Love the one you’re with.

August 31, 2011 5 Comments

Derby and I are making it official. The lease is up and I'm completing the purchase this week. We're also renewing our committment to the Albion.

I had a lesson last night, and rode in the old Barnsby that I have out on trial.  It is such a different feel than a dressage saddle. It’s wide, flat and open, and doesn’t restrict any movement.  And it’s slick.  No suede knee rolls.  It’s old school.  And it’s beautiful – I love old, well cared-for leather.  It has a lovely patina.   But it doesn’t work for me.

I do some strange things in that saddle, specifically, I tended to push my feet out forward, to the extent I poked Derby’s elbow with a toe at one point.   In some respects, the balance felt pretty good.  But, as Christy noted, it wasn’t perfect.

So tonight, I rode in the Albion.  And I’ll tell you – after riding for the last week on that slick, hard pancake, I sighed in relief as I settled into the Albion.  It is, as Christy says, “excessively comfortable.”

As we walked and loosened up, I stood in my stirrups to check my balance.  I stood easily, and straight, and we walked halfway around the outdoor like that.  This was a bit of a surprise.  Last time I tried standing in the Albion, I teetered, I listed, I leaned.  I could not stand.  Clearly, the lessons are paying off – I felt pretty good in my saddle tonight.  And Derby was nicely forward,  no miserable, shuffle-y cow pony trot, and he had a nice swingy walk.    We trotted around, over poles, did a little canter, then really covered some ground at the trot, and then called it a night on account of bugs.  It was a nice ride, best I’ve had in a while.

I’m glad I can give the Albion another chance.  I do like that saddle, and so does Derby.

In other news, my lease on Derby ends today.  Tomorrow I”m handing over a check, and he’ll be mine, all mine. 🙂

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Finding some balance

August 27, 2011 2 Comments

An ancient Barnesby all-purpose saddle

As soon as we caught our breath from the show, Christy and I started to zero in on the (myriad) problems in my ride.  One glaring issue really popped out – my posture.  In almost every moment, I was tipped forward, with a closed hip angle and my lower leg creeping back.

Drat.

So we started working on my position, which isn’t fun.  Fundamentally changing how you ride is tough.  It feels awful.  You feel out of whack and it’s tough to be effective. It’s no fun but having reaped the benefits of this sort of work last winter on Maddie I know that the payoff is worth it, even though it feels like you’re riding like total crap for a while.

The work started in my first lesson post-show.  Christy had me work on finding my balance in my new saddle, starting with asking me to stand in my stirrups.  I stood, briefly, then teetered and collapsed.  Stood again, swayed, grabbed the bucking strap, and collapsed.

We played with my leg position, but it was clear that that I wasn’t going to be able to balance myself with my legs behind my knee blocks.   With my legs wedged behind the blocks, I was pushing against them, and they were acting as a fulcrum, causing me to tip my upper body forward, and my lower leg aft.

So we started over.  Christy had me lift my knees up – waaay up – to isolate my seatbones.  Once I was sitting properly on my seatbones, she had me bring my legs softly down, draping them over the blocks, in order to keep my hip angle open.   She asked me to stand again, and I was able to stand more steadily in my stirrups.

We picked up the trot, focusing still on finding and keeping my balance.  It was a struggle but eventually I was able to find the ‘sweet spot’ and suddenly, it felt like I was floating above the horse.  Derby responded, rounding his back and striding out.  The value of riding in balance was undeniable.  On subsequent rides, I worked through my mental checklist, starting with my seatbones, and working on finding my balance, which frankly didn’t get much easier.  I was able to bring myself into alignment for brief moments, but I’d rapidly lose it and start over.

In my heart of hearts, I realized an ugly truth.  The Albion’s balance isn’t great for me. It’s very comfortable, cushy even.  But the balance is off, and the deep seat and grippy leather make it tough for me to move.

Drat. X2.

Today, when I was running errands, I wandered into the local tack shop and poked around amonst the used saddles, surfacing with an ancient Barnesby all-purpose similar to that pictured at the top of the page.    It was in lovely shape despite its years, with a shallow seat and teeny-tiny blocks.   The seat and flaps were hard and slick.  In other words, it was the polar opposite from the Albion.   After a quick consult with the saddler’s apprentice, who pulled Derby’s wither tracings and confirmed that the narrow Barnsby was potentially a decent fit, I tucked the saddle under my arm, doubled back to my house for a longer girth, and headed to the barn.

The saddle did indeed look like it fit Derby pretty well, so I tacked up and got on.  It felt pretty good – hard and slippery – but balanced and solid.  I stood in my stirrups to test that aspect of the balance.  And I stood easily.  This was a good sign.

