eeeeeeekkkkkk. 55%
Time for the Nitty Gritty:
If you recall, after out July Dressage Outing our goals were as follows:
Getting off our forehand in the canter
Getting off our forehand in the canter
Getting off our forehand in the canter
Canter departs (still)
Straightness in our Halts (we had haunches to the right every time)
Returning to Working Canter from a lengthened stride
Staying lifted through the shoulder on smaller circles/turns
When we weren't spooking or bolting (lol), we did better on all of these things! Halts we're much straighter. Canter departs were much better, we had moments of lightness in our canter and despite the mare being "against my hand" I actually felt some adjustment with my half halts and she noticeably came back to me from our lengthenings (true in both tests). So I have to give the mare credit for that shred of progress.
As we discussed, aside from a decent opening halt, we started off with a bang... and a spook... and uncalled for circle at C. The problem there is that the entire turn at C, longside and then half-circle-serpentine from E-X-B is all scored as one movement. I thought I salvaged my trot (decently) and showed suppleness in the turns. Admittedly a bit on the forehand, but still we managed only a 4 for the whole thing. I think if it was marked as a separate movement we would have gotten a few more points.
Our opening trot lengthen was mediocre. I though we got good push and had good balance, but we only got a 7. If I keep Prairie "up" we seem to do better, but I've been admonished for not "lenthening the frame" at First Level so I was going for a bit a stretch, but what I got was a lot of forehand. I think I'll go back to thinking "up, up, up." We go down easily enough...
Our stretchy trot only got a 5.5 which is too bad, because P2 has a bad ass stretchy trot. we got "tentative" because it took me a few strides to get her down, and then shew was just a little too tense to stay down.. not our best work.
Medium walk was a 6 (scary corner) but we bounced back (a little) with a 7.5 (our highest score :( ) for the free walk.
Trot and canter transitions worked out to a 6.5 which is better than the 6 we got in July. I do actually think that our canter departs managed to be better this time. Our circle was a 6 (same as July).
The big ouch came from our canter lengthening (Prairie performed a leg yield here) which got a 3. the comment was "not completely controlled" (yes) "crooked" (yes, yes). I'm not horrifically worried. Opening up Prairie's stride is.... easy. but when she's acting a loon, I think the correct choice was to not push for much.
we got a 6.5 for the canter diagonal/trot transition. Presumable because she was on her forehand.
Another 3 bit us for the "canter transition." I won't argue that the transition was pretty (in the video you can see Prairie check out a few strides before I ask for the left lead..) but a 3 is SAD. especially since I did manage to display a transition and continued on my way. inverted? yes. out of control? perhaps :) but look! I got her back!!
or I didn't... since the circle also only got a 4. WAH. It felt a bit more contained I guess.
Then (somewhat entertaining) we only got a 5 for our lengthening, since I opted to not really ask. Something about the whole "bolt" thing made me think "hmmm self - let's skip the lengthening rather than risk sending the mare into orbit". I had to giggle when the comment next to my crappy 5 was "conservative." No shit! did you see the mare?!
a 5 for the trot transition where we broke early (this seemed worse than my "3" canter transition but whatever) a 7 for the final lengthening and a 6 to end the halt.
The collective marks are sad, sad sad. Let's do a side by side from July FL1, shall we?
Collective Marks July August
Gaits 8 7.5
Impulsion 8 7
Sumbission 7 4
Rider's Position & Seat 7 6
Rider's Use of Aids 7 5.5
Harmony 7 5
EEEEEEEEEEEEESH. Not ideal. Though, in July FL1 was our second (and better) ride of the day, whereas in August it was our first (and worse) ride of the day...
Without further ado, here's the video. She does look heavy, but there are moments of lightness. In her quieter moments there is a distinct lack of impulsion, but I was so happy to have her off my hand and contained that I was apprehensive about pressing the gas pedal..
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
54-40 or Fight!
