Just a quick report on the 1st Annual Maui Jim Eventing Derby that took place last weekend at Lamplight. I have nothing but good things to say about it! Everything was extremely well run, organized and put on. The courses were just lovely, and included 4 solid XC type fences that were adjustable by level. The courses also included a "berm", where you jumped a fence going out of the arena and went up a small hill to another fence, then back into the main arena. I had a nice school on Thursday evening in and around the dressage arenas, so that was great practice for us!
Friday morning we got to school in the actual arena with Cathy, and Rox jumped everything quite well. The XC fences were set at Training height and she jumped them very enthusiastically, but never backed off. Cathy commented that she really likes the new bit and I felt like I could soften the rein a lot more and just let her jump without micromanaging.
Our ride-a-test went well, the bugs were really eating her alive so I don't feel like she was as focused as she could have been. For some reason she was stiff on the RH and didn't want to step under in the canter, so I lost her haunches on the downward. Other than that, I thought it was a good steady test but not as sharp as it could have been. Judge Cindy DePorter's comments were that Rox and I are a good match for each other and we seem to get along well. She encouraged me to post the trot instead of sit to cover more ground and send her more forward (just like our last test's comments...). She also said that we had great connection compared to a lot of Novice rides she sees, and to work on getting her to relax her back and step forward with swing. She gave us a 35.0, which included mostly 6's and 7's with 2 5's and 2 8's. I was not happy to see the 5's because we have managed to avoid those so far...
Our actual jump round on Friday felt like a million bucks! I was just thrilled with how Rox jumped; she was really taking me to the fences in a rhythm and just attacking them! I have never felt her looking for the next fence and staying quiet at the same time like she was for that round. Cathy's only comment was to stay a bit taller after the fences to slow her down instead of staying bent over. We ended up having our first clear round together, although we picked up 3 time penalties (1 per second) since the course was wheeled a bit tighter than we expected and we spent a little too much time in the turns getting organized.
The dressage test on Saturday went OK, although Rox felt a bit dull and cranky in the warmup. I think she was tired from being ridden 3 times the day before...I didn't warm up with Cathy but as we were walking to the ring she commented that Rox looked really nice. I posted the trot for the test per Cindy's suggestion, and felt like I could get her more in front of my leg although not as much as I would have liked. Rox definitely lit up more once we were in the ring and felt a little touchy so I didn't push as much as I would have liked to for fear of her having a temper tantrum. I was not happy with her free walk because I couldn't get her to stretch down as much as she usually will, it was just kind of dull. The left canter went well but I felt like I had to push quite a bit, which made me worried for what the right would be like. I was correct, because the right was a little resistant and she almost threw in a buck towards the end of the circle, I had to open my outside rein and carefully push her to the rail for the downward. She lost her haunches again, so I knew we'd get another 5 for that. She ended the test well with a nice turn up centerline and an almost square halt. I didn't know what to make of the test afterward since she was crankier than I've felt her in the past. Cindy appreciated the changes we made, giving us a 33.5, good for 2nd behind Jenna Brown on a 20 something. We just ended up with the one 5, but three 8's this time and gaits and rider scores changed to 7's, which I was thrilled with.
The 2nd jump course on Sunday was somewhat longer than the first, and this time when we walked it we made sure to notice where to save time in corners, etc. We did not have a rail in hand to stay in 2nd, so I knew we would have to be really careful. Rox warmed up really "on" and felt great. She felt pretty good in the ring, but not as good as the first round. We had an awkward distance to the 1st one and I was sure it would come down but somehow she got her legs out of the way. Everything else rode pretty well besides getting a little quick to the one stride and having an awkward jump into the bending line 3 stride. Every fence was set off a turn, except for the grey stone wall vertical which we did not jump on Friday. It had a long straight approach and was the 2nd to last fence on the course. She was just a little disorganized from the bending line before it and I didn't bring her canter back enough so she jumped it flat and brought the rail down. We didn't have any time penalties this time, but I was pretty disappointed about the rail since it was mostly my mistake for not thinking about the straight approach more and doing something about it. Live and learn! We ended up in 3rd place overall, which was good for $50 and a nice show saddle pad.
Plans from here are to do the August derby (goals: 2 clean rounds, staying taller with my body, and getting better than 33.5 in dressage) and then Novice at Silverwood the first weekend of September (goals: sub 30 dressage, clean and organized XC, clean SJ).
Lots to work on :)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
better late than never!
Time has gotten away from me and I have not updated this blog to include our 2 most recent shows! Roxy and I completed her first Novice at FRVPC HT the third weekend of June. It was very hot and humid, making conditions less than ideal, but we managed to get through it. I thought she put in a nice steady test, but judge Cheryl Holekamp begged to differ, giving us a 36.1 which put us in a 3 way tie for 9th. The division was pretty large, but there were lots of fancy big moving warmbloods scoring in the 20's. The main comments on the test were to move more forward to cover more ground in the trot. We got all 6's and 7's, but many more 6's than the last test...I was not entirely pleased because I felt like it was a nice test.
