twilight dressage

Doozy and I trekked out to the midweek Twilight Schooling Event at Loch Moy this week — a fantastic summer series they’ve offered for years but that I almost never make it to.

biscuit out in public!!!!!

Mostly bc… Well. The events run midweek usually from late afternoon to early evening. Which… Tbh is not the best traffic situation. Tho, turns out, getting a 6pm ride time actually worked almost perfectly from a traffic perspective, even if I was practically begging for sleep by the time we were driving home again…

looking like a sweet little snack <3

These events are quasi starter trials, in that you can do all three phases. But it’s suuuuuper low key. Minimal rules (as you can see, Doozy wore her boots for our dressage tests), no final placings, and no ribbons. And xc is run almost like a derby — jumps for all the levels are all flagged as one, you can jump literally whatever height you want. Actually, you can jump literally whatever anything you want. 

was such a good girl and let me plop the pivo onto the fenceline right before our test

Want to jump a low option first then circle around to try the bigger one? Totes cool! Want to skip a jump? Or add in something that isn’t even flagged? All good! Literally the chillest lol. Literally just schooling.

Which… not gonna lie, made me feel slightly sheepish once I got there having only entered to ride two dressage tests with zero jumping rounds in either show jump or xc. 

and pivo nailed the test, hell yes!!

But honestly, I think my instincts were right — it was a good plan, and it was a productive outing for us. Being in that type atmosphere, but being exclusively focused on dressage and doing multiple tests, with no worry or distraction about any later phases, really helped me stay intentional about my riding.

and then we were off!!! note: the xc warm up is right on the other side of the shrubs left side of frame, and show jumping is basically directly behind the camera. plenty of atmosphere!

Doozy has been such a star lately, it really feels like things are clicking for us. So I was curious to see what might still be accessible “out in the wild,” vs what would revert back to chaos.

i tried to level out the pictures where i could bc omg so many pictures snapped from the video!!!

And? Well, guys, I think our new focus on forward, first and foremost and forever, might actually be a winning ticket for Doozy!! Goooooo figure LOL.

alas tho the pivo was on a somewhat rakish angle and kept putting us in the bottom corner of the frame

I’ve been super intentional in our warm up rides at home lately to develop a recognizable, repeatable pattern that could be replicated wholesale in the warm up at a show. Riding forward, covering ground, fluid steps — and incrementally introducing a lively but inviting feel on the reins. Starting with just the inside rein at walk, but eventually working up to normal contact just trotting around. Still riding forward tho. Always.

it’s still worth a watch tho <3

It’s my impression that I get into the most trouble with Doozy when I have in my head this idea of a long loose free stretchy connection. It’s a nice idea, but in actual practice the result is essentially ‘disconnection.’ Which, with Doozy, is a one-way ticket to the chaotic doom loop of racing bracing and going inside out.

judge actually literally said ‘the quality is there’ omfg

Instead, if I can try to keep the contact alive and active — but with a forward feeling, always with the forward!! — Doozy feels a lot more secure and balanced and, in the right circumstances, even soft. 

it’s just. ya know. buried under the tension haha

Obviously a show atmosphere made all this a lot more challenging, but overall I was happy with the warm up. It felt like I got what I asked for, it felt representative of how we’ve been going. Tho, obvi, Doozy was definitely wayyyyyyy more tense. 

for real tho doozy showed some very nice moments in her second test!!!

The tension really REALLY flared when we got into the big arena for our turn. Doozy just got completely uptight and worried. Tho, being full of surprises, as she is, was still a docile little lamb while I hastily situated the pivo on the fenceline from her back on my way to circle the ring. 

i’m mostly happy with how i rode the whole thing too — second test moreso than the first obvs

Our first test was basically just… Exactly par for the course for us. With added benefits of me going off course a couple times bc whoops I’m rusty too! 

downward transitions #SlowToDevelop

She was tight and running and braced and just sorta all over the place and it’s so hard to ride her like that. As it was, tho, I tried to stay really present and really treat the test like a schooling round. For example, I did a few extra down transitions (including some steps into walk) between the first canter and trot diagonal, just trying to keep Doozy with me vs just whipping her through the movements. 

“don’t mind if i do!” — doozy, the second she’s invited to free walk

It was overall not a good test, but perhaps productive in some ways? Idk. Perhaps even more productive was the roughly 7 minutes we spent just standing in the back corner of the large arena while another horse went, before coming back to do our second test. 

our center line turns did NOT do justice to the practice we literally just did with trainer C, sigh

Doozy maybe wasn’t thrilled to be going again, but also was sorta just like, “This again? Ugh, ok fine!” And just like… did it. 

halt was ok enough tho! perhaps a smidge late LOL

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I always tend to ride a second test better than the first. It’s like I have to make all the mistakes or forget all my intentions or whatever, get that all out of my system. And then come back and be like, “ok this is what I MEANT to do the first time!”

But it’s also just plain true that Doozy WAS more relaxed the second test.

judge offered some nice constructive feedback afterward

Not perfect, obvi. But more rideable. More “with me,” more connected. Like she understood a little bit better the rules of this weird little game.

click for full size

And the judge was super complimentary! Overall comment was “Big improvement from first test, keep using turns and transitions to help big horse balance big gaits.” And a harmony score of 6.5!!!!

this level of relaxation immediately before and after the test gives me hope that the horse will eventually understand that the test itself… honestly really is not a big deal

Compared to our first test, with a comment “Patient ride on tense/distracted horse. Keep working for more relaxation / length of frame and stride” with Harmony score 5.0… 

lots of pets for the big girl!

Obviously in an ideal world, I shouldn’t need to do a first test badly in order to ride a second test well. Ideally I’d just… ya know… ride better from the very beginning haha. But I’m a realist and an amateur sooooo. Ya know. It’s all good. 

smooshy biscuit <3

Bc I think we both learned a few things from this experience. It felt really productive. Felt like we got some proof that the work we’re doing at home is actually sustainable and accessible even in higher stress situations. Compared to, say, Waredaca last year when it felt like everything we’d been working on in lessons and at home basically just disappeared entirely in the warm up ring.

very pleased with this critter!

It also felt like doubling up the tests — but with a brief intermission between while another rider went — worked really well for Doozy. 

She’s so funny — it’s not like she’s in an actual panic when we do our tests. Obvi she can just stand there while I fuss around with the pivo from her back before the test… and free walk like a slinky slithery panther in the test, and then be at ease immediately after… It’s not like she’s just trying to bolt away entirely, right? Rather, it’s like she’s just expecting… ~~something~~ to happen, but she’s not totally sure what.

Which gives me hope that she’ll eventually learn the pattern, figure out the rules, realize that it’s all just a game. A girl can dream, right? Just more reasons to keep on getting out on adventures!!