Or, in other words: another dressage lesson with trainer C. Or, in even more words: More blurry and dark pictures video stills of us trotting around with a marginally improved degree of fancy!
i clearly embrace the blur. (is that an oxymoron?? idc)
Due to an overabundance of vacation days nearing their expiration date, I took the day off in anticipation of the DC trip to meet Austen and Alli and attend the DOC clinic. So that morning proved to be the perfect opportunity for sneaking over to TM for a lesson with C - our first since before the chiro appt a couple weeks ago.
my position is doing lots of weird things right now. i am a rapidly changing environment haha
And I actually have footage from the lesson - hurray!!! So you get to enjoy a zillion video stills that for all intents and purposes are just varying shades of brown with something resembling an amorphous globular horse/rider combo floating across the center...
does this count as 'uphill'??
C warmed us up by trotting a few circles, a few long diagonals, and some leg yields from the quarter line in both directions.
Riding with her is practically an out of body experience lol. She maintains a near-constant stream of commentary (a tactic that typically works really well for me) and as I concentrate on what she's saying and move my limbs accordingly, Isabel magically transforms into a fancy dressage horse.
i hunch a LOT less these days... but it definitely still happens
It occasionally feels like she's some sort of puppet master riding vicariously through me. And in writing this, it almost makes it seem like I'm riding purely off her directions rather than riding what I'm feeling in Isabel. Which is partly true - C is most definitely translating Isabel for me.
But simultaneously, I can still hear her voice and recreate almost the same quality work when schooling solo - my litmus test for determining whether a trainer's program works for us.
the blur isn't enough to hide whatever it is i'm doing with my wrists... but i still like how izzy is MARCHING haha
But anyway, back to the lesson - after warming up a little bit she put us directly to work on a 20m circle at trot wherein she wanted POWER in Isabel's trot. Power and inside bend. She pointed out that Isabel was baiting me into fussing with her nose and head position, to the detriment of everything else. I needed to just hold my position and let Isabel power up and into it.
i am clearly quite pleased as we take a walk break. isabel, well... isabel is maybe wondering how she got signed up for this
Sounds like a 'duh' moment but it was actually really liberating to hear bc our last few rides have been particularly fussy and it's been bumming me out. So I need to just ignore it and not worry about her head/nose. Just power and inside bend, power and inside bend.
secretly i think she likes feeling extra fancy
We focused really heavily on canter transitions, which make up the meat of the video below. They're still terrible, and don't really look much improved on the surface throughout the lesson... but that's ok. I'm getting a better and better feel for where I need to be, even tho I can't consistently get it done.
Big focuses right now are thinking of the transition as 'shifting gears' rather than chasing Isabel into it and throwing my position away. And staying soft and quiet with my position - particularly my elbows. Getting my feet down and into the stirrups continues to be a struggle so I compensate with tension through my arms and a digging seat... but hey, knowing is half the battle right?
the left lead is easier in every dimension at present
After doing canter transitions for a while we moved on to other exciting stuff - like trying to find Isabel's bigger more powerful trot up the long sides and across the diagonals. That was actually pretty awesome and exciting and Isabel felt great, but sadly there's no video evidence (ran out of storage on my phone, womp womp).
The video is already pretty long as it is tho - about 9 minutes. So I don't necessarily expect anyone to watch it haha, except those who are super curious to know what it's like to ride in a lesson with C (hint: she's pretty awesome). Or you die hard DQs who might have any additional wisdom to shower down based on what you see ;)
As of this past week, B and I moved to a new lesson group at OF. Lots of upsides to this change (new group mates are boarders with more experience and who ride more frequently - meaning they're up for more complicated exercises; and the lesson is later in the day so I can actually *gasp* sleep in one day a week) and only superficial downsides (later in the day means it's hotter out, plus mostly impossible to schedule any other daytime activities). So far we like it!!
walking to the arena at OF is practically a mini trail ride in and of itself
It's funny bc the group mates are still like 13 yrs old.... but whatever they're quite talented little riders who lack all those pesky confidence issues with which we adults are all all too familiar.
she really makes it look easy sometimes
Anyways it was stupid hot/humid out (per usual) and Isabel was uncharacteristically quite difficult to get going. Maybe we overdid it with the flat work, I don't know... but when we started by trotting over a small vertical with placing pole I almost picked up a crop. And we embarrassingly almost stopped at the fence once.... nvm that it was a glorified cavaletti. Wtf mare, GO!!
