hill got in the way.
She liked a few of his expressions, and I'll post the link once he goes up on her website. Here's her website, which has just GORGEOUS pictures on it:
http://www.marycornelius.com/

Last one from Caber

Willig, Winnie's head, and my misbuttoned dressage coat.

Photos

Handsome, goofy, and holy-look-at-my-leg-position-over-the-fence (finally!).

Dressage video

Willig's ride was a 33.5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPj09PuzqGs

Show jumping video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lMsOLq2xqw
To Willig's credit, Tom said several other hopeful horses stopped and looked at the same spot.

"I am handsome!"

"... but my mom's jacket is misbuttoned. Ha ha - don't tell her!"

Back to School Blast at Caber Farm

Today was our final derby for this year, with the Willowbrook Pony Club's Back to School Blast at Caber. Just like the last pony club show at Caber, this was well run and fun.
Willig was in 1st place after dressage (and he won an embroidered saddle pad!) with a score of 33.5. But then in show jumping, he got nervous about the poles piled next to the barn. Yes, seriously. It was windy, there were a zillion things moving, but heaven forbid should he go past poles stacked on the ground - just. like. at. home.
But backing up a bit. We were warming up with just one other rider in the warm up arena, and his horse was refusing the cross rail over and over again. His trainer came out and had him ride towards the vertical instead (on the far left; cross rail is in the center) and when the horse was approaching, she seemed to jump out at him to scare him over it? It did scare him, into bolting across the arena, with the saddle falling off, and therefore, also the rider. It also scared the bejesus out of Willig, who had been just fine up to that point, but his stupid rider (me) was riding him just a few strides behind but over the cross rail.
So his brain got frazzled, the way that it is wont to do, and rather than stay in the arena with what seemed to me to be fairly unpredictable riders (and all the jr. hopefuls about to swarm in), we went ahead to show jump.
I got two penalties for it, but I don't actually know how penalties work in show jumping, despite riding it my entire high school career - BECAUSE I never had a horse that refused before.
But we were doing excellent - cantering, even! And even with his head popping up to look and then back down and then UP to look and then back down and then UP just in case a new monster appeared, and back down, he was jumping gorgeous.
Until those poles. So he got jiggy, like crazy jiggy, so I just stopped and let him look, since we were still several strides away from the fence. Then I turned him away from the fence, rode it, and he shot out to the right (away from the poles), so we made a circle and went over it (still jiggy).
I'm assuming my decision to stop (not a refusal on his part) was the first penalty, and then his actual refusal was the second.
Going back in time - dressage felt so-so, but obviously was satisfying to the judge. He had a couple weird bobbles, like maybe he was thinking about bucking but decided against it - or he was just being clumsy? He got an 8 for his medium walk and an 8 for his gaits. The rest were 6s and 7s. For rider, it says "tactful" and I don't know what that means. Also, in a move of suave brilliance, I wore my dressage jacket misbuttoned by a hole the entire ride. When I looked down at the salute, I finally saw it. Which begs the question - if I can't button a jacket properly, what in the world am I doing on a horse? (Or driving a car?)
The other big difference from when I got Willig is he is now Mr. Smooth standing around. He was completely unflustered by all the activity. At least, outwardly. He did a series of his downward dog stretches which almost always indicates stress, but he wasn't acting up. He was also Mr. Tall, with at least 5 people asking me how tall he is (17.1, for those of you who have never seen him and aren't curious.)
Cross country was the same as last time (the same course), and he nailed it. We even cantered between some fences and cantered one! He was more focused this time though.
What I DON'T get is why we had four refusals at Lincoln Creek and none here either time (at x-country). I'm not riding that differently, but I also couldn't see what was different between the two. If I had to name one as scarier, it would be Caber, just because there's SO much activity back in the show jumping and tents, and warm up arenas with their colored flags.
So I think for next year we'll work hard all winter (and keep using J's fabulous help!) and try to get the size up and the scary factor up, and then start by entering him into hopeful again, but after three clear shows, move him up. The beginner novice fences are WAY scarier and bigger, and obviously, I still have things I need to improve if he's getting away with refusals, but the size of these fences was no longer even remotely intimidating.
Big pats for Willig. He's really coming along. I had fun on him again today. I was relaxed!

