Today is the last lesson that ADW and I are taking at Greyden. It makes me sad that I won't be riding there any more because I've grown attached to some of the horses, like Trinket. Although this mare is difficult to ride, she's one of my favourite ponies. There's something about her that I am drawn to. Tonight's lesson started out with the usual warm up of trotting around. Already, I'm caught for my first missed posting diagonal.
The class is focused on bending. We use 20m circles at trot to prepare for our bending. I try to ride with a lighter rein with Trinket because the last lesson with Trinket proved that she responded much better when I wasn't heavy with her face. She kept her head up and moved forward. Today she seemed a bit dull and didn't really seem to want to get into doing much. I had to encourage her frequently, even in trot. And, as expected, in corners she'd get even slower and I needed to use more inside leg to tell her to continue to move forward and bend too. More leg!
To incorporate bending and keeping moving, we did trot poles at angles with the goal to continue in the same pace at turns and to keep moving forward. This proved to be a particularly challenging exercise because Trinket was predictably slowing when turning. More leg!
To finish up the lesson, we're moving into canter. I find myself falling forward again with my upper back rounding over and my hands dropping and Trinket getting into a pony trot. I ride the pony trot better than I have in the past but it still isn't something that I'm excited to do. When she gets into a canter, I realize my weight is almost always in the balls of my foot and not in my heels. Hence, the flopping forwards. I always have to readjust myself once I get into the canter but this is becoming a problem because she takes this need to adjust as an opportunity to either transition down into a trot or switch her lead. Both are equally frustrating because I can't seem to get a full go around of the canter. We try several times and eventually get it. I had to really tell her to get into a canter because wouldn't listen to me asking. More leg!
To keep her from drifting into the corners, I'm reminded to use my inside leg to push her out. Learning to get her to do things from leg aids can be challenging too... as many schoolies sort of just tune you out. So the nudges I give her aren't enough. More leg!
We finish the lesson with leg aid riding only. It's tough but I get through it by getting her to turn with my legs only. Granted, it's only at a walk but I'm sure I would probably be in big trouble if we were trotting (or faster) with only leg aids. But, riding is not about the hands; it's about riding with your seat and legs. An incredible performance can be seen in Heartland episode 18 of season 5 when Amy auditions for Dark Horse.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 3.5 x $2.00 = $7.00
To date: $19.00
Showing posts with label greyden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greyden. Show all posts
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Lesson #59: Rein Like a Surgeon and Ride like a Rebel
It snowed today. Not here in the city but when I made my way out to Erin, there was snow covering the ground. Looks like it's pretty official: we've moved indoors to ride now. I tacked up to ride Trinket and this is the first time since the last lesson I had successfully gotten her to canter after determining the problem that I was having. That, and the fact that she had a show the day before so was probably a little pooped that time I tried to ride her.
The other student is riding Lakota and I find out that Lakota is very keen on a very light touch in his mouth and that is one of the reasons he kicks up such a fuss when you don't do that. I was riding him with too much rein pressure because we had a miserable time. I decide to try similarly with Trinket and be more aware of my rein pressure in her mouth. And guess what? She isn't pulling me down and forward and she just seems happier in general. Looks like this mare is keen on a light rein touch as well... she just acts differently than Lakota or Nifty. She makes me do all the work when she bites down on the bit and pulls me forward and doesn't kick up a specific fuss.
Today was a successful ride where I got her into a canter. We were working on the usual trot and this time I checked my posting diagonals as often as I could remember. Her trot was pretty good today and despite looking a bit tired when I found her in her stall, she was pretty go today. We worked on a few circles in seated trot which helped me get my seat into it. When we started working on canter, I had to get my head into the game. I had to think "canter" when I was asking her. She didn't do half bad; we got into the canter a few times even though once or twice it was the incorrect lead. I continue to have the same issue with tipping forward when I ask her and as she gets speedy. I know I can do this properly because I remember the feeling of sitting up straight and being prepared to do it.
During one of the canter stints, I lost my stirrup and Lenka told me that my posture was MUCH better. I couldn't stop her while she was zipping around and I was struggling with my stirrup. I probably should have just let go of the other one too so I wasn't so unbalanced and just let her go. Lenka reminded me that... why did I lose my stirrup? (oh me me! pick me!) Because my weight was not in my heels so I was pinching up with my knees and then my leg was coming up and oops! It popped right out.
We're finishing the lesson with some low level jumping. We start over an X with 2 point in the trot. My turns need some work and my 2point as well. I am told that I need to have more of my butt "sticking out" and weight in my heels and to remain in the 2 point for at least 1 stride following the landing so not to land heavily on her back. We try to exit it into a canter. With Trinket, we always end up heavy on the fore hand and I'm struggling to get back up right. It's becoming more of a problem because I can't get her into a canter like that either. Lenka says to add more energy into the trot and a cluck as she lifts her front over the jump. I'm not successful today. We move to the last exercise with 2 X-jumps that are radiating out like it's 4:00pm. Sure, we get through both jumps ok but I'm unable to get Trinket into a canter following. I have to work on pulling myself back up too.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 2 x $2.00 = $4.00
To date: $12.00
The other student is riding Lakota and I find out that Lakota is very keen on a very light touch in his mouth and that is one of the reasons he kicks up such a fuss when you don't do that. I was riding him with too much rein pressure because we had a miserable time. I decide to try similarly with Trinket and be more aware of my rein pressure in her mouth. And guess what? She isn't pulling me down and forward and she just seems happier in general. Looks like this mare is keen on a light rein touch as well... she just acts differently than Lakota or Nifty. She makes me do all the work when she bites down on the bit and pulls me forward and doesn't kick up a specific fuss.
Today was a successful ride where I got her into a canter. We were working on the usual trot and this time I checked my posting diagonals as often as I could remember. Her trot was pretty good today and despite looking a bit tired when I found her in her stall, she was pretty go today. We worked on a few circles in seated trot which helped me get my seat into it. When we started working on canter, I had to get my head into the game. I had to think "canter" when I was asking her. She didn't do half bad; we got into the canter a few times even though once or twice it was the incorrect lead. I continue to have the same issue with tipping forward when I ask her and as she gets speedy. I know I can do this properly because I remember the feeling of sitting up straight and being prepared to do it.
