all roads lead to rome

Happy Friday! We finally — finally — made it out for another lesson with longtime dressage trainer C this week, much rejoicing!! 

For the last couple months we’ve kinda been focusing all our resources on lessons with the new 5* trainer. Not necessarily bc one is better than the other or whatever, but actually bc I kinda wanted to see what would happen if we hunkered down with weekly lessons in one ‘program.’ 

always with the #snacks

Verdict? It turns out, there is no silver bullet, no Disney FastPass. The process takes the time it takes, and no one single method is the only “way.” We are loving the process, tho, the lessons are energizing and productive and I look forward to where they take us.

But ya know, I’ve also always loved riding under the guidance of a variety of perspectives (provided they are complementary v confusing to the horse). So when scheduling conflicts arose this week, I leapt at the opportunity to get back on the books with dressage trainer C, who hasn’t seen Doozy since our ill-fated CT at Thornridge last spring.

farrier used a new substance under the clips this cycle — it hardens like epoxy, tho apparently isn’t sticky and doesn’t need all the same rigmarole. the idea is basically to “minimize the damage” from just being a thoroughbred existing in summertime

And it was honestly a great lesson! Nothing new, nothing “ground breaking” per se, but in a weird way, it feels like with Doozy I’m somehow hearing some of this stuff with new ears. Understanding the mechanics on maybe a deeper level.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re very VERY much still in the kiddy pool haha. But thinking back on my riding history, especially as it pertains to dressage… Well. Realistically Isabel was the first horse I ever tried to do “dressage” with, and let’s be honest here — I really got lucky with her. She was talented and game, and we could be successful even with my limited education. 

it comes in this cool little tube, applied by hand before he fully finishes the shoe with a few more hammers on the clips, clinching the nails, last few rasps etc.

Then with Charlie, obvi we had a few good years of working on continuing that education, pushing our boundaries etc. But frankly, the work never came easily to him. And in his early days I was in such a rush to get him moving up the levels that I definitely skipped a few steps. Then by the end of his riding years, after we’d been through so much together, I was decidedly disinclined to pick on him, push him, or drill him through work he didn’t love.

So, yea. Maybe it makes sense why it feels like I’m still kinda learning some of this stuff “for real” now with Doozy. My sweet young mare whose first and foremost job is to help me continue learning and expanding my education in this lifelong sport.

anyway. back to our scheduled programming: #snax at the trailer, apparently tail-less

In our lessons with Woodge this year, we’ve been laser focused on lateral balance — straightness, suppleness, bend, etc. With my understanding of the approach being to start with outside aids and control the outside shoulder while working on that inside bend. And as such, we work almost entirely on small circles.

In this lesson with trainer C, she wants the same outcome, the same lateral balance and flexibility (bc you can’t have the longitudinal balance without the lateral), but we took a bit more of an ‘inside to out’ approach in this lesson. 

mirror selfies!! this is one indoor i *never* mind

Really really focusing on making sure I could always see an inside eyelash no matter what figure we were riding or where we were on a circle or on the rail or whatever. Again — this isn’t exactly a new directive, but our results this lesson were fantastic. Crazy how continual practice actually moves the needle like that LOL!

We spent almost the entire lesson working on getting that whole-of-body inside bend in both directions, using sweeping circles to find the bend, then straightening onto a quarter line (without losing the bend) and going instantly into a leg yield to the wall. Again and again, rinse repeat.

paying the meter before getting started lol

For my part, I tried to stay very conscious of my posture: sitting tall and with weight traveling long down my inside leg like rebar for Doozy to form around, holding a steady post and hands hopefully not going too wild.

I had a recent discovery about our leg yields too, actually. I want to get super pretzel-y and feel like I’m “doing something” to create the leg yield. But strangely, with Doozy — hell, maybe with every horse and I’m only just now figuring this out lol — it turns out that our best leg yields come with almost the absence of a direct aid. Almost like a quiet opening of the door to the outside, and she goes. 

