Saturday was the second clinic date with Marc, this time focusing on Speed and Accuracy. I had accidentally double booked myself for Aug 1 but then one of the events (a 30 mile endurance ride) got cancelled. Boo... but I didn't have to choose at least.
I splurged on myself and got some purple cross country Majyk Equipe boots for Gwyn
Happy ears
For this session, we started with just the gallop and being able to regulate the power, influence and balance by shifting our own body in our rider positions (gallop, balance, three point, two point and landing). Usually I consider myself relatively fit but THIS was kicking my butt, literally and figuratively! So I've dug out my Rider Fitness book and I'm gonna buckle down with that. Remembering that I was really riding on my toes last time, between the two clinics and at this clinic, I really pushed myself to sink into my heels when I was starting to feel insecure. It definitely helped. I did not have any of the tipping issues over jumps that I did last time! So progress there!
This face tho... (Bend your GD elbows...) PC: Stephani
The big thing that we focused on was using our body and seat to signal to the horse. So the lower you go, like a jockey, the more stretch and reach you want from your horse while they maintain the same rhythm with better efficiency but while covering more ground. So we practiced galloping around, with the image of our chest touching our pommel and then rising upright to shorten the stride and act as a signal to balance and focus on the line. It was very core intensive!
He talked about how you watch 2 and 3 star horses who don't seem to change their rhythm on the xcountry course, but you can see the stride change coming into and out of a jump. For a lot of this I was really recalling my time as a jump judge at WEG and it was pulling memories up confirming what Marc was describing.
Her pointed nose of concentration... 😆 PC: Stephani
I have a conundrum with Gwyn. When she's fresh and ready to gallop, she doesn't offer a lot of steering control, especially if she's magnetized toward other horses or the trailers, etc. And we had a lot of runaway moments, always to the right, where I'd have her nose at my left knee and she was still moving sideways right in the canter. Damn Goober Mare is too flexible. And at one point, she had locked onto a bank complex instead of making a turn toward a steeplechase brush fence. Marc laughed at that and said "She's learning, but she still needs to listen to you." When she started to get tired she was much more willing to rate and steer at the canter. So now I need to figure out how to merge the stamina of fresh Gwyn to the control of tired Gwyn.
Marc really insisted that in those moments I turn her the direction I intended, otherwise she's learning the wrong thing. Yeah, guilty. I'll accept that. Again, I think I need to go recreate those moments and see what I can do in the moment to fix things. I don't think I had all the tools I could have used ( I didn't carry a bat this time or spurs) but I do want to fix it.
And I have to say, even with the corrections he demanded, I never felt bad, instead, I felt empowered. He's an amazing clinician and so supportive of the riders. He was fair and wanted you to ride correctly and improve. He was never mean or bullying.
Once we'd strung together a couple lines, especially working on letting the horse take simpler questions out of a gallop stride where our position didn't change because we were already ready for the jump being in gallop position, we moved on to accuracy.
For this, Marc set up three jump blocks as a skinny jump. Something low but that had challenge in the narrowness of it. We went over it as three, then he removed it, we went over it as two and then down to one block. The goal was to teach the horse to lock on and treat any object you present as a jump, and he described how if you really drilled it, you could get your horse to jump a traffic cone. That's serious goals!
If the horse didn't quite make it over the blocks, we had to immediately halt and back up to put the horse back on the line. No circling around. Back up. It was as much to teach the horse that, no, I want you to try again with a different answer. Gwyn was the most proficient at backing up of the three mares there 😂 And honestly... was straighter backing up than going forward, a fact that Marc joked about.
... and even succeeded a few times with the single! PC: Stephani
We eventually strung all three skinnies together in an S bending line. It was super challenging but SUPER fun and I want to recreate it at home! I think this is an exercise that could really help us.
Simplified diagram by me
Marc used imagery like keeping the horse on a railroad line made from your legs. What I learned from this is that Gwyn is VERY wiggly between my legs. This was tough!
There was a moment where we made it over the first and she turned and locked onto the second and then we turned again and locked onto the short barrel brush and sliced through it like a dream. It was like I was a teen in pony club again with Clyde where we were fearless and he took care of me over any jump I pointed him at. Everything felt perfect and EVERYONE cheered, even Marc. It was perfect and with all of our steering struggles, we nailed it. Just.... nailed it. I am still riding that high today!
