Dyno move - or Flip Side of the Coin

Today's lesson is going to be one big analogy and not a lot of description about what we were actually doing, but bear with me for the explanation why. Ok, this summer, as we progressed into 2nd level movements, it dawned on me that I have been, perhaps, fudging the basics. I am the walking, talking example of why going the long route is the short route as we re-start my basics and undo my bad habits. That means that over the last month, I have spent my time riding thinking this: 1. toes in; 2. heels down; 3. legs forward; 4. hips open; 5. stomach tight (keeps my back from being sway back); 6. shoulders up and down (slide my shoulder blades down my back); 7. stomach tight (I have to do it again after my shoulders); 8. hands even (horizontal and vertical plane); and 9. elbows on hips. What this did was neglect the other basics - moving forward and not slogging around the arena, so today's lesson brought that to the forefront. We ignored my stupid heels and worked on Charlie moving forward. This is what I both love and hate about riding. I love that it is always a challenge - that there is always room to grow. But I hate how I can have been riding for 20 years and still need a lesson on moving a horse forward. I KNOW that if you could get to Grand Prix after 5 years of riding, I would have quit riding at year 6, but sometimes I wonder whether I'm the worst rider in the universe that at 20 years, I'm still working on what feels like basics. So I have to look for objective information, and what I'm going to focus on here is the training pyramid and impulsion. But I think the training pyramid should really be a training staircase - or, more realistically, a dyno board. I used to do a lot of rock climbing, and one of my least favorite exercises were pull-ups on the dyno board. You'd hang from it and do a pull up, then launch yourself up one level and do a pull-up on a slightly smaller grip, then launch yourself up and do a pull-up on just your fingertips, etc. And making the jump from one stage of the pyramid to the next is kind of like this wall, and you're beating your head against it, and then you figure out how to leap, fall off, and then leap again until you get the grip and scramble up. Then you fall off again, but this time you climb up faster. So the flip side of the coin is that I ride for the challenge, but I also prefer the times when I'm victorious on top of the step. But after a little while up there, I'm ready for the next step. And the tricky part is that you can't really see the steps above you until you're on them - you think you're doing ok because you can't see just how many steps there are. At least, I have. It feels like I have been beating my head against this particular step for a year now. While I'm glad to be improving (now I know the step is there, which I did not know two years ago), I'm ready to be scrambling onto that step instead of still looking at it. Today's lesson was a good example of how I'm standing at the base of it looking up. At the end of the lesson, I have a few glimpses of the top of the step, but I am completely incapable of describing what I DO when I ride to get that feeling. When I am alone, getting that feeling is the exception rather than the rule, but I can now get it every once in a while. And I recognize it when it's there, but I don't know to get it. So that means I can't really describe what we did today. I know it's the step, and I like how it feels on the top, and it's the essential next step, I just wish the reward was coming a little faster.

Rider, correct thyself!

Yesterday Shannon and I went down to Caber for another lesson with John. Starting at the end, we both jumped this whopper fence - an oxer that I think was at least training level height! Shannon did it on Holly, which was amazing to see a good rider teaching a young horse, and I did it on Charlie, who thought it wasn't a big thing, but it looked enormous to me! The lesson from the flat was to turn from the outside, when Charlie cocks his head instead of bending, lift that hand up (and then drop it when he corrects), and to sit up long and tall. The main two lessons over the fence were to keep my eyes up (look at the last rail of the last fence in the grid until we get there - don't gaze off unfocused into space), and to correct myself and not wait for John to tell me (or Shannon) - I kept drifting left along the grid from the start to the end, and I didn't fix anything until John told me to switch my whip and then use that left leg. After the fence, the lessons were to sit up around the corners, and to keep those damn heels down! After our warm up on the flat (some lengthening and collection with proper bend), we did a small cross rail which very quickly turned into a vertical (changing direction after it like a figure 8), and then the vertical to a much bigger rail with a vertical and the same figure 8. John said that we tend to relax after about 5-10 fences, and that at a show, that'll come up a lot sooner, so to keep riding every fence. Then we did a grid with three fences, and John turned the final vertical into an oxer, and then gradually raised it. It was an excellent confidence-building exercise because the grid worked on us, and the oxer was so gradual, that by the end, looking back at it, I was amazed at how smoothly it rode. It was another GREAT lesson.