She started clicking into gear a little better once we started actual course work (tho honestly she stayed stuck behind my leg most of the ride). And things were mostly peachy once I remembered to make establishing a nice canter the priority.
it's funny that she used to give that plank the stink eye this time last summer.
We eventually built the single vertical up into a triple combination of an easy 30' 2-stride to 30' 2-stride, where the name of the game was sitting chilly and not chasing the horses through. Izzy was fine, tho we continued to trot into the exercise and trot fences are absolutely NOT my favorite... Plus trainer P noted (and you can see in the pictures) that I was standing too much on my tippy-toes and needed to sink more weight into my heels. #workingonit
plenty to like here... but the entire picture will improve top-to-bottom with a stronger lower leg
We added a long diagonal line to the mix - measured for 6 tho the OTTBs in the group were getting it done in a forward 5. Isabel and I did a nicely balanced 6 the first time, but then when we put it all together for a course I failed to re-balance the canter (which was building through the course) or adjust my game plan to move up for the 5, and we kinda ate it over the fence..
the mare's either going to eventually quit on me, or grow a wicked sense of humor!
So that was kind of awkward... And annoying too bc I have this nasty tendency to let things devolve throughout a lesson until I make a big-ish mistake that snaps me back to attention. That's not really super fair to the mare... but there's not much I can do about it except keep on trying to get better. Le sigh.
she did NOT want to knock anything else down!
We went back and sorta fixed the line, tho we kinda wiggled down it (meaning I failed at the #1 rider responsibility according to Mr O'Connor: DIRECTION!) and had to gallop a little to get the 6. Then went around and finished the course just fine going up a 3 stride line.
Looking back over recent jump lesson recaps, we seem to be crashing into or smashing through fences more frequently these days. I think it's a function of jumping bigger fences (for instance, the crash pictured above wouldn't have happened if the fence was 2' - notice that Isabel still cleared the lowest pole of the vertical) and trying to put new techniques/concepts into action.
So I'm not exactly worried about it, per se, and despite the nasty fences these lessons have been among our best jumping experiences to date. It's just that the failures become more and more spectacular as the complexity increases I guess....
All the same tho, the last thing I want to do is undermine Isabel's (or my own) confidence or turn her into a stopper, so it's on my radar. We've got a couple exciting outings coming up tho (including at least one xc schooling and a jumpers show) so we'll see what happens!
Phew I'm fresh back from a whirlwind long weekend that included lessons and volunteering at horse shows and lessons and a CLINIC!! Today I'm talking about the latter. (Oh man I'm still so far behind, how does this keep happening?!?).
group 1 listening intently to Mr. O'Connor (in blue)
But really this was a pretty good time. Austen from Guinness on Tap tipped me and Alli from PONY'TUDE off a few weeks ago that David O'Connor would be at Waredaca for an eventing clinic. Obviously we all had to go audit! And, even better - Austen very generously invited us down the evening prior. This way we could enjoy dinner out on the town (made unexpectedly interesting by additional guests) and then make an early start for Waredaca from her house.
equestrian bloggers unite!! plus bonus husky (who is clearly thrilled lol)
The clinic consisted of two groups. Group 1 had seven pairs - six going novice and one BN. Group 2 had five riders - one going prelim, one recently dropped from prelim to training after a few spills, one prelim rider catch riding a training horse, and two other training pairs. Both groups did stadium in the morning and cross country in the afternoon. Sadly things ran a bit late so we missed Group 2's xc session, but really both groups seemed to be working on the same exercises and concepts - just varying in degrees of refinement.
more lecturing
I took a TON of notes, which are all dutifully copied below in bullet point form, intermixed with photo spam of unidentified horses standing around listening to David spew forth his wisdom. And really, he had a LOT of wisdom to share. After auditing (free + a $10 lunch), I'm not convinced the expense of riding in his clinic would be justified for me and Isabel at present (the exercises and concepts were very similar to my current training program). But the lectures were excellent and I encourage anyone interested to audit a clinic should he be in your area.
major bonus: we got to watch him ride when he got on to school one of the horses!
