Tag Archives for Dressage

We’re Melting

After two wretchedly hot days, it “cooled” off enough today to attempt my dressage lesson.  Weenie was resting comfortably in his stall when I arrived as was his friend Wussy.  Poor Ike was crusty from having sweated profusely the past few days.  There were white lines of crust like zebra stripes along his hind end.  It was tempting to hose him off even before starting our lesson, but opted for a bucket and rag.  I was sweating even before our lesson started, so I knew I’d be rather crusty by the time we were done.

Ms. C had us working on walk-trot and trot-walk transitions.  Ike was a bit heavy in my hand today to start, but at the same time, behind my leg (i.e. lazy) with the hind end.  The quick transitions woke him up and helped him connect and bring the hind end into sync with the front end.  We then refined the exercise so that I’d half halt and aaaallllmost walk, but then quickly squeeze my legs and trot on.  Sometimes I’d be a bit loud with my half halt and we’d walk, sometimes I’d be too strong with my “trot on” aids so my up transition was a bit abrupt.  Ugh, always rider error.  I can’t blame Ike because all he is doing is trying to understand what I am asking.  As I become more educated in dressage, I’m learning that not only is the half halt the secret aid of the rider, but that transitions are very important.  I’ve spent some time recently watching the Grand Prix rides on the USEF Network (http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFDressageFestivalofChampions/).  So many of the scores are for the transitions, so you’d better do them well if you hope to have a respectable score.  Of course, their transitions are from piaffe to passage or extended trot to collected trot, but we all have to start somewhere right?

Before Ike’s tank went empty, we did practice the Training 1 and Training 2 canter transitions and patterns.  The bugger was spot on with his canter transitions today and we even produced some roundish circles.  We won’t head out to another schooling show until July 29th, so hopefully by then Ike will be ready to try two Training Level tests.  And hopefully there will be no scary water trucks or big tractors in use while we attempt our tests.  We did not overschool canter and moved on to shoulder in and haunches in.  Ah, my favorites.  Yes, I know we need this work, but it is HARD making all those body parts stay in place.  I was working so hard that I was blinded by the sweat rolling into my eyes.  Also found that my dressage whip came in handy to speak to the hind end…I might have long legs, but sometimes they are just not long enough to speak effectively to Ike’s back end.  What are we going to do if his body length stretches anymore?  Carry a lunge whip?  Now that would be a sight to see.

By the time our lesson was over, my face was bright red, my clothes were soaked, Ike was soaked, and there was white lather from the bridle and reins.  A vision of loveliness.  Took some doing to get Ike hosed down…I let him graze as I hose him and I’m pretty sure he delibrately steps on the hose every time I try hosing certain areas of his body.  Stinker.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

Miserable, simply miserable.  This is July/August heat and it is only June.  At this rate we will be riding with ice packs stuffed down our shirts by August.  This heat has even made the bugs mad so they are particularly pesky to the perspiring ponies.  Ike just couldn’t take the great outdoors for all that long and somehow convinced Ms. C to bring him to the sanctuary of his stall.  Ms. C tried putting Ike back outside a couple of more times, but he protested enough to find his way back to his stall for the remainder of the day.  He has earned the new nickname of Weenie.  But don’t worry about Ike being alone in the barn, his friend Wussy (the chestnut mare who tries to bite Ike) was also enjoying the shady respite of the barn.

It is interesting to note that the green heads and horse flies don’t follow the horses into the barn.  The barn doors are wide open, the windows are wide open, but the only flies in the barn are the common house flies.  Why is that?  Are there different intelligence levels in flies?  Are they visually challenged so they cannot discern the doors and windows?  Of course, there are enough of the house flies to be annoying, but they come nowhere near the evilness of the green heads and horse flies.  Maybe Weenie and Wussy are smarter than we think…