Sit up tall

Today was my first jump lesson with Shannon at John Camlin's (Caber Farm). I was nervous, and as we pulled up, he had his stadium course set almost to the top of the standards, which I did not find soothing. I think Shannon could do those on Charlie, but that's still a long way off for me. Interesting wildlife spotting: a garter (?) snake - a big one - cruising across the arena, which John took and put back outside the arena while Shannon and I rode far away to the far, far side. We did some warm up, and my main points to remember were: keep him round and "up" (not long and low), going left - bend him to the left, and push him into the outside rein and keep that contact. I had to do some half halts and it was a bit more than I usually do, but Charlie was really responsive and pushing him just that extra tiny bit made a big difference in how "bouncy" he felt. That same approach also (surprise!) applied to the fences. If I balanced him in the corner, especially using the outside rein, but used some leg and half halt a few strides out from the fence, we'd approach it with more of a "bounce", and he could lift his front end over instead of kind of flop over it. (Not that Charlie ever flops, but the tiny adjustment I made helped make the fence feel a lot more "floaty".) In addition to the ever-present "heels down" my other big fix was to sit up tall, shoulders back. As the course continues, I hunch more and more over, like I'm rolling into a ball. It was amazingly hard to do, just to sit up tall, so I walked around the rest of the day, reminding myself to stand tall. That's a muscle memory issue I have no excuse for not fixing (other than 36 years of not fixing it) because I don't have to be on a horse to do it! It was really fun to be there with Shannon on Holly, and I really liked John's approach - gradually building as we progressed, more than I would ever push myself, but not too much (as Shannon aptly described it). Plus, if Holly is ready to compete next year, then we can go together! We did a cross rail from the trot, then canter, making a figure 8 (from right, from left, etc.). Then we added a 5 stride line, then a 4 stride line, then a 4 stride to a 3 stride, then the 4 stride to 3 stride to 5 stride back to 3 stride. Charlie was excellent. He's an absolute delight to ride. John said to keep my eye on training level and keep him working, not just slack because we're only going to do novice next year, and that the number one thing I'll need to keep in mind is to (my words) ride Charlie every step - I let him flop around because he can get away with it (at this level) and I need to start riding him like I'm going to ride Training level. It made me feel like a rock star, to ride in a lesson with Shannon - like I've finally proven my worth. Even if it's all to her credit - she did all Charlie's training and got me to the point where I could actually ride him. It was such a great way to spend Tuesday morning.

