Tag Archives for Dressage

Merry Christmas!

Ike and I would like to wish all our friends and family a very merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and a joyful holiday season. We hope this time is filled with laughter, fun get-togethers, and yummy holiday treats.  

Ike is hoping that one day mom will give up the tradition of placing things on his head or that he grows a little taller so I can no longer reach the top of his head.

I am hoping for a mild winter and safe footing so we can continue riding through the colder months.  I am also secretly hoping for clean changes and fluid half pass steps.

Merry Christmas! 

Alison and Ike

My Love/Hate Relationship With Winter

Ike January 25 2016

Ike expressing his views on winter weather. (This is from last winter.)

 

Well, winter has arrived in the mid-Atlantic states.  The snowbirds have migrated south and the rest of us have opened up the bags of winter clothing and hand warmers to face the colder temperatures.  There are things that I do like about this time of year, but there are also things I truly despise about the season…

Love: Not having sweat pouring down my face and burning my eyes.                                                   Hate: The wind stinging my eyeballs making it look like I am crying. 

Love: Not having to have ninja like reflexes to kill horseflies.                                                                     Hate: Being so padded to stay warm that I move like the StaPuff Marshmallow Man.

Love: Not riding in the atomic dustbowl.                                                                                                  Hate: Frozen footing.

Love: No allergies and random sneezing while I ride.                                                                             Hate: That my nose runs like a faucet in cold weather. 

Love: The energy that my horse has.                                                                                                        Hate: The bat crap crazy energy my horse has on some days.

Love: Pockets in my winter coats.                                                                                                           Hate: My fingers being so frozen that they can grasp nothing in the pockets. 

Love: Not having to clean gooey sweat globs off the bridle.                                                                   Hate: How impossible it is to manipulate cold leather.

Love: Not fearing having a shoe sucked off in the mud.                                                                         Hate: Worrying that my horse with twist a fetlock in the frozen mud holes. 

Love: Not worrying about odd tan lines.                                                                                                  Hate: Wind burn and chapped lips.

Love: Not having to wear a gas mask in the car with the dirty, sweaty saddlepad.                                   Hate: Having to wait for the ice on the windshield to melt.

So what are your favorite and least favorite things about this time of year?

Alison

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

So show season is over.  We have submitted our year end award packets.  The trailer has been cleaned.  My show coat has been mended.  Memberships for next year have been renewed.  Fall shots have been administered.  The saddle fitter will be stopping by soon for a saddle checkup.  So what does that leave us to do with our time?  Plenty.

 Next year we (okay, okay, mostly me – Ike doesn’t much care what we do) want to make the leap to Third Level.  That means there are some mad skills that we need to acquire over these winter months to be ready for the challenges presented at this next level of dressage.  We wasted little time after the championship show to get back to work since a quick read of the Third Level tests shows that there is some work to be done.

 Having just spent the past year working on and improving our Second Level work, I have a higher degree of confidence in our collection skills, but Third Level means no more half-assed collection.  Do or die, there is no try.  Fortunately Ike is working well in the snaffle, so we can save the double bridle for another day.

 Medium gaits…coming.  Extended gaits…umm, what are those??  As long as Ike doesn’t decide that a potty break is necessary during the test, we can approximate an extended walk.  An extended trot?  We will take our 5 and hope that Ike continues to develop his pushing power.

 Half pass.  Well, I have more to learn about riding a correct half pass than Ike does.  One must move the shoulders first, the shoulders.  And much like shoulder in, the rider needs to keep their weight in the correct place despite where my horse tries to put me.

 Turn on the haunches?  Sigh, I was saddened to see that they follow us to Third Level.  We will continue our efforts on this as well.

 And then there are the flying changes. Left to right is usually easier since Ike wants to shift his weight to the right hind.  Right to left needs to be ridden a bit straighter or we only change in the front.  Thankfully we have not lost any shoes during this scrambling moments.  The downfall to teaching the changes?  Someone starts to anticipate them and gets a bit strong in the hand.  The solution?  Canter-halt transitions, canter-walk transitions, or staying in countercanter.  All of these require that I use every skill I have in my arsenal to make Ike listen.  I can thank Cigar for my ability to stay astride during Ike’s panicked moments…and I still have the double bridle available if necessary. 

