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
Feel free to roast me for this, but it's been two years since I last got my saddle fit adjusted for Gwyn. Given that I'm now about a year out from my cross country move, it's somewhat understandable, but regardless, it was time for a recheck.
With my new job I do have some cash and the ability to save up quickly, for larger purchases like a better fitting saddle. Right now I have an all purpose Thorowgood which has been serving me well for all purposes. I know there are some different schools of thought with those style of saddles and I've been mulling over adding a dressage or specific endurance style saddle or going in another direction.
Snuggles while we wait for the saddle fitter to finish up on the previous horse
One of my barn mates was having a fitter out a week ago and I hopped on that train SO fast. Though I didn't know it, she used to work for the lady that originally sold me my saddle and was very familiar with the Hastilow/Thorowgood line. Perfect.
First things... the lines on the saddle rack are digging into the leather on my panels. I need to make sure to pad this if my saddle is going to sit on it for any length of time. It would be better to be smooth.
She was pretty knowledgeable though she isn't fitting full time anymore. Now it's just a hobby for her and she's only taking new clients if they're friends of friends. So yay I got in, haha.
Mark up the pony's back in purple livestock crayon
She pulled out the wool flocking from my last fitting, which was a completely different wool and had packed down all wrong. The width is still good, she seems to think Gwyn doesn't need a hoop tree (again, like the last fitter from Michigan advised) Either way, we tossed it on, there was no bridging or pinching and I tacked up and took her for a test ride.
I kind of liked that the fitter also has some knowledge as a riding instructor because she made sure that I was riding effectively to then also judge how the saddle was working. She answered all of my questions. Additionally, she doesn't think I'm going to need a specialized kind of saddle. For my goals, even taking my lofty AEC goal into account, this saddle should serve me well. At most she'd recommend a jump saddle but not dressage or trail unless I really want to get further there. And while I would love to get my bronze one day, I don't need the saddle for that now.
So what I did have her do was add trail rings to my current saddle. You can see them in the above picture from this past weekend. That should give me a little more utility for endurance. And also if I wanted a little more comfort for endurance, to get a seat saver. All very much economical options compared to getting a completely new saddle.
She also switched up my billet attachments so they're in a slightly different configuration (and she was VERY pleased with how nicely I've taken care of this saddle *preen* and advised that I get a girth with no elastics (ahhhhh). Since I needed a new girth anyway, I ordered a Pro-Lite one on her recommendation. I'm lucky in that Gwyn has not ever been super picky about her tack. She'll eventually let me know that her saddle fit isn't quite right, but it's always subtle. And she's not a delicate flower about other pieces of tack, bits included.
The ProLite is all synthetic, always a bonus, and it's anatomical to allow for shoulder room. Plus this one has a center attachment for martingales, which my previous girth did not, so that's an upgrade! Since it's not elastic, I'm slowly tightening up both sides in an alternating pattern, like a good pony clubber. And since it's not elastic, I ordered the same size for her and it's perfect and not up on the last billet holes on both sides.
Despite all that, when I finally rode in my new and improved same saddle, I still had to get off about 20 minutes in and tighten the girth AGAIN when a barn mate told me she could see daylight. LOL.
Gwyn was a spicy mare too. She was feeling really good and offering lots of canter transitions when all I wanted was an on the bit trot. I had to use a LOT of half halt to keep her focused and eventually just made her canter around the arena twice to get it out of her system. I can still remember when just getting a long side of canter was a challenge! Kind of regret not lunging... hahaha.
I also opted to torture myself with a posture corrector and ended up pulling a muscle in my back after doing a mostly walk ride. Good going, Amy.
It was a warm day on Sunday so I gave Gwyn a bath too. She promptly rolled.
Waiting for lunch
Monday looking bedraggled and confused that I was picking up the trailer and not her
Cortney and Robin were off in Arizona this weekend so I didn't think I'd have a lesson with Jim. However, he texted me and said if I could be ready at Bridle Trails by 1pm again I could get a group rate since he'd have other people there at 11 and 12. I was down for this plan. I 'earned' my time off by tidying up the backyard. Due to how much travel is involved in me getting to lessons it ends up being a nearly all day affair especially because I end up including general housekeeping chores while I'm out at the barn like tack cleaning.
It was a fairly temperate winter day with temps in the upper 40s and low 50s F and no rain while riding!
I have a couple big takeaways that I wanted to get written down so I don't forget them and so I can implement at home.
First: That gosh darned inside leg to outside rein is magical when it happens. Use the inside leg to ask for bend and push her into my right hand but DON'T LOSE CONTACT WITH HER MOUTH. Keeping that coordinated results in a horse that will stretch down into contact. Make more moments and get them consistently occurring.
Second: Keep communication with Gwyn always varied, even if it's feather light changes so she keeps her attention on me.
Third: When asking for rein back, Gwyn WILL respond to a feather light touch of my calf and when I use that rather than blaring at her with my heels (and spurs now) I get a very calm, slow rein back with a low head. I just need to keep better contact with her mouth with higher hands than I think I need.
Fourth: She is getting stronger in canter. We are now actually getting canter strides when I ask her. If I'm practicing, ask for the trot after the first three canter strides. The first three strides are going to be the best quality and everything will degrade (for now) until she's stronger. When cueing for canter in the corner, counter-bend her to the outside to encourage her to pick up the correct lead.