Walking XC for the first time, I was surprised at the size of the first 4 fences as they were quite substantial and had tricky approaches for a Novice horse. Compared to the courses Rox has done in the past, it was definitely a bit harder than anything she had ever seen. The first fence was a max ramp going into the woods away from warmup, #2 was a max brush fence off a tight left hand turn going further into the woods, and #3 was a pretty vertical coop off another tight left hand turn. She jumped them all much better than I expected after being a big hot and naughty in the warmup. She jumped #4 well, a table with a downhill landing and then proceeded to take off down the hill to 5, the barrels that we jumped at the mini. She was going a bit quick by now and I wanted her to be in an organized canter because she tends to run past the distance and jump awkwardly. That happened here, and then we had to turn off the path out into the open by the water jump to #6. She was definitely looking around and not sure where we were heading as we turned to approach 6, a big ramped red barn jump. Her eye was on the big tent and spectators at the water jump after the fence, so she propped hard on the approach and I reacted too late to get her going again. We circled back and jumped it fine, making a circle afterward to get organized before going to the water. I was disappointed because I didn't think she would look and prop so hard so I didn't take enough time to prepare her. She jumped the rest of the course well, but felt un-rateable and disorganized in the pelham, like she was fighting it. We had some time penalties from the stop and circle, but I was happy that she jumped the first part of the course since it was a little outside our comfort zone. I was not happy that she was fighting and pulling on me during the entire course and I could not rate her at all...
The SJ walked nicely, it wasn't huge and I liked the flow for the most part. The one stride walked long, so Cathy advised marching down to it with authority, which we did and she jumped through it well. We lost a bit of focus on the line after it, a vertical to oxer heading towards the gate, and had the front rail on the oxer. She jumped the vertical quietly but landed strong and I didn't make a decision soon enough to balance her canter so she just tapped the rail. Otherwise I was very happy with how rideable she felt, especially compared to how she was at the mini in SJ.
Goals for the next HT are to ride a bigger trot in the dressage, have a good plan for XC if there are places that could back her off (spectators, etc), and react more quickly in the SJ to help her balance the canter.
Walking XC for the first time, I was surprised at the size of the first 4 fences as they were quite substantial and had tricky approaches for a Novice horse. Compared to the courses Rox has done in the past, it was definitely a bit harder than anything she had ever seen. The first fence was a max ramp going into the woods away from warmup, #2 was a max brush fence off a tight left hand turn going further into the woods, and #3 was a pretty vertical coop off another tight left hand turn. She jumped them all much better than I expected after being a big hot and naughty in the warmup. She jumped #4 well, a table with a downhill landing and then proceeded to take off down the hill to 5, the barrels that we jumped at the mini. She was going a bit quick by now and I wanted her to be in an organized canter because she tends to run past the distance and jump awkwardly. That happened here, and then we had to turn off the path out into the open by the water jump to #6. She was definitely looking around and not sure where we were heading as we turned to approach 6, a big ramped red barn jump. Her eye was on the big tent and spectators at the water jump after the fence, so she propped hard on the approach and I reacted too late to get her going again. We circled back and jumped it fine, making a circle afterward to get organized before going to the water. I was disappointed because I didn't think she would look and prop so hard so I didn't take enough time to prepare her. She jumped the rest of the course well, but felt un-rateable and disorganized in the pelham, like she was fighting it. We had some time penalties from the stop and circle, but I was happy that she jumped the first part of the course since it was a little outside our comfort zone. I was not happy that she was fighting and pulling on me during the entire course and I could not rate her at all...
The SJ walked nicely, it wasn't huge and I liked the flow for the most part. The one stride walked long, so Cathy advised marching down to it with authority, which we did and she jumped through it well. We lost a bit of focus on the line after it, a vertical to oxer heading towards the gate, and had the front rail on the oxer. She jumped the vertical quietly but landed strong and I didn't make a decision soon enough to balance her canter so she just tapped the rail. Otherwise I was very happy with how rideable she felt, especially compared to how she was at the mini in SJ.
Goals for the next HT are to ride a bigger trot in the dressage, have a good plan for XC if there are places that could back her off (spectators, etc), and react more quickly in the SJ to help her balance the canter.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I just had to write a quick post about the dressage lesson Rox and I had yesterday with Barry! It went really well and I am pumped to ride a really forward, accurate, sharp test on Friday! He thought she could easily score into the 20's with the work we were able to do during the lesson, so that is really encouraging. He also complimented my riding and said I've done a nice job with her and I am getting a better understanding of the correct way to ride dressage :) It was nice to hear him say that for sure!!
I started out warming her up a bit before he got there because the last time I took a lesson with him I didn't feel like she was on my aids as well as she usually is when I warm her up my way. It was very humid so I didn't do a ton. He looked at my test from the mini last month and was pretty impressed, but definitely saw the areas we need to work on to get rid of the 6's and turn the 7's into 8's.
We began by doing working on the turn onto centerline quite a bit, and then rode through the whole test several times. He really wanted me to push her body outward with my inside leg and open my inside rein a little to help guide her through the turn. Think of the bend as the same as a 10m circle and ride forward through it. Keep my inside shoulder turned in to help her bend and give a little on the outside rein so her neck can come around. These got really good by the end of the lesson because I feel like we did about 20 of them!! I also need to think about starting to create the bend as we approach C so she knows which way we are going and the turn gets set up correctly.
I like the feeling of shoulder fore I was able to get on the longside before the 20 m trot circles, it helped create the bend to carry onto the circle. I need to remember to keep my outside ready super steady and a little firm on the circle to keep her shoulder from falling out and her feet tracking correctly on the circle. I can release the inside rein a little so she will stretch to the rein, but I also need to keep my inside leg pretty strong to keep the lateral bend that we lacked on the first test.
The walk transitions she did went well, she didn't get poll low and she just quietly stepped into the walk. I feel like I can half halt and bend her in the corner before A to set up the downward transition better. She could march a little more forward, so think about squeezing my calf instead of kicking. The free walk needs more stretch, think the same squeezing of the calf to get her neck lower.
