schooling with the masters

I’ve continued along with my bi-weekly dressage lessons with Trainer C, and have since had two more lessons with her homebred Shep. 

This horse is such a character — will apparently eat literally anything, including rubber feed pans, blanket buckles, and even his own brushing boots, right off his legs. But he’s a massive sweetie, and insanely generous under saddle.

Shep has an extremely sweet face <3

I believe he’s schooled most of the way through 3rd level, minus the changes, and is confirmed enough in all the things to basically carry my ignorant ass through some pretty cool movements — most of which have been firsts for me. 

he’s also prettttttty fancy

For example, in our lesson a few weeks ago, we rode proper dressage-y walk pirouettes, which was interesting bc I’d literally just scribed a couple 2nd level tests the weekend prior and that’s one of those ‘make or break’ movements in the tests, it seems. 

And, we practiced the three loop canter serpentines, with canter-walk-canter simple changes of lead over center line. It was somewhat hilarious too, bc while Charlie was a walk-canter savant, we never quite perfected the canter-walk. 

forgot to bring my tall boots home with me from the barn, and felt underdressed riding such a nice boy in just my country boots!

So when Shep just like… walked, immediately, my brain straight up buffered for a second like, uh, now what? At which point Shep sorta nudged me, as if to say, “Psst — it’s time to canter again!” And then struck off on the new lead, ready to repeat again for the next loop. Wild stuff, guys LOL. 

holy crap, emma’s riding a half pass!

In this most recent lesson — from which trainer C actually nabbed some trot work on video, omg! — we practiced more lateral stuff, including leg yields (familiar territory), but also half pass, a first for me. 

Obvi I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t really walk and chew gum at the same time, and that’s a bit of what riding these movements feels like to me. And it’s clear to see in the video that our angles are a little wobbly, change of bend a little rough, rider position slightly wonky haha. 

look ma, we did it again!

But we did it!! Possibly bc Shep just knows the drill, knows the routine, might even be literally voice trained (lol), what a good boy!

We also did some shoulder in — something that actually I did work on with both Isabel and Charlie, and that Doozy has edged toward with simpler exercises like shoulder fore etc. But obvi Shep is a bit, er, next level in his schooling compared to my animals haha, and it was really cool getting the right feeling. 

literally no idea what i’m doing but there Shep goes in a shoulder in!

Bc naturally, being such a good and generous horse, he was willing to humor me even in my muddled and nonsensical aids, which occasionally directed him to just drift wildly away from the wall, or happily cruise around with his haunches on a completely different track, bc that’s what his pilot said* to do! (*unintentionally, oops haha). 

SI the other way too

Not on video but part of the lesson was a bit more canter work, particularly with a little collection and counter canter. I’m actually sad to not have video too bc it personally felt really informative for me. Like, both Charlie and Doozy have (had, in Charlie’s case, sob) quite nice canters naturally. Our issues in that gait aren’t for lack of talent on their part. 

With Shep, I needed to think about not driving so much, letting him maintain his own canter, and even trying to collect and contain it a bit — but with my thighs, not hands. Bc tightening with my hands tightens everything up my arms into my shoulders, making it harder to have a following contact and more likely that the reins would slip longer. And the longer my reins got, the lower he got up front, the more strung out, etc etc, a vicious cycle.

video of our trot work — with literally the most generous horse haha

So I needed to be thinking about holding and collecting it together with thighs, not hands, and not driving, but also maintaining enough forward support bc he was likeliest to break gait when it was hardest (ie, when he was most connected collected and on the aids). 

And meanwhile, all of this was made easier if I could hold my position taller and more upright, and really sit deep in the saddle — a feeling that was surprisingly easy on Shep (and yet another reason why I wish there was video so I could see if it looked the way it felt). 

just an unassuming dreamboat, nbd

So far, these lessons have really been an incredible experience. Almost like Trainer C is kinda just throwing us into the ‘dressage gauntlet,’ letting me try my hand at all these fancy movements bc she knows that 

1) her horses are confirmed beyond my ability to screw them up in a single hour, and 

2) they are the most perfect teachers bc they are just so reliable in their responses to the aids. 