1st level - woot woot!

Although I laughed and laughed last week when Mike suggested that I sit the trot while asking Willig to do his working/lengthening trot, it turns out it was only a week away. Honestly, every single time I sit the trot, I want to pat myself on the back. It took 20 years, but I can sit the trot. Yee-haw!
Today, we continued our foray into 1st level with a dash here and there of what will come in 2nd level. It was sooooo cool.
We started with the working trot. Willig needs to WORK it. I am so lazy on my own, it's not even funny. And once he's moving, he is just a gorgeous mover.
Then we worked on - oh, drat, Mike had a catchy phrase for this - at training level, the horse accepts the bit by putting his head down. At 1st level, he starts to accept the bit while lifting through his back from his hindquarters. At 2nd level, he's expected to always lift for his bit acceptance. We started working on the lifting connection - it feels like Willig's back arcs up like a rainbow (a soft, easy to ride, cushiony rainbow) when he lifts up, but he only does it a couple of steps at a time, and then he plummets forward onto his forehand again and my arms go GROAN from the weight of his head.
Then we worked on a german word that I also forgot (uberstriken?), where for one stride, once I've got him connected and in a nice frame, I put my inside hand forward.
Then Mike took the stirrups away and we did about a million hours (good ones, but my thighs were screaming) of sitting trot work. This was the lengthening mentioned above and then also some transitions - slowing him down as much as I can before he does a down transition, and also some interesting rapid changes. Walk - sitting trot - canter - trot - halt, each just a few seconds apart.
And we did some leg yields both directions. Willig was doing these like he does them in his sleep (next time I bet it won't be so easy), but the pointers were not to move my leg back, to bend him opposite the way I'm going (if we're going right, his neck bends left), and to "straighten" him by using a tap-tap with my "outside" (the direction we're moving) leg.
This was another amazing lesson. It gave me plenty to work on, in addition to the huge list that I already work on each time I ride.
I've noticed another big shift when I look back also. I can ride Willig outside now without fear - all the way down to the poodle end of the arena and out in the pasture. Even when he spooks, because my seat and legs are so much better (I think), I don't move as much, and I can correct it faster (I can also feel it coming). I'm actually starting to have fun on him again because I'm not so afraid anymore. And I'm starting to really look forward to working through the winter so we can really show next year. I hope (!) we'll be ready for 1st level.
I was sure that I would have plateaued in my lessons with Mike a while back, but each lesson, I feel like a sponge, just absorbing as much as he can say in 45 minutes, and then working on improving it until the next lesson. I wish I had the time to take a lesson from him every week.

"Air Bags for Horses" - according to Tom

New York Times article on the new inflatable safety vests for eventing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/sports/24airbag.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp

