One of my biggest adjustments when moving to Flatlands was not getting to jump whenever I wanted. I've always been at barns where there are jumps out all the time, and if you want to jump, you just go over and play. Don't get me wrong, I understand completely why we only jump in lessons, but because of my schedule (evening lessons, often with flat-only riders) it means that I don't jump very often unless I make a really committed effort to ride in every extra jump clinic offered.
Which is why I was utterly delighted to arrive last Tuesday night and see jumps in the indoor. It gave me enough of a shot of adrenaline to stay in my car and be responsible and work on grad school research instead of going in and puttering around the barn.
Tristan wasn't entirely thrilled to see me; some days he just doesn't want to play. But he warmed up quite nicely, if sticky bending left. We did lots of transitions, alternating, and focusing on our new rules about the canter transitions: no more corners, no more popping the bend to the outside and flinging through them. If I have to manhandle the bend, then that's what I do. It's really making a difference. So much of what I do with him is channeling: no, you can't do that, you can only do this, and eventually he starts picking the right option. He's not a horse who's shown the correct way once and goes with it. He has to have every avenue of escape closed off, systematically, every time.
Anyway: line of three jumps, and two angled to the right.
____ \
____
____ /
We started figure-eighting over the angled jumps at a trot, and almost immediately found our first challenge. Tris was, per usual, seeking a long spot, which meant that I was taking my leg off too soon, not waiting as much as I should've, and then folding far too much in the air - riiiiight on the edge of leaning forward, but not quite. T. pointed out the revelation moment: he was suckering me into leaning forward. When he first said that, I was a little skeptical; I tend to place my leaning habit squarely on my own shoulders. But come round again, with T.'s voice telling me to sit-and-wait, sit-and-wait, leg-leg-leg, hips-to-hands...and there it was. A moment a half-stride too early when I felt Tris brace up through his back and leave his hocks out behind, and I wanted so badly to lean forward and say go, go ahead, take the jump from here. And I didn't. It was an unbelievably frustrating feeling to fight, like resisting the temptation to scratch a particularly annoying mosquito bite, but I held back, kept my leg on, rode him up...and he went to the base of the fence.
My mind, it was blown. I said as much to T., and he laughed at me, because he's good like that. Now that I knew what it felt like, I could catch it more and more - at least on single jumps. Coming to the gymnastic line, it all fell apart.
Tris is 15 hands, with maybe an extra half inch if his feet are long, or he stands up straight. His stride is on the short stride, and he does not always appreciate being told to lengthen it, especially in the canter - combination of laziness and lack of education. So we come to a line of three jumps, each a one-stride distance, and for now the first is a crossrail and the rest are poles...and oh my, we demolish 'em. I stick my legs out in space, plant my hands on his neck, lean for all I'm worth, and he lands in a canter and after one stride does a ridiculous trot through the canter poles. Sigh.
So our focus from then on is as it always is: leg-on, leg-on, hips-to-hands, DON'T-LEAN. T. has me canter him in to the crossrail to try and build up a head of steam, and slowly, slowly we start to get it. I keep my heel down and my lower leg more on, and Tris agrees to play ball and thinks about his footwork in the canter. The jumps go up, and I keep kicking, and again there's that need-to-scratch feeling but I shove my heels down and keep my legs on and sit and wait...and they almost get good. They don't get glorious, but they get more rhythmic, more balanced.
Only one minor disaster of the day, when I lose my focus and thus my channeling, and my point-and-shoot pony...goes where I point him. To the right of the third jump, after a bad approach to the first, a serious drift at the second, and a glance off the right standard of the third. I could've yanked him back for it, and I know him: he would've jumped it. But I didn't slow everything down enough, and I didn't want to punish him for my idiocy. I swore, loudly, the moment we landed the second jump and I knew it would happen, and then we went through again, and made that $#@$@# line straight.
All in all, it was one of those educational lessons, where you're wrung out and tired but there was progression. One major bright spot: his canter is so much better, more adjustable, more steerable. I could sit deep and bring my hips to my hands and turn him with my outside aids and all of a sudden I had this little bouncy ball underneath me (or at least the seeds of it) and I could do what I wanted with it. T. even praised our canter, which...never happens. Guess that flatwork is paying off.
Bel Joeor: Life + Horses
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
MLK Day Jump Clinic
I'm going to really try and make an effort to get more video of myself riding so that I can analyze what I'm doing right and wrong.