I need to prepare early for the upward transition coming out of the corner so she is focused and through, especially on the outside rein. Then I can ride her forward and into the shoulder fore position again on the longside. I need to keep her up and active before the canter trans on the half circle, and think about pushing my hip at her and staying on the outside rein to keep her straight. Think about releasing the inside rein but staying steady on the outside to create more forward energy and jump in the canter instead of holding her together too much and micromanaging. Big half halts and shorter steps approaching the rail to get a steady downward, then ride forward right away and through the corners to the diagonal.
Keep her tempo and rhythm the same on the diagonal and start to change the bend early so she is prepared for the turn onto centerline. Don't let her rush and get flat up centerline, but keep pulsing forward and bring my legs back a little in the last few steps before the halt. Stronger left leg and steady right rein to help her step under with the LH.
I think we are capable of getting the quality we had in the lesson at the event, but I really have to ride her strongly with my leg and allow her to flow forward instead of taking too much on the rein. I also need to focus on keeping my elbows quiet and in and my leg underneath me. I was on her for around an hour and she was still doing good work at the end, so I'll probably shoot for 40-45 mins of warmup on Friday.
I started out warming her up a bit before he got there because the last time I took a lesson with him I didn't feel like she was on my aids as well as she usually is when I warm her up my way. It was very humid so I didn't do a ton. He looked at my test from the mini last month and was pretty impressed, but definitely saw the areas we need to work on to get rid of the 6's and turn the 7's into 8's.
We began by doing working on the turn onto centerline quite a bit, and then rode through the whole test several times. He really wanted me to push her body outward with my inside leg and open my inside rein a little to help guide her through the turn. Think of the bend as the same as a 10m circle and ride forward through it. Keep my inside shoulder turned in to help her bend and give a little on the outside rein so her neck can come around. These got really good by the end of the lesson because I feel like we did about 20 of them!! I also need to think about starting to create the bend as we approach C so she knows which way we are going and the turn gets set up correctly.
I like the feeling of shoulder fore I was able to get on the longside before the 20 m trot circles, it helped create the bend to carry onto the circle. I need to remember to keep my outside ready super steady and a little firm on the circle to keep her shoulder from falling out and her feet tracking correctly on the circle. I can release the inside rein a little so she will stretch to the rein, but I also need to keep my inside leg pretty strong to keep the lateral bend that we lacked on the first test.
The walk transitions she did went well, she didn't get poll low and she just quietly stepped into the walk. I feel like I can half halt and bend her in the corner before A to set up the downward transition better. She could march a little more forward, so think about squeezing my calf instead of kicking. The free walk needs more stretch, think the same squeezing of the calf to get her neck lower.
I need to prepare early for the upward transition coming out of the corner so she is focused and through, especially on the outside rein. Then I can ride her forward and into the shoulder fore position again on the longside. I need to keep her up and active before the canter trans on the half circle, and think about pushing my hip at her and staying on the outside rein to keep her straight. Think about releasing the inside rein but staying steady on the outside to create more forward energy and jump in the canter instead of holding her together too much and micromanaging. Big half halts and shorter steps approaching the rail to get a steady downward, then ride forward right away and through the corners to the diagonal.
Keep her tempo and rhythm the same on the diagonal and start to change the bend early so she is prepared for the turn onto centerline. Don't let her rush and get flat up centerline, but keep pulsing forward and bring my legs back a little in the last few steps before the halt. Stronger left leg and steady right rein to help her step under with the LH.
I think we are capable of getting the quality we had in the lesson at the event, but I really have to ride her strongly with my leg and allow her to flow forward instead of taking too much on the rein. I also need to focus on keeping my elbows quiet and in and my leg underneath me. I was on her for around an hour and she was still doing good work at the end, so I'll probably shoot for 40-45 mins of warmup on Friday.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Adjustments
Well Rox finally decided to stop feeling sore on her left front last weekend and we have had a few good schools since then. Barry rode her on Wednesday since I had to work Tues and Weds and didn't want her to just sit. Randi said that she fought him quite a bit, but they ended well. She also said that he liked her downward transitions, but not the upward ones, which I feel the opposite about. She is usually pretty prompt and round in the upward ones for me, and tends to get poll low and on the forehand for the downward ones to walk....I will have to see what she feels like on the flat today.
We went over to Topline for a jump lesson with Cathy yesterday. It was supposed to happen last week, but she was still off so we had to reschedule. Now I am wishing we were able two lessons in because we have quite a bit to work on! I don't even know where to start with the lesson :) Let's just say that I am seriously out of shape for jumping and need to make quite a few adjustments to keep in mind to ride Rox correctly to the fences.
We started out with Cathy watching us warm up on the flat, and within 5 minutes she had everything pegged. My leg gets too far out in front of me, and I drive too much with my seat at the canter. Rox falls in at her haunches in the canter and doesnt want to weight her inside hind. I have been sitting the canter most of the time with her because it makes me feel more secure and like I have control, but Cathy noticed that it was making her a little too forward and I was not able to slow her down without pulling too much. Instead she had me pull my lower leg back underneath me more, and stay out of the saddle in more of a 3-point position. It was very difficult for me to hold this position for a long time because my muscle memory is used to sitting and having my leg more forward. I was definitely able to control her canter better and use my whole body to slow her down. We cantered over some rails on the ground, trying to get very quiet, small strides to the base of them. It took Rox a little while to figure out what I wanted, but she got it after a while. I felt like we cantered for 20 minutes straight!! Cathy made the important point that 2/3 of the work event horses do at shows is in the canter, so we need to school it more and become stronger in it.