Pincher legs

Today was a big, fat slice of humble pie. It hurts my pride to even relive the lesson again, but I think it's a necessary step if I want to improve as a rider. Even though it's only a few tweaks to bad habits, to build new muscle memory, they are making me ride like an idiot who has never been on a horse or even seen someone ride a horse. I am struggling particularly with my big poofy butt that likes to sit out behind me, underneath a horrible sway back which is on the other side of a rotund buddha belly. When I try to put my poofy butt underneath me, I lift my pelvic bone (the third leg of the stool with the two seat bones) up in the air, and lean way back. When I try to suck in my stomach to straighten my back, I lift my shoulders up to my ears. Anytime I think about anything going on with my butt or back, I clench my butt and thighs, making me a pellet rolling around on top of the saddle. It's horrible. The bright light is at least I quit sticking my tongue out from the concentration anytime Shannon asks me to do something and my left toe is a tiny bit more forward. And - I have Shannon's help, and hours to look forward to on Willig where I'll have nothing else to do but concentrate on body position. So if I'm ever going to fix it, now's the best possible time. It's just horrible - not only to have to go through this gangly awkward phase, but to question all the hours I've spent on a horse so far and how I blustered my way through so many shows. And why so many horses have forgiven me. That being said, from when we started today (me sitting still, and moving my body around to try to make it right so I could feel when it was right - which I would immediately not be able to repeat and we'd have to go through it all again), to where we ended, was pretty cool. What isn't so cool is that I can't say (yet) why or how to repeat it. What happened at the end was all of a sudden, I felt like I was in the right place. I was relaxed, didn't have to fight or struggle or squirm, and could just ride. I could do transitions and sit and go around in a circle and not need to mess with anything. So it was great to feel that - like a glimpse of nirvana - to remind me of what I'm working toward. And it's great to know I can do it, I just have to figure out what got us there and how to stay there on my own. So thank god for Shannon's patience (and Charlie's), and many long hours of work appear to be ahead. But it's for a good cause - I don't want any pictures or videos of my left toe pointing out NW next year, and I want to help Charlie do the best job he can. (Speaking of, I'll probably drag him down a bit while I work on this - thank goodness for Willig to pick up some of the slack and spare Charlie a bit - so that will be depressing once I realize it's happened.) So the light bulb moment when the humble pie smacked me in the face? After the still body, I said I couldn't do the leg aid right, that it seemed like what Shannon described as the correct aid was to pinch my legs together underneath. Like that crane game where you pick up the toy? And Shannon said "like draping down and around?" and suddenly every single time I've read that in every book and article came and slammed me in the face. I am a classic leg lifter - I pull that heel up and back towards the saddle pad and kudos to all the horses who figured out that meant the same thing as "down and around". It felt completely and utterly foreign to me.

Bends and turns

Today in my jump lesson we did some work without stirrups (brutal is the only word I can apply to how it felt and looked), and then worked on some bendy turns on a small course. While none of these jumps were perfect, when Shannon first picked the first line (hard right, roll back left, angled vertical, hard right) I took the "stay quiet and show her she's a lunatic for asking us to do it" approach. But much to my surprise, it actually flowed pretty well. We did it a couple more times, adding in a combination after another roll back, and interestingly, the hardest part was that in the combination, just like in past lessons, I drift very, very far to the left between the first and second fence (a 3 stride line I've ridden now many times), and it took me three tries and one of the ground poles on the side of the fence before my left leg even tried to scoot Charlie right - even then, we still went over the edge of the pole. Charlie is a very sweet, honest jumper, no matter how brutal I look and feel. And I think I forgot to say from my last lesson - included in my basics is: LEGS FIRST. No more hand aids first! I practiced this on Willig yesterday and today, who is very responsive to me stopping my seat using my core, but even hopped up on sedi-vet, he managed to spook twice today.

The year's wrap up

Charlie got: 1st - 1st level test 3 - 60.645% - 10 riders (Dressage in the Park I) 2nd - BN Champs - 35.5 - 8 riders (Aspen Sept) 2nd - BN Rider - 33.7 - 21 riders (NWEC May Classic) 3rd - 1st level test 3 - 65.806% - 10 riders (Dressage in the Park II) 3rd - BN Open - 33.3 - 16 riders (Caber) 6th - BN Rider - 38.8 - 19 riders (Aspen June) And 2 of his 6 scores for the USDF Bronze Medal (now we have to move up to 2nd and then 3rd level) Silver Medal for USEA (BN) Blue Ribbon Award from USEA Certificate of Achievement from USEA Go Charlie!