I had a decent ride but this saddle will definitely take some getting used to.  I do like how flat and non-restrictive it is, enabling me to move and find the right position, versus holding me in one spot.

I think the Barnsby will work well for now, as I re-build my position.  Heck, I don’t mind showing in brown tack, either, so if the saddle ends up being more than a temporary thing, that’s fine too.  (In fact, I found – and ordered – a brown bridle with a dropped noseband tonight.)

To be continued….clearly.

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A fun (and successful!) first show

August 14, 2011 9 Comments

Red ribbons for me, and a giant bucket of cookies for a very deserving Derby.

Today was my first outing with Derby, and though we didn’t produce the best test we could, the day was an unqualified success. And I had a lot of fun!   I really couldn’t be much happier.

The day started in the wee hours, before sunrise.  I rolled into the barn and surprised a dozing Derby when I pulled him out of his stall for a mane braiding session.  My fellow show-bound riders Liz and Cassie showed up, along with our dressage trainer, Christy, shortly after I started on Derby’s mane.  All the horses were clean, polished and booted when the trailer pulled up at 6:30.    I was totally thrilled with how Derby loaded.  After enduring some hair-raising episodes with other horses, I have to tell you, my favorite moment of the day was when Derby stepped up onto the trailer and quietly started nosing his hay while I hooked the trailer ties.   He unloaded easily too, once we arrived, and was unruffled as we walked around the facility hosting the show. I didn’t care what happened at that point.  I was really happy with him.  What a cool customer.

Soon it was time to tack up and get going.  The warm up was busy but Derby didn’t look at a thing.  We stretched a bit and trotted around, but I wanted to conserve our energy, so I didn’t do much.

Heading down the center line for the first time!

The tests were being ridden on a dressage court just outside the big indoor where we were warming up.  We walked out of the indoor and down to the court for our test, where things got momentarily interesting.  A horse was unloading in the field adjacent to the dressage court, and a mini-donk on the property started to welcome the new arrival at the top of his lungs.  EEEE-AWWWW EEEEEE-AWWW!  At that moment, Derby noticed the people under the tent we had walked by and around just an hour ago.  He shied and suggested that we turn around.  I disagreed, and put him to work with a few circles, bending etc.  In just a minute we regained our composure (and our marbles), greeted the judge and scribe, and then we were on our way.    Derby was still a bit tense but was otherwise as good as gold.  I didn’t push it and rode conservatively, but it was still good enough for a 60.5% and a second place riboon.

It’s been a while since I was in the ring, and I won’t kid you – I went to this show without having even ridden completely through one of these two tests.  (Reference earlier comments about not being entirely ready …)  And after my first test, I was struck by how quickly the movements came.   I knew I hadn’t done a great job of setting myself up for subsequent movements – a fact that would later be borne out by the judge’s comments.   We went back to the warm up (my next ride was scheduled for just 20 minutes later) to think about things. The next ride was better.  I rode Derby a bit more forwardly, and was faster to make adjustments and corrections.  Our score crept up one percentage point, my rider scores were better, and our efforts garnered us another second place ribbon.  It’s not terribly exciting, but here’s the video:

A nice moment, right in front of the judge. We got a 7 on this circle. Yay!

I took Derby back to his stall, untacked him and took out his braids, while simultaneously feeding him cookies, brushing him off, and telling him what an awesome boy he was.  I left him to chill with a big serving of soaked beat pulp and alfalfa, and went to watch the others ride and to hang out with our friends Sue and Brittany, who came along to offer moral support.

It was such a beautiful day. My grape Gatorade tasted like champagne. All of my friends had nice rides – Cassie and Coda brought home two blue ribbons, and Cloud and Remy were both much cooler on their second outings, and both turned in very good performances.  We all went home with ribbons that were either red or blue (except Christy, who rode HC but was thrilled that her green bean was awarded two 8s!) and once again, the horses all loaded and unloaded with minimal-to-no fuss.

Once back in the barn, Derby donned his bug gear, and he and Remy headed out to their paddock to roll and doze in the sun.  Christy, Brittany, Liz and I went and grabbed lunch, recounting our successes making future plans.  I’m just thrilled to bits with Derby and can’t wait for our next adventure.   What a fun day!

Good boy!

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One week

August 11, 2011 5 Comments

Derby and I have been working really hard recently, and we stepped it up this week.  The quality of the work we’re doing has improved almost exponentially.  We have a long way to go, but progress is a great motivator.  I feel like we’re really starting to generate some quality movements, and I’m finally, finally starting to ride.  I’m not saying that we’re there.  Not at all.  But we’re better!

