I recently participated in one of those webinars where a professional rider reviews video submissions. It was… obviously a little uncomfortable to put forward a video* of ourselves with so little context. But also super interesting too.
(**For the curious, I submitted the video from this flat ride, since submissions opened a couple weeks ago. It’s obvi not a perfect ride, but is reasonably representative, right?)
first time with pivo in this indoor went better than expected!
it had some trouble with this bright open door. tho ya know. doozy does too sometimes LOL
Having already learned a bit about his training methodology and philosophy, I wasn’t surprised that his overall impression of us was that I needed to put more emphasis on frame control, first and foremost. That’s kinda his order of operations: Frame control comes first, then foot control, then pace control.
look at us finding more and more nice moments!
That’s… obviously not how I’ve really found much success with Doozy, to be honest. Our whole recent little rehab induced renaissance has followed a slightly different order: foot control first, then pace control, then frame control.
trying my best to stay focused on the flatwork even when we start jumping
Realistically, tho, it’s all important, right? So Brett’s feedback was around emphasizing frame control with the intent of utilizing a soft round posture in the horse to induce and support relaxation. And to achieve this, he wanted me to be more firm and accountable in my expectations — he said I’m not really “pressing the issue” enough.
i think she’s cute <3
His point was that Doozy needs to let me into her top line as a trigger for her to relax mentally, to become more through as she yields to connection, gets rounder, and draws forward. So the “forward” feeling should still be there — the bit pressure shouldn’t be backward.
she was super quiet for this ride!
It honestly sounded a lot like a comment trainer C made in our last lesson — that “ if I don’t ask, and Doozy therefore doesn’t do it, Doozy ain’t exactly wrong.” And it also meshes nicely with what I wrote about last week, about how Doozy actually needs to be connected to feel soft and secure.
walkies lol
So ya know. It’s added to the list LOL, always more stuff to work on, right? As L. Williams often said, “Yesterday’s solution might be today’s problem.” Maybe I kinda needed to back off the intensity of too much contact and pressure earlier in the rehab bc I was getting too backwards and Doozy was too explosive… But ya know. The pendulum keeps swinging, and now we’re on the other side of that, ready for the next step. And so it goes.
and jump crewing our own self… these rails are feather-light and Ms Thing doesn’t mind getting close
So that’s the mindset I brought into this most recent pivo-recorded ride. It was overall intended to be a jump school (bc hopefully if the weather cooperates I might possibly actually be doing a little CT at Thornridge today!!) but obvi it’s still all the same stuff anyway, right?
legit every jump is decorated with hella ground lines and flowers and boxes etc but she don’t care!
And it felt like a good sorta first push toward “asking for more.” Not that it necessarily made a hugely obvious change in how we go, but the feeling was good — better, not worse. So that’s always nice haha!
still gonna just knock ‘em down all the same, whoops lol
I’d also hustled up to the ring before the ride to set up my jumps, since the outdoor is still too wet from recent rain.
ooh was surprisingly tidy over the swedish oxer even with the dark rails!
Course included a low vertical for warming up, at-height vertical on the diagonal, swedish oxer, a grid of roughly 21’ to 21’ in and outs (all verticals), plus ground poles at either end in line with center line. Everything with big ground lines and flowers and fill etc, set to be safely ridden both directions.
absolute princess thru the grid <3 <3
Doozy was super relaxed and flowed beautifully from the flatwork right into jumping. Tho obvi she knocked the very first jump down, so I had to hop off and reset it… Jumped it nicely the next time, but then knocked the next vertical too, womp haha. I did not reset that one…
the grid honestly helps her more than i do, apparently!
At least in our sample size of two jump schools since coming back into work, it seems like we keep wanting to get a little close to the jumps. The spots don’t necessarily feel wrong or terrible, just a little close sometimes.
easy out <3 <3
In the grand scheme of things, I think I prefer that to a horse who isn’t comfortable jumping from a closer distance… But it’s just something I’m keeping an eye on for now. In this ride, at least, we probably actually could have carried slightly more impulsion, tho honestly I was happy with the rhythm and pace.
and one last trip over the swedish the other way
And Doozy’s technique through the grid and over the oxer was basically everything I could have asked for! Which… ya know… is kinda the point of those particular exercises.
video of just the jumps
Another note that Brett shared in the webinar was that “exercises are for people, aids are for horses.” Meaning, the exercise (he specifically was referring to dressage exercises like riding certain figures, patterns, transitions etc) basically ‘put a line in the sand.’ To do the exercise, the rider must actually put the correct aids on. And the horse, for their part, gets better when the aids go on correctly.
video of the full ride, minus the walking, if you’re into that sort of thing
In a way, that kinda puts into better words something I’ve often struggled a bit with in the flatwork compared to the jumping. Doozy doesn’t need me to interpret the grid for her, she understands it and experiences it herself directly, for better or worse. The grid asks her for positioning and technique, and if she answers correctly it feels easy and smooth.
The flatwork, however, is often less intuitive to the horse. So I liked the way Brett talked about the exercises in dressage — that a rider focusing on a specific exercise is more likely to be more definite about their aids. Meanwhile the horse, obvi blissfully unaware of whatever pattern the rider is imagining, responds better to the more clear and definite aids, and therefore goes better.
good girl is ready for her peppermint pls!
As always, it really just boils down to good communication and feedback between horse and rider LOL. Everyone’s happier when things make sense, feel familiar, and expectations are clear. Doozy especially, just look at that sweet little face up there lol, eager for her peppermints bc she knows she was a good girl <3 <3
That quote and your interpretation are exactly what I was trying to convey recently re my rides while we've been rehabbing.
She was just perfect through the grid. I gotta admit, just watching you jumping in the indoor makes me feel claustrophobic. Well done riding forward in the right space.
That quote and your interpretation are exactly what I was trying to convey recently re my rides while we've been rehabbing.
ReplyDeleteShe was just perfect through the grid. I gotta admit, just watching you jumping in the indoor makes me feel claustrophobic. Well done riding forward in the right space.