Humble Pie

Not sure who said it, but isn’t there a saying that kids and animals will keep you humble?  My horses certainly know how to keep my head from swelling with confidence and bring me back down to earth.  Take for example our Training Level debut.  I had been stressing for weeks about our right lead canter and our stretch down trot. Our left lead canter has been spot on for months.  Can you guess where we had our lowest score on Sunday?  The LEFT lead canter!  Ugh!!  We cross-cantered and got a well-deserved 4 for our effort.  The right lead canter?  7.  The stretch down trot? 5.5.  I’m actually pleased with our 5.5 for the stretch down trot;  with all the chaos, I didn’t expect that we would have any stretch.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know which movement will cause you angst on any given day?  Too much confidence + too much chaos = average score + a big slice of humble pie.  I think I still prefer apple pie.  Deep breath.  We have over a month at home to just train rather than thinking about tests.  We will get stronger and our scores will get better.

I popped on for a short ride today to see where we stand with the canter transitions – not a single problem.  Sigh.  Stretch down trot?  Quicker rhythm and little stretch.  Sigh.  Back to normal.  And normally the summer heat arrives in Virginia in June, and the rest of the week looks to be a very hot one.  Close to 100 degrees with the heat index tomorrow and Thursday.  Yea…don’t you just love when the sweat rolls down into your eyes while you ride (burn, baby, burn) and you are a sopping wet mess even before you hose the horse off?  It is tempting to turn the hose on myself as well, but I hesitate since I do have to get in the car to drive home.

The other bonus for this time of year?  The horse flies have arrived.  Had the first one bounce off my helmet today and then head for Ike’s ears.  Unlike the green-heads and the common house flies, the horse flies are a bit slower to react when I take a whack at them.  Is it wrong to take great pleasure when I actually get one?

Three Cheers for Ike

Another blue ribbon day for Mr. Ike.  I could not be prouder of my 4 year-old and how he handled himself today.  I am exhausted, but a power nap this afternoon has kept me going long enough to get this blog post done.

The day started early, but what a gorgeous day for a dressage show.  I finished Ike’s braids while he was still in his paddock – such a good boy to be so cooperative rather than playing catch me if you can.  He walked on the trailer like a champ and we were on our way.  We arrived at the show grounds about 90 minutes before my first ride.  Ike was much calmer this time out.  Could it be that he is gaining confidence?  No whinnying at every other horse.  No rearing in our stall.  Ms. C arrived soon after we did; we are very lucky to have her support for our centerline adventures.  I know we’d be lost without her guidance.  Hopped onboard with 45 minutes to warm up.  The scary tractor was nowhere to be seen, so warm up went smoothly.  The judge’s booth was scary today…you just never know.  I was the only one in the Intro B class, so this blue ribbon gets an asterisk like Ike’s first show ribbons.  Even with his nervousness near the judge, Ike got a 69.375%.

Had a 90 minute break before the next test.  Ah, now Ike had to learn the restart.  I did leave his saddle on so he understood that work was not over.  Ike had no problems with the second warmup.  Got my first test back just before my second ride.  You would think that you had to use differential equations to score with how long the scoring takes at shows.  The judge wanted Ike to be more forward, so we rode the edge for Intro C.  Overall, that strategy worked, but we did break into canter on our circle to the left…so we went a bit too far over the edge on that one.  Such is life.  67.75% for this test with both canter leads correct and a 9.5 for our final centerline!!!  How cool is that?

Had a two-hour wait for our Training Level debut, so Ike was untacked and had some down time.  I was feeling confident about the restart, but that balloon was deflated when we arrived at warmup.  The water truck and the big tractor were out working on Ring 3.  Pretty sure that Ike believed the boogie man was hiding in one of them.  Warmup was challenging with a couple of explosive airs-above-the-ground canter transitions that I didn’t ask Ike to do.  I was hopeful that the chaos would be over before my ride, but I WAS WRONG.  It got worse.  The tractor was parked right outside our arena as we entered, but then it started up and headed to Ring 2 just as we entered at A.  The water truck then went into the warmup arena…boogie men everywhere.  Ike was a bundle of nerves under me.  I could feel his heart pounding through the saddle.  Needless to say our individual movement scores took a hit as well as the collectives.  58.6% for our Training Level debut, but we still won the class.

