Kick in the Pants: Clinic with Sprieser Dressage

Happy Monday, y'all! So. Big Dooz Nooz this weekend ---- we went on our first off farm field trip!! A wildly inappropriate outing in terms of where we are in our actual training vs the cost / credentials of said clinician..... 

But, eh, it was also a very right outing for a few other reasons too. So we went for it!

pretty giant storm blew through on saturday, including snow, sleet, and 1.5" of rain... see the white stuff?
also, doozy got a no-pull hairdo courtesy of my friend. lmk if you wanna know details!

Basically, the short story is that Lauren Sprieser had an unexpected availability in her clinic schedule and offered to return to a lovely local facility, should there be sufficient demand. And ya know, among my friend set, demand was indeed HIGH. 

dressed like a #hobo to ward off the weather + mud

I figured... It's a nearby farm (15min drive), legit gorgeous, plus indoors... with someone who will, beyond a doubt, be able to facilitate our walking and trotting of wonky oblong circles. 

Plus, given that my excellent barn mate was quite literally trying to will this clinic into existence, she was also happy to act as "all hands on deck" for Doozy's big first outing. Perfect, sign us up!

ugly but effective!

I went into the experience with a really heavy focus on preparing Doozy for the "all of it" aspect of going somewhere new and surviving. Realistically, it wasn't really going to be about the riding --- tho I fully expected (and felt quite fulfilled) that we'd walk away with important nuggets of wisdom no matter what. 

And to be perfectly honest, the day went just about as well as I could reasonably expect. Which might sound kinda like a "shrug" of a sentence --- except, it absolutely is not lol. I was thrilled. There are so many ways in which the day could have gone poorly. And probably, realistically, not too many ways where it would have gone better. Great!

your chariot awaits, ma'am!

Doozy loaded up fine (with snacks). Unloaded at the farm fine. Was mostly ok hand-walking around for 20-30min, bc obvi we were super early #justincase. Like, ok, she kinda wanted to drag me around at times, and reared and got wild once when there was a CAR OMG. But also was able to chill and graze intermittently too.

And obvi we were Pony Club Careful in getting her all tacked and bridled and whatnot, but she was honestly fine. Entered the new-to-her barn fine, walked into the gigantic indoor wide-eyed but... (wait for it) fine. Hand-walked around for a minute fine, and was similarly fine at the mounting block, tho Katie was there just in case.

practicing with snacks even tho the PIG IS RIGHT THERE OMG

Then ya know. Lesson time!! And, um, ahem. Welllllll. There are a few big takeaways from this lesson haha. Primary among them: ride the horse. But like, now. And mean it. 

omg off farm and about to get tacked!

The short and the long of it is that, as far as Lauren was concerned, it's unacceptable for me to let the horse waffle around for 10min blowing me off. Mare has a job, tell her what it is. Like, don't be mean, don't beat her up. But be a whooooooole lottttt morrre black and white about it.

omg off farm and tacked!!! 
true story, all the pics are of her eating bc when she wasn't eating, Dooz was on the move

An example: don't hang and be dull on the contact. Go from 2 on the dial straight up to 9 if we need it. Don't just linger endlessly at 6. If I feel like Doozy is trotting away with me? Walk. Now. And don't wait to be told, either. Just do it. 

Transitions forever. 

dark blurry screen shot of of trotting left

So we probably spent like the first 20min of our ride in that walk-trot transition space. Which, go figure, had the desired training effect on Doozy. From there, we could move on to what seemed like Lauren's go-to exercise for first time clinic students: the spiral.  

dark blurry screen shot of us trotting right

She wanted me to be lighter in my contact, and more precise in my steering. And, go figure, Doozy finally seemed to settle into the work -- at least, to the degree that is attainable for us at this moment in our combined training. 

lengthy video of final segment of work for diehards who really wanna see what's up

I'd encourage you to watch the video to get more specifics in Lauren's instruction, or to see in real time how we actually rode. But that was honestly the general gist. Be accountable for my own ride. Be more clear in my aids, not a dull steady roar, but an ON and OFF.

back on the bus to go home

While there were some slight differences in Lauren's instruction vs what we're doing with MP (particularly as it relates to contact), I actually see a lot of really positive overlap. And I think they're both kinda saying the same thing to me in their own ways. 

They both want me to be more proactive, less wishy washy. Fair, but clear. And don't take so long to get there. 

and released back to her ponies!

It honestly felt like a really timely lesson, in that regard. I'm so excited to have a 'regular' coach again, but it's been hard. Getting to know a new person and a new posture. I'm still not sure I'm fully understanding everything MP wants me to do... And some of the changes aren't as comfortable or as natural to me. 

But this ride felt like I could channel what I think MP is saying, while focusing on Lauren's 'in the moment' demands, and maybe get a clearer understanding overall. 

then back again with the next bus to help my friends who were so generous in helping me!

And ya know. Overall, the whole experience was super productive for Doozy. Hard, but good. Went through all the motions, and came out the other side without much fuss!

It's honestly just super exciting to break that seal, and prove to myself that, actually, the pieces are there to start going out and doing educational things. That, in fact, the responsibility is really on *me* to make the training really happen. Feels like a start!