Ok - onto the various nuggets of imparted wisdom:
People ride below their level bc they don't make decisions. If you go out there and make a decision that leads to a mistake - that's great, you've got something to fix. But the lack of a decision process gets you in trouble.
Get away from good fence / bad fence mentality. If you don't know what a good fence is, how do you repeat it? How can you repeat it in competition under pressure? Know the parameters so you can reproduce them. Also know what the parameters are when it DOESN'T work so you know what to fix.
stadium exercises focused heavily on the 6/7 stride outside line and the 5/6 stride bending line visible here
Four main Rider Responsibilities (in order):
Direction - Means the rider always has a line and never leaves it. The line is the width of the horse - and you should be able to play within that line. Shoulders in; haunches in; faster; slower - all on the same line. Rider must be exact all the time. If you only jump one path every time, you're not jumping a corner you're just jumping a part of the corner (ie it's no different than one specific painted section of a pole).
Speed - aka Multiple Canters. Flat work is about "go, come back, and turn." How fast can you go or come back? Can you go from 500 mpm to 200 mpm in three strides? The #1 exercise is lengthening and shortening the canter. Riders shoud be doing this more than anything else.
Rhythm/Balance/Quality of Canter - And specifically that the canter is sustained. You shouldn't have to hold the horse or carry him, he keeps it by himself - that's balance. Ears and eyes are on the fence. Not too round, head not too high.
Timing - Recognize the distance. Have to be able to "recognize" not necessarily look for one. When you look you change the canter. When you recognize you see it out of the canter you're in.
the other stadium exercise was this triple of an easy 5 strides to a 1 stride
Position: These lower levels require a forward seat 90% of the time - unless a horse is backing off. Forward seat is fastest way for rider to get strong. Shouldn't be sitting much at these levels. Stand up in the stirrups, then put your head below horse's neck - feel the bounce in your heels and the stretch in your hamstrings. Then stand up again, then put your head below the horse's neck again, then stand up, then go HALF WAY down. That's a forward seat.
group 2 working on finding their optimal forward seat by standing in the stirrups
Stadium Exercises: Once a week jack your stirrups up 3 holes andcircle around in a forward seat with two poles at 12oclock and 3oclock, maintaining a narrow and well defined track along the entire circle, not just over the poles. Horse should be self contained and stay where you put him. This is an excellent way to build rider strength.
The dreaded six stride line (84 feet? I didn't catch the exact measurement) then bending line (72 feet). You have to relate the distance measurement to the CANTER not the NUMBER. Meaning, what canter do I need to get that number? Why do I want that number? Answer: To put the horse in the optimal place to jump. The full exercise: seven down the line (collected canter), five up the bending (forward canter), five down the gymnastic to the one stride (collected). Build the canter through first turn, slow through second.
the catered lunch was quite delicious - well worth the small cost, esp considering David continued the conversation throughout
Other General Miscellany:
Most ppl bend too much to the inside. In dressage AND show jumping. Outcome is that haunches are too much to the outside. Need to use outside aids. Otherwise lose outside shoulder and drift off line. He wants the horse straight - both in show jumping and xc.
Horses run at the fence bc of anxiety. that anxiety is caused by riders 98% of the time. For one anxious horse in the group, David directed the rider to "Pat him to trot" rather than pulling him down. Make it a game. A puzzle. Patting is about relaxation. Do a lot after the fences on course. Land and walk. Or land and trot. Pat him. Etc.