(Provided, of course, that I’ve got myself seated and balanced where I belong.) 

ooooookay so indoor screenshots from the wall-mounted helmet cam are… not persuasive haha. watch the video if you’re curious

None of this happens in a vacuum, right? Like we have spent the last 3 months working weekly with a trainer to establish clear consistent outside aids with the horse. Both Doozy and I are benefiting very much from that work — esp with consistent supervision and eyes on the ground. 

It makes sense, then, that in this lesson where we worked on refining the inside aids, we’d see the cumulative effort come together into a really nice result with the horse. 

video makes more sense than screenshots i promise

Doozy, for her part, was super for this ride. Really really trying, really staying with me. Even when we started up again after a break for our next little work session — the part recorded in the video above — I felt like our tempo started a bit fast and somewhat less consistent, but it doesn’t look that way at all in the video. 

Well, ok, you can decide for yourself LOL, but I thought she looked super workman like and way steadier than it felt.  

doozy was a very good girl tho <3 <3

That last session of work continued with the same themes — sweeping circles to the quarter line for instant leg yields to the wall, then back onto the circle. Only now we intermixed transitions into and out of canter, a couple times in each direction. 

It was kinda funny to me bc this is almost exactly how I’ve been schooling canter at home — just quick hits a few times in a ride, a circle here, then trot, a circle there, then trot again. Mostly to help Doozy stop anticipating and learn how to trot nicely even after a canter. So it was super helpful to keep this approach going in a lesson too.

lots of pets for a good effort <3

Also just a fun lesson overall, too. Let’s be real, there’s a reason why I’ve been riding with C on and off for ten years at this point (hard to believe, but that’s the truth!).

My absolute favorite era of riding was when I was consistently working with 3 distinct trainers on a routine basis each month. A lot of that was circumstantial + geographical luck (whether I realized it at the time or not), and it’s been extremely difficult to replicate the same alchemy again… But maybe with Doozy there will be a new era upon us? 

ww: not me smiling!

Happy hump day, y’all. How about a nice selection of printed pro pics from Loch Moy, yes? Pictures chosen on the strength of just how damn happy I look, like I’m actually having fun competing — even if we aren’t exactly doing it ‘picture’ perfectly. 

pictured: so proud of this little mare

absolutely cruisin’ around show jumping in 77 seconds omg haha

yes yes one day i’ll learn to put my hands down, but omg look at us lockin’ on and going to our fences!

wheeeee jompies!!!

what a mare <3 <3 already looking forward to the next time!

crisis averted

For now, at least, it looks like we successfully eradicated Doozy’s emerging skin funk outbreak, whew! Recall I wrote two weeks ago about some early signs of rain rot, including hives and little scabs, bleh…

already a steamy biscuit before we even ride….

Naturally Doozy would try to go bald right before our big show LOL, it’s almost like this horse just *does not want* to be pretty in public haha(sob). Fortunately, tho, it seems like the chlorhexidine rinses cleared things up pretty quickly!

little bald spots prove there WAS some sort of dermatitis infection, but we successfully stopped the spread, whew!

The treatment was: first, bathing with diluted chlorhex, then a day later, a light gloss of MTG over all the likely hot spots. Then for most of the next few days (tho not exactly every day), more rinsing with the diluted chlorhex. Plus plenty of currying to try to rid Doozy’s coat of as much loose hairs as possible. 

bleh she’s got some crud down the backs of her hind legs now, tho

And it seems to have done the trick, at least on the bulk of her body and flanks, etc. Everything is squeaky clean and smooth, for now. Aside from obviously the bug bites and sweaty crusts from all the humidity, bleh. Oh, and another little patch of funk that’s blossoming down her hind legs. It’s always something, amirite? 

Just when you think you’re getting the *whole horse* with whatever treatment tinctures and tonics you’re applying… something crops up in yet another spot.

not gonna argue about the ick tho when the grass is still growing!