Uncharted dressage territory

I was a little worried about today's lesson with Mike. Due to that rascal work, who appears waaayyyy too often in this blog, Willig had basically a week off. (He went on a trail ride Sunday because of the heat, but that was it because I had a half day trial on Friday.) I was sure he was going to be a complete doofus, but instead, he pulled out all the stops to make Mike say "wow".
First:
We worked on my heels. Mike found a "magic button" - if I go into my jump seat - whoosh - my leg goes into the proper position. So I ride around like that for a while, then post a few, then jump seat again, post a few. ...
I am going to stretch my heels at home more and also when I think about really cranking my toe up to touch my shin (which hurts, by the way, not a pleasant stretch up the back of my calf, but pain in the shin, so I think they're too tight and I need to do lots of off-stirrup-stretching), my heel actually drops a tiny amount.
Next:
We worked on getting his trot moving. Thinking about a trot that works to the point of lengthening, when there is that moment of suspension and hang. That's our new working trot. And holy cow - it's enormous. It flings me out of the saddle. Mike suggested one day I'll sit it and I laughed and laughed.
He can warm up, but then he needs to WORK IT. And his stumbling? Him being lazy. Once he was moving, he quit stumbling. So that explains that.
Third:
Then Mike took away the stirrups. Because it was only 87 out. Ha. Anyway - then we did a lot of work without stirrups. I told Mike that I actually like cantering without them, and he looked nervous, but that turned out ok.
So at the sitting trot - this is where miracle number 1 happened. If I sit on him like he is a trampoline - no more working on softening my belly so I'm not a brick bouncing on top of the saddle, but now using pressure so that the moment when the trot bounces me up, I think about pushing down into him with my seat, like when your knees are bent and you're about to jump up on the trampoline - and WOW! He was like "What would you like me to do?" It was wild.
And then we worked on controlling the trot - making him go up and down (like a merry-go-round horse) instead of faster. This was a little trickier - we went over the trot poles so I could feel the "lift" when he lifts his legs to go up, and then I'd try to slow him down and lift him up as we approached the poles and in between. We'd get a couple great steps, and then go back to him plunging forward onto his forehand. This one is a little harder to describe and I need to work at it a bit more. I can feel it when it's right, but can't quite describe yet what I'm doing.
Fourth:
Then we worked on the canter without stirrups and the same lift in the trot - it's on the "up" motion (if you're on a swingset, at the canter, it's when your seat hits what would be the top of the swing) you ask for both a half halt/up and a squeeze with your leg (like a cat kneading) and he starts to lift up into his back. It's pretty amazing. The same thing happens in the trot too, but it's much harder to feel and do - maybe because the steps are so much faster. So for both up and down transitions, I slow him down by lifting him up, and then another miracle happened - I FELT the difference between flopping forward into the trot and riding the trot the same way I was just riding the canter. I don't know why this hasn't clicked for me before, but I was like "OH! Duh."
Fifth:
Finally, miracle #3. Actually, sidebar. When I picked up my stirrups after all the stirrupless work - whoosh. Perfect leg. And it FELT perfect too, instead of the weird toes in, heel *pushing* down, strained feel.
We were trotting down the long line, and Mike explained renvers and travers. (I have read about them in books, but never done them.) Because our bend to the inside with the left has improved mildly (enough that Mike can say something other than "bend him to the inside" when we're going to the left) but not quite enough, Mike had me ride a renvers when my right hand was on the inside. This felt wacky - like a twisty pretzel. It made my tongue stick out I was concentrating so hard. And then, just as I felt triumphant - Mike had us look in the mirror. With a total concentrating twisted up leg and hand, Willig was .... perfectly straight. And miracle #3 happened where something in my body clicked and I was like "oh. Ride BOTH sides of the horse." I have never felt it like that before. It was amazing.
So it was, overall, one of those spectacular lessons that makes me so glad that I ride and totally look forward to the next ride and *swear* that work is not going to keep slowing me down. It was so fun!
Next lesson Mike says we'll start working on the slight twisty canter off the long side, in towards the center, and back to the long side, to start working on our lateral 1st level movements. YAY!

No Donida

Something went wrong and my entry wasn't received, and because I had a trial on Friday, I didn't have time to talk to someone live (and email failed to convey enough information) so that I knew whether or not to pack the trailer Friday night.
I'm disappointed, since Willig REALLY needed that extra opportunity this year with the skimpy amount of derbies we've been to.
On the upside, he got to stand around and sweat in the hot, hot sun at home, and I got to meet Tom and his friends camping a few hours earlier.

Weekly Schedule to condition for 3-days

From Gina Miles' spring training schedule in same issue of "Eventing":
Day 1: Dressage 30 minutes plus 30 minutes walking
Day 2: Jump schooling: low fences, gymnastics, 30 minutes walking
Day 3: Dressage 30 minutes & 30 minutes walking
OR Hacking out/hill work
Day 4: Jump schooling: parts of course plus 30 minutes walking
OR Hacking out/hill work
OR Dressage
Day 5: Dressage 30 minutes plus 30 minute walking
OR Jumping plus walking
Day 6: Conditioning/canter
Day 7: Rest

Inspiring Quote

From March/April 2010 "Eventing" (I am quite a bit behind in magazine reading):
"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."
- John Foster Dulles
Amen, brother.

Professional shots of us at Lincoln Creek

http://wwc.photoreflect.com/pr3/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0A9H00C91I0000&po=0&pc=11
(I'm #71, and if the link quits working it is actiontaken.com.)