Take your eyes off the fence when you're thinking about the "next." But until that point, look right at the fence where you want to jump it.
He wanted the canter lead corrected before turn in stadium.
Re: the two different canters: Which one is harder for you: lengthen or collect? Work on that one. Pros warm up by testing the "zing" and a "whoa" in the canter then move on.
Don't give up on a fence. At this level the horse can jump it from the walk.
David preaches from atop his mountain. and the crowds go crazy!
A change in speed on cross country has to do w how vertical the face is. If we get short to a vertical fence they could hang a leg so we need balance. Whereas a less vertical face means we can keep coming.
When walking a course always walk up to your fence then look backwards to see a truer sense of the terrain.
He doesn't walk courses with his students. Maybe the first 2-3 times, and then they are on their own.
it was a gorgeous day out for the clinic. a touch hot, but really quite perfect!
In a drop, keep shoulder in same place and allow your seat to follow saddle through the arc. It's not "leaning back" bc otherwise you'll just get pitched forward on landing.
Tie knot in end of reins on cross country. Safety mechanism in case you slip your reins - it protects the buckle from too much pressure.
Stirrup behind ball of foot for xc, at ball of foot for stadium, and maybe slightly in front of ball for dressage.
this mare was amazing and reminded me a lot of Isabel - or rather what Isabel could be with continued education. Fitting that the mare's name was Empress, as Isabel can only presently claim to be Princess, or maybe Queen on a good day lol.
XC Position / Exercises:
Make any adjustments about six strides out - in the 'preparation zone.' That's about when the horse realizes what they're even jumping. In the preparation zone, move seat toward back of saddle and slightly open chest (for shorter riders, taller riders have to be more careful with their torsos). As you open your chest and bring seat back in preparation zone you may find that by the last two strides you're in the saddle or very close to it.
These two different positions (forward/galloping and preparation) tell horse "we are cruising now" or "we are jumping now."
Once you're in that 6 stride zone you have to maintain - and react if it changes. Managed maintenance.
the standards were eventually built up to a small vertical to finish out the schooling
So yea - David O'Connor Clinic! Lots of good stuff in there. I was really pleased to see how consistent it all was with the lessons I'm taking with Dan and trainer P from OF. Tho David really excels at lecturing. Even tho many of his spiels were quite clearly 'canned' - as evidenced by hearing the same thing twice for the two different groups - there was a LOT in there to think on and chew over, and my notes definitely benefited from hearing it twice. And most importantly it was a super fun outing with Alli and Austen and I can't wait for another opportunity to hang out with those lovely ladies!
You knew there would be a part 2 to this whole test thing. I certainly couldn't leave well enough alone with a trail ride via helmet cam, could I? (tho then again, perhaps you already know where this is going bc my video editing prowess can't really be classed as 'prowess' after all and the content of today's post was partially included in yesterday's video too by accident)
lol isabel has known all along that i'm kind of an idiot
But yea anyway - phase 2 of testing out the helmet cam involved jumping around our mini-xc course in the field at home. We didn't do the whole thing since the ground was soft and it was hot and and and whatever. We just did the following five fences (images are from the helmet cam beta test with the shitty elastic harness - note the shifting horizon), tho one segment of the natural brush box was tipped over, making it a skinny, and the tires were in a new location perched on top of a small rise (and Isabel gave them PLENTY of room haha).
i don't care if they're small, these fences are just so much fun!
Just gotta say: Isabel is the coolest horse, guys. I really can't stress that enough. We were fresh off our 30min hack through the woods. She was sweaty and buggy and the barn was in sight - which typically indicates that our little jaunt is over. But then I asked her to trot and then canter and she just slipped right into that lovely cadenced canter from our lesson with Dan last week. Effortless. And then I started pointing her at the fences and she just went with it. Stayed in the same canter, no rushing, no looking, no nothing. Just eating up the little pallets right out of stride. God I love this horse!
tho this is why i don't jump Isabel in the hackamore. that chain is toooooo much!