During one of the canter stints, I lost my stirrup and Lenka told me that my posture was MUCH better. I couldn't stop her while she was zipping around and I was struggling with my stirrup. I probably should have just let go of the other one too so I wasn't so unbalanced and just let her go. Lenka reminded me that... why did I lose my stirrup? (oh me me! pick me!) Because my weight was not in my heels so I was pinching up with my knees and then my leg was coming up and oops! It popped right out.
We're finishing the lesson with some low level jumping. We start over an X with 2 point in the trot. My turns need some work and my 2point as well. I am told that I need to have more of my butt "sticking out" and weight in my heels and to remain in the 2 point for at least 1 stride following the landing so not to land heavily on her back. We try to exit it into a canter. With Trinket, we always end up heavy on the fore hand and I'm struggling to get back up right. It's becoming more of a problem because I can't get her into a canter like that either. Lenka says to add more energy into the trot and a cluck as she lifts her front over the jump. I'm not successful today. We move to the last exercise with 2 X-jumps that are radiating out like it's 4:00pm. Sure, we get through both jumps ok but I'm unable to get Trinket into a canter following. I have to work on pulling myself back up too.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 2 x $2.00 = $4.00
To date: $12.00
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Lesson #58: Bucking Bronco
I had a challenging lesson. It is needless to say that I didn't quite prepare myself for what transpired but I didn't do too badly either. I rode Lakota and it's only the second time I've ridden this gelding but I already know he's obstinate and cranky when it comes to working. Last time, he pinned his ears back when I asked to canter. He has a beautiful smooth floaty canter that is a pleasure to ride when he's willing.
Today, we have a new instructor and she starts us on getting into a working trot. I have to really push Lakota because he just doesn't seem to want to do anything. He ignores all my aids and signals; I really have to kick him to get him going. Eventually we sort things out and he starts listening to me--albeit reluctantly. Our trot isn't as quick as it should be so I goad him onwards into a more engaged trot.
But, Lakota is not excited to work and I spend a lot of effort pushing him forward. Eventually, we work out a temporary truce and he begrudgingly agrees to get into a trot. However, when I insisted on getting into a canter... this initiated war. I now have Lakota bucking and kicking in protest of this request. This goes on with ears pinning and a head shaking about. I am really not enjoying this right now. Thankfully, I didn't realize when he had bucked and stayed on just fine. Then the kicking was mostly startling more than anything else but he was still moving (check). Next obstacle: he is lifting his head up and back and losing the rein contact as a result. I am told to continue to shorten my rein to give him soft contact and regain control while continuing to push him forward. More kicking, head shaking, ear pinning and mini-bucking.
I do eventually get him into a canter but by then, we're both unhappy with one another and I'm pretty tired. I had been applying a considerable amount of leg by now and I am in need of a rest. We do a few more laps of my argument with Lakota and call it a day. Not the most progressive of lessons but definitely one where I learned some unusual tricks to counter a horse like him.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 4 x $2.00 = $8.00
Today, we have a new instructor and she starts us on getting into a working trot. I have to really push Lakota because he just doesn't seem to want to do anything. He ignores all my aids and signals; I really have to kick him to get him going. Eventually we sort things out and he starts listening to me--albeit reluctantly. Our trot isn't as quick as it should be so I goad him onwards into a more engaged trot.
But, Lakota is not excited to work and I spend a lot of effort pushing him forward. Eventually, we work out a temporary truce and he begrudgingly agrees to get into a trot. However, when I insisted on getting into a canter... this initiated war. I now have Lakota bucking and kicking in protest of this request. This goes on with ears pinning and a head shaking about. I am really not enjoying this right now. Thankfully, I didn't realize when he had bucked and stayed on just fine. Then the kicking was mostly startling more than anything else but he was still moving (check). Next obstacle: he is lifting his head up and back and losing the rein contact as a result. I am told to continue to shorten my rein to give him soft contact and regain control while continuing to push him forward. More kicking, head shaking, ear pinning and mini-bucking.
I do eventually get him into a canter but by then, we're both unhappy with one another and I'm pretty tired. I had been applying a considerable amount of leg by now and I am in need of a rest. We do a few more laps of my argument with Lakota and call it a day. Not the most progressive of lessons but definitely one where I learned some unusual tricks to counter a horse like him.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 4 x $2.00 = $8.00
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Lesson #54: Anniversary
October 4, 2013
It is literally 1 year to the day, when NR and I started riding at Greyden. A lot has happened since then and I feel like the best thing to do is to review how far I've come. We've got a new instructor tonight and since the lesson focused around what we know and what we can do, I thought it might be beneficial for me to review the things I've accomplished, to date, and to review goals and direction.
In order for this comprehensive list to be relevent, I"ve checked out the Equine Canada handbook of Rider Level Program, Levels 1-10 for the English Discipline. It appears this is a rudimentary manual for all English riders to aspire towards before deciding to specialize in a specific area of English riding. These areas could be anywhere from Dressage to Eventing to Jumping.
There are extensive requierments within the manual and at this point, I am comfortably past level 1 and nearly completed level 2. I have a few items to master in level 2:
In terms of my lesson today... I need to work on the canter with Trinket because I have a tendency to be heavy on her forehand which only makes matters worse. My shoulders collapse and I lean forward to initiate the canter which is exactly what you don't want to be doing. With this mare, doing that makes it difficult for her to initiate the canter since she tends to be heavy on the forehand anyways; all that is accomplished is that she speeds up in the trot and I just bump around uncomfortably!
It is literally 1 year to the day, when NR and I started riding at Greyden. A lot has happened since then and I feel like the best thing to do is to review how far I've come. We've got a new instructor tonight and since the lesson focused around what we know and what we can do, I thought it might be beneficial for me to review the things I've accomplished, to date, and to review goals and direction.
In order for this comprehensive list to be relevent, I"ve checked out the Equine Canada handbook of Rider Level Program, Levels 1-10 for the English Discipline. It appears this is a rudimentary manual for all English riders to aspire towards before deciding to specialize in a specific area of English riding. These areas could be anywhere from Dressage to Eventing to Jumping.
There are extensive requierments within the manual and at this point, I am comfortably past level 1 and nearly completed level 2. I have a few items to master in level 2:
- Know how often the ferrier should visit a horse (I'm sure I can find this information online somewheres...)