Very few things from American History have stuck with me in the 13 years since I crammed for that particular AP test, but President Polk's catchy slogan calling for a northern boundary that flirted with what is now Alaska, drilled right into my brain and stayed there. And while only one of these numbers was an actual score form yesterday (in fairness it was a 55%... ) My weird little subconscious just ripped "54 40 or Fight!" out from the depths of my demented memory and it seemed a moderately (if barely) apropos summary of our schooling show.
In short - we've had... better days.
In slightly longer - I'm still happy with the mare. We struggled through a few things, improved on others and all in all ended up with a productive (Ha! that's the word riders use when wheels fall off the proverbial wagon) day.
To begin:
My tests weren't scheduled until 4:30 and 5:00pm which meant that there was no reason to be at the barn before noon. Prairie got to be turned out and roasted in the sunshine for a bit before I hauled in in for her braids only to realize that I had exactly enough waxed cord to sew up 60% of her braids. Rad. A quick call to The Boy saw him make an extra stop at the local marine supply store (sail making thread is perfect) as well as the grocery store (snacks are a must!) before grabbing the trailer and meeting me at the barn.
He even held Prairie's giant face while I tucked up her "forelock" (or what's left of it after I honestly clipped her bridlepath and took away her "comb over" fake forelock...). He's a gem. If there was some sort of score sheet for horse show husbands his would look something like this:
COLLECTIVE MARKS score notes
PROMPTNESS (without nagging or reminding) 10 Well timed!
HUSBAND'S anticipation and preparation 8.5 (wife prefers
turkey sandwich)
HUSBAND'S correct and effective use of the aids 8 Good Praise! and use
of water bottle
HARMONY between husband & wife and horse & husband 9 Good w/ wife.
Horse wants
more treats
So at least one of us got great scores... Back to the pony:
P2 was a bit wound up even at home, which did not bode well. Neither did loading up (at a leisurely 3pm) while horses were being brought in from pasture. Lots of screaming and pacing and galloping as everyone anticipated their dinner or protested their buddies being taken in first. P2 thought the world was ending. Also she was very irritated with her wraps and was rudely kicking the back of my nice trailer. (bad mare).
But we arrived well and she came off the trailer calmer than she went on. My plan was to repeat our minimal warmup from the last show so I didn't even get on the mare until the rider in front of me entered the ring.
Prairie was great. Much calmer, less looky and generally more relaxed than she has been. Although - she really should be since this was her fourth show (fifth outing) at this particular facility..
but while I was waiting for The Boy to return with a sip of water before heading in the ring (since the show was early and I had an extra 10 minutes at my disposal), someone else trotted in ahead of us. Not a big deal, but as I walked the mare around during the second rider's go - the gerbils started scurrying and I could feel her getting tenser by the moment.
My first reaction was "god dammit horse. (and god dammit extra rider)" because I really had a nicely calm, supple ready mare before we were delayed. But then my second reaction was "ooh! now we have to try to diffuse this. Perfect place for a not so perfect warmup..."
Needless to say by the time we trotted in I had a snorty, prancy, very heavy mare in my hands. I tried some leg yield and shoulder in to back her off a bit, but the traffic cones (omg the CONES!!!) next to the judge's booth were much more engaging than my little hands and legs asking for some lateral movement.
But the bell rang quickly, and off we went. Our halt was ok, we moved off well but then we had to pass the cones. Which resulted in a spook, which resulted in a circle (whoops! -2!). Not a fabulous start. We recovered (a bit) but had a few more bobbles including some unplanned "leg yield on the rail" in our right lead canter and one more big spook (that rocketed us into our left lead canter circle). At that point I heard a distant "are yoooouuu okaaaayyyyy" from the judge's booth which I assumed meant that things were looking less than spectacular. I chimed back that "yes!" I was fine and just giggled at my big, drama llama, cone-phobic beast horse.
I think I giggled because unlike our first outing where the spooks and bolts were of an undetermined length and outcome - this time I felt like I had total control (well, mostly) of her scoots and I was confident that I could shut them down with a circle, or a discombobulated long side.
That's improvement!!
Our first test ended with a crappy downward transition to the trot (more of a break really) and a crappy lengthening that was more of an unbalanced rush-en-ing. We earned our paltry 55% but still pulled off a 3rd place in the class. There were more than three of us in the class.. but not many more.
