Moving My Blog

I'm horribly dissatisfied with Blogger's blog software. I mean seriously... I can't even post a comment on my own blog! So, I'm moving my blog to WordPress.

Come follow me on my new blog!

http://avandarre.wordpress.com/

Ava's Siblings

Just for fun, I was checking out Ava's siblings. I'll include some info on her Sire here as well. We might not have any relatives in the Olympics, but looks like some of them are doing well for themselves.


Vanyel (Ava's Sire)
A purebred son of the Dutch qualified stallion, Laes. Stood 16.3hh.
2002 USDF Region 4 Champion Mature Stallion
Website: http://www.legendwoods.com/HorsePages/van/index.html



Below are Ava's half siblings (same Sire).

Monteto
Monteto is competing at Intermediare 1, and in May 2012 recieved a 62.632. I found some very impressive pictures online, but they're copyright protected so you'll have to visit the link to see them. http://www.cindyewingphotography.com/2010-Shows-Clinics/Gavilan-Chapter-June/Paula-Langan-Monteto/12729872_fv7W4W#!i=916647476&k=Ue8ER

CenterlineScores for Monteto: http://centerlinescores.com/Horse/Details/1033247#filterBy=horse


AAA Vanity
AAA Vanity is competing at Third Level. Maybe not knocking it out of the ball park, but some respectable scores. http://centerlinescores.com/Horse/Details/1047839#filterBy=scores

Here's a video from 2010 for Second Level: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4tN8CNlqhQ



Valinore
http://centerlinescores.com/Horse/Details/1092990#filterBy=scores
Participated in last years Great American/USDF Region 4 Championships & Midwest Regional Championships and recieved a 66.129% at First Level Test 3.



Diamond's Vanity
CenterLineScores: http://centerlinescores.com/Horse/Details/1002193#filterBy=horse

First Level Test 3

Here is what a First Level Test 3 test should look like:

2011 USEF First Level Test 3 with Scores


Here is what my First Level Test 3 test looked like:

My First Level Test 3 with Scores


General Information:
Relaxing the Horse: http://youtu.be/Mf-OLvpdfd8
Exercises that progress toward first level balance and acceptance: http://youtu.be/mlYfnztt3Rs
Article on connection: http://www.usdf.org/EduDocs/Training/FirstLevelLesson_2006_Feb.pdf

Leg Yielding Information:
Leg yield video with scores and directives: http://youtu.be/b3ZYNzTcGiM
Leg yielding with Jan Brink: http://youtu.be/sXEh96FR9xM

Stretchy Trot Information:
Stretchy Trot video with scores and directives: http://youtu.be/FLBPFl4JAsY
Stretchy trot, aids and purpose: http://youtu.be/0_4ms6sDn8w
Using proper rhythm to improve the stretching of the frame: http://youtu.be/MkrSzsSor20

Canter Lengthening Information:
Canter Lengthening with Directives and Scores: http://youtu.be/R7dd_bY-haY

Trot Lengthening Information:
Trot Lengthening with Directives and Scores: http://youtu.be/HgHlxR5Sb4U

Barn Move & What to Do?

I've been considering moving Ava, again. I enjoy the fact that my current barn is so close and the other boarders are friendly, supportive people, but there are drawbacks to where I'm boarding at. My problem is that there aren't that many barns close to me that will allow my trainer to come in to give lessons. Which, as a business person, I find.... odd. I get that trainers don't want competition on their home turf, but that means some barns are completely inaccessible to me since I'm not willing to trailer my horse every week 45 minutes away.


The point is... I need to find a new barn. There is one about 20 minutes north of my house, but the indoor is TINY. A cute little postage stamp of an arena. Very nicely cared for, but it'd be five steps, turn, two steps turn, five steps turn.... We're getting to the point in our training where we need a bit more space to be able to help Ava. I've learned some really good exercises that would be fantastic to use on Ava... like the one Roz was having us do in the clinic where you do a ten meter circle, shoulder-in, half-pass to the quarter line, then shoulder-in down the quarter line. I have to have a bit of space in the arena so *I* don't freak and start snatching reins and getting tense. Okay, fine. So really the issue is me. :p haha

There's a new barn going up in my little village, but they don't currently have anything. Supposedly they'll have an indoor built by August, and then hopefully by winter they'll have stalls. (Doesn't that seem a bit backwards to you?) I'm leery about it since no one I've talked to knows the owners, and there's no history on them to help me know whether my horse would be well taken care of, or not. That and it's advertised on Craig's List. I've never had good luck with anything on Craigs List.

I'm debating taking Ava back to my trainers barn. The downside is that it's a good 40 minute drive from my house. My work is even farther south (by 20 minutes). I'll have to work out the mileage and drive time soon to figure out how feasible this will be. There are numerous times that I have to work late, and I only have so much will-power to force myself to go ride after a long, exhausting day. I'm not sure I could convince myself to go ride if I know it's an hour drive just to get to the barn.

But on the plus side, my trainer is there! And that's a HUGE bonus. That opens up a lot of possibilities for me that I won't have by boarding anywhere else. And I know the owners. They take excellent care of the horses. The indoor is huge with good footing, and the outdoor is wonderful to ride in (also very huge).