Whether the aid is intentional or otherwise, they give a clear predictable response. If I’m gripping but then I release? Immediate change in the horse. If I’m a bit muddled but giving the basic gist of the right aid? They go forth and do the thing. The more I refine, the more crisp they become. 

It’s hard to tell how much will actually translate to Doozy when we’re back at it. Old habits die hard, ya know? But so far, the biggest takeaway for me is that I actually can deliver a good clear aid and release, I am able to do more or less the ‘right’ thing, and maybe the next step for Doozy will be actually giving her a little more trust and breathing room, to give her space to become reliable and predictable in her responses too. Maybe, lol.

buncha big ol’ brown boys

It’s obviously been a bit quiet around these parts lately while Doozy works on just getting better. In the meantime, tho, I’ve reached out to a few friends and connections to see what sort of opportunities might be out there.

Shep!!! literally the sweetest lil pac-man* horse
(*will apparently eat literally anything + everything, including blanket buckles and rubber feed pans)

It’s a tricky subject bc I don’t really have a clear timeline for Doozy, and obviously I’m still spending just as much time with her as usual — just, ya know, slightly different activities lol. 

So there isn’t exactly a horse shaped hole in my schedule just waiting to be filled (or my budget, for that matter…). But ya know… I still want to ride. 

sadly no riding pics from our lesson together, but he was just as delightful and nicely schooled as Calvin below!

Tho, not quite in the desperate chaotic hustle of the summer between when things were ending with Isabel, but before I got Charlie. Idk how many readers would remember that, but I was definitely a bit desperate about finding horses to ride, potentially to lease or buy, but with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. 

I felt like I had something to prove after things went south with Isabel, and was determined to keep riding at a high level, keep jumping 3’, doing all the things, even as my riding frequency (and fitness) fell off a cliff. 

Murray!! in an absolutely drop dead gorgeous indoor surprisingly close to home for me

And as a result, I ended up falling off a bunch of horses and getting fairly well knocked around. Like, sure, I was also able to sit on some very nice horses… but the net result was a bit of a hit to the confidence. I’m… not super inclined to repeat that experience again!

it’s quite a handsome neck to stare at <3

Lucky for me, the universe has been kind and a couple really delightful opportunities have arisen: Primarily through trainer C, who took immediate pity on me when I tried to cancel our standing bi-weekly lesson schedule, and insisted that I ride her horses instead. 

Calvin!!

And another local trainer whom I’ve known for years connected me with one of her students, who also has a very nice TB gelding Murray, who could use a slightly fuller work schedule.

lots of pictures bc trainer C was kind enough to indulge me with some video <3

I got to meet up with Murray and crew to watch them go in a lesson last weekend, during which they let me hop on and try out all the gears. 

we all already knew that *I’m* the problem in cantering, but Calvin helped me as much as he could!

And with trainer C, I got to ride one of her homebreds Shep a couple weeks ago, and then her former campaigner Calvin more recently. 

flashy pony!

And it’s been super interesting (and fun!) sitting on these different horses! I’ve more or less been a “one-horse” kinda rider for… Ya know, about a decade LOL

“Goin sideways, ma’am!” — Calvin

And for better or worse, that “one horse” (well, two, but you know what I mean — one at a time) was picked up after retiring from the track, and restarted and trained exclusively by yours truly. 

I’ll be the first to admit: I can get a horse going, and I thoroughly enjoy the process of learning and growing together, with enough patience to be satisfied with whatever time that takes. 

“Goin lengthen, ma’am!”

But it’s just a reality that there’s kinda a limit to how nicely schooled my horses can become. Like, they’re never going to learn more than what I know, right? They’re always going to reflect holes or weaknesses in my own education. 

this horse knows his job and is happy to do it!