Ah well, it’s a good reminder to not get complacent bc with all the rain we’ve been having, presumably there will be more hives still yet to come. Doozy’s moss-like rain rot outbreak last year lasted well through August, so we aren’t exactly out of the woods in that regard yet.

will complain about still needing to ride indoors bc the outdoor arena is too soggy tho

It’s all good, tho. Grooming is one of my favorite horsey activities. And especially with all the heat and humidity and rain, plus with taking it a little easy resting on our laurels after Doozy’s excellent* (*except on paper lol) outing at Loch Moy, it’s been nice to just kinda chill out and enjoy each other’s company.

except… we did a little recon this weekend and decided this paddock will be perfect for outdoor rides (when not already in use for turn out). it’s where the most grass sensitive horses go, too, so presumably won’t be an issue if we leave a few tracks

We’ve done a little hacking here and there, and obvi a few flat schools too… But ugh I am really so tired of riding in the stuffy dusty indoor rings!

Again, I’m grateful to have the option. And also appreciative of having more freedom in those spaces recently — the bustling lesson program’s head trainer moved on earlier this summer, rendering ring traffic suddenly a nonissue!

doesn’t this look pleasantly grass ring-esque??
this might actually be the broadest expanse of flattish ground on the whole farm haha

But I’d still much rather ride outside, all things being equal. Tho we may start experimenting with schooling in the grassy paddocks on occasion. At least, when they don’t have horses in them lol — so probably not on weeknights.

Could be a win-win, too, bc it may help Doozy get more confident and balanced doing proper flat work on (gentle) terrain. I suspect that part of our issues earlier this year at Thornridge and St Augustine related to Doozy feeling increasingly tense in grass warm up fields when she wasn’t super confident in her balance / the footing.

looking forward to a cooler week ahead

The paddocks also have the advantage of maybe feeling quasi-ring-like, since they’re fenced. And ya know. It’s something different. Who doesn’t love a little variety every now and again? 

Right now the forecast looks like maybe more rain right in time for the outdoor arena to have fully dried LOL(sob), so a little creativity may be in order haha.

make good choices out there!

We’ll see, haha. It’s probably still another quiet week ahead of us, a nice little breather. Doozy gets her feet done today — she’s desperately due after only just 4 weeks, another consequence of the frequent rain and growing grass! 

And we’ll probably try to sneak in a lesson at some point (fingers crossed!). But mostly we’re just gonna hang out in cruise control before I leave town for a few days next week. And maybe the outdoor ring will have dried up by the time I get home again…? A girl can dream haha…

finally, a feast! loch moy recap

A few things definitely worked in our favor to help produce a successful experience at Loch Moy this weekend. Aside from the weather, obvi, the heat and humidity were super unpleasant — but at least manageable.

Our ride times tho were straight up princess stuff haha — I was the penultimate rider of the day in every phase. Meaning I didn’t even need to arrive at Doozy’s barn to bathe and braid until 9am. Fairy tales, guys, the stuff of fairy tales LOL!

grazing around the rings pre-ride (but post-hose, dear lord it was so hot we were constantly hosing and sponging off…). she looks civilized here, but moments later lost her sh!t and had grazing privileges revoked, instead going back to the trailer to shut up and eat forage lol

Later times meant we’d get quieter warm up rings too, and I could be less psycho about watching the clock bc if there were horses around, they were virtually all going before me lol. 

Ooh it also meant prime parking, as trailers were already leaving by the time we arrived. All the better to conserve steps on a hot day! And easy access to the public wash stalls + hand walking / grazing options. Tho, uh, not gonna lie. Doozy had a bit of an unpleasant explosion on our little hand walk / graze — including spinning and rearing and screaming and all that. Instantly making me worry whether any of this was gonna play out at all, ugh. 

pictured: stuffing her face with forage while i tediously snip out the braids. these puppies def weren’t coming loose on their own LOL

Somehow, tho, by the time I was ready to get on and warm up for dressage, Doozy had returned to earth (helped, presumably, by keeping her face buried in that Triple Crown Stress Free forage Carly recommended a while back).