One of the big reasons I moved from my trainers barn was because I was scared to ride Ava without someone standing near the ring (so when I fell off they could call 911). So every time I wanted to ride, I either had to take my husband (who is the epitome of grump master), or coordinate with another boarder to ensure someone else would be in the ring with me. Which was downright obnoxious, so if you combined that with a 40 minute drive, it just sucked. But I'm not scared of Ava anymore, and I'm perfectly fine riding by myself now (without needing someone standing there holding my hand).

Plus, I'd get to ride with the Mary's again! I love those women! :)

Opportunities

I thought if I looked up the riders selected for the clinic, that I'd feel better about not being selected. Some of them are obviously much better riders (half are PSG Level or above). I knew half of the riders selected would be professional trainers. That's been the mix for the previous clinics in this series. I knew the horse's would be to die for, and the videos of the one's I could find prove this. I knew my chances were slim to none to start with.... So why am I so heart broken by this?

I kind of just want to give up. I mean, if my best is still not good enough, then why am I exhausting myself every day? 14 hours of non-stop GO. I have a high stress, manic paced job anyway, but i have to be the over achiever and also be über dedicated to dressage. Oh, and let's fit in exercise time too! Dumbass. Why am I exhausting myself for something that doesn't return on investment?

I guess what irritates me is that I feel like I've come such a long way. That I've improved tremendously, and yet I have nothing to show for it. No titles, no scores on Centerlinescores.com, no certificates, nada. Eight years ago I broke my back and was homeless, two years ago I climbed on my first horse in 20 years. Today? I still can't afford to go to rated shows, I'm passed over for clinics specifically promoted for the Adult Amateur, and I'm exhausted.

I'm feeling a little defeated by life today...

Last Update on Lilo Fore Clinic

Selected Riders:

Heather Soones-Booher - Bordeaux (Oldenburg)
Centerlinescores for Bordeaux: http://www.centerlinescores.com/Horse/Details/1089663#filterBy=tests
Heather has shown through Fourth Level.

Liz Ritz - Natasha B (Friesian)
Centerlinescores for Liz Ritz: http://www.centerlinescores.com/Rider/Details/24565
Liz has shown Prix St. Georges.

Deanna Hertrich - True Colors (PHR)
Third Level rider.
Deanna rode with Lilo Fore back in February 2012 at another clinic.

Emily Dutton Craig - Audi (KWPN)
Blog/video: http://emilyduttoncraig.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html
Emily is a trainer and has shown through Prix St. Georges.

Autumn Harvey - Hamilton (Trakehner)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nJAttsyAOA
Second Level rider. Believe she's an adult amateur.

Suzy Coleman - Brazen Beauty (Hanoverian)
Third Level rider.

Betsy Juliano - Big Tyme (BWP)
Video of Big Tyme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW5WuJs7o9I
Article about the pair: http://chronofhorse.com/article/betsy-juliano-will-ride-big-tyme

Chloe Fullar - Fruhlich (Danish)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCTTRLh36gI

Counter Canter, Again

Today I spent some time on the counter canter again. Here's a list of everything I've tried so far:

Walking Ava on the pattern and moving her hips away from the wall to turn her shoulders toward it. This took several tries before she understood what I was getting at. We then cantered it and completely bombed it. Hips were NoT going to move at all. I went back to the walk, repeated it several times. Back to canter with marginal improvement.

I then decided that X to the wall was too steep an angle, so we tried straight down the quarter line then to the wall. Again, no success. I decreased the angle again by getting closer to the wall. No success.

I then determined it was my weight placement that was screwing Ava up. So I took my stirrups off to force me to sit correctly. Things improved, but Ava still flipped leads in front.

I tried cantering down the quarter line, walking and then turning her toward the wall before cantering toward the wall. She flipped the front lead again.

Etc., etc...

So today, due to arena constraints, we were on a 20 meter circle and I figured screw it... We're just going to pick up counter canter for a couple strides, walk, counter canter, etc until she will at least do two strides without throwing a hissy fit. And you know what? She did it! I patted her up really good, made a big deal out of her being good, and let her walk on a loose rein for a bit. After a short break I asked her to counter canter a couple of strides around the corner and she did it! I gave her a ton of praise and a walk break.

This issue is only when going to the right. I'm not having any problems to the left.

Second Show!

Our second show is June 9th. I am already a ball of nerves. We will be doing First level. I signed up for all three tests, but figured I'd play it by ear on how much energy Ava has.

My big fear is Test 3, where the counter canter is introduced. It's a shallow serpentine figure from the wall, to X, and back to the wall. I've ridden counter canter before (in the long ago time). I've also made Bern explain the aids, dynamics, and concepts at LEAST 20 times now (that lady is a saint!). I STILL can't get a counter canter (even briefly) when going to the right. I am beyond frustrated!

On a good note: Ava is now loading like a champ again. I also clipped all four legs and she acted like an old pro at it. This is in comparison to the crazed horse I tried to clip in April. And her trot/canter transitions are awesome.

It's all blue, except the ribbons..

I have been utterly depressed the past month. All winter I dreamed of spring and the beginning of show season. I dreamt of competing in numerous local shows, and making our mark on a couple of rated shows. I was GEEKED!