So Ike now has three shows behind him and he keeps getting better with each one.  I think he is going to be a super dressage mount as he gets older and gains more confidence.  We now have 5 weeks before our next outing – a schooling show hosted by my local chapter.  Lots of time to decide what tests to ride.  Stay tuned!

Runaway, runaway

So above is a tranquil photo of Ike…rewind to about 30 minutes earlier and it was a much different picture…

Ike and I had just finished our short and productive ride.  I initially worked on establishing our forward and rhythmic trot -no four wheelers revving their engines today.  We then rode Intro B and Training 1 back to back.  I was pleased with our efforts.  Broke into trot during our right lead canter, but that was our only bobble.  I had started the ride with my dressage whip, but dropped it near the mounting block after a few minutes since Ike’s right shoulder was not as pushy today.  I had finished my ride, run up my stirrups, and then leaned over to pick up my whip.  For whatever reason, it startled Ike and the reins slipped from my hand.  Luckily, they were still over my his neck so there was less of a chance for Ike to step on them.  I said, “whoa,” but Ike said, “No,” and he struts off looking like a high-stepping Dutch Harness Horse.  Neck was up, tail was up, and his front legs were perfect right angles.  You could have served drinks on his forearms.

Well Ike’s antics got all the horses fired up.  Why does he get to run around the barnyard????  Thankfully, all the gates were closed.  And more thankfully, the farrier was done working on my friend’s horse.  We were able to catch the runaway fairly quickly and calm the barnyard.

Ride times aren’t too bad for a recognized show:  8:48, 10:37, and 12:37.  Tests run Intro B, Intro C, and Training 1.  If all goes well, I should have my first two scores in hand before the final ride.  Same judge for all three rides as well.  Best news – Ms. C will be there to school us!

Goals for Sunday:  1) Breathe and enjoy the ride; 2) Keep our impulsion on the circles; and 3) Get the correct leads for canter.  Hopefully Ike’s Training Level debut will go better than Cigar’s did.  We scored a 49% (yes, that number is correct) since Cigar decided that he was not going to canter that day.  Much like a young child who clams up when Mom asks them to speak in public.  Would love to get above 60% for Ike’s first try.  Is that too much to ask?

Lesson Day

Had our lesson today – the last minute brush up for the dressage show this weekend.  Can you say challenging?  Part of the challenge we presented to Ike;  the neighborhood children also tossed in a challenge as an added bonus.  Ms. C brought the tractor into the arena and Ike had to follow it on a loose rein, accept treats from Ms. C while she was seated on the tractor, and then had to ride by it like it was a judge’s booth.  Challenge 1 passed with flying colors.  Challenge 2 – The local kids decided to ride their four-wheelers up and down the road at top speed (wearing no helmets which is a topic for another day).  They revved the engines repeatedly which had all the horses on edge.  Ike was a bit on edge and it took all my strength to get him to relax over his back.  Lots of half halts with some being more successful than others.  Had to resort to one rein flexes to finally get his attention after one particularly loud, “I’m not listening to you” moment.  I did realize that carrying my whip when Ike is already keyed up is not the wisest idea.  Good thing to know for Sunday.

Ike finally got used to the four-wheelers and did some nice work.  I need to be careful with my half halts right before circles.  If I give a half halt that is a bit too loud, then I am the reason we loose impulsion on the circle.  Drat…rider error!  If I don’t give enough of a half halt, we plow onto the circle with the hind end trailing a few feet behind.  Rider error again.  It is hard trying to be perfect in your aids.  Heck, it is hard enought just trying to be adequate.