Stay tuned. We will let you know how how are winter homework is progressing.

alison

 

The Power of the Horse

Well, the final hurrah of the year is over.  The show duds have been packed away until year.  The self-imposed stress of horse shows is behind us and we can get back to just training…after Ike enjoys a few days of well earned down time.
Our Second Level championship ride had a major spook, but the rest of the test was solid and our score enough for an eighth place ribbon.  While it now resides next to the two we earned at Training and First Levels, it somehow has an extra special place in my heart.

This year was a big one for us.  It was the first year ever that our shows did not include any of the lower levels.  This was the year that I felt that Ike and I truly connected – collection is possible and I have seen glimpses of the still untapped power. The falling acorns helped me find my medium trot and Ike’s passage.  It is scary and thrilling all at the same time.

But most of all, I marvel at the awesome group of friends who I have met through my equine endeavors and who share this grand adventure.  We all arrived at this point by different paths, yet as we sat together in the barn this weekend, it didn’t matter how we got there. We were all there to enjoy our horses and cheer for each other. Strangers became life long friends. Fellow competitors morph into friendly faces and you cheer for their success. You volunteer your time to help the show run smoothly and sometimes you can turn someone’s day around by wishing them luck or congratulating their nice ride.

Horsepower is a good thing, but the power of the horse is something truly amazing. To all my friends, I cherish you all and look forward to our future adventures. 

Alison 

Fight or Flight? Ike Says, “Run!”

Ike in the shade

So fall has really arrived here in Virginia.  Temperatures are cooler, humidity is lower, and you can hear acorns falling from the trees.  Leaves have a hint of fall colors. The crisp air seems to electrify the atmosphere for the horses and especially for my two. (No shock there.) The boys ramp up their gelding play – biting, kicking, running, and rearing are de rigueur.  As you try to lead them to and from their paddocks, you are either struggling to keep up with Ike’s walk or you try your best not to get run over by Cigar.  Cigar likes to demonstrate his piaffe ability if you make him slow down to walk with you; where was that skill when he was in work??

And riding can also become a bit more challenging when your horse is on edge and ready to make a run for it at any moment.  Five crows sent Ike into a tizzy earlier this week, and the invisible boogey man (or clown) had him ready to save himself yesterday.  He only saves me if I can stay astride.  Thankfully, my ability to keep my ass in the saddle has improved; perhaps it is the memory of the pain from my last fall.

But an amazing thing can happen if I can keep Ike calm and somewhat focused when he gets a bit agitated.  When the adrenaline, cortisol, and noradrenaline start flowing, Ike feels like he grows another 6 inches in the withers as he sits on his hind end and prepares to run.  I relax my seat to sit deeper in the saddle; I exhale and shake my shoulders.  If I give a couple of meaningful and well-timed half halts, I have an upper level quality passage and a real collected trot.  Ike is through, connected, and using his back.  When I ask for a medium trot, Ike can answer. My ability to sit that trot is still in question.

This adrenaline-fueled horse can also perform walk-canter and canter-walk transitions with ease.  Since he is using his back correctly, we have more jump in our canter stride.  The only downside is that sometimes someone doesn’t want to slow down.

So now I ponder how to achieve this fear-motivated, connected feeling during my finals class…anyone have some pet crows that we can borrow next week?

alison

 

 

 

The Crooked Way

ike-and-alison-at-culpeper-aug-2016

Photo by Melana Krivitsky

 

We are all crooked in some way, shape or form.  Your left side is more dominant or maybe it’s your right side. Maybe you have an old or even a new injury that causes one leg to be weaker than the other. Maybe you had a Big Wheel accident as a child and chipped a bone in your wrist.  Or, perhaps, like me, you have some minor scoliosis that for the most part is a non-issue…until you are trying to train a horse.  And let us not forget we also ride half ton animals that have their own crookedness and stiffness to manage.

Add the two together and you have a recipe for a challenging, crooked path up the levels…a path that looks like it was cleared with a plastic butter knife.  The talented riders know how to compensate for their body’s issues and can easily address the issues of their horses…but where does that leave the rest of us?

There have been a multitude of books and articles written about straightening the crooked horse.  I particularly like the image that Lilo Fore paints in her article for Practical Horsemen of the horse moving in a “crooked, crab-like position.”  I have ridden that crab and left many points in the sandbox due to that crookedness.  Reading about how to straighten your horse is one thing.  Actually putting those words into practice can be much more challenging.  How can you effectively straighten your horse’s shoulders when you are collapsed to the left/right due to your body issues?