Disappointing, but shouldn't be, ride at Lincoln Creek

Yesterday we went to the Pony Club one day at Lincoln Creek. Willig was being naughty in the cross ties before we left, and I fortunately had a little pad of extra time for lunging - although he didn't act up too much on the lunge line, he did have a few head tosses to get out.
I felt like our dressage test was lackluster, although we did ok - 33.3, with about a point to 2nd place and another point to 1st place.
Tom watched him next to the trailer while I walked the course, which I felt pretty good about. The hopeful jumps were small and not very intimidating (I knew he'd be scared going over the dike, but since there was no way off, he'd have no choice but to go forward). The beginner novice fences, on the other hand, were huge and intimidating.
I got on him a bit early for cross-country, hoping to go early (only by 4 minutes, as it turns out), and watched the hopeful juniors slaughter their position over the warm up fences, then refuse several times, and more than a handful of falls.
Yet, I was still totally calm and confident - the thing upsetting him most was the flies (Lincoln Creek always seems to have particularly persistent ones), and he was kicking at his belly. He spooked once when someone came out of a port-a-potty, but nothing major. We did the warm up fences a couple of times each direction - he wasn't overjumping, was paying attention - everything was smooth.
Approaching each fence, he did a bit of the "snake" move, but I rode him confident and forward, using more leg instead of brakes, and he jumped the first three just fine. But when he went to the fourth - a trot over a ditch (solid ground - we didn't attempt the down bank since he was already being snaky) past a flat bed truck with lots of people standing on it - he started popping his head up looking for things to be scared of. Frustratingly, he could see those people during the whole warm up and couldn't have cared less about them.
Fence 5 was a little A frame that looked just like the A frames at Caber Farms two weeks ago that he rocked out at. He refused it. Ran out to the left, abruptly, right when he should have taken off, and accentuating the fact that I was jumping ahead. So we circled around, came back at it - this time me kicking HARD - and he refused it again. And by that point I was pissed, so we came at it a third time, me kicking him HARD!! and he jumped it, but with his head boinged up at the guy standing on the small hill recording our refusals - where we had to turn right onto the dike and also jump a very small log. Which we awkardly stepped over - continued our hesitant, leapy, jerky trot along the dike (by this time he was working himself into full blown panic and my normal solution at home to that is to stand around and let him cooooooollll down), went down the small hill, made a left turn to blue barrels (which we have at home), which he ... refused. Went back over them - me beating his neck with the crop and kicking furiously - another trot over a ditch which he could hardly stand by this point - to an A frame with brush on it, which he refused by halting in front of.
By this point, I was sure Shannon would kick me out of the barn, so I beat him over it from a standstill, and to add insult to injury, he was perfectly capable of jumping it from a halt.
Then we roared over to a big log, another damn ditch, and a modestly challenging A frame to complete the course.
Although a few people were eliminated in our division - presumably from falling since our refusal points were still more than a fall with no refusals (although how that works - do you get 20 points for the refusal and 65 for the fall?) - we still came in 5th place, after being 3rd in dressage.
Show jumping was equally calm over the warm up fences - no over jumping - and then the mad charging at the fences and trying to spook at everything that isn't a fence. Although he's jumping them just gorgeous, I hate the mad charging feeling.
What was so frustrating about this was I felt like I rode him the same as at Caber, where we had a spectacular ride, only I was more calm and not anxious, thanks to that spectacular ride. After Caber, I thought next year we will definitely be ready to go Beginner Novice. After yesterday, I thought (like sad Eeyore), "No, we're appropriately at Hopeful."
Other than being "calm", I don't know how I rode differently. Because I was less nervous, I had a clearer head to think of Shannon's instructions and follow them (forward, confident, help him) to each fence. So why didn't it work? I have no idea.
I was frustrated and disappointed. But then again, at this time last year, I had given up and wasn't even trying to show anything, let alone Hopeful, and I KNOW that if I just haul him around and build up his confidence he might be quite nice (still a bit wacky, but rideable), but it's just taking so. long.

