Doozy and I trekked out to the midweek Twilight Schooling Event at Loch Moy this week — a fantastic summer series they’ve offered for years but that I almost never make it to.
biscuit out in public!!!!!
Mostly bc… Well. The events run midweek usually from late afternoon to early evening. Which… Tbh is not the best traffic situation. Tho, turns out, getting a 6pm ride time actually worked almost perfectly from a traffic perspective, even if I was practically begging for sleep by the time we were driving home again…
looking like a sweet little snack <3
These events are quasi starter trials, in that you can do all three phases. But it’s suuuuuper low key. Minimal rules (as you can see, Doozy wore her boots for our dressage tests), no final placings, and no ribbons. And xc is run almost like a derby — jumps for all the levels are all flagged as one, you can jump literally whatever height you want. Actually, you can jump literally whatever anything you want.
was such a good girl and let me plop the pivo onto the fenceline right before our test
Want to jump a low option first then circle around to try the bigger one? Totes cool! Want to skip a jump? Or add in something that isn’t even flagged? All good! Literally the chillest lol. Literally just schooling.
Which… not gonna lie, made me feel slightly sheepish once I got there having only entered to ride two dressage tests with zero jumping rounds in either show jump or xc.
and pivo nailed the test, hell yes!!
But honestly, I think my instincts were right — it was a good plan, and it was a productive outing for us. Being in that type atmosphere, but being exclusively focused on dressage and doing multiple tests, with no worry or distraction about any later phases, really helped me stay intentional about my riding.
and then we were off!!! note: the xc warm up is right on the other side of the shrubs left side of frame, and show jumping is basically directly behind the camera. plenty of atmosphere!
Doozy has been such a star lately, it really feels like things are clicking for us. So I was curious to see what might still be accessible “out in the wild,” vs what would revert back to chaos.
i tried to level out the pictures where i could bc omg so many pictures snapped from the video!!!
And? Well, guys, I think our new focus on forward, first and foremost and forever, might actually be a winning ticket for Doozy!! Goooooo figure LOL.
alas tho the pivo was on a somewhat rakish angle and kept putting us in the bottom corner of the frame
I’ve been super intentional in our warm up rides at home lately to develop a recognizable, repeatable pattern that could be replicated wholesale in the warm up at a show. Riding forward, covering ground, fluid steps — and incrementally introducing a lively but inviting feel on the reins. Starting with just the inside rein at walk, but eventually working up to normal contact just trotting around. Still riding forward tho. Always.
it’s still worth a watch tho <3
It’s my impression that I get into the most trouble with Doozy when I have in my head this idea of a long loose free stretchy connection. It’s a nice idea, but in actual practice the result is essentially ‘disconnection.’ Which, with Doozy, is a one-way ticket to the chaotic doom loop of racing bracing and going inside out.
judge actually literally said ‘the quality is there’ omfg
Instead, if I can try to keep the contact alive and active — but with a forward feeling, always with the forward!! — Doozy feels a lot more secure and balanced and, in the right circumstances, even soft.
it’s just. ya know. buried under the tension haha
Obviously a show atmosphere made all this a lot more challenging, but overall I was happy with the warm up. It felt like I got what I asked for, it felt representative of how we’ve been going. Tho, obvi, Doozy was definitely wayyyyyyy more tense.
for real tho doozy showed some very nice moments in her second test!!!
The tension really REALLY flared when we got into the big arena for our turn. Doozy just got completely uptight and worried. Tho, being full of surprises, as she is, was still a docile little lamb while I hastily situated the pivo on the fenceline from her back on my way to circle the ring.
i’m mostly happy with how i rode the whole thing too — second test moreso than the first obvs
Our first test was basically just… Exactly par for the course for us. With added benefits of me going off course a couple times bc whoops I’m rusty too!
downward transitions #SlowToDevelop
She was tight and running and braced and just sorta all over the place and it’s so hard to ride her like that. As it was, tho, I tried to stay really present and really treat the test like a schooling round. For example, I did a few extra down transitions (including some steps into walk) between the first canter and trot diagonal, just trying to keep Doozy with me vs just whipping her through the movements.
“don’t mind if i do!” — doozy, the second she’s invited to free walk
It was overall not a good test, but perhaps productive in some ways? Idk. Perhaps even more productive was the roughly 7 minutes we spent just standing in the back corner of the large arena while another horse went, before coming back to do our second test.
our center line turns did NOT do justice to the practice we literally just did with trainer C, sigh
Doozy maybe wasn’t thrilled to be going again, but also was sorta just like, “This again? Ugh, ok fine!” And just like… did it.
halt was ok enough tho! perhaps a smidge late LOL
Now I’ll be the first to admit that I always tend to ride a second test better than the first. It’s like I have to make all the mistakes or forget all my intentions or whatever, get that all out of my system. And then come back and be like, “ok this is what I MEANT to do the first time!”
But it’s also just plain true that Doozy WAS more relaxed the second test.
judge offered some nice constructive feedback afterward
Not perfect, obvi. But more rideable. More “with me,” more connected. Like she understood a little bit better the rules of this weird little game.
click for full size
And the judge was super complimentary! Overall comment was “Big improvement from first test, keep using turns and transitions to help big horse balance big gaits.” And a harmony score of 6.5!!!!
this level of relaxation immediately before and after the test gives me hope that the horse will eventually understand that the test itself… honestly really is not a big deal
Compared to our first test, with a comment “Patient ride on tense/distracted horse. Keep working for more relaxation / length of frame and stride” with Harmony score 5.0…
lots of pets for the big girl!