And our warm up was honestly fine. No little explosions or anything, tho I also really didn’t push any buttons. I’m still working on understanding the balance between asking more of Doozy — and risking increasing tension — or keeping a lid on things. Honestly? I don’t think there’s really a “right” answer at the moment, at least from a judging perspective. Kinda a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

So on this day, I prioritized Doozy’s feelings over our function, let’s say, lol… and ultimately was super proud of her efforts. She stayed with me, didn’t slip into canter (although we came verrrry close once or twice), was still able to release in her free walk, got all her leads, and basically just went forth and did the things!  

disappointing tho not unfair scores
click for full size

There is literally zero media at all from dressage tho (sorry!) so you’ll just have to take my word for it. And my perspective is, I dismounted telling the mare how proud I was of her, and believing that we were gonna have a good go at the rest of it <3 

show jumping was back in the center ring, on the new footing with iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain in the distance

So ya know, all that was left to do was actually have a good go! 

I recently watched the Dance Life mini series on Prime about an elite professional dancing academy in Australia. In the season finale, a dancer describes her nerves ahead of the big graduation performance, in which she had a leading role, and said, “I wanted it, I got it, so now I just have to do it.” And idk about you all, but that’s an empowering perspective, ya know?

the course was super twisty with some unexpected turns

Like. Doozy and I *have* done our homework, even if you’d literally never believe it by watching us go in the dressage ring LOL. But in the show jump ring? Mare knows what’s going on in there. She understands the assignment haha. 

it actually suited doozy nicely!

We warmed up decently well and relatively briefly, and then just watched the course while waiting our turn. I didn’t get to walk the course, but there wasn’t anything related — a couple bending lines that were going on variable 8+ strides.  

this high contrast oxer going toward the parking lot caught a couple horses out

The course was literally all S bends and changes of direction — like, jump-land-turn!, over and over again. Which honestly suited Doozy decently well, especially with all the practice we’ve been doing with using lateral bend to adjust balance and speed instead of pulling straight back. And also all our work in lessons about straightness etc.

if anything, tho, the ‘lookiness’ of the jump helped doozy stand off just enough for a great shot 

Like you can still see moments where I don’t have her shoulders totally squared to the fence — like the brown Kings jump in the gif above — but more or less we got through the whole course with minimal ‘ears in face’ moments! That’s definitely a win in my book lol!

you can see that she was clearly a good girl down this line to the last, but a little more rider input in waiting might have saved us the rail. c’est la vie!

Our pace was a little fast at times, a bit hurried still — we may or may not have had the fastest time of the division, oops. But especially as the course went on, it felt like I was able to sorta stabilize 3-4 strides out and get decently steady rhythm to the jumps. 

show jumping video!

It was a bummer about the rail at the last, but ya know, that’s also the test haha. Like, a whoooole bunch of riders had that same rail, and all for the same reason: letting the horse get increasingly strung out throughout the course. No biggie, just more to work on!

patient biscuit at the start box <3

And anyway, we wasted no time getting over to cross country — where they were sending riders out quickly and efficiently. These volunteers did such an amazing job all day long in the scorching conditions. And many of them had been there for all three days of the show!

then set off like a champ!

I didn’t love the selection of warm up fences for starter — there was a too-tiny coop, and all the rest were slightly larger than what we’d see on course. I knew Doozy was gonna be fine for the jumps tho, just wanted to give her a chance to orient her feet to jumping on terrain, so we just trotted the tiny coop once and called it good. 

And it was good! Doozy waited patiently in the box for our turn, then walked out politely, picked up a pleasant trot, eased into canter, and blissfully jumped the first two fences positively and confidently! Then a fun longish stretch uphill toward the woods where I let her run a little bit for once haha.

then straight into the woods!