Lesson on my core

Today's lesson with Mike had the theme of "core". What's weird is that I have a very difficult time feeling this when I'm riding.
At first, there were a couple other riders, so we started out near the scary end (and looking back - for months I couldn't even ride down there!), and worked a bit on smoothing out the transitions. I hint, hint, hint (3 warnings) and then ask for the transition, and at first we worked on keeping him on the bit - thinking overbent and expecting him to pop up and asking him not to. Willig improved rapidly on this!
So then next, Mike started looking at my core - I have consistently (the whole time he and Shannon have been teaching me) curl up and throw away my contact at the transitions. What was fascinating about this was that it seems to be almost the same as the way Shannon is telling me to come to a jump. Mike described it as playing tug of war - you don't pull with your biceps and you don't curl around your stomach - you create this solid wall with your hip and then lean into it.
So then we worked on the canter transitions using my core, and the very last one was absolute perfection. I lifted him up, up, up and then we light-as-a-feather went into trot.
I am supposed to keep working without stirrups and now consistently work on sitting the trot when I do a down transition from canter.
And my heels - the horror. They are a nightmare - the second I stop thinking about them, they spring right back up. Other than at walk, they're almost always, at best, flat. So Mike KEPT pointing it out - to my chagrin - and I just have to keep thinking about it.
Finally, we also worked on my whole lower leg position - thinking about a thrust down and back (I think of it like a frog's legs look jumping), but it's more of a pushing into the saddle with your leg - all of this just to keep my thigh from riding up on the block.
We also started with some standing in the stirrups - to work on keeping the heels down (which is really toes up).
So these are a lot of tiny adjustments which take a lot of thought and concentration, and are just going to take time to turn into new habits. But man - that one transition? It will all be worth it.
It also motivated me, combined with a picture of my fat arm at a race last weekend, to dig out my exercise books and videos and get serious about working on my hips (which HURT when I try to put my legs back) and my core and my upper body strength. I've been procrastinating on that too long now.

