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Thursday, June 25, 2015

turning a corner

No, wait - jumping a corner. Yessssssss, that's what I meant. And omg it was kind of the coolest!

Just a baby corner made of poles in the arena - but it was certainly a first for me. And more than likely a first for Isabel as well. Good times!



look at those butt wrinkles!!! (hers not mine lol)
also - how neat is that pedestal for the corner?
It wasn't all kittens and rainbows... but predictably the mistakes were my own and now I'm kinda kicking myself for showing Isabel the way around the corner... Ah well, we worked through it. Essentially after jumping it once (above. it was fabulous, btw) just to get her eyes on it, we plopped it into a course - as an end jump, left turn from the outside line (a two stride measured at the full 36'). 

Isabel can definitely do the two in 36' - but we have to be GOING. And after landing from the out jump I kinda panicked and turned WAY too early to the corner, allowing Isabel the easy glance off. Then immediately proceeded to make the same damn turn and she glanced off AGAIN. Le sigh. 



erm.... miscommunication? either that, or i was just sniff testing izzy's new shampoo haha
My geometry was all off! In trying to aim for the narrower section, I was sorta pointing Isabel out to the right. I needed to actually be pointing her left toward the wider part, while still jumping just the edge. 

Or, in other words (and correct me if I'm wrong here) - I needed to approach at an angle perpendicular (approximately, at least) to the face of the corner - rather than perpendicular to the back rail, which I had initially tried.


Once that was sorted and I managed to get over the corner on its own, we went back to do the full course again - which sadly wasn't captured on camera (it was perhaps a very VERY off day for our sainted videographers...). The course was a full circuit of the arena all on crazy bending lines. And the jumps came up FAST (made trickier by the fact that nothing was measured) so perhaps it's for the best that it wasn't on film. We got it done tho!

defensive but getting it done
That might explain why I look so uptight getting over the corner again tho - there was a big wide oxer just a few short bending strides later haha.... (but seriously tho emma... don't forget to release!)

not the greatest footage... but oh boy was it fun!
(and, predictably, now I kinda want to build that pedestal thingy for our own farm!)

So yea... The rest of the lesson (this was our standard OF Saturday lesson, ie the day before Tranquility) went pretty well. We mostly kept it light - building up fairly quickly to the full course and calling it a day once we made it through alive. 

The flat work for the ride was also definitely back on track for us. I came prepared with dressage whip and spurs - which I usually don't bother with for OF seeing as I don't use them for jumping... but given that it was our last schooling before the show I wanted to give it my all. And Isabel definitely reciprocated. Good mare!

48 comments:

  1. That pedestal IS cool! Good job you two!

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    1. thanks haha and i really love the pedestal

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  2. #1 Isabel is jumping that corner like a BEAST. Holy cow!! She looks amazing! #2 That pedestal is genius and now I want to make one too!

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    1. she certainly wasn't holding out, that's for sure!

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  3. Great picture! I'm jealous, haven't ever had opportunity to jump a corner. (I've jumped standards...but that was not the plan...) you guys are full on experts! Look at that GIF. Hopefully she doesn't hold it over you and demand treats every minute of every day. But it's Iz so i bet she does ;)

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    1. omg standards!?! lol the corner was fun tho - but yes, she will definitely lord her amazingness over me and is therefore incredibly spoiled :)

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  4. Corners are fun! There's one on the Novice course at Greenwood... can't wait to jump it this fall.

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    1. so much fun!!! and i'm sure Henry is phenomenal at them too! i'm not quite sure we're ready for a *solid* corner... but maybe one day in the not too distant future?

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  5. I wanna jump a corner! You get all the fun stuff! That pedestal looks totally replicate-able. Except I'd make it shorter. Because wimp.

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    1. you should make one!! and actually - i didn't get a very close look at the pedestal but suspect that it might actually telescope out to become larger or smaller?

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  6. Holy crap look at her form over that jump. Put her in the hunters!!! You guys look fantastic, and now I wanna play too.

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    1. she certainly likes to show off haha. we're not quiiiiiite hunter material tho - her general way of going (ie ears in my face) tends to not be quite the right look lol. we've played around at a few hunter shows tho without totally embarrassing ourselves :)

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  7. You guys look fantastic over that over!!! I've never jumped one myself, but I'm looking forward too it someday. And that pedestal definitely looks DIY-able! Neat idea!

