Tag Archives for sitting trot

Our First Level Debut…

Ike dressed and ready for one of his lessons.

Ike dressed and ready for one of his lessons.

This Sunday is our last show of the year.  I thought the regional finals would be the end, but I got a bit of an itch to give First Level a go, so we are headed to one last schooling show to try First Level Test 1.  It should be an interesting afternoon.

We signed up for Training Level Test 3 as well.  The comfort zone.  I would love, love, love to cross that 70% mark.  We came oh so close once this year with a 69.4%, but then we kind of found a comfort zone in the 64%-66% range.  If we could just have once error free ride, we might actually be able to accomplish this elusive goal.  No spooks, no shies, no falling out of the canter, no eyeing the horses in the distance, and definitely no hand galloping.  All that nonsense ends up hurting us in the collective marks, which we all know, can kill any chances of crossing the magical 70-mark.  This is my last ditch effort to achieve the goal I set for myself at the beginning of the season.  Please keep all fingers and toes crossed; I know I am.

We are just hoping to stay in the ring and survive the First Level test.  No real expectations for a high score.  Just hoping to not completely embarrass ourselves or make the judge regret getting out of bed that morning.  Throughout this year, we have played with lengthening the trot, but we really didn’t spend a lot of time schooling it on a regular basis.  The focus was a connected working trot with a steady connection.  Our work this year has Ike in top notch condition – when we work on lengthening the trot, he isn’t even breathing hard while I stop discuss what Ms. C saw or did not see in our work (and to catch my breath!).  The problem comes when I get a bit greedy with the lengthening or use a bit too much leg or whip without the necessary half halt to rebalance Ike’s movement.  Imagine a toddler running down a hill.  They get faster and faster and you can see the fall unfolding.  They just don’t have the body control to stop themselves…well Ike has the same problem.  If I’m not there to help him hold things together, he loses his hind end and stumbling ensues.  Graceful as his mother.

The hardest parts of the First One test are the transitions, i.e., free walk to medium walk at P to trot at F to right lead canter AT the letter A.  It all happens really quickly and unfortunately has a coefficient of 2 in the scoring.  We have practiced repeatedly, but it will still be a crap shoot on show day.  All the canter to trot transitions are also at the letter (with a double coefficient as well), and usually right in front of the judge.  Please Ike listen to me when I ask for the down transition.  Down transitions are not optional in the test.

The other tricky part will be the canter, only because there is so much of it in this test.  Poor Ike is exhausted when we are done with our lessons that include all the canter work required for this test.  Canter, canter circle, keep cantering, lengthen the canter, show a comeback from the lengthening or attempt to show one, canter to the appropriate letter for a down transition…Yikes!  It is probably a good thing that we are starting this work in the cooler weather and not in the wretched heat of summer.  I too would be as exhausted as Ike is at the end of our lessons except for the fact that the USEF test writers kindly made sit trot optional at First Level.  A big shout out to the person or persons who made this call.  You are now some of my favorite people.

I’ve got my bet on what our score will be for our First Level debut.  Anyone else want to throw a number into the mix?

Whoa, That is What a Lengthening Feels Like?

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No, there are no new photos or videos of today’s ride.  The camera stayed in the car; probably a good thing since, yet again, a thunderstorm showed up at the end of my lesson.  Still trying to figure out how I pissed off Mother Nature enough that she’s decided that it should rain almost every time my butt hits the saddle.  I’m predicting a tropical storm or hurricane September 7th and 8th when I try for the last time to get my qualifying score.

For the 45 rain-free minutes of my lesson, Ike was a stellar pupil.  We are continuing to challenge him beyond the Training Level skill set we need for competition.  Why stagnate when there is no reason?  Are we ready to show First or Second Level?  Oh no!  But we will never be ready to compete at those levels if we don’t take the first steps to learning the new skills we will need.

Today’s lesson started with shoulder in to haunches in while tracking in both directions.  I found that shoulder in to the left is easier to the right, but I can more easily move Ike’s haunch to the right.  Go figure.  It is also a challenge to keep the giraffe neck and body in the correct alignment.  How easy it is to overbend that neck…especially for the girl who loves her inside rein a bit too much (I’m a work in progress).