So it’s such a treat having a chance to take lessons on these professionally trained schoolmasters! Especially taking that lesson with trainer C, who knows the horses inside and out — to the point where she can observe from the opposite end of the ring that my outside leg (which, obvi, is invisible to her) is misbehaving bc the horse is tattling LOL!

wheeee!

It already feels super valuable in terms of things I can take back to Doozy when she’s ready, too. For example, on a schoolmaster, a correctly applied aid just… works. It goes through, the horse responds, message received. Less so, the incorrectly applied aid. 

Like with Calvin, hanging on the reins just produced a horse who was happy to lean in and be carried. Half halting by closing the upper thigh and sitting deeply, tho? Worked like a charm to rebalance.

we try, we try lol

Which was a good feeling for me — reassuring, in a way. Like, I *am* applying the aids, I *do* know how to have that communication and dialog with a nicely trained horse. It just may be that I need a little tuning, a little recalibration. And perhaps a little more trust, too. 

It’s easy on a schooled horse to give that full release and believe the answer will be had. It’s… less easy to have that same trust with Ms Mondeuse lol. But the communication, the dialog works for a reason, I just need to keep on giving her that chance to understand.

quick snippet from the end of our lesson

And anyway, I’m grateful for the video too, especially bc while some things look more easy for me posture-wise on a schoolmaster like Calvin, other issues are… more persistent LOL. C’est la vie, amirite? It’s still fun to watch, tho — video includes sitting trot, rising trot, both canter leads, leg yielding left, shoulder-in tracking right, and lengthen trot!!

grateful to be able to enjoy these special horses while doozy recovers!

Obviously, on the balance, it’s not exactly an ideal situation right now. I hate uncertainty basically as a rule, but we’re none the less just kinda in that gray murky unknown zone with Doozy at the moment. There’s not a lot of clarity on what to expect, and certainly not around timelines. 

So we’ll see, I guess. And in the meantime, hopefully these opportunities for enjoying rides on all these other lovely horses will continue!

princess mode

Doozy has been an absolute princess this week, and lucky me — there’s actually media to prove it!! Jumping media, woot woot!

nbd just casually being a total princess <3

Tho, me being me, I’m still going to try to combine a couple recent activities into one post, so feel free to skip ahead to the video if that’s your thing.

obligatory “snacks at the trailer” pic

Anyway. We’ve kept a full dance card this week after last week’s travel — esp in preparation for another upcoming go at Loch Moy. So earlier this week we had our regularly scheduled dressage lesson with trainer C, followed by a routine chiro / acupuncture appt, and then an easy breezy jump school at home.

did a drive-by of our vet’s office on the way to our lesson to get a microchip number!

The dressage lesson was another good one — focusing on the same areas we’ve been building on with trainer C. In particular, more and better leg yields and spirals, and trot and canter loops. The canter loop I think is from test 1-2 or 1-3 maybe, not sure, and introduces counter canter.

smartest biscuit can smell the future flowers

I’ve always loved counter canter — Charlie was legit the best at it, plus it was the #1 exercise to get him straight, in front of the leg and on the aids without making him fizzy or pissy. Doozy’s proving to be pretty decent at it too, tho her left lead is stronger right now. She seems to like the complexity of needing to focus on it and it’s useful in the same ‘proactive’ way I’ve been writing about already.

obligatory picture of the latest in stabby jabbies!

It was an interesting lesson tho bc we continue to peel back layers of Doozy’s insecurity. She’s learning to hold a lovely tempo — and particularly learning to find that tempo again after a gait change or disruption or whatever. And she was able to be softer in her overall posture within that tempo too. 

ooooh and actual action shots omg!

Tho it’s almost like she feels a little more vulnerable in that soft open balance, vs the tight rigid ‘on-the-muscle’ feeling she so often has. She almost got a little more spooky and ADHD while we were cantering thru the loop exercise, like she’s less sure of herself. But she held it together and did nicely, and was able to regain the soft balance again if we lost it. 

look at us trotting a crossrail all casual and low key <3

It’s really an exciting feeling, like she’s really thinking and learning. Doozy is such an overachiever, it can be tricky when she’s like, ‘I KNOW we are going to canter, so can’t we just get on with it?’ but it’s like some of these exercises — like the spiral — are turning into almost cheat-codes, where she’s like, “OH, ok, I recognize this pattern, fine.”

and the little boxes too!