Back to Basics

Today I asked to start the lesson with a focus on the most basic body position because one of the themes I've noticed through the lessons is that I make a lot of stuff up - things that it seems like I should have been taught when I started riding, never asked about, and have faked my way through it so far. And now that faking is starting to catch up with me - I can't get Charlie truly collected if I don't use my core as the brake. So I sat on Charlie at the halt, and we went over correct position of my heel, toe, leg aid, seat, hands, arms, and shoulders. Then we did it at the walk, and then we tried to do it at the trot. At the trot and canter, it became wildly apparent how ingrained my bad habits are, particularly for my toe (likes to point out to the side instead of forward), leg aid (I like to scrunch my heel up into Charlie's side, instead of squeezing with my leg in its correct position), and right hand, although actually I think this is the left hand (left hand likes to turn sideways (knuckles up) and inch forward, which is why Charlie always looks bent to the right - my right elbow is next to my hip, but my left elbow is way out in front). What's embarrassing about this last one is I've been looking down and seeing how I've got both hands on the same place on the rein, but not noticing how my left hand is like 3" further forward than my right. So we worked on walk/trot/canter/transitions with and without stirrups (the final five minutes without stirrups pretty much turned my legs to jelly) and my toes and lower leg (pointed forward, long and down) pretty much ignored my brain the entire lesson. There is a lot to work on there! My goal for the winter is to retrain my muscle memory on all these aids, so that I have nice lower legs, nice aids, even hands, and use my core as the half halt and brake. I'm going to work on these every ride, and on Willig rides, and also do at least 5 minutes without stirrups each ride and using the mirror to help remind me to stretch that leg long and get my toes forward. And then I'm going to practice coming from a trot to a halt without any hands at all, to teach my core how to do it. It was a good lesson, but kind of humiliating because I couldn't even make my body do some of the things - so that also prompted me to finally buy Beth Glosten's book - I suspect part of the problem is tight hips from all the sitting I do in a terrible chair at work, and so I'm going to add that into my routine also for the winter and hopefully that will help too by next spring. I don't want to handicap Charlie at all for next season!

Charlie's show jumping round

The beginning and end of Charlie's xc course

Yes, that is a spook at the end, where I made the circle - some animal rustled in the bushes (LOUDLY) just as we were going past.

Charlie's September 2012 Aspen Dressage Test

BN A

Work with Charlie that I can practice with Willig

We worked on some basics today that were pretty infuriatingly hard. First - legs draped on Charlie's sides, toes pointed forward. Simple, right? I couldn't even hold it for a single stride before things would flop out of place again. And asking for a transition? Hopeless. Second - keep those fingers closed - all the time - so it becomes new muscle memory to hold them closed instead of flopping open. Third - down transitions. First is "seat" (which is back and core going still), then legs, then hands, and hands are just like a "stop" not a pull back. Three "easy" things that are currently impossible. But I also thought there was no way I'd ever sit the trot, so it's just a matter of putting the hours in doing these correctly until they become a new habit I don't need to think about. So I immediately dedicated some time to it, for the first half of Willig's ride. Until our honeymoon with sedivet ended and he used some birds as an excuse to spin, bolt, and buck down the long side of the arena. He's really pretty much the opposite of kind, gentlemanly, handsome Charlie.

Charlie was great at Caber!

The only real error we (and by we, I mean me) made was not enough left bend on our left circle in our dressage test (we got a 5 for it). Charlie did everything else like a champ. Our 33.3 dressage test score had us tied for 7th, but with only a 4.7 point difference between 1st and 7th. Then after Charlie's awesome cross country round - while we had to slow down at both our check points, he jumped everything in stride like a rock star, even the "big" brush box - we moved up to 4th. Today was show jumping, and 1st-3rd were in a tie and ranked based on their cross country scores, and then Charlie went perfectly clear in show jumping, again, with no bad jumps, and then after 1st place had an error, we moved up to 3rd! Charlie got to do a victory lap (my first victory lap!) and head home. He was, like always, a total and absolute delight to ride. I was a little nervous, but all that hard work we've been doing in our lessons paid off - I could feel the improvement from the first show. And Charlie is just the world's greatest horse, which lets me work on those little details and turn them into good habits. I (heart) Charlie! I had so much fun!