Six days ago:

Last night:

And a special thanks to Christy, who’s been tireless this week!

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Cramming

August 10, 2011 5 Comments

Practice braids. My first ever. Meh.

With the show just days away, I still have a lot to do.   And I got a rude awakening last night when Christy reminded me that USDF rules apply to this show – meaning jackets, braids, the whole kit and caboodle.   Crap! Braids!  I was planning on rocking a nicely pulled mane.  So tonight I experimented, and came up with something that will look OK and won’t require me to learn how to sew in button braids, yet.  Some additional practice is needed, however.

In addition to the braids, we also had a long list of things to address in the lesson, chief among them the free walk and downward transitions.  We made some progress in the free walk – if I get really active and push with my seat, I can get Derby to stretch and swing.  A bit.  This is very much a work in progress.

Our trot work is almost pretty.

Downward transitions went better.  Christy had me work on getting Derby more in front of my leg by having me trot, walk one step and then immediately trot again.  This forced me to use my half halt and within a minute he was working very nicely – his back was up, his hind engaged and we had good contact.  When we added the halt through a medium walk we had our best executions of this movement to date.  Not perfect, but markedly better.

Our trot work was better too.  Christy worked with me on being more assertive (and nagging less) and we had a more forward, quality trot tonight.    So, progress.

In other news, the mosquitoes are close to plague levels.  The nights are lovely and cool, but the horses are being pestered by ravening hordes of evil airborne bloodsuckers.  Because it’s cooled off, I hauled out Jag’s old fly sheet and boots, and I festooned Derby in protective gear.   It looks goofy, but while the others run and roll, he stands quietly. As long as it stays cool, I’ll keep him decked out in his bug suit.

I think he looks kind of cute. In a pathetic and dorky way.

 

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Bit by bit by bit

August 8, 2011 1 Comment

Almost square at the halt. Almost.

Tonight I rode one of the tests for the first time, and my first run-through illustrated perfectly (for me at least) the purpose of the tests, namely, testing the rider’s abilities to execute a series of movements – many of which complement each other – smoothly and in an organized and deliberate fashion.

Do you hear that, Self?  Organized and deliberate.

While we had a few decent moments, the downward transitions were a bit of a mess.  Okay, “bit of a mess” is being generous.   They were fifty kinds of ugly, truth be told.

I’m sitting here reviewing my videos (thank you again, Christy, for being so adept at grabbing video as you teach!) and I just discovered a key problem.  My transitions are too abrupt.  I’m not thinking “smaller trot, now smaller, now smaller still, walk!” as I go into the transitions.  And by smaller trot, I mean *half halt* half halt*half halt.  This sequence shows what happens when I transition too abuptly.   Here goes:

Going into the ugly tranistion. Our trot isn't terrible though he could be rounder and more active. But for us at the moment, this is far from our worst.

The ugly transition, in progress. I've started to halt,with no half halts or core engagement to be seen, and I've given Derby about 5 miles of rein.

 Lovely. But wait.  There’s more.

Full on ugly. Gaping mouth, hollow back, and he's on his forehand.Yuck!

How to rectify ugly? Hold the reins and get busy with your inside leg - at least, you can see this approach starting to work for me here.

In literally the next few milliseconds, Derby's back is up, and his mouth is closed. Cue Heavenly host strumming on harps.

Okay, so that save is nice but it doesn’t do much for me in a test, where transitions are scored.  I’m sending a link to this post to Christy and I am sure we’re going to drill this tomorrow.

There were some bright spots in tonight’s ride.  I got some of the nicest trot to date from Derby.  His back was way up, and it felt wonderful.  All of our current problems can be laid squarely on my doorstep.  Derby is a sweet, willing horse and tries hard.   I like him more and more each day and am really looking forward to our journey together!

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Homework

August 7, 2011 Leave a comment

I’ve been cramming in as many lessons as my schedule – and Christy’s – will permit.  I’m glad I did, because it’s paying off.  Today, riding solo, I had a solid ride and even logged a few improvements.

As I mounted up, I ran down my mental checklist.   Don’t accept the wrong answer, like sluggish responses, a hollow back or an up-flung head.  Correct problems immediately. Hold the contact.  Use my seat and legs, not hands.

After letting Derby stretch a bit, I started more serious work at the walk.  He was a bit locked up on the right side, so I worked on suppling him, flexing right and left, then bending and a little shoulder in, while staying round.    Moving into the trot, things improved.  Our upward transition was really nice and Derby was a lot more forward. He stayed nice and round as we motored around.  I had to work a bit on roundness and connection as we did 20m circles, but we produced some good work and Derby was moving beautifully laterally.