Truly amazing what regular lessons and practice can do, amirite?? LOL…

*pats self on back for setting up an oxer lol*

Speaking of which!! We also had a lovely jump school! With media omg!! Our first jumps after Loch Moy were in a lesson with Sally about a week and a half ago, then I jumped a few little things at home too — again just really trying to reestablish the whole ‘routine practice’ thing. 

when the horse lands more organized than you expected lol

And then this week I knew I wanted to fit in a schooling session once the ring dried out. Most of the jumps were already in place but I reset the heights for our purposes — including giving myself two oxers, something I don’t always do LOL… And also shifted one combination into a 21’ in and out of verticals.

she has the sweetest expressions
(and giantest nostrils!)

Overall a nice set of singles to catch off both leads from various straight or bending approaches. Plus a set of 3 ground poles at 9’, and a cross rail with trot pole at 7’ for warming up. 

still gave myself a placing pole into the combo

Of particular interest to me was our gear for the day — I’m experimenting with Charlie’s saddle again since it didn’t sell after a year at consignment, and it’s truly my favorite saddle in the world. Our County is lovely, don’t get me wrong, but this l’Apogee is just… ugh, my favorite <3 

I might look into re-panelling it for Doozy, actually, since perhaps it’ll be easier to sell the County anyway? Idk. We’ll see. 

#GridSavant

I also am trying out a new bit for our jumping too: it’s a knockoff verbindend mouth piece with bevel cheeks. My intention is to give myself more reliable braking power so that I’m more trusting that it’ll be there when I need it, vs needing to hang on to the ‘e-brake’ nonstop. 

ooooh and a second oxer too, go me!

And so far I really like it!! We actually first wore it in Doozy’s first ride back after my trip last week, and I tried to be really clear about establishing a pattern of a big clear whoa into down transition (not necessarily a heavy aid, but aiming for a faster more crisp response), followed by a big clear release. It seemed to work, and Doozy didn’t seem at all offended by it. So far so good!

full video of our jump school!!

Tho to be honest, Doozy was on a whole ‘nother plane of perfection for this jump school. Idk what was in her wheaties this morning but she was just like… The happiest fucking camper in the whole universe omg! Literally perfect, no notes. 

Like, ok, sure, notes for the rider, obviously. Always. Like, Emma, please stop jumping the left side of every fence, for fucks sake, ok? 

the best biscuit <3 <3 <3

But the horse?? So good <3 So perfect <3 Who knows why LOL, she’s a mercurial critter, it’s hard to understand the rhythms and currents of her tension vs relaxation. 

Rides like this, tho… It’s like, “OMG Holy Shit, she IS getting trained!!” Slowly but surely, amirite?

pattern recognition

I wouldn’t normally schedule a lesson right after a horse show… but keeping the regular routine with dressage trainer C has been so valuable, not least bc it’s one less thing for me to hustle up. 

Plus, I honestly believe that Doozy thrives in consistent regular practice — that horses don’t really think about “time off” in quite the same way as us. Realistically, a one day BN horse trial is definitely a larger overall exertion than our typical day to day work, but it doesn’t exactly require “recovery” beyond maybe a day off or light hack, etc.

the sweetest biscuit, a true sport about getting literally just 10min of turnout before getting on the trailer

So off we went to our regularly scheduled lesson this week, and damn but I REALLY wish we had footage from the ride!! Doozy was absolutely fantastic!

Alas, tho, no footage, so you’re just going to have to take my word for it. And obvi, without any related compelling media, it’s hard to really write all that much about it either, so I’ll just try to capture the high level details.

“anything for carrots!”