Chehalis Valley Pony Club Horse Trials

Sunday Willig and I rode Nervous Novice at the Pony Club derby at Caber Farm. I was nervous, and he's the novice, so unfortunately, the level was correct.
I also had to go alone because Tom was in Colorado, picking up our new puppy, and I didn't get nearly enough riding in the week before thanks to that old ball and chain - work.
Regardless, we started late in the day which was quite nice (3:45 was the dressage test) although in hindsight, had I had a helper, I would have gotten there an hour earlier to go walk the course.
At Caber, you park the trailer in one field, and then it's a pretty long walk (10+ minutes) to the show jumping and x-country. Since Mr. W is improving, but not yet trustworthy tied to the trailer, I was there early, but not early enough to go walk the course. So I rode over to that side, looked at what I could see from his back, and then went back to warm up.
Phase 1 - Dressage:
He started out really, really nice - gorgeous movement, paying attention, sweet as could be. But as the minutes ticked by, his stress level started going up - it was an unusual amount of activity for us, and he started neighing for help. I interpreted it as "Hey! She's actually riding me out here! Can't anyone see this?! Help me! Help mmmmeeeeee!"
I took the Shannon approach to the dressage test and rode about 30 minutes, took about 10 minutes easy the test and a half before me, and then warmed him up again so we were ready to trot right from warm up (big open field) to the test (still big open field). Like the nervous novices before us, he was kind of scared of the dressage stand, but unlike the other nervous novices, he got right over it AND decided instead to be nervous about the horses on the path way off in the distance.
Which is what I think led to ... a frowny face in the comment section on the second move. It's hard even to call it a move since it was a trot down the long line, but he did a weird sproingy 4-feet-in-the-air buck spazzy thing. I went to whip him and yank him around to do it again, realized we weren't off course, we had just stopped, and then went on with the test. He got a handful of 7's, one 8, a couple sixes and a couple fives, and then a 4 for that, and a "quite naughty" next to the frowny face. The judge also thanked me for not falling off, and in a rare witty moment, I said it was my pleasure.
She also said the free walk was not well shown (on the test), and I'll have to ask Mike about that, because he didn't do as well on those at Peteton either, and I suspect it's a nerves at the show thing, since Mike had us work on it at home.
Phase 2 - Show jumping:
We went to the trailer, changed tack, headed over to show jumping, very, very quickly looked at the map of the course, watched one rider ride it, went into warm up, where he WAAYYYY over-jumped each fence. There was enough time in the air for me to think about whether he might buck when he landed, which is a pretty long time in the air for my slow brain. Our barn friend's trainer was there and said he looked good but was way overjumping and I nervously laughed and decided what the hell - let's try the fences.
They had a colorful and fun course set up, with a lot of extra jumps and a LOT of stuff along the sides - people and covered sitting areas and a loudspeaker and the dreaded sign on the side of the road from when he went there for training. So because I wasn't very comfortable with the course (first time never walking it), I spent most of my time trying to look for and remember where the next fence was, and the remainder of my time trying to get him to look at the jump instead of the person/tarp/other fence/whatever could catch his attention. He didn't hesitate at a single fence, and I rode him the Shannon-style - where I sat a few 'strides' (sometimes we were trotting) out and urged him forward, thinking "confidence". I was actually pleasantly surprised with how effortless he was over the fences and how he didn't try to refuse them.
Phase 3 - Cross Country:
We went back to the trailer, where I switched clothes (and what a relief to get out of my long-sleeve shirt and show jacket!) and headed back over to the course, where, since I couldn't walk it, I watched a couple riders do it. Since it was Nervous Novice, thankfully they didn't go really far out in the woods, so I could see the route they each took, even though I couldn't see all the fences.
I had a mixup with the ring steward - there were 5 riders before me so I asked if I had 10 minutes, she said yes, I went to warm up, made two laps (and one spook at the flags) and then she called me. So we popped over the cross rail and shot over to the starting box.
Again, the height of the jumps was no problem - it was all the other stuff to look at and be scared of: big fences, spectactors, jump judges in chairs, jump judges in chairs in the woods, horses off in the distance, people on their bikes/those weird little motor scooter things. But again, I looked at the jump and lined us up, asked him with baby half halts to look at the jump, and squeezed him - from a gentle, "pay attention, I'm pointing you at that jump up there" to "hey! (smack!) there's a jump coming up!" and rode the Shannon-style, what I think of as really, really defensive, sitting before the fence thinking about having my heels jammed way out in front of me. Thinking about "helping" encourage him over the fences is a big help; Jessica riding him is a huge help - he just floats over them now; but I think, oddly, it also helped that I didn't walk the course. I didn't know what was coming, I had to look for the fence after he locked on to each fence, and so I couldn't be anxious about a "big" one coming up because I didn't know until we were on it. Now, 2' is never big, but the green roll top sure looked big, and I thought "Shannon will have my hide if we refuse this" and that was the one that got a smack with the whip - not only was it kind of big and intimidating, but it was heading right towards all the tents and other horses and activity and people jumping around and he just had a lot to look at. And, just like the other fences, he cleared it like an angel. I made myself a little hoarse yelling "Good Willig!" and "Good boy!" the whole way around the course. Also, we went through the water (at a walk) no problem.
So that was it. He ended up in 3rd place. I ended up eating humble pie because I guess we're still in the confidence building stage in Nervous Novice, but most importantly, I had fun on cross country for the first time since I got him. And so I'm willing to live with some more nervous novice if that means that sometime (soon, I hope) Beginner Novice gets as fun as nervous novice was. Although I had been so nervous I wanted to scratch and just give up, I'm really glad that I did it. Even if the sproingy-buck thing bugs me. I can feel a lot of his agitation now, but that one took me totally by surprise.