- Be able to tie a quick release knot (I tied one of these when I was a kid but I can't remember and we never need to do it in the school right now)
- Know the reasons for cleaning tack and the method involved (I would know this if I didn't miss 'spa day' back in May)
- Preparation and accuracy between the letters. Riders are not necessarily proficient at canter at this level (my canter is something I continue to struggle with)
- Riding 20m circles of the correct size (i.e. going to tangent points) (I ride some sort of circle... but 20m exactly? I'm not sure)
In terms of my lesson today... I need to work on the canter with Trinket because I have a tendency to be heavy on her forehand which only makes matters worse. My shoulders collapse and I lean forward to initiate the canter which is exactly what you don't want to be doing. With this mare, doing that makes it difficult for her to initiate the canter since she tends to be heavy on the forehand anyways; all that is accomplished is that she speeds up in the trot and I just bump around uncomfortably!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Lesson #53: Front Heavy
Sunday September 29, 2013
I've got a long day ahead of me but what better way to start it than to be riding! I'm on my own today, to get everything done. The lesson with Trinket is a good start to the day. Since it's an outdoor lesson, we work on getting our gaits going and Lenka challenges us to a sort of "course" with trot poles. We're asked to start a canter and then transition to a trot and then trot over poles and then re-initiate the canter and then trot over some more poles and completes with a canter. Easy enough to comprehend what is being asked but I certainly had a good deal of difficulty getting through this. My initial canter worked just fine and I even transitioned down into a trot. But, getting back into the canter was a total nightmare. I was struggling and Trinket was only going faster and faster. Nothing worked despite my urging and pushing.
Lenka pointed out that I was leaning forward and my shoulders were hunching forward. It isn't that Trinket is not listening... but she tends to be heavy on the forehand so when I tip forward and my weight gets onto her front end, it must put her out of balance and make it difficult for her to initiate the canter. So, instead of am bumping around in a seated trot with my posture totally out of alignment and my shoulders rounding forward with her pulling me down and forward.
This is certainly not my most graceful moment on this mare so I do try to continue to push forward and try again but I also recognize that I will have to do something about my own posture to get this right. It isn't her... she's clearly capable of doing a canter but I would say that she's probably not feeling balanced enough to initiate it and nobody wants to trip.
This was a frustrating lesson and I hope that my luck will be better next lesson.
The rest of the day was me driving out in the country to get to Stratford/Sebringville. It's such a wonderful drive out that way and I have a great time driving out on country roads on my own. It was a great break to be out on my own zipping around in ADW's car ;)
The best part? I'm on my way to do a food pick up this afternoon. Starting with my trip to Sebringville/Stratford to pick up my half Berkshire pig carcass. That's right folks, I'm going to pick up ~100lbs of delicious heritage pork. I always say, pork is supposed to be fatty. If it isn't, why aren't you eating chicken or something even less fatty? There's nothing wrong with fat. Especially when the animal is raised naturally and happily. I arrive and pick up 2 large boxes of my pig and head home with an additional 100lbs in the back.
I won't get into too much detail as I'll save that post for another day but the farm that I went to is called Perth Pork Products and they raise several heritage breeds that taste like the pork that used to be eaten. mmmmm mmm delicious!
I've got a long day ahead of me but what better way to start it than to be riding! I'm on my own today, to get everything done. The lesson with Trinket is a good start to the day. Since it's an outdoor lesson, we work on getting our gaits going and Lenka challenges us to a sort of "course" with trot poles. We're asked to start a canter and then transition to a trot and then trot over poles and then re-initiate the canter and then trot over some more poles and completes with a canter. Easy enough to comprehend what is being asked but I certainly had a good deal of difficulty getting through this. My initial canter worked just fine and I even transitioned down into a trot. But, getting back into the canter was a total nightmare. I was struggling and Trinket was only going faster and faster. Nothing worked despite my urging and pushing.
Lenka pointed out that I was leaning forward and my shoulders were hunching forward. It isn't that Trinket is not listening... but she tends to be heavy on the forehand so when I tip forward and my weight gets onto her front end, it must put her out of balance and make it difficult for her to initiate the canter. So, instead of am bumping around in a seated trot with my posture totally out of alignment and my shoulders rounding forward with her pulling me down and forward.
This is certainly not my most graceful moment on this mare so I do try to continue to push forward and try again but I also recognize that I will have to do something about my own posture to get this right. It isn't her... she's clearly capable of doing a canter but I would say that she's probably not feeling balanced enough to initiate it and nobody wants to trip.
This was a frustrating lesson and I hope that my luck will be better next lesson.
The rest of the day was me driving out in the country to get to Stratford/Sebringville. It's such a wonderful drive out that way and I have a great time driving out on country roads on my own. It was a great break to be out on my own zipping around in ADW's car ;)
The best part? I'm on my way to do a food pick up this afternoon. Starting with my trip to Sebringville/Stratford to pick up my half Berkshire pig carcass. That's right folks, I'm going to pick up ~100lbs of delicious heritage pork. I always say, pork is supposed to be fatty. If it isn't, why aren't you eating chicken or something even less fatty? There's nothing wrong with fat. Especially when the animal is raised naturally and happily. I arrive and pick up 2 large boxes of my pig and head home with an additional 100lbs in the back.
I won't get into too much detail as I'll save that post for another day but the farm that I went to is called Perth Pork Products and they raise several heritage breeds that taste like the pork that used to be eaten. mmmmm mmm delicious!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Lesson #52: More Bending
This was the worst traffic experience to date. So much so that we didn't arrive until 8pm--which is when our lesson starts and so we had to request the horses to be tacked-up upon arrival. I don't prefer that because of the fact that if I'm riding a horse I'm not familiar with, I prefer to get to know them better during the grooming and tacking up. Like today... I'm assigned to ride Lakota. He's a relatively new horse and hasn't been in any other classes prior.
I have been looking forward to this ride all week because I was sick the week before and wasn't able to make it out and with work... well, this was a welcome change! Today we work on 3-loop serpentines which takes the lot of us 2 tries to understand what is being asked of us. When we finally understood it, we were asked to focus on the bend of the horse so that they were turning ever so slightly on the bends and the straight aways were to be straight. Tougher than it sounds, trust me. While we did some cantering, the feature of the lesson was perhaps the turning refinement. The serpentines and 20m circles were our features as they are tricky to do well because you're asked to create bend, maintain a consistent pace and also to keep straight when you're supposed to and bend when you're supposed to, too.