Finished the lesson with the full Training Level Test 1 ride.  Haunches slightly right in halt, but otherwise not bad.  I did manage to keep the haunches from falling right as we made the left turn off centerline.  Good trot down the long side, and then that too loud half halt cost me my trot rhythm on the circle.  Recovered halfway around the circle and nicely forward trot as we headed around our circle at A.  Nailed the left lead canter transition.  I use too much inside rein sometimes to keep Ike from drifting right -need more outside leg and rein.  Stretch down trot circle?  “5”  OK transition to the walk.  Needed more oomph in my free walk as well.  Peaceful trot transition at C.  Better trot circle to the right which is actually surprising because it is our harder side (maybe my half halt was better?)  Right lead canter transition was maybe a tiny bit early, but we got it and the right lead canter was decent.  Good turn onto centerline and square halt.  I can only hope it goes as well on Sunday…

Rain Delay

Our area got some much-needed rain today, so no riding and I used a head shot from a sunnier day since the indoor shots aren’t always the most flattering.  The Fair Weather Fairy and his friends were happily munching hay indoors during the heaviest showers.  Not a big deal since there really aren’t any major breakthroughs that we can or will have in these last 5 days before the show.  Unfortunately there are no overnight miracle cures for establishing a balanced canter.  There is that darn lesson in patience again.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ike and I will have our lesson with Ms. C tomorrow to confirm the skills we do have and to sketch out our show day warm up plans.  We are going to bring the tractor into the ring as a substitute judge’s booth.  Many of our low scores were down at the judge’s end of the arena at the last show, so I will try to keep Ike’s attention as Ms. C shakes papers as we ride by.  Can’t keep giving up those points and half points in case we need them to make up for the lack of stretch down trot.

p.s. The chipmunk boy is back to normal.  Thank goodness we were able to avoid a vet visit.  Cigar was full of himself today in his paddock.  Bucking in place like he just couldn’t stand still.  Perhaps a side effect from the antihistamine?  Or just a Thoroughbred being a Thoroughbred?

Chipmunk Cheeks

No riding today – Ike deserved a day off.  I only groomed and dispensed treats.  Should have done some beauty school, but just didn’t feel like tackling the hard stuff today. I think it is nice just to visit with the boys so they don’t just associate me with work; although I think Cigar has figured out that his life no longer includes work of any kind.

As you can see from the photo, Ike is not the one with chipmunk cheeks.  Poor Cigar was the one whose cheeks were lumpy and bumpy – he declined a photo since he was looking his best.  The horses had just been fed their afternoon grain and heads were down munching on hay when I arrived.  I was putting some anti-itch spray on Cigar’s tail because he has rubbed a bald spot over the past few days.  Not sure if it is from his constant rolling to fight the flies or if he is itchy.  While I was checking the back end, Ms. C noticed that Cigar had an odd lump on his right cheek.  When I palpated both sides, the right was more swollen than the left.  Very odd.  He was his normal self with bright eyes and happy nickers, so he did not seem to be in any distress.  Gave him some bute and some antihistamines.  A show of hands by everyone who has sat on the tack room floor pulling apart antihistamine capsules and dumping them into a cup of oats…Will check tomorrow and if it is any worse, I will place the call to the vet.  Hoping that he was just stung by something and it is a temporary reaction.  Reminds me of the time when I was stung on the forehead and awoke the next day looking like a Star Trek character (a Borg perhaps?) with a swollen forehead and eyes.

You could tell that it was a hot day today.  You could see the dried salt on the horses from the sweat.  Hoping that the weather is much less steamy next weekend when the black wool jacket makes its next appearance.  Excited to read that ride times will be posted tomorrow.  Fingers crossed that they are close together and in the morning like the first show, although I really don’t want to be the first one down centerline like we have been at the two shows we have attended this year.

Hoping the weather cooperates and I can catch a ride tomorrow.

Do You Ride?

Imagine if you will the following picture as you are walking through the grocery store: before you stands a woman with a ball cap shoved on her head to hide her sweaty, helmet-flattened hair, her shirt is also wet with sweat and has a green smear of something across her chest, her tan pants are close-fitting and also have unidentified stains on them, and she has on a pair of tie-dyed Zocks with her feet wearing a pair of clogs.  As you approach her, there is an intoxicating aroma of horse, sweat, and hay with a hint of leather conditioner lingering in the background.  Do you ask that woman, “Do you ride?”  Really?!  The devil on my shoulder is goading me to say, “why no I don’t, why do you ask?”  The angel on my other shoulder twists my earlobe until I do say, “why yes I do.”  Why else would I  be clad in such odd attire?  Unless I was aiming to get my photo on the last page of Glamour magazine with the black box obscuring my identity, there really isn’t any other reason to look that awful except when you are done riding but desperately need groceries.