Belated lesson report with Mike

I have been so busy at work that I haven't had time to summarize my lesson from a few weeks ago. The silver lining is that I'm concise, because I forgot most of the details.
1. Work on crisp canter aid. This was a new thing, where I sit about three 'strides' out, then ask with the outside leg - pushing it waaayyy back - and then kind of "pop" both hands up in the air. It feels weird and looks weird and only works some of the time.
2. Work more without stirrups. What's interesting as I do this, there are so many nuanced feelings and I have no ideas which are right and which are wrong. The other thing about this is the kind of surprising amount of pain when I try to "open" my hips - when I think about lifting my legs and rotating them out, those muscles (ligaments?) on the outside of your hip, that spend all day all scrunched up because I sit in a chair at work, s-c-r-e-a-m when I try to stretch them out. After a few minutes of agony, they loosen up though.
3. Work on keeping my heels out of his side. As Shannon pointed out at Peteton, especially when I'm nervous, I scrunch up and my heels come up practically to his pad. So I think about pushing them out and away from him. Mike pointed out that at FEI level, you have to wear spurs, but that made me laugh since 2nd level seems pretty out of reach at this point.
I had been super stressed at work before this lesson, so I wasn't in as receptive a frame of mind as I like to be, to maximize what I'm getting and work on it so I can work on something new starting the next lesson.

Schooling at NWEC

Today Shannon and I went out and schooled at NWEC. This wrapped up my three day weekend with a huge success, although in an entirely different way than I hoped for.
Shannon brought her horse Charlie to work on some ditches and water (she is competing Training Level!), and it was both nice to have someone else riding but it was also really useful for me to watch her and be able to ask questions right after she did each jump.
So Charlie started first, by giving Shannon the opportunity to demonstrate how to deal with a horse trying to refuse, but despite the educational scenario, I still wasn't vigorous enough with Willig on that one. But he went over it successfully a few times, we moved on, more success, more success, and he got a little stronger.
After about the sixth jump (we did some a few times), way off in the distance Willig saw a truck and used it as an excuse to try to misbehave, and this was educational opportunity #2 - my instinct would have been to stop and look at the truck and let him calm down and get bored, and instead, Shannon had me keep riding him focused and hard over the same fence until he got calm and relaxed.
Then we went through some water, and then Shannon gave me the option to try a baby ditch, with the caveat that I had to finish what I started. Since last year I blew off Willig at a ditch at a clinic and ended up in the hospital, I was pretty nervous. She had me ride right behind her and Charlie, and Willig was fine until the last second when he saw the ditch and he screeched to a halt.
Shannon's approach was very patient. He couldn't go backwards, and I praised him and patted him and gave him slack when he moved forward. He swung his butt around a lot, and then decided to stare, focused and intently, into a tree in the distance for no apparent reason (again, thanks to Shannon being there, she said it was just to avoid focusing on the scary ditch).
Mostly, it was just him trying to figure it out. Eventually, Shannon got off and kind of assisted him over from the standstill, then he did it from the walk, then he did it from an easy trot, then he did it and celebrated at the end with a bit of hopping. So then we got to do it a few more times. Shannon is merciless. In a very good way.
So then we made it into a combination with another one at the top of a hill - he actually got a bit freaked out by Charlie leaving, stopped but then hopped off of it, so we did it two more times to get it cleaner, and went charging up the hill back to Charlie.
Shannon made another combo, then she did a big ditch a few times, and then, as we headed towards the other water complex, I pointed out some "big" jump Willig's eyes were bugging out at (his face was saying to me "I sure hope you're not pointing me at THAT!") and so Shannon had us go over it.
This was where things got really interesting.
He jumped it gorgeous, with no indication of the rodeo to come, and then started his little bucks. Thanks to my improved leg position, hand position, and skills (crank his head (but not too hard!!)), we made a circle around Shannon. So he continued the bucking/hopping but added in some front leg hopping. (He had done a couple tiny, frustrated rears back at the ditch.) And then we hopped around Shannon what seemed like a ridiculously long time - like several laps. Me without stirrups (and we lost the stirrup pad - I think during all this), and I actually managed to do an extra loop into the reins with my pinkies, I had so much time. It was a lot more exciting than I wanted (all I really want is some clear jumping), but it was also GREAT to have Shannon right there to show me and help me with what to do when he acts like that.
And that was super, since it was again contrary to my instincts - she had me canter way way out across the field, take one of the jumps again - he tried to buck again - so she had me canter way back out, around the field again (at a vigorous canter) - back over the fence (he was a tiny bit naughty again) - so we did it a THIRD time! By this time we were both pouring sweat, and I felt him kind of "give" - we went back over the fence and all the way back out to the fence that started it and then back over it and off in a straight line.
With no acting up at all.
And then finally in and out of the water a couple times - at the trot - no big deal.
And then right back in the trailer like it was no big deal.