For fun, I asked for a canter, and got a decent upward transition and a much more forward canter than I had in one of my lessons last week, in which I had to really encourage Derby to move out.

Next, we worked on some transitions, practicing halting through a working walk. The first few were ugly, and Derby’s elevated nose told me all I needed to know – I wasn’t riding him into the contact – I was giving him rein as we slowed.  I tried again, holding the reins, keeping my shoulders back, and engaging my core.  Better.

We finished up doing some relaxed changes of rein across the diagonal, and then some elongated figure 8’s, bisecting the arena across the centerline.  I wanted to do a little work on the tight turns off the diagonal and onto the centerline I’ll encounter in the tests.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the ride, especially the fact that we were able to maintain decent quality throughout most of the ride.  It’s back to boot camp starting on Monday.   I’m glad I was able to get my homework for today done.  While I wouldn’t call it “perfect practice,” it was an above average ride for me.

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Glimmer of hope

August 6, 2011 3 Comments

He's a good buddy.

Well, after today’s lesson, I have a little more hope for our outing next weekend.  Unlike Thursday’s ride, which was about 95% icky and about 5% acceptable, today I was able to maintain a rounder horse, steadier contact and a nicer gait.  Derby was moving very nicely off my aids, and our geometry was decent too.  Transitions still need work but I have six rides until we trot down the centerline, which is plenty of time to tighten the screws.

So this ride was much improved.  I’m starting to believe we won’t make a terrible hash of our walk-trot tests next weekend.  Needless to say, I’m relieved.  I think Christy is, too!

What was the secret to today’s significant improvements?  Actually, there were a few.

    • Intention.  Christy gave me a little pep talk, saying that I need to be more demanding of myself, and the horse.  “Require the response,” she reminded me. “Ask nicely once, and then use your whip if you have to.”  Sage advice, and it worked.   Our gait quality was much better.
    • Immediacy.  There’s no reason to go around half a lap with a hollow horse.  When Derby goes hollow I need to correct him pronto.   My timing is getting better but this does still need work.
    • Steady hands & hold the contact.  This means closing my fingers, holding my hands steady and quiet (and keeping them independent) and adding a little pressure before transitions.  Adding pressure before I require (yes, require, not “ask for”) a movement is a great reminder to not throw the contact away.
    • Inside leg, inside leg, inside leg.  Ride the horse from my seat.
    • Use the core.  Keeping my core engaged adds to the steady contact – especially in transitions. If I collapse my core when I do a transition, I’ve effectively given away the reins.  Derby, God love him, is an opportunist, and he readily pops his head up and nose out when I let him.

So, things were better today.  Looking forward to getting back on tomorrow!

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Whup@ss

August 4, 2011 Leave a comment

At least his back is up, but this is a pretty stodgy trot

I’m taking Derby out to a schooling show next weekend.  We’re not ready for much and are just going to do walk-trot tests.  Why am I bothering? I’d like to take him out and about, and it will be fun to ride in a full size arena.  On the up side, the new saddle is working well for him – he’s not sore and is working comfortably. But we have just two weeks of introductory work, and are just working up to 40 minute rides.   Gait quality is an issue, my riding is still rusty and we both have a long way to go in terms of fitness.

Ugh, we are so not ready.

We’re focusing on getting Derby in front of my leg, gait quality and transitions in my lessons.  The pressure of a show – even a schooling show – is undeniable because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and Type-A sort of critter.  In actuality, this may work out well, because these three things – getting the horse forward and generating quality, correct gaits and riding lots of transitions are exactly what I need to get down to build Derby’s condition and move forward in our training.

But dang, I have a long road ahead of me.

The trot is getting a bit better

For the last couple nights, Christy has had me focus on riding from my core, while also asking for forward, keeping my hands quiet and bending the horse into the outside rein.  This is all basic stuff, and ten months ago, these movements were instinctive.  Presently, that’s not the case.  I feel like I’m multi-tasking and it’s tough.

Christy has been drilling me and man, I am feeling it.  My abs are sore and my legs hurt too. I spent extra time giving Derby a little massage tonight and hand grazing, because I bet he’s feeling it too.

The instructions come rapid fire from the middle of the ring.  Hold my reins.  Steady my hands.  Close my fingers.  Leg on.  Ask for more.  Make it happen. NOW!  Bend him.  Inside leg.  Come on, bend!  There! Leg on!

Rinse, repeat.

A respectable trot, though I need to sit up straighter, engage my core, and round the horse.

I’m not expecting killer scores.  I’ve decided that I will be happy if my test comments do not include the words “lacks energy.”