I annoyed her a bit with the hackamore - as evidenced in the pics above - but she wasn't speeding or being rude in the slightest. She just really really does NOT need a curb chain for regular riding and I am not master of the 'half halt from core.'
Maybe one of these days I'll try a side pull... but then again the curb chain has come in handy out in the woods so.. yea idk. Just probably shouldn't be doing anything that requires shorter reins in this bridle.
Also my fly whisk got tangled under my leg in the turn to the tires, immobilizing my right hand (to which Isabel objected). For future reference: do not jump with hackamore or fly whisk!
So yea. That's our inaugural helmet cam footage of Isabel doing her thang over fences! The camera is super stabilized and doesn't make any weird noises. Plus it's super easy to use, so I think we've got a real winner here! I was also a bit curious to see what kinds of nonsensical subconscious chatter would be made apparent by the helmet cam, but it turns out I just repeat 'good girl' over and over. Boring!
So it's really happening guys. My longtime dream has become reality and all the pieces have finally come together!
step one: adhere rotating camera mount to helmet
Tack of the Day (ie: impulse shopping FTW) happened to have One K skull caps on sale for $125 on the very day that I whined about the crappy elastic camera harness purchased separately (and since returned). Carly pointed out that skull caps were really the best way to go, using the adhesive mounts that came with the camera.
step two: attach the camera
You may recall that I already have (and adore) a One K helmet, so this was a no brainer. The only missing piece now is a navy helmet cover, currently on order at Dover (conveniently this turns out to be an even exchange cost-wise with the failed elastic camera harness).
step three: world domination?
But a missing helmet cover certainly wasn't enough to keep me waiting any longer. It was hotter than hell out tho so the answer was obviously a trail ride (esp since it had been a few weeks since our last outing).
game mare is game
So yea, we went on that trail ride. I kept it fairly short bc bugs + heat (and the whole having a life outside of the barn thing, despite appearances) so we were only out for ~30 minutes, with a quick sweep of the fence lines and a loop through the woods.
But technology being the super cool thing that it is, video editing software condensed that 30 minutes into < 4 minutes. It's a tad choppy - but nbd if you just keep your eyes on Isabel's adorable ears and the path ahead.
I actually kinda love it. Plus the helmet cam was super stable on my head, none of that herky jerky bounce that the elastic harness produced (tho really it's hard to tell with the 16x speed).
maybe a little tired and sweaty tho too lol. mare was actually STEAMING after her bath!
So I am SO PUMPED to get the helmet cam into regular rotation. It won't fully replace the traditional videos-by-bystanders, since it doesn't really give a sense of the whole picture. Plus, ya know, I love me some video stills!! But it'll be perfect for giving a whole new perspective - particularly on the cross country course when we can't reasonably (or reliably) expect a camera person to keep up.
Fun things have been happening (lesson yesterday! new helmet cam footage!!) - and even more fun things are on the calendar (volunteering at a recognized event today! a vurry speshul CLINIC that will undoubtedly involve blogger meetup shenanigans!). Definitely stuff worth tuning in for!
Except one small problem: my genius self left my laptop charging cables in Nola and 'snail mail' is not a misnomer. So... until my lap top gets juiced I'm kinda limited in blogging options. Bc really, who wants to deal with posting from the app and unedited pics etc? Not this girl!!
So.... yea. In the meantime I've collected a somewhat random assortment of gifs that speak to me (like they do) but that have not yet found a home in a post.
And obviously most of them are cats. Because I am who I am lol.
I hope you're all having a lovely weekend - stay tuned for more interesting things to come :D
This title is borrowed from an article by Denny Emerson (imitation and flattery and all that) that I read while saddle shopping last winter. And I've been mulling the topic ever since, much like a lapidary works on a stubborn bit of gravel that refuses to be smoothed into shiny stone. Why? I'm not entirely sure (and sometimes gravel is just gravel)... But here we go anyway.
isabel isn't sure either
The back story: My saddle searches led to CotH forums on opinions of the relative attributes of different saddle options. I found lots of super useful threads... but also some that were entertaining in their own right as they devolved into flame wars (shocking? not really). One poster in particular repeatedly started threads about an expensive custom saddle she wanted to order and sought advice on which panels were better and how to break it in etc etc - never mind that she was young and didn't own a horse. Forum veterans kept encouraging her to get a less expensive used option, but she always had reasons why that wouldn't work. Finally someone linked to Denny's article and not-so-subtly suggested she stop asking for advice period.