With that in mind, thanks to Hannah, here are two videos from a jump clinic at the barn on January 16, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.
This first video was our first real course of the day. We'd warmed up with some trotting figure-8s over the jumps in the right-hand side of the frame as crossrails, and I was pleased with the way we held our lines and the energy we carried forward.
Here are the things I liked about this round:
- good rhythm throughout
- my lower leg was generally pretty darn good
- for Tristan, this is REALLY supple and adjustable
- the overall picture: I haven't watched video of us jumping in a long time and I was surprised by generally how businesslike and harmonious we were
Things I didn't like about this round:
- losing the connection on the landing side, which usually meant that our lead changes through the trot were sticky and didn't flow
- my upper body position: I was a bit too hunched over
- for a few of the jumps, I didn't pick my line early enough
Second video is just two jumps, but they're the tail end of a course I'd just flubbed, and I asked to do these two jumps again. Landing off the center jump is sometimes tricky if you don't have in your head where to go next. The first time, I didn't until we landed, and lucky for me Tris was quick on his feet and followed me right when I realized. This second video was my requested re-do.
Things I liked:
- our turn off the center jump was much better this time around
- that last jump was actually rather nice
- my hands, actually: not the softest release ever but following
Things I didn't like:
- we lost some steam going into that first jump coming around the turn for it, which meant that he put in the long spot and cracked the pole with a hind leg. A little more consistency of pace and a half-halt through the corner would have set us up much better.
- my upper body, again, in the flat portions.
Other things I need to keep in mind from the jump clinic:
- Landing, landing, landing! Always have something in mind, always stay focused, finish out the course with a canter circle even if it's the last jump. It's time for the habit of standing in the stirrups and loosening the reins immediately after the last jump to go. Stay down in my stirrups, keep him connected, and be ready.
- I mentioned my "slowing down the jumps" theory to Tom (in short: the better you get at jumping the more slowly the round goes for you which gives you more time to feel and correct each small piece) and he agreed, and added a piece. He said that rounds slow down because your flatwork keeps getting better, more organized, and more automatic, and so when you approach a jump with all of those things in line you can really work on all the small pieces of the jumping effort itself.
- Pay better attention to leads. I pulled back for a simple change a few times when I didn't need to, just because I assumed that Tris had landed on the wrong lead and in the choppiness of my lack of connection on the landing I couldn't tell immediately. Slow this down, pay attention for a stride, and then change the lead only if I NEED to.
- More jumping! If we're going to get out this summer, jumping is our missing piece right now and I need to make a personal commitment to attend every jump clinic I possibly can, and seek out other opportunities as well.
With that in mind, thanks to Hannah, here are two videos from a jump clinic at the barn on January 16, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.
This first video was our first real course of the day. We'd warmed up with some trotting figure-8s over the jumps in the right-hand side of the frame as crossrails, and I was pleased with the way we held our lines and the energy we carried forward.
Here are the things I liked about this round:
- good rhythm throughout
- my lower leg was generally pretty darn good
- for Tristan, this is REALLY supple and adjustable
- the overall picture: I haven't watched video of us jumping in a long time and I was surprised by generally how businesslike and harmonious we were
Things I didn't like about this round:
- losing the connection on the landing side, which usually meant that our lead changes through the trot were sticky and didn't flow
- my upper body position: I was a bit too hunched over
- for a few of the jumps, I didn't pick my line early enough
Second video is just two jumps, but they're the tail end of a course I'd just flubbed, and I asked to do these two jumps again. Landing off the center jump is sometimes tricky if you don't have in your head where to go next. The first time, I didn't until we landed, and lucky for me Tris was quick on his feet and followed me right when I realized. This second video was my requested re-do.
Things I liked:
- our turn off the center jump was much better this time around
- that last jump was actually rather nice
- my hands, actually: not the softest release ever but following
Things I didn't like:
- we lost some steam going into that first jump coming around the turn for it, which meant that he put in the long spot and cracked the pole with a hind leg. A little more consistency of pace and a half-halt through the corner would have set us up much better.
- my upper body, again, in the flat portions.
Other things I need to keep in mind from the jump clinic:
- Landing, landing, landing! Always have something in mind, always stay focused, finish out the course with a canter circle even if it's the last jump. It's time for the habit of standing in the stirrups and loosening the reins immediately after the last jump to go. Stay down in my stirrups, keep him connected, and be ready.