The judging was MUCH tighter than the first two shows (perhaps more accurate) as I think we were way better off in this test than our first outing where we pulled a 66% out of a miserably distracted and freight-train like performance. So, again - the scores don't show it, but we're handling ourselves better in tough situations.
I did cringe a bit when I reviewed the score sheet. The first comment on the back was "brave riding."
That's can't be good. I mean, I guess it's a nice comment, but it doesn't exactly inspire images of harmony and submission...
I agreed with all the other comments though I thought a few were nit picky given the level ridden.
Like the comment that our final halt was "straight but not square"
I suppose her left hind was maybe 2" ahead of her right hind, but she was square up front. So, I bristled a tad at that remark. When I rode it I was thinking "WAHOO! she's sitting down and forward to the halt" given our little runaway moments I felt like that was a positive note to end on. Apparently not.
To the judge's credit there was a lot of this going on:
Once my reins got long I was screwed. I tipped forward and we went to pieces. I can't tell where this was in our test but I think it was our transition up to the trot after our free walk. the comment was "prompt transition, needs balance."
Agreed.
To our credit, the second test had a lot more of this going on:
I stayed back, and was a bit more effective, but we were still pretty firmly on the forehand/I was getting ripped out of the tack for a majority of the ride.
small victories.
I'll dive deeper into the tests in upcoming posts. but I came away feeling like I diffused some of the anxiety in our second ride, but still need to find a way to get the mare focused when traffic cones are lurking at one end. Also, I think maybe I need to explore not showing in the super nice chunky KK double jointed D.
I know that no bit is a substitute for true obedience, but having a bit that she respects just a TEENSY bit more might help shut down the scoots a tad. It won't produce relaxation and I wouldn't expect it to, but I could use some help backing the mare off her forehand when we're away from home. The KK does just fine when we're schooling, but she's a whole-lotta-mare when she decides to get strung out.
Also, it was at least 80 degrees so I'm proud that neither of us (me or the mare) passed out mid ride. Good on us.
In short - we've had... better days.
In slightly longer - I'm still happy with the mare. We struggled through a few things, improved on others and all in all ended up with a productive (Ha! that's the word riders use when wheels fall off the proverbial wagon) day.
To begin:
My tests weren't scheduled until 4:30 and 5:00pm which meant that there was no reason to be at the barn before noon. Prairie got to be turned out and roasted in the sunshine for a bit before I hauled in in for her braids only to realize that I had exactly enough waxed cord to sew up 60% of her braids. Rad. A quick call to The Boy saw him make an extra stop at the local marine supply store (sail making thread is perfect) as well as the grocery store (snacks are a must!) before grabbing the trailer and meeting me at the barn.
He even held Prairie's giant face while I tucked up her "forelock" (or what's left of it after I honestly clipped her bridlepath and took away her "comb over" fake forelock...). He's a gem. If there was some sort of score sheet for horse show husbands his would look something like this:
COLLECTIVE MARKS score notes
PROMPTNESS (without nagging or reminding) 10 Well timed!
HUSBAND'S anticipation and preparation 8.5 (wife prefers
turkey sandwich)
HUSBAND'S correct and effective use of the aids 8 Good Praise! and use
of water bottle
HARMONY between husband & wife and horse & husband 9 Good w/ wife.
Horse wants
more treats
So at least one of us got great scores... Back to the pony:
P2 was a bit wound up even at home, which did not bode well. Neither did loading up (at a leisurely 3pm) while horses were being brought in from pasture. Lots of screaming and pacing and galloping as everyone anticipated their dinner or protested their buddies being taken in first. P2 thought the world was ending. Also she was very irritated with her wraps and was rudely kicking the back of my nice trailer. (bad mare).
But we arrived well and she came off the trailer calmer than she went on. My plan was to repeat our minimal warmup from the last show so I didn't even get on the mare until the rider in front of me entered the ring.