We are reminded not to pull too much when asking for a bend or you just end up turning their heads in the direction you want without their bodies actually moving in that direction too. It's all very technical but I'm not at the point where I can explain that so I'm not going to try :P
Otherwise, not so much a big post lesson but one which certainly challenged us with understanding our bends.
I have been looking forward to this ride all week because I was sick the week before and wasn't able to make it out and with work... well, this was a welcome change! Today we work on 3-loop serpentines which takes the lot of us 2 tries to understand what is being asked of us. When we finally understood it, we were asked to focus on the bend of the horse so that they were turning ever so slightly on the bends and the straight aways were to be straight. Tougher than it sounds, trust me. While we did some cantering, the feature of the lesson was perhaps the turning refinement. The serpentines and 20m circles were our features as they are tricky to do well because you're asked to create bend, maintain a consistent pace and also to keep straight when you're supposed to and bend when you're supposed to, too.
We are reminded not to pull too much when asking for a bend or you just end up turning their heads in the direction you want without their bodies actually moving in that direction too. It's all very technical but I'm not at the point where I can explain that so I'm not going to try :P
Otherwise, not so much a big post lesson but one which certainly challenged us with understanding our bends.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Lesson #51: Indoor Canter Success Story
September 13, 2013
Finally, a vacation. I took Friday off from work to make my way out to Caledon for the weekend. But, I'll get into that later. My friday lesson was the third lesson ADW and I were riding in a single day. I rode Trinket this cool fall evening and as I mentioned last time, it is indoors. Sheri is back this Friday and we have her one more lesson before the end of September and while I am really looking forward to having Sheri again, I'm also sad that it would mean it'd be the last lesson we'd have with her at Greyden. But, as lessons with horses has taught me, things change and you just have to adapt... because you don't always have control over what happens.
We warm up with a good trot and Sheri asks me if I'm comfortable to get Trinket into a canter in the indoor arena. This is not a light question... this pony has a tendency to be heavy on the forehand and speedy while doing it. So, while you're being pulled further and further forward (this is terrible for a rider because you lose balance), she's getting faster and faster and also drifting into the circle so you're not only off-balance now (remember, riding is all about balance!) but you're losing control because you're falling inwards or struggling to not fall into the circle. I just say yes and figure if I'm not comfortable, I just pull back on the reins--not the most graceful but at least I can get accustomed to her gait.
We complete some balance exercises with the double post: up-up-down and 2-point while trotting to get our bodies into the right balance. We're reminded that the best way to determine the proper alignment is to get into a 2-point while walking. Doing this gets your weight in the right place over the saddle and to return to a full seat, all you need to do is keep your legs where they are and then sit down. Ta-da! Perfect alignment. Keeping it is a whole other story ;) In addition to this exercise, we do out-of-stirrup work. Ouch. Seated trot and posting trot. While both are more steady now, and I am able to stay on without too much jossoling around it still isn't my idea of fun. However, this is perfect to get me understanding the long leg position.
Anyways, because I already had two lessons at Cadogan Farms (more on that later!), I got quite a bit of practice cantering around and understanding how to mitigate the typical "issues" that come with cantering within an arena. To go deep into the corners and reduce the drifting in, I have to remember to apply the bending aids. So, when we're asked to get into a canter, I decide to go for it and hooray! Off I goooooo! I felt Trinket get faster and knew that I had to slow her down but didn't want her to get so slow that she'd break her canter into a trot. I sort of got Trinket under control and had her stop but my god... she stops on a dime and my body is still moving and I have an uncomfortable jam forward into the pommel *.*
Our final exercise for the evening is an x-jump that we had the option to take in a trot or canter. For some reason, I couldn't get Trinket into a canter during the turn into the jump so took it in trot. I think my frustration made things worse because it didn't matter how many times I tried it but the more frustrated I became, the less cooperative she became and she did her fast pony trot which discombobulated me too much to get through the jump.
But, my highlight of the lesson was certainly the indoor canter on Trinket! It's a first with this mare and I'm very proud that I managed to keep enough control around the corners and push her into the corners too.
Finally, a vacation. I took Friday off from work to make my way out to Caledon for the weekend. But, I'll get into that later. My friday lesson was the third lesson ADW and I were riding in a single day. I rode Trinket this cool fall evening and as I mentioned last time, it is indoors. Sheri is back this Friday and we have her one more lesson before the end of September and while I am really looking forward to having Sheri again, I'm also sad that it would mean it'd be the last lesson we'd have with her at Greyden. But, as lessons with horses has taught me, things change and you just have to adapt... because you don't always have control over what happens.
We warm up with a good trot and Sheri asks me if I'm comfortable to get Trinket into a canter in the indoor arena. This is not a light question... this pony has a tendency to be heavy on the forehand and speedy while doing it. So, while you're being pulled further and further forward (this is terrible for a rider because you lose balance), she's getting faster and faster and also drifting into the circle so you're not only off-balance now (remember, riding is all about balance!) but you're losing control because you're falling inwards or struggling to not fall into the circle. I just say yes and figure if I'm not comfortable, I just pull back on the reins--not the most graceful but at least I can get accustomed to her gait.
We complete some balance exercises with the double post: up-up-down and 2-point while trotting to get our bodies into the right balance. We're reminded that the best way to determine the proper alignment is to get into a 2-point while walking. Doing this gets your weight in the right place over the saddle and to return to a full seat, all you need to do is keep your legs where they are and then sit down. Ta-da! Perfect alignment. Keeping it is a whole other story ;) In addition to this exercise, we do out-of-stirrup work. Ouch. Seated trot and posting trot. While both are more steady now, and I am able to stay on without too much jossoling around it still isn't my idea of fun. However, this is perfect to get me understanding the long leg position.
Anyways, because I already had two lessons at Cadogan Farms (more on that later!), I got quite a bit of practice cantering around and understanding how to mitigate the typical "issues" that come with cantering within an arena. To go deep into the corners and reduce the drifting in, I have to remember to apply the bending aids. So, when we're asked to get into a canter, I decide to go for it and hooray! Off I goooooo! I felt Trinket get faster and knew that I had to slow her down but didn't want her to get so slow that she'd break her canter into a trot. I sort of got Trinket under control and had her stop but my god... she stops on a dime and my body is still moving and I have an uncomfortable jam forward into the pommel *.*
Our final exercise for the evening is an x-jump that we had the option to take in a trot or canter. For some reason, I couldn't get Trinket into a canter during the turn into the jump so took it in trot. I think my frustration made things worse because it didn't matter how many times I tried it but the more frustrated I became, the less cooperative she became and she did her fast pony trot which discombobulated me too much to get through the jump.