- I mentioned my "slowing down the jumps" theory to Tom (in short: the better you get at jumping the more slowly the round goes for you which gives you more time to feel and correct each small piece) and he agreed, and added a piece. He said that rounds slow down because your flatwork keeps getting better, more organized, and more automatic, and so when you approach a jump with all of those things in line you can really work on all the small pieces of the jumping effort itself.
- Pay better attention to leads. I pulled back for a simple change a few times when I didn't need to, just because I assumed that Tris had landed on the wrong lead and in the choppiness of my lack of connection on the landing I couldn't tell immediately. Slow this down, pay attention for a stride, and then change the lead only if I NEED to.
- More jumping! If we're going to get out this summer, jumping is our missing piece right now and I need to make a personal commitment to attend every jump clinic I possibly can, and seek out other opportunities as well.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Welcome to the world, little blog!
I've finally taken the plunge to set up a separate blog devoted entirely to my horse-related pursuits.
Over the next few weeks, I will be consolidating my writing and journaling into this blog, and backdating them, so the archive will begin to grow.
Going forward, I plan to write about all of the horse activities that I engage in, which is quite a few.
I own and ride a 17 year old mustang gelding named Tristan that I adopted from a rescue in 2006. We are continually learning about each other, and training in the sport of three-day eventing.
I groom for friends who are also active competitors, and volunteer for horse shows on a regular basis.
I serve on the Area 1 Scholarship Committee, working to provide educational opportunities to eventers in New England and New York.
In the past, I have been a Pony Club Joint-DC, competed for Middlebury College's IHSA team, and taken riding lessons in France.
I also read and watch anything and everything related to horses.
That should about sum it up. Watch this space.
Over the next few weeks, I will be consolidating my writing and journaling into this blog, and backdating them, so the archive will begin to grow.
Going forward, I plan to write about all of the horse activities that I engage in, which is quite a few.
I own and ride a 17 year old mustang gelding named Tristan that I adopted from a rescue in 2006. We are continually learning about each other, and training in the sport of three-day eventing.
I groom for friends who are also active competitors, and volunteer for horse shows on a regular basis.
I serve on the Area 1 Scholarship Committee, working to provide educational opportunities to eventers in New England and New York.
In the past, I have been a Pony Club Joint-DC, competed for Middlebury College's IHSA team, and taken riding lessons in France.
I also read and watch anything and everything related to horses.
That should about sum it up. Watch this space.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Long time, no post. My usual pattern.
In quick updates:
Tris is gaining in strength and finesse almost weekly. T. is really, really pleased with him overall, which is great to hear. I was peaking nicely in my riding, but have slipped a bit - relying a bit too much on my dressage saddle to do the work, and less on my seat. Namely, I'm getting caught up in bracing a bit too much in the knee rolls. Need to keep my leg further back.
We're working on a couple of things: introducing a half-halt from the seat in the canter is my favorite. Last night I cued for what I thought was a down transition...and he collected instead. Okay, then! It wasn't perfect, by any means, but it was a lighter, shorter-strided canter with more suspension. And I had no idea how to stop it, because I didn't want to ruin it, but I really had planned for a trot there instead.
Our next big project is transitions. He's a difficult horse to keep consistent in the bridle in the first place - he's always, always looking for his out - and triply so during transitions. He seizes on them as moments of opportunity, roots out and down, hollows, and generally comes completely disconnected in the 2-3 strides of transition, no matter how nice the gait before and after. I felt like my efforts to keep him with me were too fussy, too handsy, but T. and I talked through it last night and for now, too much may be what Tris needs to get it out of his head that he can do that. I should be careful of not relying on that, but for now, not giving him a moment's peace through the transition might keep his mind away from being bratty.
I'm itching to get out and school in the field again, but will settle for the outdoor. We were there on Saturday a bit, and Tris pretended the (slightly deep, slightly mucky) sand was actually secretly quicksand. Why that meant he could either slog along at a dead walk OR gallop is beyond me. I talked him into a little bit of stretchy trot against his better judgment. We'll work on that more Thursday night. He got spoiled by nice, springy footing in the indoor.
I'm continually rethinking any showing this summer. Too many variables to count - time, money, energy, his training, my confidence, my internship, on and on. I sincerely hope to get out to two, maybe three schooling events and all the cross-country schooling and trail-riding I can handle, but...I just don't know yet.
In quick updates:
Tris is gaining in strength and finesse almost weekly. T. is really, really pleased with him overall, which is great to hear. I was peaking nicely in my riding, but have slipped a bit - relying a bit too much on my dressage saddle to do the work, and less on my seat. Namely, I'm getting caught up in bracing a bit too much in the knee rolls. Need to keep my leg further back.