After taxes, health insurance, monthly repairs to vehicles, monthly repairs to my dilapidated house, lessons every week, vet care, etc, etc.... I really don't have the money for showing. :(

You know what keeps popping in my head... How the heck did my parents afford my show habits when I was a kid?!? That $&@% is Expensive! And for what? A ribbon? A little, cheap, plastic/rayon piece of cloth? I'm serious... We have NO money and I'm pissed I can't show at Waterloo. Why? I don't know... I wanted to show everyone how great Ava is. To show them how much heart and talent she has. I wanted to strike fear in the hearts of my competitors whenever they saw my name on the class list. I didn't want to be the anonymous spectator that fetches bridles and drinks for real riders. I wanted to prove we belong here too.

Maybe someday...

Show Season, huh?

It's the middle of May and I haven't even entered a show, let alone participate in one, this year. I've been riding for almost 2 years now and I've only gone to one show! This must be rectified, and soon! :)

The problem is money (isn't it always). My meager savings are going to go to a vet in order to get Ava's hocks and stifles checked for arthritis (and start preventative maintenance, or do whatever I need to do to ensure she has a long and happy life). I need a trailer and truck that are reliable and safe. I need my 20 year old saddle reflocked. I need new riding pants (the holes are growing and I'm beginning to fear a split in the seat soon). Ava needs her teeth done, chiropractor appointment, etc, etc. It never ends.

And to top it off... The insurance company decided to stop paying for any service because the form asking if we use any other insurance wasn't in their money stealing dirty paws. So now we owe $800 for a stupid yearly physical. Apparently it's okay for an insurance company to stop paying while continuing to steal your monthly premium payments.

I had such big plans for the year (with showing Ava). Starting with local shows, and ending with a bid for regional championship competition (not that I have much hope of that, but I like to aim high!). Ava is exceeding my expectations, and I'm doing a passable enough job staying on that we could've been serious competition this year. Alas... We sit on the sidelines and watch as others go to show after show.

Our next hope of showing is June sometime. Either the local show (could possibly afford), or a rated show (probably can't afford but really want to go to).

We'll probably be training GP by the time we actually make it to a darn show! Grrrr....

:)

Roz Kinstler Clinic

I participated in the Roz Kinstler clinic today.  My brain is overloaded! Next time I'm bringing a note book and writing this stuff down. Just listening to Roz teach the other riders was fantastic.

The back story on Ava and my start to the day: Ava refused to load. Tried everything. Last November Ava was walking onto the trailer without batting an eyelash. Not today. Today, she didn't want to. My ride time was at 9:00 am, and I'm almost an hour away from where the clinic was at. At 8:39, Ava finally loaded. I was very lucky that my trainer offered to switch ride times with me so that I could still participate in the clinic today (Thank you so much, Bern!).

The Ride:
It started off getting Ava convinced that I could hold the right rein and move her shoulders over when going right. Roz had a great tip/tool of raising the inside hand about 2-3 inches higher than the left hand and then basically holding it in place. Kind of a "I am here, you deal with it" hold. Normally if you try that kind of hold on Ava, she tells you flat out that she's just not going to tolerate it. But (and I asked Roz why it worked), it appears that raising the hand doesn't feel as constrictive to the horse, and the horse will more easily accept the holding without fighting it. While doing this though, I had to bump her shoulders over in the corners while keeping the nose 'peaked' to the right. I especially had to prepare for the corners, and anticipate the problem and correct it before Ava fell in and lost her balance. So it took a lot more thinking ahead and planning each and every corner, circle, everything. I had to prepare before the corner, and ask for bend with the inside rein while squeezing with the inside leg (at the same time).

To the left, I found out that I lose her shoulders because I bring the outside rein over the shoulders. I actually had to hold my right rein quite far out to the right (felt weird) in order to not cross the withers while doing a ten meter circle. However, by doing this it allowed me to actually use the right rein to half-halt and control the outside shoulder. The other really difficult problem I was having was cooperation between the reins. Squeeze left - give right, squeeze right - don't pull with the left. and then sometimes squeeze both reins to slow the front end. I could feel it when I was riding, but I am definitely not explaining it well. I'll play around with it more this week and try to find a better way to describe how it works and why.

After getting Ava more even between the aids, we played with shoulder in for a bit. These were the easiest, smoothest, shoulder-in's I've ever ridden. It was like water flowing. Felt amazing. We would do a Volte (haha, that made me feel so upper crust when she called it that) into a 10 meter circle, using the circle to develop good bend in the horse. Keeping the horse's nose pointed in the direction you wanted her to go in, then slide into the shoulder-in.

Roz had to throw in some harder stuff (I guess we did pretty darn good up to this point), and she asked me to ride a shoulder in, half-pass to the quarter line, then shoulder-in down the quarter line. To be honest, I frazzled out a bit here. So the first attempt was shoulder-in to a diagnol trot across the arena. HA. Second time, and we nailed it. That was awesome! That was the first time I've ridden a half-pass and it just flowed. I always try to force things too much, and the fact is, it's all about setting the horse up so that they CAN do the movement.