Charlie's 33.3 dressage test

Caber's BN XC course - GPS magic

My amazing boyfriend mapped the course and then calculated the speed (and the too fast) for me after we walked the course Thursday. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=214725165407047817459.0004c7ff8ebf7209ccaeb#bmb=1

350 mpm

Yesterday we worked on feeling the correct pace for 350 meters per minute. I measured out 350 meters with a start and stop, and set up four fences (kind of airy 2'9"ish verticals) (side note - I've got to start work on adjusting my eye - these still looked a bit big to me) and then after warming up, we rode it twice. The first time, I rode it in 58 seconds, but with a bit of an odd fence and then a cross canter that I didn't fix; and the second time in 55 seconds, with improved consistency all around. We go a bit faster at the shows from excitement and nervousness (Charlie, me, respectively, I'm pretty sure I can speak for him and I definitely can speak for me), but I'm pleased that my internal clock had it correct at home. Of course, the downside is that next season, when we go up to Novice, I have to reset for something that's going to feel super sonic. I can't even imagine Training speed. Then we did the 3 stride combination since I've been riding it goofy the first effort, and because I concentrated, it was fine (and I know that particular combination by now). Then we rode it with an easy roll back turn to the combination, and fine again. The secret is not letting Charlie get all strung out and riding him up to the base, not launching him out like I'm prone to do. He's such a champ. I'm so lucky to have this time in the saddle with him. He's making everything fun again.

Charlie jumps like a rock star, in case I haven't mentioned that recently

We had a jump lesson this morning before the heat wave starts, and Mr. Charlie was once again an absolute delight. Shannon's focus was on getting a responsive Charlie ahead of my leg, keeping my leg in the "defensive" position (really just so I didn't nag him, I think), and then keeping my chest open. We did a few courses, with some bendy lines, a 3 stride combination (that I unbelievably, twice rode in 2 strides before fixing it the third time - which is a miracle if you look back 6 months ago where I consistently puttered around like I was running on fumes and almost out of gas), and a line to an angled vertical. The work we did on adding strides a month or so ago made a huge impact on how I see the spot, and I'm now far more comfortable riding up close to the base of the jump (at least, it feels close to me, but now it's a doable close instead of my previous tendency to launch at everything from 10' away). The other thing that feels a lot better is bending from the outside rein and leg. I've started to think of that much sooner on the bend, and if I start asking for it at a reasonable time (not when we're towards the end of the bend because I can be really, really painfully slow in sending the message from my brain to my hand and leg), it really helps us make tighter corners much more smoothly. Next week, Shannon wants to measure out the distance with the meter wheel and set up fences along the outside so that we can work on speed and try to get a better feel for BN speed with the last two shows coming up. Like always, Charlie was a blast to ride, and we felt really smooth and connected today, without some of my weird disconnection.

Willig's first day back under saddle

It feels like it's been forever, but looking back through the blog posts, the time was just dragging. Regardless, Willig was a cool, nonplussed cucumber about going back to work. We walked in hand 5 minutes, walked under saddle for 20, and then did another 5 minute walk in hand. No biggie. Then he got a hair cut - like my hair, his mane gets extremely scraggly when it gets long - neither of us have thick, flowing hair - and ate some carrots and apple and went back into his turnout, like it was no big thing. We do have some things I can devote some work on - getting my left foot pointed straight ahead instead of all wonky out to the left like a maniac, teaching my fingers to hold the baby birds and not let them fly free, open chest and nice elegant position, using my core and hands as the brakes, instead of pulling back with my hands, getting an A+ walk out of Willig in frame, working on his engagement in the walk (and nice steady connection and frame) including some collection, free walk, and lengthening with a medium walk, square halts, and backing.