This collected work helped to set up some lovely canter work.  Ike can still get a bit too strong in the hand with the canter.  Speed Racer made an appearance yesterday – no delicate half halt was going to slow down the boy yesterday.  Thank goodness we had none of that today as we worked on trot-canter-trot transitions on a circle.  Ms. C then had us feed off to a trot down the long side of the arena with me asking for the next trot gear.  We knew there was another gear lurking about and today, we found it.  I half halted and rebalanced on the short end and then with the gentlest squeeze of my fingers, I offered my hands forward and POW! the next trot gear revealed itself.  It felt like we were floating on air down the long side.  I honestly squealed with excitement.  Ms. C let us know that we’d found our trot lengthening.  Ah, said the blind girl.  Ohh dear, said the girl who realized she will have to sit that trot at second level.

We managed to again find that fabulous trot in the other direction right before the thunder rumbled and reminded us that we should seek cover.  We finished with a few circles of stretch down walk and trot and quickly headed to the barn.

Ike and I are still in the infancy of our journey, but it is gearing up to be a heck of a ride.  Now time to do some core work so I can keep up with my horse!

What The!?!

The Big, Bad Horse

The Big, Bad Horse

So I go out-of-town for a week of sand between my toes and I came home to an ENORMOUS horse.  I swear that Ike added 6 inches in height and at least 100-200 pounds while I was gone.  How is this possible?  What did Ike eat in the 7 days I was gone to bulk up that quickly?  I checked around the barn, but did not find any secret stash of steroids or evidence of weight gain powder residual in his food bowl.  Of course, I am certain that he really didn’t gain any height or weight in one week, but the mind sure can play tricks.

While I didn’t do much besides play in the surf and soak up some rays, Ike had to face the daunting task of performing for Ms. C on two days.  Luckily he was his usual stellar self for both of his training sessions.  She put Ike through his paces and confirmed that indeed, he is ready to move to harder concepts.  She played with pushing Ike forward and then bringing him back to a working gait.  There are more gears yet to be discovered.  Oh, dear.  While an extended canter does nothing to faze me, a huge extended trot is enough to give me the vapors.  Thank goodness that you can now rise the trot even at First Level.

Knowing that our (okay, my) next big hurdle is sitting Ike’s trot while keeping him together and keeping my legs from shooting out in front of me, that is what I worked on for my ride on Sunday.  Why not go full-out my first day back in the saddle!?  I used my SOS strap as best I could to help keep my ass in the saddle where it is supposed to be.  Also used all my yoga breathing techniques to keep me from holding my breath as I am prone to do.  Had limited success with the SOS strap since I then would forget to half halt and Ike would lose his connection and raise his head.  Arrrgh!  Oh yeah, as I was forgetting to half halt, I also managed to let my reins get too long so Ike was left to wonder what the heck was going on in the saddle.  He did his best at interpreting what he thought were my aids, but were in fact just me flopping around like a fish out of water.  And no, there is no video.

Today was a challenging day.  Ike must have woken up on the wrong side of the stall, because he was recalcitrant from the moment I retrieved him for the farrier appointment.  He tried to bite me.  He tried and almost succeeded in biting his farrier (he must have forgotten what happened the one time he did bite Phil…).  He then tried to bite me again.  Once the shoeing was done, he pawed the shavings in his stall until there was a hole near the door.  I yelled.  Ike then turned around and pushed with all his might on the stall door which got him a poke on the butt from me.  He then tried biting me while pinning his ears as I wrote the check to the farrier.

I decided to tack up to see if the mood would carry over.  Why yes, it did.  He tried to bite me as I tightened the girth.  He spit the bit out.  He even spit out his peppermint.  A squeeze from my leg resulted in an ear-pinning, cow kick to which I responded with a tap from my whip.  I got an ear-pinning, “I’m going to bite you” look from that.  Ike then sucked back and would not connect.  Then he decided to play giraffe and blow through my half halts.  After 30 minutes of arguing, we FINALLY had 10 minutes of pleasantness.  I considered that a success and dismounted.  Tomorrow is another day.  Hoping Ike has a better night’s sleep tonight.  Vacation is over!