The final skinny was a short barrel top with brush. We sliced this one to avoid the harder one that was in a line right after PC: Stephani
The resting period while we all tackled this gymnastics exercise was enough for Gwyn to recover from her long bouts of galloping and when we strung a longer course together with the gymnastics, her steering went wonky again (and Goober Mare was very much present and wanting to GO)
I had half a mind to take her on some trails because we'd only been riding 90 minutes and only done 4.5 miles of work... she was fit to keep going. She keeps reminding me that she's more fit than I credit her for. And by that, I mean, she took off on me in the moment between her bridle coming off and me getting her halter on. The Shadowood crew helped me catch her and since I still had my helmet on, I tied the leadrope back onto her halter and hopped back on to ride back to the trailers. Of course she was steerable in the halter and leadrope 😒 😆
She got a bath at the newly installed washracks by trailer parking and then I made her hydrate by dumping some timothy cubes in a bucket of water.
Mom, dis bag here has the good stuff. Imma bite it.
All in all, it was a fantastic clinic.
Quick notes for myself:
Shorter stirrups for jumping, this also emphasized after a timely Denny Emerson post on similar topics. My lower leg swings back too much. So shorter stirrups it is
Better fitness for myself to be able to hold an effective rider position in the canter/gallop
Straightness straightness straightness!
Correct in the moment and BACK UP if necessary to reset the horse on the line immediately
Tiny jumps in all the ways to work on accuracy!
Pre and post-electrolyting with powerade/gatorade before the clinic really helped this human. Use that strategy going forward for endurance rides and shows. I did not finish with a sun headache like last time
At this point I'm finding it easier on my time and commitment to use the trainers that come to the barn. These are typically the ones my barn owner is using as she trains for eventing (she's moving up to training). Plus the BO typically schedules for groups of lessons so we all split a travel fee which makes them overall very affordable.
All this to say, we had a jump focused lesson on Sunday! Since that was Kaylee's birthday, I didn't want to be at the barn ALL day, so I chose the 9 am lesson slot. I was the first out there. Gwyn had already been turned out with her breakfast hay and willingly left it to come to me at the gate. It was sunny and in the 60s, perfect temperature.
Mismatched brand, but matchy purple gear!
Freshly groomed arena too
I was mounting up when Trainer S arrived. She seemed nice and got to work setting up the jumps which the barn owner had moved into the arena. She asked for a brief history of me and Gwyn and explained a little about her teaching style. She's very big on rider form and correctness. I let her know that Gwyn's education in jumping was very basic to nonexistent and I wanted her to develop a good sense of how to approach a jump.
I found her to be a bit of a mixed toolkit instructor. But what I LOVED was how brutal she was with my position and jumping form. She almost immediately had me raise my stirrups a hole (OUCH) and then proceeded to pester me about my heels, especially my right heel. I like to post from my toes. I'm not sinking into my heel as much as I should. When I apply leg my foot raises and swings back. So there was a huge biomechanic component that we worked on to make me more correct and secure.
To warm up my goal was to get Gwyn a bit more energetic and less dressage ploddy. This was the morning after all the personal fireworks of the 4th and Gwyn set the tone for all the horses today. They were TIRED and slow. It took a lot of effort on my part to perk her up and even trying some canter didn't wake her up like it has previously.
I was pleased, however, to find that my form over fences is still there in muscle memory from being a kid. We started with a set of trot poles, then moved to a simple trot pole into cross rail. My first task was to get Gwyn energetic to the jump to get her actually considering a jump rather than a big trot cavaletti. Eventually we strung a course together. It was all right turns but had two bending line approaches. I totally biffed the course a couple times, thanks ADHD, but Gwyn was a superstar.
She was a tired Goober when we were done. We did the final, middle cross rail once more and she just barely trotted it and immediately walked. Trainer S wanted once more but we had just finished the round and it was a good round on the course so I insisted on ending on a good note and letting her walk. There was no issue with that.
So far, I like Trainer S. I think she'll be good for me and Gwyn to incorporate something with a little more technical difficulty. And it's a good step towards AECs 2022! She definitely thinks we could bomb around a BN course really well. And that's what I've got my sights set on. She even has experience with working with Friesians and F-crosses so she knows the struggle with that weak hind end and tendency to just be super front heavy.
I stuck around and watched a barn mate's lesson and took some pictures and video. The day was starting to get warm and I had to get home to celebrate a certain newly 8 year old's birthday.
My day started early. Since Cortney couldn't get her trailer down the hill at her house due to slushsnow, she planned to ride down and have her husband drive some of the less easily packed items like a hay bag and bucket. I would meet her at a trailer accessible parking lot 2 miles from her house and we'd load up there.
From the espresso stand's FB page
So I met her at a bank, after she'd acquired coffee, 4 year old mare Reign in hand. We packed her things up, waited for her husband to come down too (he was held up by someone driving SUPER slowly down the hill)
Gwyn's hay was decidedly the more delicious of the two, apparently
It was only 45 minutes from pick up to the farm and we arrived perfectly in my expected window.