Our canter work was not as wonderful as I would have liked it to be. Ava has a great canter, but she's a spaz about it. I swear that horse thinks she's going to slip and fall at any moment in the canter. She gets so tense, and then rushes, and... ugh. It's gotten a lot better over the past year, but definitely a week area. During the canter, Roz wanted to see more engagement from the horse so she wanted to see a slower canter with good rhythm (the rhythm is very important). We were able to do that, but while executing our 10 meter canter circles, Ava kept quitting on me. Roz suggested that I bring her right back to a walk and then immediately canter off again instead of tapping her with the whip to keep her going. The idea being that Ava tends to rush, and instead we want her to think engaged. Bringing her back to the walk helps get that idea across better. Ava felt it'd be fun to pull me from the saddle during our downward transition (embarrassing) and Roz helped me with that. As a result, our upward transition was more from behind then it had been, and we had a much better quality canter.

Overall the clinic was fantastic. The time flew by, and although I was exhausted (it's hard to sit Ava's trot) it was a ton of fun!

 Other tidbits from the clinic... I'm paraphrasing:

* Push the horse into the contact, but not past it. - I found this one enlightening because I've tried to push Ava into the contact, and ended up without any contact before. Roz went on to explain that there's a fine line where you can squeeze your horse up into the contact, but past that and the horse will run through the bit. I think the underlying idea is that you can rush the horse too strongly forward, the horse loses balance, and can no longer carry himeslf. So in order to balance, the horse will drop the contact (since he can no longer use his back and hind end to power off of)

* put the nose where the horse is going - ironically, this seems so low level, but even the Second/Third level riders had issues with this. I did learn that unless the nose points where you want the horse to go, then the outside rein to steer with doesn't work. For instance, I was trotting a ten meter circle, and Ava was aimed straight down the center line. I half-halted the outside rein (thinking to bring the shoulders over) and instead of turning we went straight. For Ava, Roz suggested I place the nose in the direction of travel, and then use the outside rein to straighten her neck (on the long side). That caused Ava to place more weight evenly on the front to legs instead of diving off to the right.

A few of the riders were having problems with their horses trying to pull their arms out. One of the things Roz said (for that rider) was to lock her elbows to her hips while performing the exercise. That way when the horse yanked the rider used her position to solidify her arms without pulling back. The horse tried yanking about 3 times, realized the contact wasn't going away, and quit. It was really neat to watch.


Oh, and she had one rider ride a medium trot across the diagnol straight into a half-pass at X, and OMG that was the most awesome half-pass I've ever seen in real life. What a difference in quality it made.

There were a ton more, but I'm utterly exhausted and I'm going to bed.  I'll post video soon.

Lilo Fore Clinic - Update

Quick update... Today was the deadline to apply for the Lilo Fore Clinic.

After many, many obstacles, I shot off an email (application attached) to the organizer with a link to a crappy video. And let me tell ya, it is CRAPPY. I have jeans on. In my defense, I swear, I tried a half dozen times to capture us on video in our best attire and neatly braided with utterly no luck. So screw it. This is what I've got with the resources I have available.

About an hour after emailing the organizer, she emailed back saying that the app looked good and she'll be sending it to the selection committee for review (next week since it's Friday today).

Frankly, I didnt expect to hear anything back. Or if I did, it'd just be the word's "hahaha, you hick!"

Anyway, application is in, no more getting angry about failed video attempts, and the best part... If I don't get selected I can blame it on the jeans and tank top and not my piss poor riding skills. I love shifting blame. ;) jk.

I must be mistaken...

I just love when people say stupid things. It makes for a good chuckle. Well, after I stop steaming, and can cool off, THEN it's funny.

Yesterday, a new dressage rider brought her horse to the barn. I'm not very good with general chit chat, so at an awkward pause I filled it with a "So, who do you train with?". We'd been getting along fine up 'til this point, with me making the obligatory 'oooohhh's' and 'aaaaahhh's' over her horse (he was very cute).

Her response... "I ride with Blah Blah in Omgville." She stared at me for what seemed like an awful long time while I did the "I'm thinking" look (when in actuality I had no clue who she was talking about). I finally shrug and admit I know nothing about the trainer. I can tell she's offended by this. As though the mention of the name should've caused me to wet myself with envy and fear. I insisted it was my fault, since I really haven't been out in the dressage circle very much the past 20 years. Well, I guess that was enough incentive for her to offer up her strong opinions on the matter at hand. Not only was she adamant that her trainer was the most superior trainer, but that no other trainer in the entire state is worth a crap. She mentioned that twice... no other trainer in the entire state was any good (except her's).

She was even so generous as to offer to have her trainer come give me lessons (isn't that sweet ).

I stared at her, blank faced for a while, mulling over the consequences of punching her in the nose. She yammered on for a while, but I missed most of what she said since I'd tuned her out and was giving her the "you're out of your mind" look. (side note: guess that look needs work, 'cause she never picked up on it.) Finally I decided too many people were watching to get away with punching her lights out, I gave Ava one last pat, and left.

Now, I know we all think our trainer is the absolute best (if you don't then you may need a different trainer). I utterly adore my trainer. She's talented, extremely knowledgeable, smart, funny, explains things in a way that is understandable, and knows when to encourage or when to slap you upside the head. She's fantastic. But I firmly believe that we can learn something from everyone, and that just because one trainer works for you, he/she may not work for someone else. Plus, I can name two other trainers/clinicians that I have ridden with who are definitely worth their weight in gold.