But, my highlight of the lesson was certainly the indoor canter on Trinket! It's a first with this mare and I'm very proud that I managed to keep enough control around the corners and push her into the corners too.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Lesson #50: Bending Towards Fall
Sept 6, 2013
The seasons are changing. By the time we were ready to ride, the sun had set and it would be impossible to ride outdoors as there is no lighting. Fall is in the air, literally! In addition, we start our fall season with a new instructor, Jennifer. And for me, to make things even better, I'm assigned Aspen!!!! Woohoo!! He even looks pretty lively tonight so I hope that things will go well.
Jenn starts us with a good warm-up of trotting. We do a lot of work to hone our preciseness such as turning, transitions and bends. We haven't worked much on bends before but I remember reading about Present Tense's experiences with a bend, back in December. There is a good article about what bends are, and how a rider is to aim to accomplish them. I suppose I didn't really realize that all these things can (and should) be broken down for further analysis.
While we don't get into specific details about the technicalities of bends, Jenn elaborates for us the reason we have to do it and if the bend is present. It's kind of like getting the feel for things when we were starting out. We accomplish the exercises by cutting the arena in half and focusing on touching the tangents of the circle and bending at these specific tangents. Looking at the picture now, I realize I was placing my legs in the wrong places. Next lesson!
We continue to work on our 2-point position over the x-jump and Jenn refers to "crest release", which is something that we haven't talked explicitly about before. That's only partially true... Lenka refers to "your hands should be further up on the horse's neck" which is basically referring to a type of 'release'. We never go into detail but it's new for me in terms of technicality. We are asked to do a "short crest release" and a "long crest release". Next time I think I'll need to take better note of what my body is feeling and where things are. After all, I'm starting to think that much of what is happening is slight unless we hone in on the details.
Anyways, some new stuff for a new season! :)
The seasons are changing. By the time we were ready to ride, the sun had set and it would be impossible to ride outdoors as there is no lighting. Fall is in the air, literally! In addition, we start our fall season with a new instructor, Jennifer. And for me, to make things even better, I'm assigned Aspen!!!! Woohoo!! He even looks pretty lively tonight so I hope that things will go well.
Jenn starts us with a good warm-up of trotting. We do a lot of work to hone our preciseness such as turning, transitions and bends. We haven't worked much on bends before but I remember reading about Present Tense's experiences with a bend, back in December. There is a good article about what bends are, and how a rider is to aim to accomplish them. I suppose I didn't really realize that all these things can (and should) be broken down for further analysis.
While we don't get into specific details about the technicalities of bends, Jenn elaborates for us the reason we have to do it and if the bend is present. It's kind of like getting the feel for things when we were starting out. We accomplish the exercises by cutting the arena in half and focusing on touching the tangents of the circle and bending at these specific tangents. Looking at the picture now, I realize I was placing my legs in the wrong places. Next lesson!
 |
| I've got the "bends"! |
Anyways, some new stuff for a new season! :)
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Lesson #49: Neglecting Sleep
September 1, 2013
It's caught up with me: my lack of sleep for the entire week. It was evident on Friday and even more evident today. My equitation was miserable today and I'd say, it affected my work. Lenka really tested us today but that doesn't matter, because it was evident that stuff wasn't going right and I have to work on certain things in order to get it right. One of the most evident things today was that when you speed things up, weaknesses and errors become even MORE evident. I'm not at the point where I'm some super star who can race around naturally as everything I do still requires effort and work.
I ride Nikki today and there are a few things that I am reminded of: Nikki is small so my leg position is not where it is with other horses so I have to make adjustments to where I place my leg because Nikki's not lazy... she's specific. It's like pronouncing your words appropriately when you're speaking. She's also quick to take excuses if you give them to her and she will do what she feel is easiest if clear instructions are not given to her.
To work on strengthening inner thighs, we do work without stirrups. This is an easy step up from bareback since your "goody bits" aren't being jammed into the horse's withers or their spiny backs. However, it takes a great deal of effort from your inner thighs to keep from falling off. We work on seated trot then the dreaded posting trot. I didn't think it was possible to do but it is; you don't get as high as you do with stirrups but you are still able to ride if you have your inner thighs engaged properly. This, is the proper place of effort! For the remainder of the lesson, I try to focus on keeping my legs engaged there while maintaining the contact of the lower leg and the weight down through the heels but not actually relying on your stirrups. I am finally starting to understand what it takes to ride properly but by no means am I close to actually having the stamina to do it or the ease of slipping into the right posture with little effort.
The lessons peaks with this exercise: ~20m circles in the canter. I've seen seasoned riders make it look like a walk in the park. It is not by any means easy. I'm still working on just riding the canter and add in a small circle and the need to control and maintain the aids, to the whole equation and I present you the mess that is Deb. The following have become my issues: my hands are too low, my body is collapsing forward, my lower leg position is shot to sh*t and I can't stay balanced--I look like a sack of potatoes. I manage at least one good go at it and am quite pleased that I was able to accomplish this: small achievements some days.
Now, my next work up to the actual achievement? More supporting exercises and MORE SLEEP.
It's caught up with me: my lack of sleep for the entire week. It was evident on Friday and even more evident today. My equitation was miserable today and I'd say, it affected my work. Lenka really tested us today but that doesn't matter, because it was evident that stuff wasn't going right and I have to work on certain things in order to get it right. One of the most evident things today was that when you speed things up, weaknesses and errors become even MORE evident. I'm not at the point where I'm some super star who can race around naturally as everything I do still requires effort and work.
I ride Nikki today and there are a few things that I am reminded of: Nikki is small so my leg position is not where it is with other horses so I have to make adjustments to where I place my leg because Nikki's not lazy... she's specific. It's like pronouncing your words appropriately when you're speaking. She's also quick to take excuses if you give them to her and she will do what she feel is easiest if clear instructions are not given to her.