Basically, we were back on the “let trainer C have her way with us!” approach to lessons, and the exercise du jour would be predominantly spirals. We warmed up with some walk and trot leg yields, but then basically went right into the spirals at trot.

She wanted us spiraling in super slowly, just only coming inside of our last track with each rotation (something that was easy to measure bc per usual we were laying down the first hoofprints of the day in that fancy footing!). Then, after arriving at maybe a 15 or 12m circle, slowly going back out again. Rinse repeat, about 3 times of a full in-and-out.

The whole idea was not just to establish that inside bend — but actually to help Doozy learn to trust that posture. Help her learn to soften into it and relax. 

And a big part was focusing on my own posture too, naturally. Trainer C wanted my inside elbow to be really pinned to my body, and really focusing on staying out of her way by keeping my inside leg long and heavy, and not collapsing in my inside core. Normal stuff for us, but obvi it’s always better with realtime in-the-moment instruction!

grateful for ol’ faithful!!

In particular, trainer C reminded me to make it really obvious with my releases and softening in the contact when Doozy got it right. Which aligns nicely with something Dan mentioned while warming us up at Loch Moy: That the whole point of working to get her stable on the aids is to be able to let go, and have her stay. In other words: self carriage. 

Which, notably, is something we REALLY need to develop in the jumping in particular. I need to be able to get around cross country without hanging onto the e-brake the whole time, know what I mean? But baby steps, obvi.

princess <3

It was funny bc after spiraling the trot circle back out to 20m after about the 3rd time, wherein Doozy felt like she was really understanding the pattern and posture, trainer C told us to canter. And Doozy was actually caught a bit surprised — actually a bit offended! Like she felt like she had understood the rules but then we changed them on her. 

It was an interesting feeling, and really highlights that so much of her tension comes from a place of insecurity.

In any case, it was nbd, we just reestablished the trot then asked again, and then worked for the spiral feeling in canter too. We repeated this in both directions, then took the trot large again to the full ring. Then repeating the feeling of the spiral at the opposite end of the ring — not the full exercise, just the feeling of it, before stepping into canter again, to now come down the quarter lines in canter, leg yielding to the wall. Then 15m circle, trot, change directions, rinse repeat.

all tuckered out, ready to go home again!

And holy moly, Doozy felt incredible. So on the aids, so steady in her tempo, uphill, round, all the things. Basically like Empress of the Universe, Knower of Everything lol. THAT is the horse I want to have at horse shows!

But ya know. This dressage barn has always been a slightly magical place, with mystical good juju that brings out the best in horses. 

For me, the biggest takeaways are obviously the exercises and posture notes (for both horse and rider), but also basically the reaffirmation of always having a proactive approach to our rides. For example, was it the spiral itself that got Doozy feeling so engaged on the aids, or merely me just being super intentional about riding each footprint? 

Who knows, it honestly doesn’t really matter either. Except that it’s nice when everything really boils down to the same fundamentals again and again lol… 

trying out the 2026 tests

It’s honestly so great having a regular schedule with dressage trainer C this year. We found a mutually convenient bi-weekly time (that I suspect will be even more convenient when the horses switch to summer hours), and I’ve got my calendar blocked in perpetuity. 

Perfect!

tyrannical red mare scatters her pony friends like pins in a bowling alley!

Well. Ok, haha, mostly perfect…. Since it’s still horses, after all! We missed last week’s lesson bc of Doozy’s lost shoe. Tho, fortunately with the bi-weekly routine we could make it up this week instead, and then hopefully get right back onto the normal cadence again next week. Love. 

well. she tries LOL

Normally I like to just let trainer C have her way with us. She has so many students, has been teaching for so long in general, and teaching me in particular for more than a decade now… It’s easy to trust the direction of her coaching. But she’s exceptionally good at teaching ring craft and test practice too — so that’s what we did this week, with the new 2026 BN-A test!

perfectly pleasant for hill hacks tho!

Obviously basically all of low level eventing tests are some variation of training level dressage… Basically just showing your gaits in both directions on simple large figures and patterns. 