Conclusions I have drawn on my own: Continue to work on strengthening her hind end with turns on the forehand. Canter departs will also help. Research other exercises to do. Enjoy trails with LOTS of hills :D
It was chilly enough and she was damp enough that I tossed a wool cooler on her for the ride home. Then she got to make kissy faces with one of the thoroughbreds while cleaned my tack, some of which was starting to mildew. I need to remember to bring out a new damp-rid for my trailer tack room.
It was a good lesson. I felt like a much more effective rider than I have lately and she was being really responsive to my seat and leg aids, which is DEFINITELY something that we didn't have at the start of summer.
One of the first bits of education I ever had in a lesson with Jim was about the five rein aids.
Direct rein (also called opening or leading)
Indirect rein (also called neck rein or bearing rein)
Indirect in front of withers
Indirect behind withers
Direct rein of opposition
Tonight's lesson was both a reeducation and reminding about the five, but also key in how they shaped my riding.
I was once again the first one to arrive. While we still had clouds, they weren't low like last week and Mount Si was visible from the arena.
The previous week the tops of these hills were cloud covered
Cortney had mangled her foot (but not broken it!) while helping to load a friend's horse at the endurance ride last weekend. She was in a boot and was thus on the ground for media! (and basic ground pole adjusting) Jim was riding Amira, who while is a great 50 mile endurance arabian, sometimes just needs to have her 'yoga', as Cortney calls it, lol. She mostly walked and had to stand still, something she has some trouble doing. This mare is like the hyper part of ADHD as an equine.
I had been focusing all week on my posture and holding tone in my core without raising my shoulders. I'd also been reading a book by Charles de Kunffy that was almost philosophical in nature on the art of riding. I'm about a third through. I've really been trying to saturate myself in education as much as I can, including watching youtube videos of clinics. I'm bound and determined to actually make forward progress.
The footing was a lot softer thanks to a drenching rain but not baking sun. Gwyn was much happier to work in the arena.
We focused a lot on maintaining a bend in her body and not letting her go straight. I also need to keep my elbows bent and loose and moving with her. I'd adjust one bit and the other thing I had been concentrating on would be lost. Getting it all together at one time is coming in moments. But it's coming. I worked in lots of circles and big loopy serpentines. I LOVE working in a giant arena with this horse. It really helps you stay off the rail and use geometry to benefit the dressage.
This is where the rein aids come in. My indirect in front of withers rein was the key to really helping create this bend in Gwyn where she was reaching down and relaxing into the contact. And I realize now that what he was having me do was steer with my shoulders, which is like what de Kunffy is saying when he talks about the shoulders of the rider should be what the shoulders of the horse do, while the rider's pelvis mimics the horse's pelvis. Sorry, that's a lightbulb that JUST went off as I wrote up this entry.
A touch behind the vertical here but WAY better than giraffing!
There were some barrels set up and we used those quite a bit to have shallow and quicker serpentines to really drive home switching the bend up. I went through at a walk and then at a trot and did that back and forth several times then came out into a larger circle and haunches in'd and made the circle larger, then as I really had this gorgeous steady trot we went down over some ground poles.
Cortney observed that in one direction Gwyn was really able to keep a steady trot over the poles but not in the other direction, which was (not coincidentally) the direction that we always have issues. Going to the left.
We ended with a brief bit of canter in her good direction, I think so Jim could see what he was working with and have a baseline. To his eye, it looks like our issues are a lot of weakness, which was my suspicion. But if we have more lessons and rides like tonight, that will not last long.
By the time I was basically done, Gwyn felt like her back was springy, like I was sitting on a diving board instead of a 2x4. It was the strangest feeling, but I'm pretty sure it was a good thing. She felt amazing and really really tried her hardest. And it felt like I was riding as optimally as I could. I want to capture that feeling.
I need to improve my leg aid though. Right now I do a weird thing where I bend my foot to give a leg cue rather than using my whole calf. So that's something to think about. And remembering thumbs up, hands high like a serving platter, elbows bent and loose. I also should relax my face, apparently, haha. I hold tension there too.
And yes, those are my ground poles. I made the movers pack them up.
Just a little bit of lipstick!
So, overall it was an incredibly productive lesson. Gwyn was great for loading and I move her to her permanent boarding facility on Monday! Eeek! I found pasture board with minimal facilities for SUPER cheap. Even though they're charging me half again as much to store the trailer it's still a better deal than any other place. We can do rough board, that's fine by me if it saves me money for now. It means weekly lessons! And a YMCA membership to work on my own fitness.
Because work is terrible lately and they want me to restrict my hours, I have been making every effort to only work 4 days a week and spend that fifth day on something fun. Last friday I took Kaylee to the movies, the friday before I trailered to the indoor arena to get some schooling in before the dressage show.
This week promised temperatures above freezing PLUS clear skies and sun. I knew I was going riding, but the question came down to where. I had lots of options available, but with footing being questionable in a lot of places, I ended up settling on the Polly Ann Trail, at the Leonard trailhead so I didn't have to do any road riding to access the trail.
I'm pretty pleased by her body condition at the moment coming out of winter. Now to get her better muscled and not cresty with spring grass.