We're working on a couple of things: introducing a half-halt from the seat in the canter is my favorite. Last night I cued for what I thought was a down transition...and he collected instead. Okay, then! It wasn't perfect, by any means, but it was a lighter, shorter-strided canter with more suspension. And I had no idea how to stop it, because I didn't want to ruin it, but I really had planned for a trot there instead.
Our next big project is transitions. He's a difficult horse to keep consistent in the bridle in the first place - he's always, always looking for his out - and triply so during transitions. He seizes on them as moments of opportunity, roots out and down, hollows, and generally comes completely disconnected in the 2-3 strides of transition, no matter how nice the gait before and after. I felt like my efforts to keep him with me were too fussy, too handsy, but T. and I talked through it last night and for now, too much may be what Tris needs to get it out of his head that he can do that. I should be careful of not relying on that, but for now, not giving him a moment's peace through the transition might keep his mind away from being bratty.
I'm itching to get out and school in the field again, but will settle for the outdoor. We were there on Saturday a bit, and Tris pretended the (slightly deep, slightly mucky) sand was actually secretly quicksand. Why that meant he could either slog along at a dead walk OR gallop is beyond me. I talked him into a little bit of stretchy trot against his better judgment. We'll work on that more Thursday night. He got spoiled by nice, springy footing in the indoor.
I'm continually rethinking any showing this summer. Too many variables to count - time, money, energy, his training, my confidence, my internship, on and on. I sincerely hope to get out to two, maybe three schooling events and all the cross-country schooling and trail-riding I can handle, but...I just don't know yet.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Couple of really nice rides to talk about.
First, jump clinic on Sunday again. Two weeks in a row definitely did really good things for both of us. Apart from some difficulties in getting Tris to wake up (he even planted his feet when he saw we were going in the ring! Hannah had to smack him on the but!) I feel like there was a great deal of improvement all around. When he really gets into gear going around he's a *fun* horse to ride over fences - he's always great, really, but having him take me to the fences instead of booting him over them is a very different thing!
I feel like I had some personal riding success in a couple of areas. I was able to make some progress on slowing things down in my head. T. talked to another rider in my set about using the circles (this was a land and rollback jump set) that he had mapped in after every jump to get space and get a better canter. He pointed out that circles are, in their most basic form, lateral work, and that you should use that lateral work to supple the horse back up in time. So I was able to take that a little bit into my riding. I think we used the circles effectively, and that I was catching him when he wanted to quit. I was quite liberal in my use of the crop, which helped.
Only other thing was a moment when I spun Tris a little too hard toward a jump placed on the center line, and he really dug in and turned on his hocks, and T. observed that he's a catty little thing in corners when he wants to be. Which I interpret in two ways; first, yes, he is, he's very clever about his footwork and he's small and compact enough to get away with it; second, I should let that be my safety net and not my default, as in, how lucky are you that your horse is so catty, otherwise you would've eaten that fence.
Dressage lesson on Tuesday, first one back with T. in a looooooong time and it felt a little bit like boot camp. I haven't been riding much, so I was letting him get away with a little too much, being a little too gullible about the don'wannas, and T. snapped me out of that in the first half of the lesson. The second half went much better, and we even got some nice canters in, and then a really nice reachy trot at the end. We're back to the "expect more of him earlier" mold, which is a sign that we're on that climb up the plateau. At least, I think, we've stopped sliding down, and a lot of the work we did on the descent should start to pay off now.
I also tried a minor innovation for the dressage lesson: put my spurs back on. My leg is so much better, and combined with my wonderful new saddle, and Tris's stickiness in the jump set, I felt like it was time. In the past I've avoided them because I didn't like the way I rode while I was wearing them. They felt like an easy place to go when I was frustrated, and I could feel myself becoming a kind of rider I didn't like. Plus, he got dull to them very quickly, and had I let it spiral further it would've become a nasty little arms race. So: back to spurs, and it was I think a success. I posed the question to T. at the end of the lesson and he emphatically agreed that I should stick with them.
Wednesday afternoon I managed to get there just after he had finished his massage. T. told me that massage lady said that he might be a little behind the leg because of the massage, and we both had a good laugh about that. Yeah, that's my pony. Any excuse he can get.