Then we trotted a rail bending to a small gate and the other direction to a stone wall jump. She jumped the first fence in a very uncoordinated way and shot off on the landing. Cathy reminded me to keep my leg underneath and be ready for anything by keeping my upper body moving with her. This helped the next few times because I felt like I didn't have to do much on the approach, in the air, and landing. The jumps were pretty small, so I am interested to see how it feels to raise them a little and keep that position. Cathy really emphasized bending her after the fence and having the feeling of leg yielding out to get control back.
Next we did an exercise with the rails again, this time cantering 3 rails on a big circle, and trying to keep her soft and bending in the canter over all 3 of them. She did this well and really used her hind end to carry her weight. Then we added a fence instead of the third rail, and she jumped it quietly and well. Then we came off the right and cantered out of a turn to the same vertical and she did that pretty well. She felt like a hunter!
At this point I was feeling like I would keel over, both from all the cantering without a break and the hot sun pounding down. I was embarrassed that I am out of shape and Cathy suggested jogging...haha. She said I must have forgotten about "Camp Cathy", and I completely agreed. I am surprised at how well Rox handled all the cantering, as I definitely thought she would feel as tired as I did! We ended by doing the 2 rails to the vertical, and then went all the way around the ring to a long straightaway at an oxer, and she jumped it well and out of an excellent rhythm.
We talked about being able to go with a less strong bit eventually, and it reminded me of Hagen and how he was able to go in a corkscrew eventually after he became strong enough to hold the correct canter. I am a little concerned about being able to school enough fences before the HT next weekend, but I think we will be OK. I just want to reiterate to Rox that we have a "new" way of cantering and jumping and be able to get it at the HT. I asked for Cathy's help with the jumping phases so that makes me feel better that she will help get us ready to go.
I have the week planned out and need to focus and polish everything up again!!
We went over to Topline for a jump lesson with Cathy yesterday. It was supposed to happen last week, but she was still off so we had to reschedule. Now I am wishing we were able two lessons in because we have quite a bit to work on! I don't even know where to start with the lesson :) Let's just say that I am seriously out of shape for jumping and need to make quite a few adjustments to keep in mind to ride Rox correctly to the fences.
We started out with Cathy watching us warm up on the flat, and within 5 minutes she had everything pegged. My leg gets too far out in front of me, and I drive too much with my seat at the canter. Rox falls in at her haunches in the canter and doesnt want to weight her inside hind. I have been sitting the canter most of the time with her because it makes me feel more secure and like I have control, but Cathy noticed that it was making her a little too forward and I was not able to slow her down without pulling too much. Instead she had me pull my lower leg back underneath me more, and stay out of the saddle in more of a 3-point position. It was very difficult for me to hold this position for a long time because my muscle memory is used to sitting and having my leg more forward. I was definitely able to control her canter better and use my whole body to slow her down. We cantered over some rails on the ground, trying to get very quiet, small strides to the base of them. It took Rox a little while to figure out what I wanted, but she got it after a while. I felt like we cantered for 20 minutes straight!! Cathy made the important point that 2/3 of the work event horses do at shows is in the canter, so we need to school it more and become stronger in it.
Then we trotted a rail bending to a small gate and the other direction to a stone wall jump. She jumped the first fence in a very uncoordinated way and shot off on the landing. Cathy reminded me to keep my leg underneath and be ready for anything by keeping my upper body moving with her. This helped the next few times because I felt like I didn't have to do much on the approach, in the air, and landing. The jumps were pretty small, so I am interested to see how it feels to raise them a little and keep that position. Cathy really emphasized bending her after the fence and having the feeling of leg yielding out to get control back.
Next we did an exercise with the rails again, this time cantering 3 rails on a big circle, and trying to keep her soft and bending in the canter over all 3 of them. She did this well and really used her hind end to carry her weight. Then we added a fence instead of the third rail, and she jumped it quietly and well. Then we came off the right and cantered out of a turn to the same vertical and she did that pretty well. She felt like a hunter!
At this point I was feeling like I would keel over, both from all the cantering without a break and the hot sun pounding down. I was embarrassed that I am out of shape and Cathy suggested jogging...haha. She said I must have forgotten about "Camp Cathy", and I completely agreed. I am surprised at how well Rox handled all the cantering, as I definitely thought she would feel as tired as I did! We ended by doing the 2 rails to the vertical, and then went all the way around the ring to a long straightaway at an oxer, and she jumped it well and out of an excellent rhythm.
We talked about being able to go with a less strong bit eventually, and it reminded me of Hagen and how he was able to go in a corkscrew eventually after he became strong enough to hold the correct canter. I am a little concerned about being able to school enough fences before the HT next weekend, but I think we will be OK. I just want to reiterate to Rox that we have a "new" way of cantering and jumping and be able to get it at the HT. I asked for Cathy's help with the jumping phases so that makes me feel better that she will help get us ready to go.
I have the week planned out and need to focus and polish everything up again!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
bumps in the road...
Since I last updated, a few things have gone awry....I seriously damaged my big toe on a "trip" (haha) to Las Vegas, and Rox came in from the pasture lame. My toe is feeling better, and it has been about 5 days since it happened, so I don't think it's broken anymore. It is turning lovely shades of purple and green now. Rox on the other hand I am not 100% sure about. The inside of her left front leg was stocked up and hot from just underneath her chestnut (above her knee) down to her pastern. It was the hottest initially on the inside of her knee, and we poked and prodded her quite a bit so I don't think it's tendon related. It's also very strange that it's only the inside of her leg that is big, not the whole leg. This happened on Monday, and she looked much better yesterday after some bute, cold hosing, and walking. I think she will be just fine and it was just a bang in the pasture, but the closing date for the FRVPC HT where she will be doing her first Novice with me was yesterday. Crossing my fingers like mad that she really is fine so I don't have to scratch and lose the entry fees. We were also supposed to have a jump lesson with Cathy Jones this Friday, so that's out now too. She got a chiro adjustment yesterday and Randi said she loved it and he was able to do a lot with her. The chiro said he thinks the leg shouldn't be a big issue and worked on it a bit, which Randi said reduced the swelling some too.