Prairie was great. Much calmer, less looky and generally more relaxed than she has been. Although - she really should be since this was her fourth show (fifth outing) at this particular facility..
but while I was waiting for The Boy to return with a sip of water before heading in the ring (since the show was early and I had an extra 10 minutes at my disposal), someone else trotted in ahead of us. Not a big deal, but as I walked the mare around during the second rider's go - the gerbils started scurrying and I could feel her getting tenser by the moment.
My first reaction was "god dammit horse. (and god dammit extra rider)" because I really had a nicely calm, supple ready mare before we were delayed. But then my second reaction was "ooh! now we have to try to diffuse this. Perfect place for a not so perfect warmup..."
Needless to say by the time we trotted in I had a snorty, prancy, very heavy mare in my hands. I tried some leg yield and shoulder in to back her off a bit, but the traffic cones (omg the CONES!!!) next to the judge's booth were much more engaging than my little hands and legs asking for some lateral movement.
But the bell rang quickly, and off we went. Our halt was ok, we moved off well but then we had to pass the cones. Which resulted in a spook, which resulted in a circle (whoops! -2!). Not a fabulous start. We recovered (a bit) but had a few more bobbles including some unplanned "leg yield on the rail" in our right lead canter and one more big spook (that rocketed us into our left lead canter circle). At that point I heard a distant "are yoooouuu okaaaayyyyy" from the judge's booth which I assumed meant that things were looking less than spectacular. I chimed back that "yes!" I was fine and just giggled at my big, drama llama, cone-phobic beast horse.
I think I giggled because unlike our first outing where the spooks and bolts were of an undetermined length and outcome - this time I felt like I had total control (well, mostly) of her scoots and I was confident that I could shut them down with a circle, or a discombobulated long side.
That's improvement!!
Our first test ended with a crappy downward transition to the trot (more of a break really) and a crappy lengthening that was more of an unbalanced rush-en-ing. We earned our paltry 55% but still pulled off a 3rd place in the class. There were more than three of us in the class.. but not many more.
The judging was MUCH tighter than the first two shows (perhaps more accurate) as I think we were way better off in this test than our first outing where we pulled a 66% out of a miserably distracted and freight-train like performance. So, again - the scores don't show it, but we're handling ourselves better in tough situations.
I did cringe a bit when I reviewed the score sheet. The first comment on the back was "brave riding."
That's can't be good. I mean, I guess it's a nice comment, but it doesn't exactly inspire images of harmony and submission...
I agreed with all the other comments though I thought a few were nit picky given the level ridden.
Like the comment that our final halt was "straight but not square"
 |
| that is pretty darn square. |
To the judge's credit there was a lot of this going on:
 |
| not cute. |
Agreed.
To our credit, the second test had a lot more of this going on:
 |
| slight improvement |
small victories.
I'll dive deeper into the tests in upcoming posts. but I came away feeling like I diffused some of the anxiety in our second ride, but still need to find a way to get the mare focused when traffic cones are lurking at one end. Also, I think maybe I need to explore not showing in the super nice chunky KK double jointed D.
I know that no bit is a substitute for true obedience, but having a bit that she respects just a TEENSY bit more might help shut down the scoots a tad. It won't produce relaxation and I wouldn't expect it to, but I could use some help backing the mare off her forehand when we're away from home. The KK does just fine when we're schooling, but she's a whole-lotta-mare when she decides to get strung out.
Also, it was at least 80 degrees so I'm proud that neither of us (me or the mare) passed out mid ride. Good on us.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Final School
Snuck in one final ride today before the show tomorrow- and given our total lack of guidance or feedback this week, I think we're doing ok.
The mare has been great, particularly with regard to our canter work and lengthenings. But our leg yields have been suffering and I haven't quite been able to sort them out. I *think* that I'm fiddling with my inside rein too much so the mare is feeling stifled and shut down. Which results in a still, tense, uneven leg yield.
No buenos.
But rather than fight on it for an hour we worked them at the walk schooled a couple times at the trot (mediocrely) and then ran through our tests.
FL1:
This test feels pretty solid. Our biggest issue is not plowing onto our forehand durning the 4 mile long canter tour. Everything else is solid. And our transitions were right where I wanted them today.