My scoliosis is not a new issue for me. It has been a lifelong conformation fault.  But it is only recently in my riding that I noticed my imbalance and it’s effect on my riding. Guess it took developing an independent seat to realize that the range of motion of my left hip is different than that of the right hip.  It comes across most in my struggle to help Ike with the left lead countercanter. Try as I might, I cannot move my left hip as easily as the right. While we can earn 7’s for our right lead countercanter serpentine; the left is a hot mess with me flailing about and praying that Ike can interpret what I want. Even when I consciously try and make my movement more pronounced,  it is still barely enough. I often wonder how this will affect our progress to the other levels.  Our goal in dressage is to show straightness and equivalent movement on the right and left sides. Hmm, when you don’t have the same range of motion with the left hip that you have with the right, how do you compensate when your seat is such an important piece of the puzzle? Ugh, the struggle is real.

There is no quick fix for this issue and there will be no cumbersome back braces to correct the alignment. I practice yoga which helps me focus on my body alignment and balance. Yoga quickly exposes your “weaker side” when you are balancing on one leg.  The wall has saved me more than once.  But if you fall down, just get right back up and try again.  Eventually the balance poses get easier (only took me 7 years to master scorpion pose…) Yoga helps me to maintain my flexibility, and I focus on deepening the hip stretches to increase the range of motion.  The warrior poses are all in my repertoire; and pigeon pose (http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/pigeon-pose/) and I have a love/hate relationship.  Pigeon pose is the ultimate hip opener especially as you move towards the bound king pigeon pose.  Lotus pose (http://www.yogajournal.com/pose/lotus-pose/) is for those days when you just don’t feel as flexible.

I will continue to try Ms. C’s patience as she repeatedly screams, “move that left hip!”  For that, I must apologize.  Thank goodness she is a patient trainer!!  Acknowledging the problem is a start, and making an effort to minimize its damage on our progress up the levels is the goal.

Time to go practice that countercanter!

alison

The Art of Being Consistent

Ike at VADACH Aug 2016

Second Level work is H-A-R-D.  There, I said it.  It was such a thrill last year when I rode my first Second Level test ever.  It was a bigger thrill to earn my two Second Level scores for my USDF Bronze Medal.  The biggest thrill is that we are only one score away from Ike earning his Second Level USDF Horse Performance Certificate.  So why after all of these milestones do I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of  being an accomplished dressage rider at this level?  Well, it is because I came to the realization that we are not yet proficient or consistent in our Second Level work.

Merriam-Webster defines the word consistent as, “always acting or behaving in the same way, ” or “of the same quality; especially: good each time.”  You can look at either our marks for the individual movements or even the array of ribbon colors from the shows this year to know that we are still lacking in a consistent performance in our Second Level tests.

Overall, I am pleased with our work at the shows this year.  After our latest show, we came home with a blue, 2 reds, and a yellow.  And while it is nice to have the ribbons to show for our efforts, it is the score sheets and comments from the judges that are the most meaningful in our quest for consistency.  All four of our latest scores were in the 60th percentile.  For us, that is a huge accomplishment at Second Level.

Both of our Test 2 scores hit at or close to the 65% mark.  That is a huge improvement from last year.  Our marks for the two 10-meter half circles are improving, but I still need to figure out how to show more bend in Ike’s midsection as we ride our half circles.  I am finding it challenging to show the correct bend without over-bending the giraffe neck.  We are also successfully holding our countercanter in both directions in Test 2.  These two scores were confidence builders and I feel much more prepared to ride this test at the Region 1 CBLM Championship show in October.

Our marks for the dreaded turn on the haunches are also going up…except for the one when (yet again) the rider turned the WRONG WAY.  Seriously, what the eff is wrong with me?!  I have no doubt that the judge before my next ride chuckled as my husband yelled, “the left hand makes the L, Al” as I trotted around waiting for the bell to ring.  It really does help your overall score when you can get a 6.5 or a 7 rather than a 4 for these turns.  I have learned that the judge would rather see your turns be a little larger with active hind legs rather than your horse’s hind leg getting stuck and pivoting around that leg.  They might like that in the quarter horse world, but pivoting is frowned upon in dressage world.  I am also doing better at maintaining my weight on the inside rather than getting left behind as Ike makes the turn.  Hmm, funny how when the rider finally rides the movement rather than coasting along how the scores go up…

And while there is much improved with our Second Level work, there is still work to be done.  The left lead serpentine of Test 3 is our current arch nemesis.  We are holding the countercanter on the second loop, but it sure isn’t pretty.  I also struggle to get the correct angle for my shoulder in and haunches in – “too much angle,” “stiff movement,” and “too little angle shown” are common comments.  The best way to get those scores higher?  Practice, practice, practice.