The course itself… I can’t tell if I liked or disliked it LOL! Obviously the lowest levels get the short end of the stick when it comes to the best pieces of ground etc — considering how many levels ran at this show. But they did a nice job of placing our jumps in intuitive spots. Even when you couldn’t see the next jump, you knew it was gonna be right where you expected it. 

i never let my guard down about these little garden gates lol but doozy jumped it fine!

Most of our jumps were actually in the woods too — a ballsy choice given that the original forecasts suggested huge hits of rain this week. Tho, given that it ended up being so hot instead, the shady woods proved to be a good call. 

Tho I’ll never forget advice from Dan ages and ages ago about the transition from jumping in a field to jumping in the woods: he counseled that many horses back off and get behind the leg going into the woods, and that you need to be proactive.

you literally can’t even see the down slope we’re about to go down, it’s so steep. you just see the edge and then the far side bottom lol… also note that black car center top in the pic — that’s up by the water

Doozy did indeed back off — esp given that the finish line was in the same spot and a horse was coming through right as we approached jump 3. She was a bit distracted at first, but then locked on kept going. I tried to be proactive in not taking anything for granted, especially with again some funny turns and needing to steer around higher level jumps, but Doozy was honestly great!

Tho my least favorite part of the course was that they sent us straight up and down the hillsides between the woods and the fields twice. I opted to trot Doozy into jump 6, right before a steep descent, to help keep her balanced and make walking down that hill easier. 

back up the hill to the fun little array by the water!

Obvi she then blasted right back up the other side for the next little section. I liked how the water was set up on course — not flagged, very much a ‘choose your own adventure’ sort of deal. But obviously much easier to get from jump 8 to 9 by passing directly through — which Doozy did remarkably bravely, good girl!

good girl literally just walked right in and picked up her trot! also, see the black car by the tree in the top left corner? we’re looking straight back across the gulch to where we had just come from lol

Then we went straight back down the same hill we’d just come up, to make a weird 90* turn to a spooky roll top. I opted to again trot the off camber hillside before getting straight to the fence — so it’s pretty easy to see how I got time faults. But eh, it gave Doozy time to think through and understand each jump. 

then straight back down into the gulch for this tricky little cut out roll that caught a few people off guard — esp with the spooky jump judges down in the shady hole to the left

Sometimes the mare’s feet move faster than her brain, ya know? And like, she’s not a dumb horse, quite the opposite actually. But she’s reactive and her instincts are usually to move first, think second. It felt like she was thinking the whole way around this course, tho, and making great decisions at every opportunity! 

no rest for the weary, tho, it was straight back up the hill again back into the woods to our final two fences!

She blasted back up the hillside into the woods to catch our last two little jumps on course, and then through the finish lines! 

cross country video!

What a good girl, I really cannot say how proud I was of her, and how fun the ride was — not just after it was over lol, but actually in the moment! 

crispy biscuit ready to eat her cookie and go home <3 <3

The results on paper really don’t do the horse justice, especially compared to some of our earlier outings this year. But ya know, at the end of the day, nobody is going to care more than I do, right lol?? So we’ll keep working on the details and the training and all that… But for now I’m just happy and relieved to feel like we’re finally starting to put it all together!!

preview: Big Brown + braided!

Believe it or not, this weekend marked my *first ever* completion at a recognized horse trial! And obvi our first completion of any three phase event this year lol…. And not for lack of trying in either regard!

the trick is not to look too closely at any individual braid, and just take it all in as a whole

Recall Doozy and I went to the Loch Moy starter trial last March, but she came up NQR in dressage warm up so we just scratched to try again another day — which ended up being at St Augustine in May, wherein Doozy was an uncivilized wreck and we withdrew after show jumping. 