The good news in all of this is that she has been schooling fabulously, both on the flat and jumping. I am feeling like I can really push her on the flat now and get a much bigger, fancier trot that she was able to do a few weeks ago. Her muscling looks great and I really notice development in her topline as well as her hind end. She actually did a few legitmate trot lengthenings where I could feel her really let go of her shoulder and push from behind. It's exciting when you work hard with a horse who used to fight so much and now she is getting to be so steady and willing to do what I ask.
We had a great jump school a few weeks ago in the short shank Pelham bit with 2 reins. I don't love riding with 2 reins, but the bit seemed to really help her lift her shoulder and we didn't have to have any disagreements about balancing and slowing down. She was jumping in more of an arc and out of stride, so I was really pleased. We even jumped a vertical that was at least 3'3 and she did it well and landed in balance.
I will most likely get on her today to tack walk and see how she feels...more updates later!
The good news in all of this is that she has been schooling fabulously, both on the flat and jumping. I am feeling like I can really push her on the flat now and get a much bigger, fancier trot that she was able to do a few weeks ago. Her muscling looks great and I really notice development in her topline as well as her hind end. She actually did a few legitmate trot lengthenings where I could feel her really let go of her shoulder and push from behind. It's exciting when you work hard with a horse who used to fight so much and now she is getting to be so steady and willing to do what I ask.
We had a great jump school a few weeks ago in the short shank Pelham bit with 2 reins. I don't love riding with 2 reins, but the bit seemed to really help her lift her shoulder and we didn't have to have any disagreements about balancing and slowing down. She was jumping in more of an arc and out of stride, so I was really pleased. We even jumped a vertical that was at least 3'3 and she did it well and landed in balance.
I will most likely get on her today to tack walk and see how she feels...more updates later!
Monday, May 17, 2010
FRVPC Mini Event
Well the good news is that we ended up 3rd. The not so good news is that I felt like I had zero control in the jumping phases.
She started out well for our school on fri evening, minus a huge spook at the dressage chain racks that were sitting at the edge of the woods. She felt pretty rideable on the grass, and we got to go around the rings which was nice. I still felt like I had more control of her body if I stayed sitting at the trot. so I decided I would probably ride the whole test sitting if she felt the same way the next morning. Walked XC and was surprised at the difficulty for it being (a) a mini event, and (b) so early in the season. The first fence was small, but on a turn and downhill approach, 2nd fence was off a weird turn going away from the barn and twice as big as the first fence. It was nice to see some normal sized Novice fences on the course, but not when the max height is advertised at 2'9".
She warmed up well on Sat AM, despite warmup being a zoo of oblivious riders and almost getting crashed into a few times. She was light in the hind end for the canter transitions, so we did about 15 of them until she settled. Had plenty of time to go around the ring and judge's car when it was our turn. She was very rideable during the test, but I just wish I was able to get that sharpness I have been feeling with her lately. She was obedient, but just a bit dull without that extra spark that can score a point better on each movement. I had a good feeling about the score since she was pretty consistent in her frame and tempo and I was able to ride deep into the corners. If I could change anything it would have been more bend on the circles and riding her into a more uphill trot with more push from behind. She also ignored my half halts a bit and was heavy in my hand on the downward transitions, resulting in me having to pull a bit harder than I should have. Scoring took forever so I had no idea how we did before I went out for XC.
She warmed up excellent for XC, jumping out of stride and bold/forward, but rateable. She came out of the box well, but looking at the first fence from the beginning, trying to back off a bit. I gave her a few kicks and taps with the stick and stayed way back and she popped over the first. Since it was a downhill landing and weird left turn away from the warmup and barns to get to 2, she landed and got much quicker than I expected, and wanted to fall out hard back to the right after she realized we were not jumping the BN fence #1 that was in the way. We avoided a near temper tantrum when I opened my left rein and she saw our fence #2, rode nicely up to it and launched over. She was peeking at #3, but I gave her a few taps again and accelerated towards it and she jumped it fine and landed way fast. I let her keep a quicker pace to #4 since it was so close to 3, and she got close but felt less looky. She was hesitant about going on the path into the woods so I slowed down and let her trot through. The cordwood was next coming out of the woods, and I felt her look so I sat back and accelerated up to it, and she jumped it well but landed going much faster than the takeoff speed. I let her keep the quicker pace to the barrels and she jumped them fine, but I slowed way down for the turn to the slatted ramp going downhill. She got close to it but popped over. At this point my arms were screaming because I was having to haul on her mouth on the backside of most jumps. I made her trot through the turn to #8, then picked up a slow canter and she jumped it nicely out of stride, except the backside when she took off again towards home. I was able to slow down before the turn to #9, but not by much. She jumped 9 well and back into the woods we went, less tentatively this time. Let her canter slowly through the woods and stretch her neck down until we got to #10. She was less looky than I expected, but I was worried about turning after it since #11 was close. I opened my rein and was able to get her to 11, but quicker than I would have liked. Big whoa after 11 and set up nicely to 12 and 13, which she jumped quietly and out of stride. Slowed down again after 13 and jumped 14 quietly as well. Overall I am happy with how she jumped, but unhappy with how she listened to me. She needs to be more rideable and listen better if things are going to be more complicated. I should not have to haul on her mouth after fences to get her organized and in a good rhythm. I can see now why Randi has had some stopping issues if she was coming up to scarier fences at that fast of a canter.