Willig's search for a new home

Now that Willig is going back to work under saddle, I'm going to start looking for a home that will be a better fit for him. Here's his history in a nutshell: Willig is a 17 hand 2001 American Warmblood Registry chestnut gelding. His sire is Wizard (ARF) and his dam is Hi Fidelity (Trakehner). Willig injured his medial collateral sesamoidian ligament (old name: suspensory ligament of navicular bone). He's been under treatment by Dr. Revenaugh. He had about four months of stall rest with hand walking and three shock wave treatments, then four months of tiny turnout and stall rest, and has just started back under saddle. It's possible that in the future he might need injections in his coffin joint and/or navicular bursa. He has x-rays and an MRI on record with Dr. Revenaugh. Before his injury, Willig was showing 1st level and schooling some 2nd level movements. He's a natural lateral mover and has the potential to progress well beyond 2nd level. Because of his injury, Willig should never jump again. In 2011, he scored 50, 56, 61, 57, and 60 (twice) at recognized shows. That was my first year showing 1st level. He got 63s at training level in 2010. (Keep in mind, I'm an eventer, not a dressage rider.) I'm looking for a new home for Willig for two primary reasons. First, my primary interest is in eventing, and while Willig will likely return to full dressage work, I do not have the time for two horses, so plan to focus my energy on an eventer. Second, over the next year, while Willig will be in need of consistent rehab work, I'll be extremely busy at work, and I'm not sure I will be able to devote consistent time to him. My best guess for a good match for Willig will be an experienced rider who is assertive and calm. Willig has a busy mind and prefers regular work. I'm asking $1,500 for Willig, and anticipate doubling this about every 4 months as his rehab progresses. Because of Willig's injury, there will be strings attached. I will require any sale to be conditioned with an obligatory return to me in case he reinjures himself so that he can go back into treatment or out on pasture, if appropriate. I'd be pleased to provide further information and answer any questions. It's easiest to reach me by email if you send me your email in a comment (I won't publish it). Here is a link to a video of a 2010 training level test: http://vimeo.com/12902590

Counter canter

With the two final shows of the season rapidly approaching, I've suddenly lost all confidence that I have any idea I know what I'm doing on a horse. It would be really interesting to be a totally different person who had fun instead of putting all this pressure on myself all the time. We worked more on the Martha classics - close my fingers, keep my legs long with heels down, and make sure Charlie is responding to my leg (so I can use my core to halt or slow - with hands as a quiet, firm brace). I noticed when we were warming up that my left leg falls sloppy and loose, while the right leg is steady against the saddle. Shannon suggested thinking of some of the Centered Riding exercises to help focus attention in the right way, especially the one where your knees point towards the ground and your legs end as stumps. We did the classic work of getting Charlie moving forward, then round (leg first, then hand), then REWARD him by softening when he gives. Then we worked on trot to halt transitions (minimize walk steps in between). And then we did a wild and crazy counter canter loop (both directions) where I'd try to bend Charlie's neck to the outside, and interestingly, would come off posting on the wrong diaganol. It was a good ride, but it's frustrating that I'm still working on the same old things. Maybe the silver lining of my hours and hours of walking Willig over the next few months will be the perfect opportunity to turn those habits around on the basics, where I won't really have anything else to do!!

Willig goes back to "work" (finally) (notice those quotes)

Willig had his 3 month follow up with Dr. Revenaugh today. He got a very thorough exam, and here's the nutshell: He's got 2-4 months of walking, building up to 10 minutes of trotting. With the aid of drugs to keep me in one piece. Long version: He's sound trotting a straight line on asphalt He's the same amount off as the last 6 months trotting a circle on asphalt He acts as if he's in "pain" (my word) for the flex test. On both front feet. Dr. R used the word "drama queen" to describe some of his behavior. In our arena, with good footing, trotting on the lunge line, he doesn't appear off at all. When he got on the lunge line, he immediately decided to freak out and rear and spin and be naughty because - horrors - he'd never seen a lunge whip before. So he got a new drug - sedi-vet. 1/4 cc dose. Which gives him 50 extra IQ points. He's going to stay on his little turnout for 1 month, and then I'll see how he's doing under saddle. He's going to get 1/4 cc of sedi-vet every time I ride him, which is going to start at a walk and build up to an hour over the four months, with an equally gradual build up to the 10 minutes of trotting. And then I'll see how he's doing and get another check up. Next shoeing he'll get another pad (so he's even) and switch to a straight bar, and then take the pads away for winter since this is the Pacific Northwest and it'll be too wet. I was really anxious about the appointment, and then hadn't strategized for what would happen if he got the green light (a "B+" according to Dr. R) to go back to work. And, horrifyingly, my face fell when Dr. R said I could ride him again.