Finally, tho, we made it out the start box this weekend, woo hoo! And it more or less just happened to be a rated show bc that’s what worked on the calendar for me. 

or better yet, get distracted by her sweet friendly face <3

And anyway, it wasn’t exactly my first go at a recognized show either… Sure sure, ten years ago when I first got into eventing, there didn’t seem to be much of a point, at least where we are in Area II, to pony up the extra bucks for rated at venues where you’re basically jumping the same jumps and tracks anyway… 

But, eh, eventually I kinda got curious about it with Charlie, with whom I entered no fewer than 4 rated events over the years, and maybe even 5. It’s honestly hard to remember bc our luck was abysmal to the point where I’ve become almost superstitious about it. Half of the entries were lost entirely for one reason or another (usually yet another #ding for the King, natch). 

And the other two weren’t particularly auspicious either: I had my very first fall off Charlie in the show jumping at one (in 2019)… And then the other (in 2020) was an absolute clown show when Charlie more or less Yee-Haw’ed his way around sj, totally out of control, and we opted to not take that mess out onto xc…

verdict: not the world’s worst braids

But ya know. For some reason, we persist. And after all Doozy’s “little bite-sized outings” these last couple months, the timing felt right to try to put it all together again out in public. And for once, it actually worked out!

More details to come later, but it was a Good Day. Every phase, too <3

Like, not objectively good LOL, the dressage judge crucified us with a 50%+ score omg haha. Which, not gonna lie, kinda broke my heart a little bit bc I was actually super proud of Doozy after our test. She kept her shit together, no accidental canters, and was reasonably prompt and accurate for everything. Ah well, tho. The tension puzzle is a tricky one for us, c’est la vie!

possibly not the best at the whole ‘dressage’ thing either, but having a LOT of fun with the jompies!

The jumping tho? So good, what a mare! Like ok sure we had penalties in every phase — rolled the final rail in show jumping (a tricky little bending line that broke more than a few hearts throughout the weekend), and had two seconds of time in cross country, as I made intentional choices about walking and trotting in some places. 

But it all worked out! And was FUN! The mare was super bold brave and honest for all of it, what a good girl! AND! While I’d obvi never wish troubles, difficulties, or mistakes on my fellow riders, and it’s not exactly a proud thing to only kinda just get lucky to get into the ribbons… 

Well… I *am* proud tho, lol. Proud of this little mare and another pretty big brown ribbon to add to her collection <3 <3 It’s been a tough year for us, and she’s been a uniquely challenging horse for me. But it feels really good to finally put it all back together again, whew. 

keepin’ up with mondeuse

These crazy weather systems that have devastated friends farther south or west (thinking about you, Texas and North Carolina!) are blowing through Maryland this week — not nearly at the same scale or violence, but still with plenty of drama (and rainfall).

it’s been an unusually wet summer just about everywhere, it seems

A former barn mate once absolutely blew my mind when she randomly — and very nonchalantly — mused that she “didn’t really believe in weather forecasts.” 

grateful for indoor riding spaces

Idk about you all, but part of my neuroses charm as an obsessive planner includes a desire to constantly have informed expectations about weather conditions. Tell me I’m not the only one LOL! For real, tho, especially when it comes to the horsey side of my life, so many key decisions revolve around the weather — like when / where / how I want to ride, for example. 

also grateful that the daily evening thunderstorms break up the heat

Perfect case in point: deciding to skedaddle on over to Tranquillity last weekend bc conditions were so fleetingly perfect. Or other examples: scheduling when to ship out for lessons with our new coach. Obvi there’s more to those logistics than just the weather, and we can make do with the indoor at that farm as needed… But ya know. Who doesn’t love to optimize when possible?

i swear i did not edit the colors in this pic

Overall temperatures have fallen since the nationwide ‘heat dome’ a couple weeks ago, but it’s still notably hot and humid — with brief respites when yet another thunderstorm blows through. I figure, if our outdoor is too wet to ride in anyway, might as well time our rides to capitalize on maximum temperature relief when it’s stormy out, right?? I mean, that’s just common sense haha.