To work on strengthening inner thighs, we do work without stirrups. This is an easy step up from bareback since your "goody bits" aren't being jammed into the horse's withers or their spiny backs. However, it takes a great deal of effort from your inner thighs to keep from falling off. We work on seated trot then the dreaded posting trot. I didn't think it was possible to do but it is; you don't get as high as you do with stirrups but you are still able to ride if you have your inner thighs engaged properly. This, is the proper place of effort! For the remainder of the lesson, I try to focus on keeping my legs engaged there while maintaining the contact of the lower leg and the weight down through the heels but not actually relying on your stirrups. I am finally starting to understand what it takes to ride properly but by no means am I close to actually having the stamina to do it or the ease of slipping into the right posture with little effort.
The lessons peaks with this exercise: ~20m circles in the canter. I've seen seasoned riders make it look like a walk in the park. It is not by any means easy. I'm still working on just riding the canter and add in a small circle and the need to control and maintain the aids, to the whole equation and I present you the mess that is Deb. The following have become my issues: my hands are too low, my body is collapsing forward, my lower leg position is shot to sh*t and I can't stay balanced--I look like a sack of potatoes. I manage at least one good go at it and am quite pleased that I was able to accomplish this: small achievements some days.
Now, my next work up to the actual achievement? More supporting exercises and MORE SLEEP.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Lesson #48: Do Things with Purpose
August 30, 2013
I'm back from skipping a week of riding and it feel great to be back. It's just me tonight and no ADW to join me as he's returning from Calgary. It's the start of a long weekend and the end of a long week. It's humid and raining today so we end up riding indoors. The day light is also getting shorter and we're finding ourselves in the dark during our lessons.
This lesson is spent indoors as it is raining and nobody likes to be all wet while riding. Our usual warm up is started to get our rhythm right--consistent and in control. Sheri tells us that the best way to get into things is to get into a consistent rhythm so that you can move forward. It's kind of like getting your land legs back, after disembarking a cruise. I notice that with Indy, my legs are secure and I use my inner thighs to keep myself balanced. This is an interesting discovery on my part: it's part of the eventual aim of a proper posture and correct muscles being engaged.
We continue to practice some work with posting and seated trot and also work on the balance by double posting up and once down. This is tricky to consistently do because if your leg position isn't right, then you fall back down. We work up to some very tricky exercises that really test your ability to quickly transition from one gait to another and direction as well. This is not my evening at all. I have trouble initiating the canter over the two ground poles and cannot canter through the X-jump at all! My posture is all over the place and I'm literally falling over Indy during transitions. What's wrong?
I reflect on the way home and I come to realize that I am genuinely tired for this lesson. Part of it is me just going through the motions and not really being "in it". Riding requires you to be actively living the moment and not thinking about what's happened or what will happen but to anticipate just a few moments before, in order to make a sound decision about what you'll do. That's the problem: because I was such a zombie, I wasn't in the moment and my mind was wandering around and I was drifting off into la-la-land all evening. It's time to ramp up my schedule and really buckle down on what needs to be done! After all, I have to work, in order to continue to do what I like to do in my spare time (at this time, anyways...) and so I've got to really pull myself together and not waste time.
I'm back from skipping a week of riding and it feel great to be back. It's just me tonight and no ADW to join me as he's returning from Calgary. It's the start of a long weekend and the end of a long week. It's humid and raining today so we end up riding indoors. The day light is also getting shorter and we're finding ourselves in the dark during our lessons.
This lesson is spent indoors as it is raining and nobody likes to be all wet while riding. Our usual warm up is started to get our rhythm right--consistent and in control. Sheri tells us that the best way to get into things is to get into a consistent rhythm so that you can move forward. It's kind of like getting your land legs back, after disembarking a cruise. I notice that with Indy, my legs are secure and I use my inner thighs to keep myself balanced. This is an interesting discovery on my part: it's part of the eventual aim of a proper posture and correct muscles being engaged.
We continue to practice some work with posting and seated trot and also work on the balance by double posting up and once down. This is tricky to consistently do because if your leg position isn't right, then you fall back down. We work up to some very tricky exercises that really test your ability to quickly transition from one gait to another and direction as well. This is not my evening at all. I have trouble initiating the canter over the two ground poles and cannot canter through the X-jump at all! My posture is all over the place and I'm literally falling over Indy during transitions. What's wrong?
I reflect on the way home and I come to realize that I am genuinely tired for this lesson. Part of it is me just going through the motions and not really being "in it". Riding requires you to be actively living the moment and not thinking about what's happened or what will happen but to anticipate just a few moments before, in order to make a sound decision about what you'll do. That's the problem: because I was such a zombie, I wasn't in the moment and my mind was wandering around and I was drifting off into la-la-land all evening. It's time to ramp up my schedule and really buckle down on what needs to be done! After all, I have to work, in order to continue to do what I like to do in my spare time (at this time, anyways...) and so I've got to really pull myself together and not waste time.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Lesson #47: Nifty Knows Best
Aug 16, 2013
It was just me again. I was looking forward to getting out of the city and as usual, had a nice relaxing drive out that way. I still get anxious when I think about the new outlet mall out that way. So far, things have been good. I hope the upcoming long weekend is the same good luck!
Today I ride Nifty; he's a sturdy and sensitive Quarter Horse. I think that he's probably misunderstood by riders who don't know him better because of his sensitivity and then think he can be a little much to work with because of his sensitive and overly obsessive attention to details. I read that sentence again and realize that I might have just described my own character traits. HAHAHA no wonder work has been going the way it has! ADW would tell me I'm sensitive (on the boarderline of being overly-sensitive) and obssessive about details. Sounds like me and Nifty will be just fine... in time. Afterall, I'm not sure I'd be friends with me if I wasn't me!
We've been told that because Nifty is a chestnut with pink skin, he tends to be more sensitive overall. His skin is thinner than most horses and he actually can get sunburned! Gillian puts sunscreen on his nose when they're out in the sun. He also is not a fan of being groomed since his skin is thinner than most horses and so it must feel like an unwanted and uncomfortable scratch/rub-down. He's also very sensitive in the mouth--he hates when riders yank on his face and prefers leg aids! The best thing about Nifty is his responsiveness to leg aids. The others are not as responsive to leg aids and sometimes I'm really going to town with my leg to get them to move.
