Doozy's first Test

Y'all might remember that I began organizing fun educational activities last fall for riders at our home farm, utilizing the breadth and depth of experience and knowledge of our newest boarder - an FEI steward and frequent dressage judge.

went on an 'easy' hack ride earlier in the week

Now that the competition season is coming to a close, her availability is increasing again -- so we're getting activities back on the schedule!! Specifically -- her specialty, Fix-a-Test Dressage Clinics!

my camera doesn't do justice to the vibrancy of our fall colors right now!

I sorta vaguely mentioned her first session a couple weeks ago, but hadn't felt like Doozy was quite ready to actually do a complete test pattern on command. So for that ride, we kinda just went through our paces and got some feedback. 

Fast forward to present time, and I thought, "eh, actually, let's go for it!" So Doozy got to do her first complete and judged dressage tests!! 

instructor KW suggested bracing my rogue L wrist, so i gave that a try.
jury's out on whether it makes much of a difference

Tho I really really want to stress: The intention of this ride was NOT to squish Doozy thru a pattern by hook or by crook. If at any point, she seemed overfaced or like she needed to go 'off course' for whatever reason, fine, right? 

But realistically, Intro Test B happens to look a whole heckuva lot like our normal style of ride. It's a very short test, very inviting patterns, and a nice walk breather right in the middle. I figured it'd be fine. And it was!

mondeuse got up close and personal with the judge's box!

Actually, the hardest part of the test was the center line turns and the halts lol... It occurred to me that I haven't actually trotted a CL turn with Doozy before, nor had we practiced anything that looked like "trot-walk-halt-walk-trot." 

helmet cam screen grabs are hard, yo, just watch the video - it's only 2:40
just wanted to point out: legs = on, go emma LOL

But she really impressed me, and figured out the pattern super quickly. To the point where, in the video below (our second run thru of the test), you can see that she actually anticipates the halt. 

She definitely learns quickly thru repetition. For example, take our trot transitions. Doozy's original reaction to an upward transition was to spurt off in a frenzy. But she quickly figured out that I just want a nice easy trot, so now she offers a gentle quiet move up to a subdued trot.... and only really starts picking up steam and quickening after the first 5 or so steps.

link to video of test, complete with directives, scores and comments

Tho, after those first few steps, all bets are off LOL! I accidentally printed the 2019 test, so that's what we rode, but all the trot circles are in the middle of the ring vs the ends. And Doozy was pretty speedy for all her circles. But I kept trying to channel our lesson with KW, thinking about holding my body and post as steady as possible, and utilizing a wider hand set. 

super blurry zoomed-in snaps from our warm up (not the test) to capture current state of canter

Our judge reinforced the same ideas --- especially about slower posting. She also really emphasized that it's time to start introducing bend. Like, baby bend haha. 

mostly bc i just like watching her canter lol

She suggested using corners at the walk to help achieve more lateral flexibility, and I'm thinking I'll probably add in some ground poles too so Doozy can connect the feeling with actual physical landmarks (wall, pole) rather than me just fussing with her. 

making frens <3

And honestly, this is the reason why I really like test riding, even when it's clearly a little premature in our training. The whole point of how these tests are designed is to help clarify and identify training strengths and weaknesses.  

other riders had fun productive sessions too!

To date, Doozy has learned how to reliably steer and transition between gaits. Which, fundamentally, is what's required to successfully navigate a walk-trot test with nothing more complicated than a 20m circle. But we didn't quite have the steady rhythm or relaxation called for, plus we spent a fair amount of time counter bent. 

starting to look like a proper animal now that her coat is all grown in and she's gained some weight!

Rhythm and relaxation may be a long time in the making, but learning about bend will only give us more tools in that pursuit. 

And I see this as related to instructor KW's suggestion to use figures as a way to introduce more leg and (rider) body control to the equation. Learning to bend and learning to move off each of my legs independently are all kinda inter-related skills for Doozy, right? 

meet Richard, denizen of the upper barn

So. It was a fun session, and Doozy did really really well. She's hot and reactive, and prone to little outbursts (lol -- see the first 5 seconds of the video above for an example)... But -- BUT -- she can also go right back to using her whole body in a big slinky active walk, even immediately after a canter (planned or otherwise) or little outburst. 

She's a super trier, and super 'obedient' -- tho that's not my favorite word, let's say she 'colors inside the lines.' And seems like she likes attention and connection. Plus, imho she's a cute mover <3