Sunday afternoon B and I loaded up the horses for another trip out to FV. It was actually a really nice (relatively speaking) day out - about 46-48 degrees with some sun! But alas, our outdoor (which gets very little direct sun) was still covered in ice, and the fields are all slippery gooey mud. So off to the indoor we went!
naturally our mascot Mini Izzy (Izamini?) accompanies us everywhere :)
It was a little windy tho, and there are all these fans in the roof that make some god-awful high-pitched squeaking and squealing noises (audible in the video). Fortunately the horses didn't care at all (tho Isabel took offense at some muck buckets, go figure...)
There was another duo that shipped in to school their horses too - so it felt kinda luxurious to have all the extra space so that four riders doing their own things was nbd.
I learned at our lesson the day prior that there are two dressage shows in the not-so-distant future (including a fix-a-test clinic!!), so I tried to really buckle down on our flat work. And Isabel rewarded my efforts with some very nice moments. Tho we had some issues at canter... whenever I would get her where I wanted - ie really feeling her push from the hind end - she'd break. Maybe it's a question of strength??
In any case, the flat work seemed pretty solid, tho honestly we still really don't have consistent or steady contact.... ugh why is it so hard to schedule lessons with the dressage trainers around here?!?
We moved on to a little jumping, and Isabel was again very good - I could actually feel her lock onto the fences.
But for one reason or another the striding wasn't really there for us today. After a couple lines where I landed and really kicked for more, only to still chip at the last second, I decided to just go for the slow-n-easy adds - rather than gunning it over the fairly small fences.
This was somewhat complicated by not actually knowing what the striding should be - so it was a bit trial-n-error (pilot error, that is). But we made it through without any drama.
enjoy the video! i like almost everything here - except, uh, needing to establish a better canter rhythm earlier instead of consistently hitting the second element fences at half strides... oops!
'let's do it!' - isabel
Nice! I vote Izzamini for the mascot, and Izzy breaking at the canter could totally be from lack of strength. Sometimes it's the deeper muscles that are used in those moments of engagement, and they're not used often, so she will improve over time due to gaining strength. She looks awesome so far though!
ReplyDeletethanks!! and that makes sense about the strength issue... i guess in the meantime she only really needs strength enough to make it through a 20m circle - but i definitely need to pay more attention here in general!
DeleteAHH THAT SQUEAKY FAN IS HORRIBLE! But you guys are looking good. :)
ReplyDeletethanks! and we didn't even notice the fan the first time we went (no wind) - but another barn mate was complaining about it bc it totally freaked her horse out... sure enough, we noticed it this time!
DeleteYou will not wuss out you will nail it! Looking good girl! Izzymini is adorbs as ever squeeee!
ReplyDeleteBe confident, you are doing great work.
thank you!!! i'm just going to repeat that over and over again in my head lol. :)
DeleteLove that Izamini travels with you everywhere!!
ReplyDeletei just LOVE her - really can't thank you enough :)
DeleteYou guys are progressing so much already - I love how aware you are of Isabel and her strengths.
ReplyDeletethanks! isabel is a such a cool & game horse - i definitely want to make sure it stays fun for her too
DeleteIzzamini is awesome, what a fab mascot to keep you company on your adventures!
ReplyDeleteYay for more showing possibilities ☺
yay for mascots and showing!!! some of my favorites lol
Deletei think you and isabel looked great over fences! good even relaxed pace from what i could tell. go for the 2'3" class! you two will do just fine. better to give it a whirl and know, than wonder "what if?".
ReplyDeletethanks!!! :) it's one of those things that i know we can do (we've done it quite well in the past!) - but then i see the jumps and think, ehhhh maybe we'll do 2' instead haha. it's all mind games....
DeleteYa'll would kick butt!!
ReplyDeletethanks!!!
DeleteLooks like so much fun! That indoor is beautiful! I wish I could come ride with you :)
ReplyDeletethanks! the indoor is definitely nice -- with plenty room for more ;)
DeleteYay! You guys look awesome in the video. Good luck at the shows, no chickening out!
ReplyDeletethanks!! i kinda hate some of the inconsistencies in our pace - except i also kinda love that neither of us are flustered by it... it's all about perspective, right? lol
DeleteYay for good days! She looks really nice in the flat work picture :) good luck at all the shows! Do 2'3! Do 2'3!!
ReplyDeletethanks!!!! we will certainly try our darndest :)
DeleteWoot! Yay for shows! And you guys look great!
ReplyDeletethanks! i'm really excited to put this winter behind us and start thinking about shows again :)
DeleteIzamini is perfect and adorable. I'm wishing you luck with your upcoming shows. I'm riding out the next couple of months before show season jumps on me.
ReplyDeleteIzamini is pretty much everything lol. and thanks for the well wishes!! i feel very fortunate that there are a lot of *very* affordable fun schooling shows around (and that i have my own transportation), so that makes showing not such a logistical nightmare. hoping that your season works out in your favor too - and maybe exceeds your expectations!
DeleteKeep working on your canter on the flat -- it will show up over fences soon enough! And you guys are already looking SO great!!
ReplyDeletethanks!! i was kind of surprised bc isabel usually has a really nice natural rhythm over fences... so i'm wondering if the jumps were just poorly measured lol. but yes, we will keep on werkin it on the flat :)
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