Anyways... :) my first impression of him today is that he's not too cranky pants and might actually be cooperative. We get started out in the ring with Kristy as Sheri's got a personal commitment over the weekend. That said though, we warmed-up as usual and got into things just as we would. I've had a rather stressful week and been experiencing some anxiety with work and other things so my head wasn't exactly in the right space. But, I didn't recognize this until I started riding Nifty. I had some difficulty getting him moving in a forward thought at the start... when we did get moving, he just sort of clopped along. The posting trot was fine with him but the seated trot was (as usual) not particularly enjoyable. Of all the horses I've ridden at Greyden, Nifty is the one that I am the most hesitant to ride when we increase the gaits. I've gotten used to some of the others who are a bit more challenging but Nifty remains the source of canter-related anxiety. The first time I rode his canter was during the Mother's Day Ride.
Now we move towards the canter *gulp*. I feel myself tense up (and so did he!) so trying to get him going was like trying to do something without your heart in it. Everything was fine up until this point; I was confused and frustrated because he was responsive to pretty much everything else. At the time, I was growing more frustrated with the unresponsiveness to notice much else but in hindsight, I recognize he was just responding in-kind to my own anxiety and since I'm not quite "alpha horse" in his eyes, he was doing what he thought was best for me (and himself). At this point, I was told to correct him when he was doing his funny bend against the way he was to be bent. I spent possibly a quarter lesson correcting him.
I did get one canter around but that was about it. It was by no means graceful or happy. The silver lining in this stormy grey Dark Kloud (as an old friend affectionately referred to me as; coinciding with my initials of DK) was that we managed to get through a line of X-jump and a low straight jump through a trot turned canter (a la Nifty). I was also able to turn him around nicely before calling it a night. Not too shabby considering my less than stellar headspace. Thanks Nifty!
It was just me again. I was looking forward to getting out of the city and as usual, had a nice relaxing drive out that way. I still get anxious when I think about the new outlet mall out that way. So far, things have been good. I hope the upcoming long weekend is the same good luck!
Today I ride Nifty; he's a sturdy and sensitive Quarter Horse. I think that he's probably misunderstood by riders who don't know him better because of his sensitivity and then think he can be a little much to work with because of his sensitive and overly obsessive attention to details. I read that sentence again and realize that I might have just described my own character traits. HAHAHA no wonder work has been going the way it has! ADW would tell me I'm sensitive (on the boarderline of being overly-sensitive) and obssessive about details. Sounds like me and Nifty will be just fine... in time. Afterall, I'm not sure I'd be friends with me if I wasn't me!
We've been told that because Nifty is a chestnut with pink skin, he tends to be more sensitive overall. His skin is thinner than most horses and he actually can get sunburned! Gillian puts sunscreen on his nose when they're out in the sun. He also is not a fan of being groomed since his skin is thinner than most horses and so it must feel like an unwanted and uncomfortable scratch/rub-down. He's also very sensitive in the mouth--he hates when riders yank on his face and prefers leg aids! The best thing about Nifty is his responsiveness to leg aids. The others are not as responsive to leg aids and sometimes I'm really going to town with my leg to get them to move.
Anyways... :) my first impression of him today is that he's not too cranky pants and might actually be cooperative. We get started out in the ring with Kristy as Sheri's got a personal commitment over the weekend. That said though, we warmed-up as usual and got into things just as we would. I've had a rather stressful week and been experiencing some anxiety with work and other things so my head wasn't exactly in the right space. But, I didn't recognize this until I started riding Nifty. I had some difficulty getting him moving in a forward thought at the start... when we did get moving, he just sort of clopped along. The posting trot was fine with him but the seated trot was (as usual) not particularly enjoyable. Of all the horses I've ridden at Greyden, Nifty is the one that I am the most hesitant to ride when we increase the gaits. I've gotten used to some of the others who are a bit more challenging but Nifty remains the source of canter-related anxiety. The first time I rode his canter was during the Mother's Day Ride.
Now we move towards the canter *gulp*. I feel myself tense up (and so did he!) so trying to get him going was like trying to do something without your heart in it. Everything was fine up until this point; I was confused and frustrated because he was responsive to pretty much everything else. At the time, I was growing more frustrated with the unresponsiveness to notice much else but in hindsight, I recognize he was just responding in-kind to my own anxiety and since I'm not quite "alpha horse" in his eyes, he was doing what he thought was best for me (and himself). At this point, I was told to correct him when he was doing his funny bend against the way he was to be bent. I spent possibly a quarter lesson correcting him.
I did get one canter around but that was about it. It was by no means graceful or happy. The silver lining in this stormy grey Dark Kloud (as an old friend affectionately referred to me as; coinciding with my initials of DK) was that we managed to get through a line of X-jump and a low straight jump through a trot turned canter (a la Nifty). I was also able to turn him around nicely before calling it a night. Not too shabby considering my less than stellar headspace. Thanks Nifty!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Lesson #46: Magic Moment
Aug 9, 2013
ADW and I had another semi-private lesson and today, I ride Indy. I haven't ridden Indy for a while. The only difference this time was that Sheri was doing some stuff with one of her horses, Bons, and a student. So, during warming up, she was riding him around; and it was incredible to watch her do her dressage magic. Her seat is amazingly awesome and just the way she looks as a rider... we're both blown away. I definitely want to get tickets to watch the dressage competitions at the Pan Am Games.
We had the space today so spent most of our time working on the gaits--particularly the canter. We warm-up with the trot and Sheri tells us to lengthen the stride. I read up on it after I came home and see that there are quite a few aids that a rider should do to get a horse to lengthen their trot; we are not at this level of skill yet. In addition, the horse is generally trained to do this. To overly simplify, we merely extend the 'up' part of the post a fraction longer. I don't think I'm quite successful but trying certainly gave me the chance to get a feel for my balance and forward impulsion.
I am finding that the weight that needs to go down through my heels are starting to sink down some more but I also continue to work on the proper leg contact with the horse's body and saddle. My lower leg still flaps about sometimes but I try to wrap around their body and have the proper alignment with heels, hips and head. While doable for short spurts, doing any of this for a longer duration is a tricky endeavour and I find myself tiring quickly and thus reverting to "bad habits". It also continues to be tricky once the gaits increase from a walk.
We trot a few more times in both directions and then we move to the canter. Sheri says that the canter is what we'll work on because there is enough space with just the two of us. So, from walk, we ask our horses to gear up to canter and take a burst as long as we can handle. Indy has been more and more difficult to get started in lessons so I find myself pushing him a lot, to get him forward thinking. I notice that my balance is much better than it used to be and I'm able to coordinate my alignment when he's taking turns.