And We’re Moving On Up, On Up…

005Well, okay, we are not moving into a penthouse suite, nor are we moving to the top of the training scale.  Only in my dreams do we piaffe and passage with the best horses and riders.  No, we are moving on to the next level of Ike’s dressage education which means we will begin schooling first and second level concepts in earnest.

The game changer was last Tuesday when Ms. C rode Ike.  She now knows exactly where Ike stands with his training.  Poor Ike can’t hide behind my poor technique or lack of skills anymore.  Ms. C likes how Ike responds in the Neue Schule bit; he is not too heavy, nor does he avoid contact with it.  She believes that he will have excellent lateral work.  She also said that he now has the physical and mental strength to handle the greater demands that he will now face.

Soooo, that meant that during my lesson on Saturday and my lesson today, I had to be focused and mentally ready to really ride my horse every single stride.  As I’ve stated in past posts, I have a tendency to turn on the cruise control and forget to half halt, shift my weight, move my leg, or do anything to improve Ike’s way of moving.  Ms. C yelling, “why are you letting your horse flatten?” or “where is Ike’s shoulder headed?” usually bring me out of my cruise mode and back to reality.  I’d say that having the ability to focus and ride every stride are probably two of those key elements that separate the talented riders from the rest of us.

So first on the list of skills to master as we embark on this next phase of our training is focus – I knew how to do it when I ran hurdles as part of my high school’s track team.  I could run by bleachers filled with screaming people and not hear a thing.  Nothing.  Nothing but the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement.  Not sure when I lost that ability.  Is it part of the aging process?  Maybe I need some ginko biloba to increase blood flow to the brain and thus, the brain’s capacity to think and stay focused.

The next skill to master is relaxing my arms and legs so that I can improve my sit trot.  If we are moving on with Ike’s training, then I need to be able to keep up as he masters the new skills.  What good is it to have a horse that is ready for Second Level when the rider is still struggling to keep her ass in the saddle without shooting her legs out and bracing.  This isn’t water skiing.  My sit trot during my lesson today was better than on Saturday.  I’ve noticed that there are times that it is still better to rise than to hunker down and fight for the sit trot.  With Ike, when I ask for a trot lengthening, it is better for me to get off his back…at least at this point in the training.  Today I would sit the short ends, lengthen the long sides, and then go back to sit trot.  While it might not have been the prettiest, I do think that we did okay with our efforts.

I’m very excited with where we are with Ike’s training.  I fought for seven years with Cigar and barely made it out of Training Level before his career ended.  He challenged me every step of the way and at times, I would get very demoralized.  I pretty much decided that I had no idea what I was doing.  Ike has helped me regain my confidence and realize that progress is possible.  It might even happen faster than I anticipated…

“I Hope My Antiperspirant Holds Up”

Cigar and I

Cigar and I

This past weekend, my husband and I met my parents at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Virginia to enjoy some time together and place some bets on the Thoroughbred races.  Ever since I was a little girl, I loved watching the races and trying to pick the winner.  Everyone has their method for picking the “winner.”  My Dad selects a name he likes.  My husband actually reads the race statistics and workout times to select his bets.  I bet on the horse that looks like my OTTB Cigar (bay with a white star)…and then there is my mother.

When she was a youngster, she used to go to one of the local tracks in New Jersey with her Uncle.  He would ask her which horse she liked and would put a $2 wager on it to win.  She would always pick the grey horse without fail.  He would tell her she shouldn’t pick that particular horse.  My mother would insist and when asked why she wanted the grey, “Because it is pretty.”  What other reason would there be?  To this day, she still bets on the grey.  In one race there were multiple grey horses with not the best of odds.  She placed bets on all of them and even tried a trifecta box.  That trifecta box was a $48 bet; a wee bit more than she usually wagers.  She was giddy at the thought of winning that bet and that is where the quote of the weekend comes into the picture, “I hope my antiperspirant holds up.”  My mother was on the edge of her seat when the bell rang and was standing and screaming as the horses came around the final turn toward the finish line.  Unfortunately, one of my bets and another horse ruined her plans of a big payout to supplement her shoe budget.  Have no fear, she stuck with her greys and won a few dollars in the later races.