another day, another trailer ride. we were a bit early tho so opted to chill inside the shady trailer with the fans rather than bake out in the afternoon sun

Tho, for whatever reason, most of our lessons end up getting scheduled in kinda the opposite orientation: mid to late afternoon, when conditions are maximally oppressive right before the storms blow by. C’est la vie amirite? 

these Ryobi mini fans have been the absolute best addition to my trailer set up, i literally cannot believe it took me 10 years to figure that out lol

It’s funny too bc Doozy’s barn and my coach’s barn are sorta in slightly different weather zones, and a front was about to hit at home so I opted to get Doozy loaded up to ship out slightly early vs waiting until the front was truly upon us… But then arrived for our lesson in still scorching 90*F sunshine, with about a half hour to kill. 

Woodge said we were welcome to hack the xc fields while we waited but… bleh, the sun was so strong it honestly felt better to conserve resources inside the trailer with shade + a good cross wind + these little Ryobi mini fans that I absolutely love.

the two fans are zip tied in strategic locations, and each 1ah battery lasts a few trips
(ignore the weird distortions it’s a panorama shot and doozy was obvi movin around)

Soon enough, tho, it was show lesson time! AND!! We got to play in the dressage court set up for eventing camp, yessssss! One of my biggest goals over the winter was to manufacture as many opportunities to ride inside the boards as possible. Which… obviously just like everything else I had planned over the winter, that never happened. 

But I really was eager for the opportunity to just “ride as normal” inside a proper court to help Doozy realize it’s no different from any other ride.

oooh there was a dressage court set up for eventing camp — obvi we played in it for our warm up!

And guys, omg I don’t know what it was about this lesson or this particular day… maybe Doozy remembered to take her Princess Pills in the morning or something LOL, but she was suuuuper rideable. Really relaxed* (*for her), really responsive to my position and aids, and for once not particularly inclined to spurt off at the least provocation! 

Like, I felt like I actually got to focus on myself and the coaching each step of the way, making small adjustments and seeing a difference in the horse — vs kinda just whipping around hanging on and hoping for the best. What a great feeling lol….

picts from a ride at home, but representative of both of us trying <3 <3

Also a timely feeling, too. I had been thinking a bit about the clinic rides we did last summer with Dom, that had been so monumentally transformative for us, and was wondering why things felt a little more ‘stalled’ this summer… 

Except when I went back and actually reread those posts, whether I realized it at the time or not, Dom’s biggest focus was still on exactly what we’re doing now: lateral bend and flexion to improve longitudinal balance. But now we can *actually do that,* where as last summer in those lessons it was almost a miracle if we could make it through a corner with the neck “straight,” let alone in true bend. 

#Perspective, y’all. It matters haha. 

mare was a full blown perfect princess for this ride <3

Anyway, tho. The flat work in this lesson felt really reaffirming that Doozy is ‘getting’ it, and learning, even if it’s maybe not super realistic to expect that same quality in the show ring this year / century LOL. Who cares, tho, we’re here for the journey and here to celebrate small wins!

straight up gangsta posin’ for the camera

The jumping was still a bit remedial, tho, but still insightful. Still working over just a single crossrail with placing poles, still working on being less explosive to it. Interestingly, a couple times I felt like I got fairly well left behind, but Woodge actually liked my position in those moments. 

She observed that sometimes I’m making too big of a move, being too ‘snappy’ right at the jump — and that sure, my intention is to ‘go with’ the horse and be soft, but the effect is basically just adding to the chaos of the moment. Her advice was to just focus on straightness, and try to “do less” with myself, to help really reinforce to Doozy that we don’t need to make big moves.

she’s a special biscuit <3

Overall good food for thought, and another productive session. And we managed to allllmost outrun the next storm on our way home lol, tho still got properly drenched womp. 

Ah well, ‘tis the season, I suppose!