Importantly, the urgency of the looming outing is really helping me focus on forward, gait quality and transitions.  Who knows when we will make our recognized debut – that is months and months away – but I promise you, we will be fit, forward and correct when that happens!

Now, off for a warm shower and some advil.  Dang trainers.

*ouch*

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Head games – or don’t play games with your head

August 2, 2011 2 Comments

“Learn to expect the unexpected.  Safety has nothing to do with skill level.”  Courtney King-Dye,  Riders4Helmets

I am a helmet nerd.  I wear one when I ride my bike – always – even when I’m riding off  the road, on easy forest trails.    I wear a helmet anytime I get on a horse – even on gentle old schoolies or when I’m hopping on just to sit in a saddle and see how it feels. I will sometimes wear one when I longe a horse, and recently took some guff when I donned one to handwalk a new horse that I wasn’t familiar with during a thunderstorm.  I don’t care. Fact is, horses are unpredictable.  And being around them – mounted or on the ground, is inherently dangerous.  I elect to wear a helmet – always when I ride, and often when I don’t.

And because I’m in the habit of wearing helmets, I no longer notice when I have one on – they’re not uncomfortable, and they’re part of my routine.

 Your decision to not wear a helmet affects everyone

It’s easy to say that wearing a helmet is an individual choice.  But we helmet-wearers also pay a price when a non-helmet wearer is injured.  Riding-related injuries raise the insurance fees our barns and shows must pay, which ultimately comes out of our own pockets, and head traumas are some of the most expensive to treat, and contribute to the stats insurance companies use to set fees.  Wearing a helmet won’t prevent all injuries but doing so does definitely limit severe trauma to the noggin.   And if you’re a trainer or a rider others look up to, not wearing a helmet can compound the situation by influencing others to skip wearing one.  Negative news headlines scare off potential new riders, reducing the footprint of equine-related businesses, which increases costs and reduces choice for you and your cohorts that ride.  And the same negative news headlines worry family member, and may cause non-horsey folk to seriously question your sanity.

My own story – we were just going to walk ….

On a cold day just after Christmas in 2009, I was having a lesson on Jag.   Because the temperatures were below zero, we were walking only – the footing was too hard for anything else.  I had forgotten my small spurs, and had borrowed a pair from my trainer that were much larger than my own pair.  One thing lead to another, and Jag wound up bolting.  I’m sure I stuck him with those big spurs during that bolt, which undoubtedly egged him on.  For a minute I thought I would be able to ride that bolt, because despite the speed, Jag was just running down the arena rail.  Then, mid-stride, he executed a catty side-step which sent me headlong – right into the mounting block.

My helmet had a smear of green paint from the mounting block where I landed.  I broke a hand, had some really hideous bruising, and had a decent concussion.  But looking at that helment, I feel lucky.

Remember – my plan that day was just to walk.  As Courtney says, with horses, you have to expect the unexpected.

It’s not too hot to wear a helmet! Tips for keeping cool while staying safe:

The Tipperary Sportage helmet is well ventilated and cool even on hot days.

I know it’s hot.  But take it from me, an inveterate helmet-wearer.  It’s possible to stay comfy while wearing a riding helmet in the summer.  Here are my favorite tips:

  • Buy a vented helmet.  In warm weather, I wear a Tipperary Sportage.  It’s cheap (about $60) and has vents everywhere.
  • Line your helmet to keep it from getting wet and stinky.  (This will also keep your forehead from breaking out, too.)  You can buy fancy helmet liners from your tack shop or online.  A cheaper and very effective alternative I prefer are generic, unscented, cheap-o panty liners.  They stay put, are cheap and do a great job, staying put and absorbing just a shocking amount of sweat.  The box just days “Liners” and that’s what I use them for – so who cares?  Not me, at least!   On hot days, or if you sweat more on the sides of your head and not just the forehead, you can use two or three, end to end, to provide more protection.
  • If you can’t stomach the liners suggestion, try a bandana instead.  I actually forego the liners on the hottest days, opting instead to use a bandana.  I fold it in half, into a triangle. Then  place the center of the long side against your forehead.  Tie the bandana around your head, being sure to tie it loosely enough that you can work the knot down onto the nape of your neck, you don’t want it under your helmet.  Then pull the tip of the triangle gently back, over your head.  You can tuck it under the knot if you want.  Plop your helment on your head, and off you go.   Change bandanas after each ride.

If you don’t wear a helmet, I hope you’ll watch the video above, and then go buy one. If you sometimes wear a helmet, I hope you’ll change your mind and wear one, always.  Safe riding, folks!

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