So the valuable take-aways:
I'm not pushing him hard enough.
I need to take him more places - that is the sort of experience he needs to be having.
But for both of those - I could push him much harder with Shannon there helping me than I could do alone - especially if I was literally alone way out there.
And then I need to keep working on riding him defensively - with the scooped belly that is the solid defensive posture, pushing him close to the fence instead of pulling back, and "helping" him go over it (not just passively waiting for him to jump it himself). He is a great jumper, and he gets enthusiastic about it, but he still needs the confidence boost.
And Shannon thinks his little bucking/hopping is more like a celebratory happy dance (those are my words) - not being a naughty bad horse. They do seem pretty consistent when he's done something he thinks is hard or new. (This also coincides with a lot more of the downward dog stretches.) The other new behavior is he's checking in with me more - literally turning his head and nudging my foot to let me know things.

I'm actually really happy with today. I stayed on, learned a whole lot, and feel like I have a much better "feel" for how I need to ride towards the fences - it is a touch of fear with a real drive to get over it.
I'm going to try to keep up this vigorously the rest of the summer - now that it is finally summer.
This was VERY useful, and just what I needed to get off my butt and all my excuses why I haven't schooled yet this year.

Lessons from Peteton

Shannon came out and gave me and K some help before our first tests at Peteton.
This was super useful!
Just like in my lessons, I was pouring sweat instead of my usual blase riding, and instead of standing and watching the test before mine, Shannon had me ride a lot of "attention" work - transitions, spirals in and out to work on the side that wasn't bending well, and focused riding.
We trotted out of the warm up arena right into the test arena, and then walked past the judge's stand twice - after that, Shannon said it was enough and to RIDE him past it. This was harder for me than it seems like it should be (I'm kind of passive, and want to let him just keep looking at it).
So it was actually just a few take home lessons, but ones that I can remember and continue to try to incorporate and that made a huge difference: ride harder in my warm up, don't put up with so much goofiness, and focus just before the test by getting his attention.
I was quite pleased with how he did. Although he craned at the judge's stand, it wasn't anything unmanageable, and he improved.
He was excellent getting in and out of the trailer, and he actually did really well standing around in between the rides (the part that I had been the most worried about).
It also took down my stress at least two notches to know Shannon would be there telling me what I needed to do, which was huge and kind of a surprise to me how much of an impact it had.
And it was really fun to be there riding with a friend.

Peteton - Training 2 & 3 Comments

Training 2 - 61.071%
Slight wobble on centerline
Counterbent (he was spooking at judge's stand), but he got the same comment later when he wasn't
Needs bend
On forehand in one canter
Not straight on centerline
Work on keeping haunches straight in transitions (he has been wiggling like a motorcycle); canter can be on forehand at times
Under submission, she circled attention & confidence (ha! understatement!) and acceptance of the bridle

Training 3 - 61.6%
Haunches trailing on centerline
Counterbent
Inconsistent bend, disobedient (this was a bizarre leap out of nowhere and then right back to work)
Haunches in
Uphill transition
"uphill"
Hurried canter
Nose needs to be out in trot stretchy circle
Lovely horse with much potential; want to keep haunches straight

(Again, lots of good comments too. Next post will be about how this was much harder for him being in a new place.)

FPEC - Training Test 1 & 2 Comments

63.043% on Test 1
Willig was sticking his right hind out on the centerline
Needs to flex and bend to the inside, not tilt to outside
Stretch more into contact
Judge didn't like my salute
Willig needs to work through back and accept better contact

63.929% on Test 2
Still sticking his haunches to the right on centerline
On circle to right, was hanging on inside rein (need to soften my hand)
Tilting not flexing right
Poll neck and back stiff
Could be rounder
Needs to stretch down (underlined!)
Tilting outside
Very crooked
Needs to work more through back, accept steady contact, and bend on circles and turns

(He got lots of good comments too, but these are what we need to work on.)