Obviously in an ideal world, I shouldn’t need to do a first test badly in order to ride a second test well. Ideally I’d just… ya know… ride better from the very beginning haha. But I’m a realist and an amateur sooooo. Ya know. It’s all good.
smooshy biscuit <3
Bc I think we both learned a few things from this experience. It felt really productive. Felt like we got some proof that the work we’re doing at home is actually sustainable and accessible even in higher stress situations. Compared to, say, Waredaca last year when it felt like everything we’d been working on in lessons and at home basically just disappeared entirely in the warm up ring.
very pleased with this critter!
It also felt like doubling up the tests — but with a brief intermission between while another rider went — worked really well for Doozy.
She’s so funny — it’s not like she’s in an actual panic when we do our tests. Obvi she can just stand there while I fuss around with the pivo from her back before the test… and free walk like a slinky slithery panther in the test, and then be at ease immediately after… It’s not like she’s just trying to bolt away entirely, right? Rather, it’s like she’s just expecting… ~~something~~ to happen, but she’s not totally sure what.
Which gives me hope that she’ll eventually learn the pattern, figure out the rules, realize that it’s all just a game. A girl can dream, right? Just more reasons to keep on getting out on adventures!!
Doozy had what we hoped would be her final vet check last week to flex all the things, jog hard soft straight round etc etc etc, dot all the i’s, cross all the t’s, etc… And the vet was very pleased to declare Doozy completely cleared for full and unlimited work, including jompies omg!!
all screenshots and video today are actually courtesy of a real human riding buddy, not pivo!
Somewhat hilariously, it actually made it into the vet’s notes about how we needed to be really really certain the mare was ready bc she is an “all or nothing” sort of horse — there couldn’t be any qualifiers like, ‘well just take it easy!’ or ‘stick to trotting cross rails for a little while,’ ya know? Like, we needed either a green light or red, no in between.
“is that jomp… for me?????” — doozy, the *most* excited
Doozy is who she is, right? And… Well. Doozy is full of surprises.
The day came for our first proper jump school — the ring had been completely cleared, dragged and watered* (with *rain, but still) and I had permission to set up whatever I wanted. AND we had a friend to ride with, Doozy’s best bebe morgan friend.
eeeeee crossrail!!
And Doozy was, not to put too fine a point on it, literally perfect. Not like we didn’t make mistakes or whatever, bc we did lol. Obvi. It’s been four months, ya know?
eeeeeeeeeeeee crossrail the other way!!!!!
But ahhhh it was just so fun! Doozy was in such an amazing mood, the feeling was there, actually I probably could have pushed her more in front of the leg, she was so relaxed.
She was still forward and excited to the jumps, but not rude rushy or insecure — no going inside out or getting frantic or anything like that.
literally what more could i want???
Honestly, I thought setting up the full grid from Peter Wyde’s show jumping sessions at the Windurra Camp might be a little aggressive… And therefore opted to keep the heights low for both trips, and only two trips obvi bc I’m not trying to jump the horse’s legs off the very first chance I get, right?
heights were appropriately conservative given, ya know, everything haha, but lookie how engaged she was!!
But Doozy was so ho-hum about it! She stayed straight as an arrow, actually respected the placing poles (spaced 8.5’ from each element) and never batted an eye!
like she hasn’t missed a day
Obvi I can’t predict the future. It’s horses, anything can happen at any time, right? Like, that’s how we kinda got into this whole summer-interrupted situation in the first place.
so proud of her footwork her first time through!
But I’m already kinda wondering if I won’t look back on this rehab-mandated reset period as a bit of a blessing in disguise.
almost amazing that i actually ended up getting ahead of her by the end
Doozy feels and looks so good in her body right now. More important than that, tho, is the progress we’ve made together just in the last month in reproducing more consistently relaxed and pleasant rides.
lolz boxes #TooBoring after all that
That’s not to say that Doozy’s wild child days are behind her, winter IS coming, after all! It just seems like something is sorta clicking for her right now.
ooooh but this was exciting <3 <3 <3
She’s a happy sort of horse who likes doing activities and solving puzzles and answering questions — especially when she already knows the answer. But it’s been a bit of a trick trying to get her to modulate that over-achiever nature to keep her from getting anxious or ‘locked out.’
she was proud of herself too <3
And who knows, all the same old problems could (and probably WILL) reappear when we’re finally back into the big electric horse show atmospheres. It just feels like we have more tools right now.
last trip through the grid was less perfect than the first, but still honestly fucking fantastic <3
Regardless, it felt really good to shake some of the rust off and get airborne again. Basically all of our combined skills, strengths, weaknesses, etc, were right where we left them. We didn’t ’forget how to do it,’ nor did either of us magically like… tune up in the time off haha.
grateful for this mare who is so full of surprises
Maybe in an ideal world I should have gone back down the grid one last time to fix our pace after knocking a couple of the rails in the last trip. But… Meh haha. We can save that for another day.
On this day, it was enough to just be out enjoying ourselves, having a great time jumping around!
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!