Just like with anything you want to master – repetition of the skill is necessary in order to achieve proficiency and consistency.  A baker makes thousands of cookies in order to master a recipe.  A chef will slice and dice hundreds of vegetables to hone his/her knife skills. An archer will shoot arrow after arrow to improve their accuracy. And so a rider must spend hours upon hours in the saddle to master each skill necessary to move up the levels.

And while it would be easy to say it is time for Third Level, the perfectionist in me reminds me to slow down and hone our Second Level skills for a little longer.  Be consistent in our angle, be proficient at countercanter, be stable in our collected trot.  It only gets harder from here, so slow down and enjoy the ride.

alison

Happy Gotcha Day!

Ike medium trot So Heritage April 2016

Photo by Katherine Turnbull

When I was in my early 20’s and looking for gainful employment, I always hated the question, “Where do you want to be in five years?”  Umm, employed and no longer living in my childhood bedroom?  I never felt like I gave a meaningful answer to that question.  At that age, I hardly knew what I wanted to do the following weekend!

Five years.  1,825 days.  43,800 hours.  It can seem like a very long time, but as I have aged (slightly past 21), it seems that time moves faster and faster.  Five years can go by in the blink of an eye.  It is hard to believe that it was five years ago today that Ike arrived in Virginia.  His baby face is gone as are the pencil neck and narrow shoulders; they have been replaced by very broad shoulders and a stately look that can be quite striking when not riddled with battle wounds or spider bites.  I am hopeful that he is finally done growing taller and longer.

We are now two thirds of the way to our USDF Bronze Medal.  My gangly 3 year old who couldn’t canter without threatening harm to my knees on the fence is now a strapping 8 year old who can canter a 10 meter circle.  We are on the threshold of beginning Third Level work in earnest.  Whhhaaattt?!! Our progress has been more tortoise like than hare, but it is steady and on an upward incline.  And truth be told, I am the weaker link in this partnership, but thankfully Ike is a patient partner and is gracious when I make mistakes.

I thank my lucky stars that I have the privilege of owning and riding such a willing partner.  I am thankful that I have a supportive husband who stands by me on this crazy dressage journey.  This adventure would not be possible without Ms. C’s unwavering support and knowledge. Thank you to everyone who cheers us on when we win and provides moral support when we falter.

Here’s to another anniversary on Ike’s centerline adventures!

alison

Sweaty Pants

Ike Aug 23 2015

“Can someone please turn down the heat?

So it has been hotter than Hades these past few weeks.  I will admit that I do not function at 100% when the heat index is over 100°F.  I am certain that neither does my horse – there is a certain lack of pep in his step when the temperatures soar.  So what is one to do when it is just too hot to put in any strenuous riding?  One goes on vacation!  Spent a week on the shore with family fishing, horseback riding on the beach, and amusing fellow beach goers with my feeble attempts on a standup paddleboard.  If you think riding takes good balance and a strong core, just try standing on a paddleboard while trying to paddle and steer.

 

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Hatteras Island beach ride

 

And while I had a fabulous time soaking up the sun while floating in the cool ocean waters, Ike stayed home and had some one-on-one time with Ms. C.  He is not good at keeping our secrets and was obviously rather plow horse–like in his work with her since I received the following message:  “Rode the giant, too heavy in everything!!!!! (yes, there were that many exclamation points.) So we had some ‘enlightening’ right away with no leaning on hands, legs or [in] the movement.”

I am now not the only one paying the price for Ike’s actions during my absence.  During my first lesson after vacation, Ms. C first informed me that because of her work with Ike, that unless you are out for a hack and a relaxing ride, all of her students were now expected to actively ask for uphill balance…no more accepting lack of engagement or plodding around on the forehand.  If we accept that during our training rides, then why wouldn’t our horses believe that it is acceptable in competition.  Train like you are in the competition ring with a judge at C.  Train for excellence and not for mediocrity. I have asked Ike to apologize to everyone, but he is rather unrepentant.  So as his mother, I am truly sorry for Ike’s unapologetic behavior and half-assed work for Ms. C.