Moral of story: don't insult someone's trainer or you could end up with a split lip (you were so close lady!).

Day 3 of "Connection"

This should be so easy, and I'm totally not getting it. We went from perfectly (for us) balanced, soft, and engaged to... to... Yuck. Just Yuck. I'm seriously thinking about throwing in my helmet. It's so discouraging when you just can't fix the problem. I know there's a problem, I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is, but nothing I try fixes the problem. So then Ava hangs on that right rein, and twists her body so that it's impossible for her to work correctly. Then I get frustrated, and upset, and for some reason I think if I just try harder that that will magically fix it. HA (that was a sarcastic Ha).

I feel like I'll never get this.  *sigh*

Day 2 of "Connection"

It's not really day two, but I've been busy, so I'll just mark these in chronological order.

What I've learned in a week of working on a straighter horse that's using her back better, is this... it's all incremental levels of straightness, connection, and engagement. I think for some reason I've always had the idea that connection was either there, or not there. I mean, I get that connection can be better, or worse, depending on the day and other factors, but I think I was holding onto a believe that for the most part connection was just there. But it's more complicated than that. And my belief about connection was hampered by the idea that connection has to do with the bit and the horse's mouth.

From what I'm learning, it has very little to do with the mouth, and so much more to do with having the horse directly between the knee's and powering off both sides evenly. This is my tentative theory on the whole thing (take it for what it's worth. ha)... If your focus (not eye's, just focus) is aimed toward the horse's withers and keeping those directly in front of your hips, then your horse can push through with more energy and you can "contain" it easier with smaller adjustments through the reins.

Easier said than done.

I'm still not quite 'getting' the bigger picture, because I can't fix the issues that occur between lessons. But I feel like we're in one of those low points where a big "Ah Ha" will hit eventually. It'll just take some time. Until then... it's frustrating when you know what it should feel like and you're not quite able to keep that feeling going as well as you'd like to.

And thank goodness for very patient, and knowledgeable trainers (Thank you, Bern!).

Day 1 of "Connection"

If the horse doesn't meet the hand consistently, then I have a tendency to pull back. How do I not pull back? I'm supposed to drive the horse forward into contact, but the horse doesn't always agree with that. I shorten the reins to get back to a point where there is consistent contact and drive forward. But now the horse's neck is an inch long.

And at this point I'm screwed.

Return to forward hands.... I place my hands back in the box and press the horse forward with my calves. Horse meets the contact so I give a little with my fingers and release the leg pressure. Horse then leans solidly on the bit. I press horse forward again, head and neck come up and back, I shorten my reins (since there is now a big loop in them). Horse's neck is an inch long... Again.

What I learned today is that it's all in the release. And, I'm not doing it right. I'm like 2 seconds too slow every time.

I also learned that screwing it up is easy, fixing it is not.

Update on Video

I know you're all dying to hear how video taping went. Well... It didn't.

I get to the barn and apparently every one, and half their family, decided that tonight was the night to ride. I haven't seen most of these people in over a week.

I tell myself it's okay. Maybe they'll clear out before the lesson. The lesson I put on the board. The one in big block letters.

So I pull out all of Ava's gear, and have to use the bathroom. Run up to the house, come back and every cross tie is full. I stand there a minute, but no one seems to be in much of a hurry to move. I grab Ava's stuff again and haul it all down to her stall to start getting Ava tacked up.

Then the text message comes through. Our second vehicle, my hubby's truck, is spewing gas like a fire hose on full volume. Husband apologizes, saying he can't make it to video tape tonight.

I finally get Ava tacked up and braided, and lead her out to the arena. At this point I notice the horse hand galloping around on the lunge line. Going, and going, and going.... I finally ask her if I can sneak past to use the mounting block. The girl was very nice and decreased the size of the circle, but to be honest... Ava loves kicking other mares. It is her passion in life to kick the crap out of other female horses. She gets this gleeful little look in her eye and starts shifting her hindquarters to line up a direct shot on the mare coming back around on the lunge. I whack her. Ava gives me a snotty look and keeps walking while the other mare canters safely passed us on the lunge.

I finally mount, and Ava and I are ready!!

We start our lesson, and of course I have no one to video tape, the ring is full of horse's going every direction, and people in the aisle are trying to carry on conversations with me. I ignore them, but then that nagging guilt for being rude starts eating away at my intestines. Every time I veer off the 20 meet circle I nearly have a head on collision with another horse. Oh, and the radio and conversations were making it hard to hear Bern, even up close.

However, I am very happy I had a lesson today. Ava was squirrelly, and I utterly could not fix it. It was like trying to squeeze water. Squished out her left shoulder, now her right, oops, half left and half right with a corkscrew in the middle. Aaaaarrrrgggghhh! :) It's all okay now. Bern fixed us up, and gave us good direction on keeping Ava straight for our next ride. Thank goodness for wonderful trainers!

But still.... No video. :( Guess I now have time to slip into Target for a nice looking, warm, shirt to wear for my video (Thanks for the tip, Speedy!).