Have had two productive rides this weekend.  I have tried to focus on our trot rhythm and my proper timing for half halts.  Sometimes I really feel like an uncoordinated klutz in the saddle.  It gives you a true respect for those riders trying out for the US Olympic team who regularly score in the high 70s at Grand Prix.  In any case, I persevere and continue to practice.  Still debating on whether or not to carry my whip at the next show.  Sometimes it seems to help, but shifting the whip from one hand to the other is another one of those klutz-inspired moments for me.  And then I have to decide where does the whip need to be to make it useful.  I could really use it behind my left leg when asking for right lead canter, but within a stride desperately need it at the right shoulder to keep us from collapsing to the right.  AARGGH.  It will have to be a show day decision and based on how Ike feels in warm up.

We did a practice session with the trailer yesterday.  Ike performed flawlessly.  Phew.  One less thing to fret about.

Ike also is in need of another beauty school day.  It seems like his mane has grown at least an inch since April and he is also sporting a Miami Vice five o’clock shadow.  Put that on the list of things to do this week.  The dry cleaner did manage to remove the slobber from my show coat.  Thank goodness they put the protective plastic sleeve over the clean item…I managed to promptly drop the coat as soon as I arrived at the barn.  Couldn’t even make it the 50 feet from my car to the trailer.  Klutz.

One week from today is our Training Level debut.  I think I’m actually a bit nervous already.  It will be a long and sleepless week.

Anyone, Anyone? Bueller?

Do you ever ride your horse and wonder if anyone is home or if they have left town and headed to the beach for a long weekend?  Today, as I rode Ike in our lesson with Ms. C, I felt like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off asking questions to the class, “Anyone, anyone?”  I would ask Ike to half halt, and I would ask again and again and again and….well you get the picture, and he would just keep rolling along as if I hadn’t asked.  I could imagine him sitting at one of those high school desks in economic class with his head on the desk with a puddle of drool under his mouth.  The lights were on but no one was home.

Ms. C had us doing exercises to help control Ike’s shoulders – square turns were challenging since my half halts were going unheeded.  “Ask again, be louder!”  My arms and legs started to hurt from my efforts.  I finally had to down transition to the walk in order for Ike to respond to my request and then attempt them at the trot again.  Ugh, I will need to take some ibuprofen before going to bed tonight.  We also worked on my timing since I have a tendency to be a little late in preparing Ike to feed off on a square turn/circle/centerline.  Half halt a few strides before you feed off or turn, not right as you get there.  It sounds easy enough, but as we are trucking along, I get so worried about missing the letter that I forget to do my preparations.  I guess that is why people like me take lessons from experienced people like Ms. C so that they can keep us on track.

We definitely need help with controlling Ike’s shoulders at the canter.  His right shoulder can be very dominant and today was one of those days.  When I ask for the right lead, that right shoulder collapses and our 20 meter circle quickly becomes a 15, 12, 10 meter circle.  To the left, that dominant right shoulder pulls us right so we have those half ovals or full egg shapes.  Ms. C had me carry a short whip in my right hand and keep it at the shoulder to encourage it to stay more upright.  It did help, but I do sometimes have a hard time keeping my reins at the right length, squeezing my fingers and holding onto the whip.  Feel like a klutz.  Thank goodness Ike is so forgiving.

Can you guess how we finished the lesson?  Stretch down trot!!  Ike was tired at the end of the hour, so we actually did have some positive moments in our stretch down.  I need to remember to sit tall and to not lean forward as I encourage Ike to stretch more.  That just causes him to trot faster and faster and get out of balance.

We will be back to trailer loading practice tomorrow.  I also need to pick up my show coat from the dry cleaners.  Hoping they were able to get the horse slobber off that right sleeve.