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    1. thanks! the closest i'd come before this was fan jumps, which i guess are a good introduction bc they still have the standard to help keep you on your line. i've also thought about using a barrel for the corner but just never got around to trying it

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  8. GREAT shot! I don't know how you managed butt wrinkles but those honestly rock. lol.

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    1. lol i don't know where the butt wrinkles came from but you can even see them on her when she's just standing around

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  9. That first photo though.... HOT DAMN Isabel looks great!

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    1. thanks! she really really loves to jump haha

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    1. thank you! it's good a good feeling being excited about new jumps again

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  11. I think Isabel is Arwen's long-lost sister or something. She's got such a pop on her and jumps so much like Arwen, but also does the identical evade-and-break-rider's-nose move, LOL.

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    1. lol she definitely has a lot of power off the ground... but yea that running martingale is there for a reason! but of course the martingale wasn't even activated in that first initial head fling... fortunately no noses were harmed in the making of these images!

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  12. Love it!
    I actually approach the corner perpendicular to the "bisecting line" (the one that would cut the corner in half down the middle).
    Just a not on the butt wrinkles: keep an eye on that area. We dealt with a HUGE muscle knot and the only indication we had that the knot was cramping was random butt wrinkles... And Whisper's resistance to take the left canter lead...
    Man, do they love to play once they figure out the rules!!

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    1. great point about the bisecting line! i tend to like actual visual references... but can probably picture that line in my mind well enough... and also thanks for the note on butt wrinkles. isabel is over due for her 6month body work up, and we have canter depart issues that may be related (izzy usually ends up being really out in her hips / si region...). i will keep an eye on it and hopefully get an appt soon!

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    2. Crazy similarities!! I do my own masage on Whisper's butt (our massage therapist showed me what works best), and she [Whisper] now tells me when and how she needs massaged! She really leans into me, too! And she loves tail pulls!!

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    3. i need to learn massage one of these days! my mare doesn't really love grooming or lots of hands-on attention so i tend to not push it... but i think she needs more regular attention.

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  13. The 1st time I attempted a similar corner set-up my pony did a little swervy run out to to WIDE side! I was to scarred of him glancing off the obvious little end...but we figured it out on the second attempt! Fun! Btw Iz seriously looks AMAY!

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    1. haha one of my lesson mates did the same thing - altho it wasn't a run out so much as it was just plain old not steering. the horse still jumped it tho!

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  14. That pedestal thing totally just got added to my 'build it' list!!

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    1. ooooh yay! definitely let us know the details when it happens - i kinda want to try too!

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  15. Y'all are jumping fantastic!! Omg, I don't think I could wrap my head around the geometry/physics of jumping a corner. Seems too tricky!

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    1. yea the geometry definitely surprised me. i try to plan my lines carefully and repeated the same line twice before realizing just how bad it was (and it was bad lol). it rode very different (at least for me) than the typical vertical or oxer!

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  16. Love the gif! She is a great jumper. I've actually never jumped a corner, come to think of it... so I have no idea how you're supposed to ride it, but I might have to try one and figure it out!

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    1. she is so fun to jump omg - so fun! and while i made a couple mistakes it really wasn't that crazy - you should try it :)

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  17. Corners are tricky. You guys look great!

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    1. thanks! they definitely are tricky - i mean i always *knew* that... but riding it was an entirely different thing haha

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  18. That first photo is now my favorite of you two! LOVE your position and Iz looks SO game.

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    1. thanks - she really is the gamest mare there ever was. and i'm finding that my position is starting to settle in nicely when everything goes according to plan (and the jumps are big enough). one step at a time, right?

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  19. Damn you guys look so good over that corner!! She can really crack her back!

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  20. Her front end=gorgeous over that corner! You guys are doing so great, and really are taking on some serious stuff lately! Kudos!

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    1. thanks! she just keeps on impressing me. as soon as i finally start 'getting' any one thing she proves that she's already like 10 steps ahead of me lol

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  21. Ries would definitely pull the NOPE card on that one. Glad you powered over it!

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    1. haha i was actually surprised with how nicely she jumped it the first time! the second and third times... well not so much, but we figured it out!

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