lesson + test practice

This week we had  “take your pivo to school” day for our dressage lesson with Trainer C!! Much excitement! 

ready for a bunch more pivo pics????

It’s especially exciting bc it means I don’t have to try to remember all the stuff we did in the lesson, or any of the coaching tips and feedback trainer C provided, bc it’s all here in video form!!

video from basically the whole lesson, including our run thru novice A at the end

if you just want to see the test, it’s broken into its own video below

Tho obvi I still gotta write something, right? Even if it’s just to help me remember and internalize the details (and not just spam you with a zillion nearly-identical pics of my mare being a perfect princess LOL).

doozy was the happiest clam in this lesson <3 <3

So for starters, there’s the stuff not captured in the video — the catch-up and context I shared with trainer C before we got started, since it’s been a month since our last lesson (I was in Minnesota two weeks ago instead), and obvi before that Doozy was still too early in the rehab for lessons. 

pretty sure the footing has magic fairy dust in it or something, vibes were so good!

Basically, tho, if you’ve already been following along, you already know the gist of where things currently are in our work: My big focus lately is prioritizing riding forward in front of the leg first and foremost, even if that means we’re occasionally a little over pace or slightly running.

good vibes == no shortage of nice moments to screenshot! 

The most interesting thing to me, tho, watching the video, is that we don’t look over pace at all. Like, not even a little bit. No signs of running either. 

for real tho, sorry not sorry but there are a zillion shots exactly like this

Now, in the interest of honesty, Doozy just sorta happened to be in a fantastic mood. Serene, sweet, happy. She was already in a good mood before we even left home for the lesson. And trainer C’s barn has always had the most amazing vibes, horses are always so comfortable and confident there. Who knows why, but it was certainly very enjoyable!

still planning to upgrade my phone sooner rather than later tho bc we need this in higher resolution pls!

And Doozy likewise seemed to just settle in and enjoy the work herself. Trainer C was on board with my “riding forward” approach, and if you watch the video you’ll hear her contextualizing some of her coaching within that framework — specifically relating to continuing to work on bringing the contact and frame together without sacrificing that forward feel.

legit the goodest biscuit <3

Working on the lateral suppleness is always a feature with trainer C, and played a big role in creating that organized and ‘together’ feel in this lesson too. Particularly to the right, our tougher side by far.

she’s an expert at halt transitions now!

You can see the difference as the video goes on tho, from us starting out nicely forward but a bit braced and above the bit… To working the lateral bending and suppleness persistently and consistently enough (still with a forward v backward feel tho!) that Doozy was able to really soften into a nicer balance.

~~princess mode activated~~

Especially after transitions, or shifting between figures like three loop serpentines or leg yields, trainer C wanted to see me be quicker to actually ask Doozy for the bend and contact. She made the point that if I don’t ask, and Doozy therefore doesn’t do it, Doozy ain’t exactly wrong.

holy crap i can almost kinda sorta sit the canter when she’s this soft!

Which is kinda a “duh” statement, but also something I need to hear fairly often! Especially when Doozy is this soft and responsive and pleasant, it becomes really REALLY obvious how accustomed I’ve become to that more reactive style of ride, vs more proactive preparation.

the other way too!

If you’re only every used to the horse kinda just whipping around turns, falling in or out or whatever, then yea maybe you might get caught flat footed or unprepared for actually riding a neat and tidy center line turn. 

an expert at trotting after cantering now too

Like, seriously, no joke, twice in a row, trainer C had us practicing center line turns and each time as I was literally halfway thru the turn thinking to myself, “wow ya know I *should* have half halted like six strides ago bc now we’re just kinda drifting along!”

she’s always been a free walk super star tho

At which point, like clockwork, she was like, “Uhh yea go do that again but maybe actually set Doozy up this time?” Which I then did, and Doozy went forth and nailed some perfectly crisp 10m half turns like a seasoned veteran, natch.

here’s just our run thru novice A

It was also super apparent why the bending and softening is so important for Doozy, bc when she’s more relaxed and soft through her back the difference is literally insane — especially in canter. 

geometry was a little whack bc i was just guestimating my boundaries for riding a short court test in a big ring. nbd tho!

So it was a lot of good work in establishing that feeling of pushing the mare up into a contact, but not sacrificing the forward feeling and not getting stuck into trying to micromanage her pace or slow her down. And also a lot of good moments of me needing to be reminded to be more proactive about all that. 

pivo missed our canter transitions in the close corners, but this test suited us!

We finished the lesson with a run through the Novice A test, which I’m hoping to ride at an upcoming schooling show mostly for shits and giggles. The current eventing tests are a little tricky for us — they seem to be designed to be completed as quickly as possible, presumably so event organizers can squeeze as many tests as possible into each ring. 

free walk is best walk <3

But it means some of the tests end up riding a bit choppy and hectic, with a lot of transitions stacked on top of each other. The Novice A test, however, seems like it might actually suit Doozy reasonably well — with actually quite a bit of soft changes in bend at trot, up and down the full court in both directions to start. 

you’d be forgiven for thinking this was another walking pic but it’s actually my red hot firecracker looking like a soft little lamb in her stretchy trot <3 <3 <3

The canters seem well placed for us too, tho the pivo had the most trouble with the corners closest to it so it missed the transitions, sigh, and the test does all the trotting and cantering etc up front before finishing with a free walk then stretchy trot circle. And guys, Doozy loves her stretchy trot apparently! I’m so sad the first half of the circle was missed on the video but the whole thing was so nice! 

she knows she’s a champ

Overall, tho, the test rode pretty well for us — and would have been even better if I had been even more proactive and consistent in asking Doozy for bend and connection. 

Realistically it’s unlikely we’ll get anything even anywhere close to that level of execution at an actual show at this point, but it’s just so exciting to me to Doozy really start to shine in the work. She’s a mercurial critter and the relaxation puzzle has proved tough to solve but it’s clear that her confidence IS increasing, as is her overall level of schooling. Baby steps, y’all!