No Thermal Wearin' RedNecks need Apply

My application for the Lilo Fore clinic has to be in the mail this week and I don't have a video yet. That isn't for lack of trying, but every time I plan on video taping, it down pours the night before. So these are my choices: take video in the dust bowl, postage stamp, arena and hope for the pity vote; or slog through knee high footing and pray I don't seriously damage my horses tendons (not a risk I'm willing to take).

Tonight, my trainer is coming to help me finesse a great ride out of my horse, and my husband is coming to man the video camera. And..... it's snowing. In April.

Why does this matter, you ask? Well, I don't have much in the way of asthetically pleasing riding attire that isn't designated as show wear. So, I figured I'd wear a polo shirt for my video. The, uh, "it's 70 degree's in the office and I'm freezing" short-sleeve polo shirt.  In my infinite wisedom, I decided to ask my sweet hubby to bring along a thermal shirt that I can wear under the polo shirt. His response, "Oh, that's going to go well. You might as well go for the redneck vote too."

What?!?

Okay, fine. To be honest, the thermal shirt I own has some stains on it. There's some grease, a bit of pine tar, and that unidentifiable stain on the lower sleeve. But... It's COLD out there. Like 30 some degree's out type of cold. So I'm weighing out the pro's and con's of this thermal shirt showing in the video I send in.

The "pro's" include warmth and rider comfort, but we all know how much judges or critics give a crap about that (i.e. Not much).

The "con's"... Imagine sitting around with a bunch of die hard dressage riders whose sole purpose is to choose the best horse/rider combinations out of hundreds sent in. You see clean, well-presented, horse after horse. When suddenly, this short, tubby woman (wearing a stained up thermal) starts riding in a postage stamp sized arena, while billowing dust floats through the air, until finally obscuring the camera so badly that the screen goes brown.

*sigh*

Sometimes you just gotta know when to quit. And I think this is the "know when to quit" point in time. You can only take a dream so far without the proper equipment. Apparently, proper equipment are asthetically pleasing warm weather shirts.

Half of me say's "Screw you unseen people who judge me based solely on my attire".

The other half thinks, "Yeah, I know. But I'd rather ride than shop. Unless.... it's horse tack, then I'll ride, then shop."
:)

Focus

I was in the Marines for 4 years. While I was in, I achieved "Guide" in bootcamp (like platoon leader, except you have no power and you suffer the wraith of the Drill Instructors if anyone else screwed up).  I was Guide for nearly the entire last half of bootcamp. If you graduate as Guide, you get a promotion and all kinds of accolades for being the best of the best. I was || <- this close.

You know what happened? I turned left, instead of right, when change of direction was called. I blew it. Months of being quarter decked for every single perceived infraction another Marine did, fire watch every other night for a straight month, AND I gave away every reward offered to me to the Marines in my platoon. That phone call home I earned half way through, where I could've heard my parents voices again? I gave it to the girl who missed her daughter so much that she cried herself to sleep every night. I had to be tougher, stronger, and faster then every other Marine there to keep the title of Guide. And I blew it because I got frazzled.

What does any of that have to do with horses.... The circumstances are different, but the underlying concept is the same. Success is in the details. You can ride every day, take lessons from the greatest trainer ever alive, buy all the best tack and attire, but if you lose your focus (especially as you get closer to your goal), then all that hard work and sacrifice is for nothing. The closer you get to your goal, the more crucial it is to pay attention to your surroundings and keep yourself focused on the task at hand.

I'm only saying this because I need a reminder about this sometimes. With barn drama, work stresses, financial issues, and other boarders wanting to talk when I need to ride.... It's too easy to get distracted. And there is nothing worse, after losing something you wanted, then to look back and think "I should've done [xxx]".

On a side note... I find it highly ironic that I was 'fired' as Guide for not following a directional change, and have yet to ride a dressage test without going off course (with a caller).  Guess I'm consistent.  ;)

March Training

March is over, so I thought I would do a recap of our improvements and stumbling blocks.

Canter Transitions:
We're still having issues with our canter departs and Ava throwing her head around.The walk/canter departs still create an immense amount of stress, and anxiety, for Ava. I've been trying everything I can think of to get her to relax, but nothing has worked. She had this same issue with the trot/canter departs last June, and the only thing that really helped was repetition. Repetition until she was so bored with it that she didn't care anymore. Until now, I haven't felt that Ava was really strong enough to do a lot of walk/canter departs so I've been fairly judicious about asking her for them.

Weeeeeee!

Yesterday I weighed out the pro's and con's and decided she's at the point where she can step up the engagement. I spent a majority of yesterday's lesson drilling walk/canter departs until she could do a few without making a big deal out of it. I then let her rest for a while, and we worked on the other side. And yet again, it was a big deal for several minutes until she got into the swing of things. Overall, by the end of the ride, she was a bit more relaxed and stepping under herself better then before. I'm planning on taking one, or possibly two rides, per week and working on this until she's bored of it.

The added benefit is that I get to practice my canter depart aids. Half of the issue is my upper body getting in the way of Ava's balance. Improving my seat and the timing of the canter depart aids will help both of us.