It's a nice property. And for sale if you have a couple million lying around...
We couldn't show out of the trailer but a stall was included in the clinic cost. So we unloaded the horses and tack, then I parked. And we got checked in and tacked up!
See what I mean by nice? They have several all weather outdoor rings, and a cross country course and track.
Warm up poles
There were five riders in each session, which was just enough. For the most part we took turns doing each exercise since there were two GIANT warmbloods who dwarfed Gwyn, Gwyn, Reign and a little quarter horse. Striding was not matched at all.
We started over three ground poles to get our horses focused on their feet and realizing what we were focusing on today. Then we moved on to the first exercise that was built up over time. The goal was to learn where our horses wanted to drift and also to learn if they were going to speed demons *cough* GWYN.
We introduced this exercise at the walk first, then went through at the trot. Then the final pole was raised on one side, then the final two, etc.. Gwyn wanted to rush through this, so in that middling space I really asked her half halt and almost fully halt to keep her from barreling through. The clinician, GB, really wanted us to let the horses stretch down and use their backs through these exercises but I was having a hard time with having Gwyn actually listen to my seat so I could get out of her face. Plus, Gwyn wanted to be with her buddy Reign the whole time.
I want to try these exercises at home to see if I can have her brain in one piece and get some better results. We did end each exercise with improvement in all the horses, so that was really nice though!
Next up was the triangle set up. I really liked this one for teaching bending and flexibility.
This particular set up is extremely versatile. There are SO MANY options and ways to increase difficulty as your horse becomes more balanced and skilled.
We started with guide rails to encourage straightness to start.
We started by coming in and just plainly exiting at the tip of the triangle. It's more difficult than it sounds, especially if you're struggling with straightness. Gradually we added in loops. So in on the flat side, out the pointed, turn to come back in. It requires a tight, balanced turn at the trot. Repeat in the opposite direction.
Next version we did we kept coming in the same direction but our exits changed each time. This mimicked more a bending line. More often than not, Gwyn and I ended up drifting more to the point part of the exit when we had a bending line. This was also the version where Gwyn tossed me the metaphorical middle finger and blew through my outside aid toward Reign. Which Cortney got on video.
Finally we used the channel created by all the parallel poles to work on turn on haunches or forehand, depending on the comfort level. You can do this at walk, trot and canter as your skill increases. And use the inner channel at a trot once you can do the outer channels at a canter. I opted to remain at a walk.
This was Reign's second time at the clinic. She did really well for being 4!
Next up was the Bow Tie exercise.
They called it a bowtie. Drawing it out... it's an axolotl
The outer edges of the poles are raised and the poles were marked in their center, where the average trot stride length would be. You can treat this as a circle and then treat it as a figure 8. The center of our exercise was a skinny pole flanked by two barrels.
This was the exercise where Gwyn FINALLY started using her brain and I was able to metaphorically and literally let go and trust her.
In the video you can see me let go, and Gwyn magically lift her back, drop her head and balance. This wore her out. I'm setting it up at the barn.
Next up was this simple square. We basically did a clover leaf pattern in both directions, at the trot. Also difficult with those tight turns. You need to have a balanced trot.
Finally, we did a pattern with a set of cones on the ground. We very shallowly serpentined at the trot forward through the cones, then halted at the last cone and serpentined backing up. This was DIFFICULT! With Gwyn at least. My aids were likely too strong and she was overswinging her haunches rather than having a mild change. More things to practice!
I debuted a new running martingale that's MUCH faster to put on since it isn't a 5 point. I really like the gray color! Plus the running attachments clip on rather than buckle so I could theoretically not have to unbuckle my reins every god damn time I untack or lead her around.
We were color coordinated in purple and teal. LOL
Cortney and I hung out and chatted with a friend from WAY back when I first brought Gwyn to Washington. She had been in the first group. It was so nice to see her and catch up. Then we packed up, loaded and cleaned the stalls as requested before heading back to the bank.
Mount Si
Back to the bank where we unloaded Reign and Gwyn got upset while Reign ignored her.
Cortney's husband drove down to pick up the extra stuff and Cortney hopped up and started her 2 mile ride back home!
Then I headed home to handle my own stuff. Usually our drives home are enough time for Gwyn to dry, then I brush out the sweat marks and out she goes. It makes leaving her fully furry manageable, despite the sweating that occurs.
With my new job, I'm thinking of clipping her like Reign and paying for the blanketing. Especially since the cold doesn't last as long as Michigan and if we continue our 3-4 hour conditioning trail rides, she'll feel better if she can cool down faster while on the trail.