Achieving real uphill balance, having hind end engagement, sitting on the hind end, picking up the front end, making the forehand lighter, ending the plow horse movement, getting off the forehand.  Whatever you call it, it still means that you will no longer carry your horse’s oversized head yourself.  He is going to have to shoulder that load. It means that he will no longer bully you with his massive shoulder when resistant to the leg aids.  I understand the concepts, but putting those concepts into practice can be challenging.  It is much easier for me to achieve it with a double bridle, but for the time being, that toy has been taken away.  “You need to be able to do this without the double.”  Aaarrggghhh, but it is soooo much HARDER.  But I knuckled under, tacked up with my snaffle, and worked on lightening Ike’s forehand.  Ms. C provided me with a new visual to help drill in the concept of how to half halt effectively to achieve the desired result– Pretend you are pulling on a pair of wet riding pants when you are sweaty.  Now there is an image to haunt your dreams…

But the funny thing is, that the image worked for me.  My first solo ride after my lesson, I actually felt like Ike was sitting on his hind end more and moving like a real Second Level horse – not just a poser who gets lucky with good scores every now and again.  It is that uphill feeling that we will need to make the transition to Third Level; I’m almost certain that plow horses do not achieve high scores at Third.  So the next time you see me making a funny face while I am riding, you will know what is going through my head – “Must. Get. On. These. Sweaty. Pants.”

alison

The TV Did It

wp-image-1634862459jpg.jpeg

Ike prior to the latest round of facial injuries

 

When I was in my formative years, I was always injuring myself.  There was rarely a question about how I did it – I fell in the gravel driveway and tore up my knees, I jumped off the handlebars of my friend’s bike and scraped my hands, elbows and knees, I was walking and simply tripped and twisted my ankle.  Poetry in motion.  And if there was a parental question about how I obtained my injury, I would always tell the truth no matter how embarrassing it might be…My brother on the other hand, he was notorious for his bold-faced lies.  How did you slice open your hand? “The T V did it.” (My father did not have to investigate long before he found the pocketknife and bloody Lincoln Log.)  How did you tear your brand new sneaker? “The sweatpants did it.”  (He is taking the truth about that one to his grave.)

Ike falls somewhere in the middle.  Sadly, the big fellow can also be a bit of a klutz. (Ssshhh, I can hear some of you noting that he is just like his mother.)  And while he may not exactly lie about how he injured himself, he is also not always forthcoming with how the injury occurred.  I swear that he shrugs his shoulders when asked what happened to cause the loss of hair/blood/lameness/odd lump.  Sometimes I can tell that the injury was inflicted by his brother.  Other times I can locate the offending bug bite that started the itching and severe loss of mane.  Last weekend I watched him misjudge how far away from the fence he was and bang his head on the fence post.  I feared he’d hit his eye, but thankfully upon removal of the fly mask, he’d only scraped some hide off his face right above his eye.  Most times though, I have no idea what caused the injury and all I can do is triage the damage and pray that we have some hair growth before the next dressage show.

And the cause Ike’s lameness a few weeks ago will forever remain a mystery.  We had a stellar lesson one day, a solid training ride the next, and emerged the next morning clearly limping.  What the?!  We had been working hard to strengthen our countercanter and develop a more powerful collected trot.  I had been doing my best to teach him to reach more in his medium trot while trying to maintain my position in the saddle.  He went from 100% sound to the walking wounded overnight.  You could see him limping even at the walk and the problem was definitely the left front.  No obvious signs of a problem; he only flinched when you touched the bulb of the hoof.  My best guess is that he laid down to sleep and then whacked himself with one of the hinds as he flailed about to get up.  There were no televisions nor any sweatpants to take the blame.

We were lucky and after a week off from work, Ike came back completely sound.  Amazingly he did not seem to lose any of his fitness or stamina from the down time.  Wish I could say the same for me – a week out of the saddle always leaves me a bit rusty and slow to react with the necessary aids.  We now work with polo wraps, pastern wraps, and bell boots to protect his legs and hooves.  I’m still debating the merits of bubble wrap for turnout.  Keep your fingers crossed that we make it through the second half of our show season!

alison