FL2:
The early leg yields inserts a certain amount of tension into the ride but we deal with it ok. I need to remember to not ask for much canter lengthening because P2 over delivers and then we end up strung out and I have a hard time putting everything back together.
The ordering of the test is good for us- especially the early lengthenings and placement of the canter transitions right after the leg yields.. I just need to anticipate then and control the outside shoulder...
After successful run throughs of each test I called it a day and took to cleaning the mare up. Prairie was convinced that the soap suds were going to eat her so she spent the whole bath snorting at the pooled water in the wash rack.... Doofus.
Total doofus face.
Then it was back to the dock to enjoy every. Last. Moment. Of summer around here. If we totally bomb our rides tomorrow it's because I spent a little too much time with chips and dip on the dock and not enough time working with P2...
This is how I memorize my tests:
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The mare has been great, particularly with regard to our canter work and lengthenings. But our leg yields have been suffering and I haven't quite been able to sort them out. I *think* that I'm fiddling with my inside rein too much so the mare is feeling stifled and shut down. Which results in a still, tense, uneven leg yield.
No buenos.
But rather than fight on it for an hour we worked them at the walk schooled a couple times at the trot (mediocrely) and then ran through our tests.
FL1:
This test feels pretty solid. Our biggest issue is not plowing onto our forehand durning the 4 mile long canter tour. Everything else is solid. And our transitions were right where I wanted them today.
FL2:
The early leg yields inserts a certain amount of tension into the ride but we deal with it ok. I need to remember to not ask for much canter lengthening because P2 over delivers and then we end up strung out and I have a hard time putting everything back together.
The ordering of the test is good for us- especially the early lengthenings and placement of the canter transitions right after the leg yields.. I just need to anticipate then and control the outside shoulder...
After successful run throughs of each test I called it a day and took to cleaning the mare up. Prairie was convinced that the soap suds were going to eat her so she spent the whole bath snorting at the pooled water in the wash rack.... Doofus.
Total doofus face.
Then it was back to the dock to enjoy every. Last. Moment. Of summer around here. If we totally bomb our rides tomorrow it's because I spent a little too much time with chips and dip on the dock and not enough time working with P2...
This is how I memorize my tests:
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Double Header
Had a lovely day with both of the mares- a rare treat since they continue to live 3 hours away from each other...
But I thorough enjoyed it. Started off early with P2 and a quick school to review our First Level 2 test. It's a much "tighter" test than FL1 or TL which I think will be good for us but it gives me less time to remember what the heck our next movement is.... Our biggest challenge is the 10m half circle --> leg yield --> canter depart. It flows pretty well when I actually ride and think about the next step. But I get distracted on the half circle and am still trying to lift her shoulder instead of straightening the mare out. Or I'm straightening instead of leg yielding or I'm sorting the leg yield out when I need to have been cantering 5 strides ago....
We finished well but there's quite a bit of polish to be had..
Regardless she's still the sweetest mare ever.
But she's not the cutest! Those honors are still firmly P1's
After my session with P2 I left my boots on and zoomed off to the ferry on my way to miss P.
She greeted me with a nicked and came straight to the gate in search of snacks and scratches.
I mean seriously. What a doll.
She's looking a little skinny which is a combo of her working more (at least a lot more trotting and what not) along with spending most of her time out with the herd at night where she doesn't push her way to all the hay.
Cowboy Man makes sure she gets some solo time in a stall with some flakes, but the social pressure with the herd at night is helping her under saddle work so much we don't want to give it up entirely...
Anyway. Still the cutest.
It was such a beautiful day we headed to a big park that we don't ride at often but it has great views of the mountains and ocean and Pia seemed ready for a "new" territory to explore.
I got the privilege of riding Jewel.
Jewel is a very pretty mustang. Although her current BMi suggests an infusion of Hippo.
Jewel came off one of the Canadian ranges and after being rejected as a possible bucking horse found her way into the herd at Summer Camp. When she arrived she had shoes that someone had put on her feet so long ago that they had broken off their arms and the front toe curves were growing into her feet... You wouldn't know it now. She's foot perfect on the sketchiest trails...