And you know, he was, but not in his usual way. His usual way to be behind the leg is because he's convinced he'll DIE. This way was more the way I feel after a really good hot bath, or a perfect amount of sleep - lazy and comfortable in my body and kind of slinky and liquid. So in some ways stuck, but in others, wow, was he all supple and loose right out of the box. It was really great to feel. In a 25 minute ride I had him WAY more over his back and reaching for the bit and tracking up and bendy than I'd had him in his hour lesson the night before. Which no doubt was a result of that lesson too, but wow, it felt great all around. Nothing earth-shattering, just a really pleasant soft ride. Then I put him out in his paddock for about 20 minutes because he hadn't had any turnout b/c of the massage, and he was a bit forlorn that I hadn't left him with any hay. Poor darling. So abused.
Hack on Saturday, and then school on Sunday; probably poles with Hannah. Maybe a fun exercise, or maybe just a few raised poles to work on timing his canter and getting more jump.
First, jump clinic on Sunday again. Two weeks in a row definitely did really good things for both of us. Apart from some difficulties in getting Tris to wake up (he even planted his feet when he saw we were going in the ring! Hannah had to smack him on the but!) I feel like there was a great deal of improvement all around. When he really gets into gear going around he's a *fun* horse to ride over fences - he's always great, really, but having him take me to the fences instead of booting him over them is a very different thing!
I feel like I had some personal riding success in a couple of areas. I was able to make some progress on slowing things down in my head. T. talked to another rider in my set about using the circles (this was a land and rollback jump set) that he had mapped in after every jump to get space and get a better canter. He pointed out that circles are, in their most basic form, lateral work, and that you should use that lateral work to supple the horse back up in time. So I was able to take that a little bit into my riding. I think we used the circles effectively, and that I was catching him when he wanted to quit. I was quite liberal in my use of the crop, which helped.
Only other thing was a moment when I spun Tris a little too hard toward a jump placed on the center line, and he really dug in and turned on his hocks, and T. observed that he's a catty little thing in corners when he wants to be. Which I interpret in two ways; first, yes, he is, he's very clever about his footwork and he's small and compact enough to get away with it; second, I should let that be my safety net and not my default, as in, how lucky are you that your horse is so catty, otherwise you would've eaten that fence.
Dressage lesson on Tuesday, first one back with T. in a looooooong time and it felt a little bit like boot camp. I haven't been riding much, so I was letting him get away with a little too much, being a little too gullible about the don'wannas, and T. snapped me out of that in the first half of the lesson. The second half went much better, and we even got some nice canters in, and then a really nice reachy trot at the end. We're back to the "expect more of him earlier" mold, which is a sign that we're on that climb up the plateau. At least, I think, we've stopped sliding down, and a lot of the work we did on the descent should start to pay off now.
I also tried a minor innovation for the dressage lesson: put my spurs back on. My leg is so much better, and combined with my wonderful new saddle, and Tris's stickiness in the jump set, I felt like it was time. In the past I've avoided them because I didn't like the way I rode while I was wearing them. They felt like an easy place to go when I was frustrated, and I could feel myself becoming a kind of rider I didn't like. Plus, he got dull to them very quickly, and had I let it spiral further it would've become a nasty little arms race. So: back to spurs, and it was I think a success. I posed the question to T. at the end of the lesson and he emphatically agreed that I should stick with them.
Wednesday afternoon I managed to get there just after he had finished his massage. T. told me that massage lady said that he might be a little behind the leg because of the massage, and we both had a good laugh about that. Yeah, that's my pony. Any excuse he can get.
And you know, he was, but not in his usual way. His usual way to be behind the leg is because he's convinced he'll DIE. This way was more the way I feel after a really good hot bath, or a perfect amount of sleep - lazy and comfortable in my body and kind of slinky and liquid. So in some ways stuck, but in others, wow, was he all supple and loose right out of the box. It was really great to feel. In a 25 minute ride I had him WAY more over his back and reaching for the bit and tracking up and bendy than I'd had him in his hour lesson the night before. Which no doubt was a result of that lesson too, but wow, it felt great all around. Nothing earth-shattering, just a really pleasant soft ride. Then I put him out in his paddock for about 20 minutes because he hadn't had any turnout b/c of the massage, and he was a bit forlorn that I hadn't left him with any hay. Poor darling. So abused.
Hack on Saturday, and then school on Sunday; probably poles with Hannah. Maybe a fun exercise, or maybe just a few raised poles to work on timing his canter and getting more jump.
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