Haunches In:

The other obstacle we've been facing is the dreaded haunches-in (Travers). If I so much as hint at the fact that we may do a canter depart sometime in the near future, then the haunches-in become a huge struggle. I've been working on making that outside rein more effective with a lighter touch, but so far I just feel like a big noob about the whole thing. In the past couple of weeks though, Ava has really been relaxing into the haunches-in, and allowing me to adjust her more easily with the outside rein. Part of this is that I'm sitting better, with my weight on the correct seat bone instead of off in la-la land. Part of it, I think, is that Ava's getting stronger and the exercise isn't as hard as it used to be for her.

Introducing Haunches in or Travers by Lilo Fore:



Straightness:
Our other big hurdle is getting Ava's shoulders correctly in front of her. I read an article the other day talking about aligning the shoulders, and they mentioned something that really made the whole thing click for me. They were stating that since the haunches are wider than the shoulders, then in order to get the shoulders directly in front of the haunches the rider needs to offset the shoulders slightly (either left or right). When Ava and I are going to the right it appears to me as though Ava is straight. However, her shoulders are actually leading just slightly, which allows Ava to put more weight on that front right foot and kind of power her way through a corner on her forehand. This decreases my ability to half-halt and re-balance her, it decreases Ava's engagement, and allows her to get lazy with that right hind leg (not bring it as far under as she should to carry herself). By moving Ava's shoulders further to the left when circling right, she is more solidly on my outside rein, and she can bring that inside hind up and under her further.

One of the indicators that she's falling in on the right shoulder is that she gets very tough on the right rein. When this happens I have to move Ava's shoulders over with my inside knee. It's really important that I don't get stronger on that right rein (which is my instinctive response to her getting tough).  I have to fix her body before Ava can soften at the poll. Sometimes she utterly refuses to listen to my thigh/knee aid to move the shoulders over, and I have to tap her with the whip on the right shoulder. After that, it's usually enough to just add some knee during corners (or when she starts to fall in) to remind her to stand up straight. Amazingly, once her shoulders are aligned with her hips, she's very malleable with the right rein. Until then though... ugh. The whole thing can be so frustrating sometimes. One day we spent the entire ride with Ava throwing her right shoulder in, me kicking it back out, two steps of straight, and Ava's diving back on the right shoulder again... on and on. I don't think we had more than 4 good steps the entire ride. Since then though, it's progressively gotten better the stronger Ava gets. I have to remind myself that it just takes time.

Lengthens:
Our trot lengthens are coming along very well. The one's in the video (below) aren't very good. I was having issues with straightness. You can see in the video (2:30) that just after I come out of the corner and attempt to straighten her before the diagonal, that I'm fighting with her because she blew through my outside rein.

I also didn't allow her to stretch forward through her neck enough during the lengthen. Which, in my opinion, was a result of her being a bit on her forehand an a little crooked so even if I had allowed her to stretch out more, it would've exacerbated the issue. I should've transitioned at "X" to a working trot, corrected the straightness issue and re-balanced her, and then asked for the lengthen again. Some day's you just don't get it right though....

Our canter lengthens are great. However, we have absolutely no half-halt at the end. She blows right through my seat and reins, and joyously romps through the corner like a freight train. You can see what I'm talking about in the video below. At 3:16, we're coming into the corner after a half-hearted lengthen and I'm attempting to half-halt back to a working canter. There isn't any change in the canter as we blow through the corner. I finally get her down to a trot (which was off balance and too fast) and it took me the entire corner to get her re-balanced. This is a major issue that I need to have fixed before we can successfully compete at First, or Second, Level this year.

Video of Ava taken March 24, 2012: 






That's the recap on March's issues. At the end of April we have a clinic with Roz Kinstler, and we have to have our submission for the Lilo Fore clinic in. Hopefully by then we'll have cleaned up these rough spots.

Counter Canter-ish

The weather outside was still bitter cold and snowy a few weeks ago, and had no end in site. I needed to have a solid counter canter on Ava before the middle of April and we were nowhere close to "getting" it.

In jogs the Western Rider.
WR: "What's your horse's deal?"

Me: "She's frustrated".

WR: "Why's she keep taking the wrong lead?"

Me: ... "I, uhm, I want her to."

WR: looks at me, then spurs horse to trot faster.

Why is it that dressage is the only (horse) sport where the "wrong lead" can be the right one? And I'll tell you a secret, okay? I've always felt like counter canter was borderline OCD on the 'controlling your horse' spectrum. I mean, seriously, my horse will flip leads just to have that inside leg leading, and my response is to say, " Ha Ha, screw you pony! Do it the hard way!" I almost feel evil about it.

I understand the long term benefits of it, so we're working on it.

Last weekend we were able to use the outdoor ring with no one else around. I made sure all other riders were far, far away. That no prying eyes could secretly watch us moronically flailing around the ring on the wrong lead.

Do you know how many goof up's, or gross looking tries, it takes to make counter canter look easy? My, uh, "friend" was wondering. ;)

Monday, we did get half of a corner without breaking, or switching leads. I know it sounds dumb, but gosh darn I was proud!

Tonight, we've got our sites set on a whole corner (not two, just one). Assuming the western riders, jumpers, and other assorted riders/watchers don't fall down laughing while Ava and I careen around corners. Wish us luck (we need it)!