Our ride was stunning. We tromped all over meadows and hills and through bushes and trees. Pia took the lead for most of it which was a huge breakthrough and she was *thrilled* to be trotting over hard packed ground, uneven grass and even on a decline. (declines seemed to bring out even the slightest pain in her shoulders).
It was so wonderful to watch her rock and roll. And it was so much fun to scamper around on Jewel.
The only hiccup came when we rounded a corner of the trailer to a growling, snarling dog off leash and totally ignoring its owner. She made feral charges toward all three horses and thankfully My cohorts were more comfortable standing their ground and staying calm because I was about to bolt my ass out of there.
The guy finally got a hold of the dog's collar and apologized profusely (which I appreciated) before mentioning that he "just got the dog from the pound two weeks ago."
Yes she was a pit-bull, but I know plenty of loving pits. My issue is WHAT THE HELL are you doing letting an adult rescue dog off leash in a public park when you've only had it a couple weeks.
Maybe let her learn her new name first so she KNOWS you're calling her while she's charging at our horses (or a toddler... Or another dog...)
Ugh.
But all in all it was a fabulous day with both my mares out in the sunshine.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
But I thorough enjoyed it. Started off early with P2 and a quick school to review our First Level 2 test. It's a much "tighter" test than FL1 or TL which I think will be good for us but it gives me less time to remember what the heck our next movement is.... Our biggest challenge is the 10m half circle --> leg yield --> canter depart. It flows pretty well when I actually ride and think about the next step. But I get distracted on the half circle and am still trying to lift her shoulder instead of straightening the mare out. Or I'm straightening instead of leg yielding or I'm sorting the leg yield out when I need to have been cantering 5 strides ago....
We finished well but there's quite a bit of polish to be had..
Regardless she's still the sweetest mare ever.
But she's not the cutest! Those honors are still firmly P1's
After my session with P2 I left my boots on and zoomed off to the ferry on my way to miss P.
She greeted me with a nicked and came straight to the gate in search of snacks and scratches.
I mean seriously. What a doll.
She's looking a little skinny which is a combo of her working more (at least a lot more trotting and what not) along with spending most of her time out with the herd at night where she doesn't push her way to all the hay.
Cowboy Man makes sure she gets some solo time in a stall with some flakes, but the social pressure with the herd at night is helping her under saddle work so much we don't want to give it up entirely...
Anyway. Still the cutest.
It was such a beautiful day we headed to a big park that we don't ride at often but it has great views of the mountains and ocean and Pia seemed ready for a "new" territory to explore.
I got the privilege of riding Jewel.
Jewel is a very pretty mustang. Although her current BMi suggests an infusion of Hippo.
Jewel came off one of the Canadian ranges and after being rejected as a possible bucking horse found her way into the herd at Summer Camp. When she arrived she had shoes that someone had put on her feet so long ago that they had broken off their arms and the front toe curves were growing into her feet... You wouldn't know it now. She's foot perfect on the sketchiest trails...
Our ride was stunning. We tromped all over meadows and hills and through bushes and trees. Pia took the lead for most of it which was a huge breakthrough and she was *thrilled* to be trotting over hard packed ground, uneven grass and even on a decline. (declines seemed to bring out even the slightest pain in her shoulders).
It was so wonderful to watch her rock and roll. And it was so much fun to scamper around on Jewel.
The only hiccup came when we rounded a corner of the trailer to a growling, snarling dog off leash and totally ignoring its owner. She made feral charges toward all three horses and thankfully My cohorts were more comfortable standing their ground and staying calm because I was about to bolt my ass out of there.
The guy finally got a hold of the dog's collar and apologized profusely (which I appreciated) before mentioning that he "just got the dog from the pound two weeks ago."
Yes she was a pit-bull, but I know plenty of loving pits. My issue is WHAT THE HELL are you doing letting an adult rescue dog off leash in a public park when you've only had it a couple weeks.
Maybe let her learn her new name first so she KNOWS you're calling her while she's charging at our horses (or a toddler... Or another dog...)
Ugh.
But all in all it was a fabulous day with both my mares out in the sunshine.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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