Lolz were had by many.... But that's not the point here - that's just what got me thinking. Because I realized in reading the article that *I* can be that person, asking for advice then quickly saying "Yeah, but--" when I hear something I don't like. I've even done it on this blog. Denny quotes Walt Gervais saying "The only people who take your advice are people who agreed with you before they heard your answer." Now I don't exactly agree 100% - but I can also think of many times when I fell into that trap.... And why? I like to think I'm a logical and open-minded individual, so why would I dismiss out of hand a piece of asked-for advice? (and we are talking about solicited advice here; unsolicited is a difference story) A little googling (bc yes, I do actually google all of life's great questions haha) provided some insights. Psychology Today says we ignore good advice because:
We want to make a good impression and show that we are knowledgeable and competent individuals. Taking advice somehow feels like admitting otherwise.
We are moody. Anger or defensiveness prevent me from listening with an open mind, whereas feelings of gratitude ('this person just wants to help!') produce better results
I don't know about you - but both of those bullets really resonate - tho usually in different circumstances. The first point might crop up when I'm conversing with someone considered a professional (trainers, farriers, saddle fitters, etc). It also kinda feeds into that primal need to be 'liked,' whatever that means.
The second one - moodiness - is most likely to be inflicted on my peers. (Makes me sound like a really nice person, eh?). This might also be at play when I read blog comments that prompt an eye roll and sigh like, 'ugh did they even read the post?'
Except that's not very generous and I usually have to walk myself back from the temptation to write pithy rejections. Because really, if I ask for advice on saddle fit, or supplements, or training exercises (all things I've done) - why shut down anybody who makes time to reply?
just come at me with your polite responses. i dare you!
Psychology is weird, y'all.
Again, I'm not entirely sure why I'm writing this post - except that it's something I want to work on in myself. I want to learn, I want to be better, I want to leverage the resources and knowledge that exist in the horse community.
But I shoot myself in the foot if I'm too busy trying to prove my own competence to hear what others might add. The idea of approaching these conversations with 'gratitude' on the brain is kind of neat, and could probably even help me out in other areas where I struggle - like patience haha.
Pick the Brain (a website dedicated to self improvement) takes the discussion a step further and says we should consider a few things before we ever even reach out for advice:
Advice vs. validation: do we just want a pat on the back? in other words, don't bother looking for advice if all you want is approval
The truth hurts: sometimes solicited advice doesn't go where you want it to. do you have an open mind?
You don't have to take any advice, even if you asked for it - but figure out why you don't want it. Is it bc you've already weighed the risks and see it as acceptable? Or bc emotionally it wasn't what you wanted to hear?
So yea... that's kinda where I'm at right now haha. Just randomly babbling about philosophies and psychologies that I only marginally understand. Like ya do.
isabel still doesn't know what in the ever loving hell i'm trying to say here
I think it's relevant tho bc it's critical that I am willing to learn from others (what is a lesson other than paid advice anyway?) - but that learning process will be stunted if I only ever surround myself with people who think exactly like I do. I'm also generally pretty surprised and grateful for all the folks who have willingly shared their own experiences and ideas with me on this blog and in person (like when Kaitlyn and I tackled this subject over a post-lesson beer the other night. Check out her blog for her own thoughts). This has been immeasurably helpful as I try to educate myself and make informed decisions. Not sure if any of you have any corollary thoughts? Whether in regards to seeking advice from others or even just the vague mental blocks between us and the knowledge we seek? Or perhaps you've been on the opposite end of the table, in a position to give advice that's immediately swept aside?