Waited a long time to SJ, walked the course before XC and even got a free massage in the meantime. Found out that we had scored a 32.6 in dressage and were sitting in 2nd behind Jenna Brown! I was happy with this as our division had 22 horses and I did not expect to beat a few of the other people on the flat.
The course was strange because they couldn't use the whole area like they usually do since there was a lot of rain and the ground was too soft. This resulted in all the jumps being clustered together with strange turns to get to each question. She warmed up ok but felt dull and a little tired. She kept wanting to jump across the warmup jumps to aim towards the barn. She didn't touch anything in warmup and felt like she was jumping well, however all of that went out the window once we got into the ring to jump our round. She locked onto the back of the stone wall jump before we went into the turn towards #1, so I felt like she was not paying attention from the get-go. The downhill approach and unbalanced canter to #1 resulted in her having it down with her front legs. She landed ok considering that and did an even 5 strides to the oxer out. I had a big whoa and slowed her to a trot going to #3 since it had been coming down all day and I wanted her to pay attention. I thought we had a nice canter coming to it, but then she started to back off so I had to tap with the stick and she accelerated and jumped it, but knocked the rail off as well. I was frustrated that she was not listening and also standing off the fences so much at this point, so I rode hard to #4, which was a bigger plank oxer going towards home. She jumped it well, but silly me turned left after instead of right and was barely able to slow down enough to correct the turn and get going the right way to #5. We got to 5 ok, but she added and popped over it, so I sent her forward down the line to the big panel that I figured she would back off at. She backed off but jumped it ok, tapping the rail but it stayed up. She landed like a banshee and grabbed the bit going to the stone wall jump, which she got over awkwardly but clean. The turn going to #8 was probably my favorite, because she was actually balanced and listening, although it was a bouncy, looky canter. She jumped it well, but then took off afterward and I had to do some major pulling to slow down enough so we could turn to the double. She added and jumped awkwardly at the first, but i kicked forward and still got the 2 strides to the oxer out. I was unhappy overall with the lack of control I had during the round. She is usually good about coming back after fences at home, but this is obviously something we need to address before the next show. I am thinking a different bit is definitely in order. I was also surprised at how much she was looking at the fences. I felt like I had to ride hard to get her over them, but the result of that was being out of control on the landing side. I was pretty disappointed after the round, but a lot of people had issues so we only moved down one spot to 3rd.
All in all it was a good learning experience, although I've definitely got my work cut out for me before the horse trials in June! Will experiment with bits and update with how that's going. Need to schedule a lesson with Cathy so we can go school some different SJ exercises/try bits out over a course. Planning to keep dressage work going in the same direction, working on more lateral flexion and riding the trot uphill so she puts more weight on her hind end. Our test had some nice comments and even two 8's for centerlines. 7 on submission and rider, which I was happy about. I think it will be easy to pick up points next time for showing more bend on the circles and getting better downward transitions.
She started out well for our school on fri evening, minus a huge spook at the dressage chain racks that were sitting at the edge of the woods. She felt pretty rideable on the grass, and we got to go around the rings which was nice. I still felt like I had more control of her body if I stayed sitting at the trot. so I decided I would probably ride the whole test sitting if she felt the same way the next morning. Walked XC and was surprised at the difficulty for it being (a) a mini event, and (b) so early in the season. The first fence was small, but on a turn and downhill approach, 2nd fence was off a weird turn going away from the barn and twice as big as the first fence. It was nice to see some normal sized Novice fences on the course, but not when the max height is advertised at 2'9".
She warmed up well on Sat AM, despite warmup being a zoo of oblivious riders and almost getting crashed into a few times. She was light in the hind end for the canter transitions, so we did about 15 of them until she settled. Had plenty of time to go around the ring and judge's car when it was our turn. She was very rideable during the test, but I just wish I was able to get that sharpness I have been feeling with her lately. She was obedient, but just a bit dull without that extra spark that can score a point better on each movement. I had a good feeling about the score since she was pretty consistent in her frame and tempo and I was able to ride deep into the corners. If I could change anything it would have been more bend on the circles and riding her into a more uphill trot with more push from behind. She also ignored my half halts a bit and was heavy in my hand on the downward transitions, resulting in me having to pull a bit harder than I should have. Scoring took forever so I had no idea how we did before I went out for XC.
She warmed up excellent for XC, jumping out of stride and bold/forward, but rateable. She came out of the box well, but looking at the first fence from the beginning, trying to back off a bit. I gave her a few kicks and taps with the stick and stayed way back and she popped over the first. Since it was a downhill landing and weird left turn away from the warmup and barns to get to 2, she landed and got much quicker than I expected, and wanted to fall out hard back to the right after she realized we were not jumping the BN fence #1 that was in the way. We avoided a near temper tantrum when I opened my left rein and she saw our fence #2, rode nicely up to it and launched over. She was peeking at #3, but I gave her a few taps again and accelerated towards it and she jumped it fine and landed way fast. I let her keep a quicker pace to #4 since it was so close to 3, and she got close but felt less looky. She was hesitant about going on the path into the woods so I slowed down and let her trot through. The cordwood was next coming out of the woods, and I felt her look so I sat back and accelerated up to it, and she jumped it well but landed going much faster than the takeoff speed. I let her keep the quicker pace to the barrels and she jumped them fine, but I slowed way down for the turn to the slatted ramp going downhill. She got close to it but popped over. At this point my arms were screaming because I was having to haul on her mouth on the backside of most jumps. I made her trot through the turn to #8, then picked up a slow canter and she jumped it nicely out of stride, except the backside when she took off again towards home. I was able to slow down before the turn to #9, but not by much. She jumped 9 well and back into the woods we went, less tentatively this time. Let her canter slowly through the woods and stretch her neck down until we got to #10. She was less looky than I expected, but I was worried about turning after it since #11 was close. I opened my rein and was able to get her to 11, but quicker than I would have liked. Big whoa after 11 and set up nicely to 12 and 13, which she jumped quietly and out of stride. Slowed down again after 13 and jumped 14 quietly as well. Overall I am happy with how she jumped, but unhappy with how she listened to me. She needs to be more rideable and listen better if things are going to be more complicated. I should not have to haul on her mouth after fences to get her organized and in a good rhythm. I can see now why Randi has had some stopping issues if she was coming up to scarier fences at that fast of a canter.