They aren’t the most exciting or inspired patterns, and in fact often give the impression of being almost a bit of a formality anyway — like the test designers are trying to see how quickly they can check all the boxes to get horses in and out of the ring.

literally eating…. trash?

That’s great if you’re riding a half asleep school master who could do the low levels backwards on three legs… But actually can produce a slightly hectic choppy and frazzled tempo to the tests for our slightly, er, less established horse and rider partnerships. Like, ahem, me and Doozy!

anyway. cats. 

The BN A test is plain enough on paper — enter using that weird broken center line so you don’t have to aim straight at the Judge’s Booth of Doom. Trot your circle basically immediately tho. 

Trainer C’s sage advice: ride that first corner after the broken center line extra deep, then as you start your circle at C it’s easier to show a difference in your track. Same idea reversed for the final quadrant of the circle and the following corner, really taking advantage of making a first impression when you’re right in front of the judge.

absolute hooligan, squeakiest of ink blots, purveyor of random creepy lost baby cat teeth

Then it’s right into a circle at your middle letter — developing your canter on the circle sorta like in the Intro C test. Except after years of eventing tests using this transition point to send you on 1.5 rotations of the circle (one full lap at canter), the BN A test says, “ain’t nobody got time for all that! (and may dog have mercy on your soul if you misfire leads!)” and keeps the rotation at 1.0, sending you right back down the long side toward A, transitioning to trot before the corner.

ok ok, back to the horse!!

Then there’s actually a nice little breather for us, using the short end at A to hopefully get our shit together if the canter got us strung out, then crossing the diagonal, hopefully again utilizing necessary changes of bend etc to stay organized. Right into another trot circle in front of the judge at C — again with the strategic use of corners, showing a difference in track / line of travel.

handsome doozy, ready to ride some dressage!

Then, at least for me and Doozy, things get… potentially more hectic. We are already notorious for getting increasingly strung out as we go, but then we repeat again the same canter pattern — picking it up on the circle but only doing exactly 1.0 rotations before continuing toward A. 

Except — sweet mother of jesus, you better be ready to trot asap, bc then you’re walking in the corner after A, then free walking the long diagonal, then trotting again by the time you are past the judge, trotting straight down the whoooooole long side toward A (and, presumably, toward the promised land, given how most shows are laid out), before whipping back up the center line to halt, salute.

aaaaaand back on the cats again… this time with denizens of the barn!

Doozy was actually quite good for the whole lesson, and particularly the test practice. Tho, interestingly, not “good” in like a classically supple soft round way… But an entirely new type of good for us: the kind of workmanlike good where she sorta kinda phoned it in, like “Yea yea I know my job, whatever,” but… actually did just go about doing her job. Which like… Cool? 

Honestly, I appreciate that Doozy is such an overachiever most of the time, but that’s also a big part of her explosive energy and frequent tension. If she wants to show up to an actual competition and just be like, “Siiiigh, this again!” I’d be toooootally fine with that!

OG: *literally growling*
Pebbles: *blissfully ignorant!*

I digress, tho. Anyway — yes she was perfectly fine for this lesson, but the test definitely feels a little rapid fire for us, particularly that second canter into free walk, into exit. All the transitions feel kinda stacked on top of each other, especially given that we tend to be more in the “slow to develop” category for down transitions. 

“I told him not to touch my butt… so we compromised and he’s touching my butt.”
(the deep sigh of resignation at the end kills me LOL)

In a weird way, tho, maybe the test will suit us? My habit so often is to kinda shift into survival mode and sorta whip us through the pattern… But maybe this new version will force me to stay more present and ride more proactively? 

Doozy seems to prefer the proactive approach, it keeps her more calm and relaxed to be constantly given clear directions vs sorta left an ambiguity. I’ve known this from the beginning, but the Brit Bot definitely confirmed it, and even Dan pointed it out in our last lesson. 

So ya know. I just gotta remember that. And, ahem, cough cough, execute on that… A girl can dream, right?