And speaking of antiperspirant, although I liberally applied it before I left the house, I doubt I still smelled spring-time-fresh by the time I was done riding Saturday morning.  I managed to get an extra lesson in with Ms. C early in the day.  Even early in the morning when the sun is not at its strongest, I was sweating like I was sitting in a sauna.  Ugh, mid-Atlantic summers are so humid.  The slight breeze was barely enough to stir the leaves on the trees.  It definitely wasn’t enough to keep the sweat from raining down into my eyes and onto my glasses.  Yes, I am a vision that will never make it into a deodorant commercial…not quite the marketing plan the executives have in mind.

Um, are you sure you want to do this? It is awfully humid out there.

Um, are you sure you want to do this? It is awfully humid out there.

Although the weather was not my favorite, Ike still performed like the stellar fellow he is.  We continued schooling him in lengthening his stride at the trot.  When we do manage to get some strides in which Ike is really using his whole body, I begin to wonder whether or not I will be able to sit that trot when the time comes.  It is a lot bigger than I realized.  It might not have the suspension of some of the top warmbloods, but there is enough “oomph” in there for this girl.  And can I just say that there is no good way to learn how to sit trot other than getting on a horse and giving it a go.  No amount of aerobics or sit ups or yoga is going to teach me how to move with my horse without stiffening or flopping like a fish out of water.  Any advice is welcome, as well as any coupons for some more antiperspirant and deodorant.

Disappointment Takes a Turn to Elation

Great photo of Ike and I...yes, I know, you can't see much of me. That is what makes it great.

Great photo of Ike and I…yes, I know, you can’t see much of me. That is what makes it great.

So of course I was bummed that our show tomorrow was cancelled, but the money that was going to be spent on the show was used for an extra lesson with Ms. C and a clinic with Rebecca Langwost-Barlow.  It turns out that sometimes the unexpected can turn out to be just what you need to feel good about you and your horse and the progress you have made over the winter.  To hear from both these ladies that Ike and I are working well together and that they can see the progress that we’ve made, gave me a warm fuzzy feeling that perhaps I am starting to “get” what dressage is all about.  There is a glimmer of hope that we will succeed this season AND even more exciting, make it out of Training Level.

A big part of progressing is, of course, the half halt that I talk about incessantly, but the other necessary skill is (ugh) the sitting trot.  That was my nemesis today at the clinic.  OMG!  I do believe that it is going to be harder to master than the half halt.  I either lean too far back, or shoot my lower leg out like a water skier, or pinch with my knees, and most frequently, tense my shoulders.  Meanwhile, I’m also huffing and puffing and trying to move my seat with Ike’s trot rhythm.  It gets even more challenging when I try to down transition from canter to trot.  Ike’s trot as we come out of the canter is very forward.  Whoa, that is a lot of motion to absorb and keep my tush in the saddle in a somewhat relaxed fashion.  By the end of the clinic I was doing it, but so very glad that there is no video evidence of my less than masterful skills.

I find it interesting that there are so many things you can learn to do proficiently from reading a book: baking, cooking, gardening, and bike maintenance are all things I’ve learned from reading books.  In my humble opinion, riding is not one of those skills that can be learned from reading a book or magazine.  Sure you can read the concepts over and over, but to truly be proficient, one must ride.  Not just once, but over and over and over again.  But wait, if you truly want to master a riding skill, you must ride many different horses since each one is unique.  No wonder so many of us struggle to progress.  Who has limitless time and a barn full of horses to ride?  Not this girl.  So it means that much more to earn the complements from those skilled trainers…almost better than a blue ribbon. 🙂

p.s. We have ride times for next Sunday, so the countdown restarts…8 days.