Waited a long time to SJ, walked the course before XC and even got a free massage in the meantime. Found out that we had scored a 32.6 in dressage and were sitting in 2nd behind Jenna Brown! I was happy with this as our division had 22 horses and I did not expect to beat a few of the other people on the flat.
The course was strange because they couldn't use the whole area like they usually do since there was a lot of rain and the ground was too soft. This resulted in all the jumps being clustered together with strange turns to get to each question. She warmed up ok but felt dull and a little tired. She kept wanting to jump across the warmup jumps to aim towards the barn. She didn't touch anything in warmup and felt like she was jumping well, however all of that went out the window once we got into the ring to jump our round. She locked onto the back of the stone wall jump before we went into the turn towards #1, so I felt like she was not paying attention from the get-go. The downhill approach and unbalanced canter to #1 resulted in her having it down with her front legs. She landed ok considering that and did an even 5 strides to the oxer out. I had a big whoa and slowed her to a trot going to #3 since it had been coming down all day and I wanted her to pay attention. I thought we had a nice canter coming to it, but then she started to back off so I had to tap with the stick and she accelerated and jumped it, but knocked the rail off as well. I was frustrated that she was not listening and also standing off the fences so much at this point, so I rode hard to #4, which was a bigger plank oxer going towards home. She jumped it well, but silly me turned left after instead of right and was barely able to slow down enough to correct the turn and get going the right way to #5. We got to 5 ok, but she added and popped over it, so I sent her forward down the line to the big panel that I figured she would back off at. She backed off but jumped it ok, tapping the rail but it stayed up. She landed like a banshee and grabbed the bit going to the stone wall jump, which she got over awkwardly but clean. The turn going to #8 was probably my favorite, because she was actually balanced and listening, although it was a bouncy, looky canter. She jumped it well, but then took off afterward and I had to do some major pulling to slow down enough so we could turn to the double. She added and jumped awkwardly at the first, but i kicked forward and still got the 2 strides to the oxer out. I was unhappy overall with the lack of control I had during the round. She is usually good about coming back after fences at home, but this is obviously something we need to address before the next show. I am thinking a different bit is definitely in order. I was also surprised at how much she was looking at the fences. I felt like I had to ride hard to get her over them, but the result of that was being out of control on the landing side. I was pretty disappointed after the round, but a lot of people had issues so we only moved down one spot to 3rd.
All in all it was a good learning experience, although I've definitely got my work cut out for me before the horse trials in June! Will experiment with bits and update with how that's going. Need to schedule a lesson with Cathy so we can go school some different SJ exercises/try bits out over a course. Planning to keep dressage work going in the same direction, working on more lateral flexion and riding the trot uphill so she puts more weight on her hind end. Our test had some nice comments and even two 8's for centerlines. 7 on submission and rider, which I was happy about. I think it will be easy to pick up points next time for showing more bend on the circles and getting better downward transitions.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Calm before the storm
Well, here we are the day before I get to kick of what will hopefully be a fantastic season of showing Ms. Roxy. I was thinking back about the last good show I had, and it was in the summer of 2008 with Ransom. I can't believe it's been 2 years! The show was only successful because he had not yet gone back into brain-completely-fried-mode about XC yet. He had a slight freakout on XC but I managed to get him pointed at the next fence and off we went. He also did not want to set foot in the SJ ring, but luckily Erin Diserio was there to give us some help getting in the ring. We were 2nd in the Novice. Here's hoping for 3 well ridden, fun phases tomorrow!
Rox was good last night, I jumped her through a gymnastic of trot poles, bounce to one stride. She was quick with her front end and only tapped a fence once. I think doing more of this type of thing will help her learn to think for herself about how to jump correctly and keep her front end snappy. At the end of the ride, Randi took down the beginning of the exercise and I jumped the vertical to vertical coming the other way off a tight turn. The first 2 times through I had her too compressed and rode 3 short strides out of the turn and she got really deep and had to pop up in the air. She was smart with her front end though and didn't touch the plank. I need to be more careful with setting her up well so I can soften the rein in the last few strides before the fence. The last time through I finally rode her up to the 2 strides out of the turn with a nice opening rein and lots of outside leg and she lengthened her stride nicely and jumped in a better arc. This put us too close to the second fence, but she was catty and got over it without touching it. Good way to end a last minute before the show jump school!
