je ne sais quoi

One of the biggest advantages of our new digs is new coaching opportunities!! Particularly on-site coaching, omg! 

AND! Imagine my delight when I learned this farm is frequented by a local upper level eventing pro who's been on my coaching short list for a few years at this point! Let's call her KO, and we had our first lesson last week. Much excitement, guys!

no new riding pictures, so instead let's revisit trotting pics from doozy's first couple months with me -- august 2023 to january 2024

It's going to sound like déjà vu, and maybe basic, but we all know riding is more than just knowing the words "inside leg to outside hand." For me, it's all about the real time coaching and corrections. The puppet mastery etc. 

d'aww, who remembers that scrawny neck tho <3

KO started the session by explaining her interpretation and understanding of the French philosophy of horse training and riding, then dove into tweaking and adjusting my way of sitting on the horse. 

First instruction? Inside leg to KO really means inside seat. She wanted my weight sinking down from my inside seat bone, down a long leg, and through the heel. We started here, bc duh, but also this is maybe my most original sin faux pas.

august 2023 -- doozy's second post-track ride!!

She suggested Doozy is putting me on the outside, but we all know the truth lol.... I've always loved sitting on the outside of the horse lol, and am notorious for wanting to sit more to the right than the left. 

KO was adamant, tho. Her whole point was that by sitting deeply on my inside seat bone, Doozy should respond by lifting up her inside shoulder and ribcage -- effectively pushing against my push, and straightening her posture in the process. From KO's perspective, this must become my new and most fundamental raison d'être.

september, still recovering from the cellulitis

Bc, obvi, next came the hands.... my hands, my terrible horrible bad hands. My fait accompli, my seemingly irreversible habits... 

Lately I've been riding with my hands more or less pinned to the front of my saddle. Mostly just to keep them anchored and reliable, rather than wandering off hither and yon. I know it's not necessarily the most "correct" hand position, but it's kinda worked well enough for us in at least giving Doozy a reliable and consistent contact, from which she's learned to balance and bend and even trot omg!

october schooling at home -- starting to get consistent!

Tho, KO might rightly observe that what I've actually trained into Dooz to date is more trompe-l'œil than anything else. Meaning that my too-low hands aren't doing anything to actually help the horse adjust her longitudinal balance up off her forehand... 

This matters bc all horses, but especially racehorses, need help learning to raise their carriage up through the wither, in order to give space for the hind legs to step under themselves. 

november, in doozy's first jump lesson!

KO's method is to basically position the rider's aids somewhat passively but very correctly. She wanted to see me raise my hands to level, particularly my left hand. Shorten my reins (surprise surprise) and keep a stable outside elbow. "Tidy."

From this position, just passively, gently, almost incidentally.... ride the horse straight. She encouraged me to spend more time tracking left to establish the straightness, then track right to use that straightness to strengthen Doozy and help bring her right hind up and under.

also november in one of our first dressage lessons

All normal stuff, obviously, but these are the kind of postural adjustments I've historically had trouble getting consistent without routine coaching. 

It was honestly incredible to feel Doozy respond, tho. Guys, she stayed with me the WHOLE ride, really showed a natural savoir-faire, if ya know what I mean! 

december schooling at home

We mostly stayed on a 20m circle the whole time, and worked on holding the same passive but steady position through transitions. KO observed my tendency to kinda get a little rushed and garbled in asking for a transition, and instead coached me into a more laissez-faire style -- asking for the transition almost as if I didn't care whether I got it or not. Especially the canter. 

I really wish there were videos tbh. There were some really incredible moments, at least from what I could feel, and it's exciting to see Doozy learn and develop. This was a hard and intense lesson, but Doozy kept trying the whole time. Didn't get frazzled or tense at all. Progress, y'all! 

january at kealani

It felt like a really solid first lesson, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. Hopefully we'll also start integrating jumping into the mix too, and I may also try out some of the other available on-farm coaching options just to get a sense of the new local flavors haha. 

Now that the mare is settled in, feels like we can just dive right back in to things! It's an exciting feeling ;) Happy Monday, y'all!