Friends Horse

Me and my big mouth! A fellow boarder was having life issues and finding it difficult to make time to ride her horse (aka: Ned). The first words out of my mouth? "I'll ride him for you!". <-- with stupid grin plastered on my face.

Up until this point, I had heard stories of how Ned walks on his hind two legs all the way to the barn, how he bowled over his owner when she tried to fetch him from the pasture, and that he not only bucks hard when ridden, but tosses in a twist to throw riders off balance. Oh, and he may rear under saddle too.

And yet, there I was... tacking up Ned to ride. In my head I'm hearing, over and over again, every nasty habit Ned has. And I'm wondering: how good am I? Can I stay on? Can I do this? Am I being retarded?

All this Is going through my head while I'm trying to figure out how to get a saddle on a back I can't reach.

 The first ride went like this... 
 Me: "Ned, please halt". 
Ned: ..... I wonder if I can rip her arms off?
Me: " I am serious, Ned!"
Ned: "la la la la, I can't heeaaar you."
Me: "Ned, you better not buck or I'll kill you!"

I felt... scared. This was like knowing your car's brakes are going out, yet you still have to go down a huge hill to get home.

The second ride wasn't much better, except now the end door was wiiiiiiddddeee open. I had to pull out every trick I've ever learned about faking calm when scared to death. Apparently it was a passable enough version of calm to fool Ol' Ned. The ride was a bit harrowing at times, but still much nicer than the "Evil Pony" incidents.

The third ride, when I saw Ned's vein throbbing in his neck, nostrils flared, and head up in the ceiling.... To be honest, I nearly called it quits right then. Just hung up my helmet and called it a day.

I lunged instead, then hopped on. At first it was the same old deal; ask him to stop and he pulled. However, since there were 8,000 horses in the arena (okay, 4), and limited brakes on Ned, we were forced to do tiny figure 8's, and massive amounts of changes in direction. Suddenly, Ned stopped pulling, he let me guide him, and when I asked him to stop with my seat - he stopped! He even came to a fairly nice and balanced halt from a working trot.

So, moral of the story....
If you don't brace, the horse can't brace.

Or, don't offer to ride big, scary horses if you're a chicken.

Or, stop trying to stare down death because one of these times you won't win.

Or, repeat after me "I don't have time to ride two horses"!

;)

March 3rd Pictures

Just some pictures from earlier this month.

The Seat

When I was a kid I rode dressage for a few years (very intensely). Anyway, starting again as an adult has really opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn't grasp back then. Like the seat aids. I knew it was vital, I got the concept for the most part, but I completely failed with the subtleties of it. I thought the "seat" was the thighs and seat bones.
To turn -> thighs and one seat bone;
To stop -> thighs;
To collect -> thighs and calves and reins;

I had thighs of steel.

At my last lesson I was struggling with controlling Ava's forward momentum at the canter. I tried bouncing the reins, and it half-heartedly worked, but I had to really bounce to get a response (which I'm not a fan of doing). So I whined to my trainer, who gave me a "you should know this" look, then set about explaining how to influence Ava's momentum with my hips, abs, shoulder's, and calves (I'm sure she's explained this all before, but I frequently forget EVERYTHING). She then sent me back out on a 20 meter circle to play with it.

So we pop into the canter and while I'm mentally imagining my head being pulled up to the ceiling by a string, I tighten my abdominal muscles and stiffen my core. This causes Ava to drop into a very lovely trot, but I wanted more collection in the canter, not a trot. So Bern sends me back out with the advice to remember to activate the hind end. Off we go. I try it again, and if I tighten my core just enough to inhibit Ava's motion when all four feet are off the ground, and add in just a touch of calf, she lands on the inner hind more underneath her (while still cantering).

Except, it felt like this -

Actually, it was really fun. I didn't have to touch Ava's mouth at all to go from a very forward canter to a much more engaged, slower canter. I was amazed, shocked, and very fascinated by this. I could have  gone around the ring a billion times just playing the "what happens if I tighten THIS" game. What I found is that I my abs and lower back play a huge part in regulating Ava's forward momentum. That the easiest way to half halt her is using my core, not my thighs/seat and reins like I originally thought it was.

Either way... This is the coolest thing ever. It also works fantastic for the walk pirouette.

Friesian's and Fitness

Just curious, but how many of you out there are training Friesian's, or Friesian crosses?

This is my first experience with the Friesian breed. I never expected to own a Friesian.  I'd always assumed they were for people who had too much money and time on their hands. The type of people who can afford to buy designer clothes, go to spa's, have two closets full of shoes they've never worn, etc.

I'm not that kind of person. In fact, my sister-in-law keeps threatening to put me on that show where they buy you clothes to wear because your tastes in clothes suck so bad that no one wants to be seen in public with you.  This from the lady that claims to like me.

Back to Friesian's...Is it wrong of me to feel kinship with the breed because of our mutual furriness? Disregard that. What I wanted to ask is, why are they so difficult to get in, and keep in, shape?

What do you do with your Friesian if you take a vacation, or have to take time off from riding for a while? I took 4 day's off. Just 4 day's, and the first ride after I get back you would have sworn that mare had been out to pasture for the last two months. She was puffing and wheezing like a 90 year old man after 10 minutes of light trotting.