Rox was good last night, I jumped her through a gymnastic of trot poles, bounce to one stride. She was quick with her front end and only tapped a fence once. I think doing more of this type of thing will help her learn to think for herself about how to jump correctly and keep her front end snappy. At the end of the ride, Randi took down the beginning of the exercise and I jumped the vertical to vertical coming the other way off a tight turn. The first 2 times through I had her too compressed and rode 3 short strides out of the turn and she got really deep and had to pop up in the air. She was smart with her front end though and didn't touch the plank. I need to be more careful with setting her up well so I can soften the rein in the last few strides before the fence. The last time through I finally rode her up to the 2 strides out of the turn with a nice opening rein and lots of outside leg and she lengthened her stride nicely and jumped in a better arc. This put us too close to the second fence, but she was catty and got over it without touching it. Good way to end a last minute before the show jump school!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
On the Rox
So I have decided to use this blog for my riding notes in addition to the random musings. For some background info, I have been given the ride on my good friend Randi's mare Roxy or "On the Rox". I have ridden her on and off for the past few years and I have taught Randi semi-regularly and helped her at shows as well. Roxy is a 9 year old liver chestnut Appendix QH mare, around 15.3hh. Randi has competed BN on her the past few years, and was going to move up to Novice last fall but Roxy had an abscess at the last minute so they had to scratch. I will be taking her Novice at the FRVPC mini event this weekend, and hopefully to some recognized events at Novice this season as well.
Rox is not a difficult type of mare, she can be opinionated, but she mostly wants to be good. She is not an extravagant mover and struggles with stiffness in her body, so the flatwork is a challenge but it is coming along nicely. She moves off the leg well laterally, but could be more responsive to the forward aids. She likes to be "one-dimensional" with her body and not relaxed and bent through her neck and ribcage. She sometimes travels with haunches in at the canter, and the upward canter transitions are a major work in progress as she gets stiff and hollow if she is not asked exactly correct.
She is very willing over fences although her style needs some improvement as well as the ability to lengthen and collect her stride. In short, she needs to become more rideable between fences. She has the tendency to flatten out and become very choppy as the fences get bigger, so we are working to make her more supple and responsive so her style gets better. She is comfortable in a small collected canter, but she does not jump well from it. Learning to jump out of a bigger stride will make her jump much better. She can be looky on XC, so a firm ride is necessary. The balance and adjustability will help her XC as well because she tends to get in one gear and not come out of it for the whole trip. I think the boldness will come with experience, and she must know that she does not have the option to run out or look hard at something, she must go no matter what or she will be punished.
We recently had a dressage lesson with Barry Fript, who I have lessoned with on and off the past few years. We ran through the test we will ride this weekend (Novice A), and it went quite well, although I don't feel as though she was as sharp as she has been schooling for me lately. We did a shorter warmup without any lateral work, so I think this may have been part of the problem. Some of the key things I took away from the lesson:
-sit back more in the sitting trot and let her forehand lift up toward my hand
-push for more suspension at the same time, but not a faster tempo
-keep giving the inside rein every 5 strides or so to make her relax through her neck
-give the inside rein in upward transitions so she can't hang on the rein
-more bend in the 20 m circles, use my body position to keep her on the circle
-give the rein in front of the judge so they can she her stretching to the end of the rein
-push more with my hip in the free walk so she tracks up and is more forward
-use outside rein away from her neck in the corners so she fills up the space
-use both legs slightly behind girth in an upward motion to help collect her and engage hind legs more
Rox is not a difficult type of mare, she can be opinionated, but she mostly wants to be good. She is not an extravagant mover and struggles with stiffness in her body, so the flatwork is a challenge but it is coming along nicely. She moves off the leg well laterally, but could be more responsive to the forward aids. She likes to be "one-dimensional" with her body and not relaxed and bent through her neck and ribcage. She sometimes travels with haunches in at the canter, and the upward canter transitions are a major work in progress as she gets stiff and hollow if she is not asked exactly correct.
She is very willing over fences although her style needs some improvement as well as the ability to lengthen and collect her stride. In short, she needs to become more rideable between fences. She has the tendency to flatten out and become very choppy as the fences get bigger, so we are working to make her more supple and responsive so her style gets better. She is comfortable in a small collected canter, but she does not jump well from it. Learning to jump out of a bigger stride will make her jump much better. She can be looky on XC, so a firm ride is necessary. The balance and adjustability will help her XC as well because she tends to get in one gear and not come out of it for the whole trip. I think the boldness will come with experience, and she must know that she does not have the option to run out or look hard at something, she must go no matter what or she will be punished.
We recently had a dressage lesson with Barry Fript, who I have lessoned with on and off the past few years. We ran through the test we will ride this weekend (Novice A), and it went quite well, although I don't feel as though she was as sharp as she has been schooling for me lately. We did a shorter warmup without any lateral work, so I think this may have been part of the problem. Some of the key things I took away from the lesson:
-sit back more in the sitting trot and let her forehand lift up toward my hand
-push for more suspension at the same time, but not a faster tempo
-keep giving the inside rein every 5 strides or so to make her relax through her neck
-give the inside rein in upward transitions so she can't hang on the rein
-more bend in the 20 m circles, use my body position to keep her on the circle
-give the rein in front of the judge so they can she her stretching to the end of the rein
-push more with my hip in the free walk so she tracks up and is more forward
-use outside rein away from her neck in the corners so she fills up the space
-use both legs slightly behind girth in an upward motion to help collect her and engage hind legs more
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
gotta start somewhere
So after much procrastinating, I have decided that I REALLY need to start writing/typing my thoughts and musings out. I know it makes me feel better. I know I have a lot to say and express. So why not do it online since typing is much faster than writing? It's the end of the work day, and I have had a somewhat dreary day, but am hoping I can snap out of it and be more positive tomorrow. The only way to go is up!
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