I focus on getting my leg alignment in the right place in canter because I am finding that my heels are lifting a bit when riding and it thus throws my balance off. I also notice that Indy is a bit unsure of himself sometimes and if I am not clear about what I want, he guesses and doesn't appear to be very good at guessing appropriately. Sheri reminds me to focus on getting my leg alignment in the right place with proper contact. I had some trouble getting him started prior to this reminder and I notice that the instant I have proper leg alignment and the appropriate contact with his body, he takes off exactly as I need him to and doesn't hesitate or guess incorrectly.
It's a "eureka" moment that provides an immense amount of clarity about how to apply my aids to Indy (and any other horse, for that matter). But, it isn't easy. My leg muscles continue to be conditioned with each lesson to develop closer and closer to what is considered ideal. I had just a glimpse of what wonderful magic can happen when I am suddenly talking the right language with the proper pronounciation, to Indy. Now to work on the endurance and flexibility to really drive it home.
ADW and I had another semi-private lesson and today, I ride Indy. I haven't ridden Indy for a while. The only difference this time was that Sheri was doing some stuff with one of her horses, Bons, and a student. So, during warming up, she was riding him around; and it was incredible to watch her do her dressage magic. Her seat is amazingly awesome and just the way she looks as a rider... we're both blown away. I definitely want to get tickets to watch the dressage competitions at the Pan Am Games.
We had the space today so spent most of our time working on the gaits--particularly the canter. We warm-up with the trot and Sheri tells us to lengthen the stride. I read up on it after I came home and see that there are quite a few aids that a rider should do to get a horse to lengthen their trot; we are not at this level of skill yet. In addition, the horse is generally trained to do this. To overly simplify, we merely extend the 'up' part of the post a fraction longer. I don't think I'm quite successful but trying certainly gave me the chance to get a feel for my balance and forward impulsion.
I am finding that the weight that needs to go down through my heels are starting to sink down some more but I also continue to work on the proper leg contact with the horse's body and saddle. My lower leg still flaps about sometimes but I try to wrap around their body and have the proper alignment with heels, hips and head. While doable for short spurts, doing any of this for a longer duration is a tricky endeavour and I find myself tiring quickly and thus reverting to "bad habits". It also continues to be tricky once the gaits increase from a walk.
We trot a few more times in both directions and then we move to the canter. Sheri says that the canter is what we'll work on because there is enough space with just the two of us. So, from walk, we ask our horses to gear up to canter and take a burst as long as we can handle. Indy has been more and more difficult to get started in lessons so I find myself pushing him a lot, to get him forward thinking. I notice that my balance is much better than it used to be and I'm able to coordinate my alignment when he's taking turns.
I focus on getting my leg alignment in the right place in canter because I am finding that my heels are lifting a bit when riding and it thus throws my balance off. I also notice that Indy is a bit unsure of himself sometimes and if I am not clear about what I want, he guesses and doesn't appear to be very good at guessing appropriately. Sheri reminds me to focus on getting my leg alignment in the right place with proper contact. I had some trouble getting him started prior to this reminder and I notice that the instant I have proper leg alignment and the appropriate contact with his body, he takes off exactly as I need him to and doesn't hesitate or guess incorrectly.
It's a "eureka" moment that provides an immense amount of clarity about how to apply my aids to Indy (and any other horse, for that matter). But, it isn't easy. My leg muscles continue to be conditioned with each lesson to develop closer and closer to what is considered ideal. I had just a glimpse of what wonderful magic can happen when I am suddenly talking the right language with the proper pronounciation, to Indy. Now to work on the endurance and flexibility to really drive it home.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Lesson #45: City, Meet Countryside
The standard route taken to get out to Greyden is going 401 west until Trafalgar and then going north until we arrive on site. It's a bit far for my liking but at the same time, it's not the worst thing to have happen. Afterall, I get to see wonderful scenery on the way out and I always get a kick out of the "DANGER: Quick Sand, Do Not Enter" sign. The worst thing to happen to date is the new Premium Outlet malls that have opened at Trafalgar and 401.
Sunday morning was pretty quiet, but on the off-ramp to Trafalgar, there were two OPP cruisers parked with two police officers taking what looked like a coffee break. Of course, ADW took the opportunity to chastise the officers for what seemed like a waste of tax dollars (his words, not mine!). But, I mention casually that it's a good chance the officers are there to get ready for the hoards of shoppers who will eventually make their way out to this location, from the surrounding areas. More on this later!
We have a shorter lesson today because we are the only ones in the lesson. No matter. I ask to ride Trinket again because I am utterly determined to settle whatever issues I have with this mare. Sure, it's not going to go away this one lesson but it won't ever go away if I don't work at it. So, I determine to get on her and get going. The tack up is pretty quick because I totally lost track of time and we make our way to the ring, on this very cool morning.
Lenka starts our lesson with walking around the ring in both directions and then we move into the trot. She tells us to insert 3 smaller circles into the larger one, at the trot; but to be aware to continue the trot and not slow down or stop. For some reason, easier said than done! Trinket had her way of slowing right down to a walk and a few times she stalled. I'm learning to get her going better and trying to understand her better as well. Doing it at a posting trot is much easier than seated trot... which is the next exercise. My equitation on flat SUCKS.
We continue those exercises until we're both getting the flow better. I find that for seated trot, I am putting majority of weight into my heels and sort of pivoting through my ankles which is likely partially right but at the same time, wrong. This is especially likely because after the bareback challenge on Friday, I learn that my seat should be the main thing keeping me in place and not being semi-standing through my heels. It's tricky to explain without having ever done it but that's the best it'll be :P
Our next exercise is doing a line of ground poles and a cavaletti with 2-point position and half seat in the middle. Lenka reminds us to "push down" on their necks in our 2-point positions. I am starting to feel the balance points better as it literally is a slight tilt or shift forwards or backwards that means the difference between accomplishing this or not. We're talking centimeters!
Our last and final exercise is the canter. *deep breath* My objective is to get Trinket into a canter and ride the ring in a canter with as little (to no) pony trot. It isn't easy. The first go and we pony trot it for about half of the ring until I give up and bring her back. I get it the second time around but she was a little bit speedy and it always makes me nervous because her canter is much more bumpy than I prefer. I remind myself to keep my eyes up and forward because she is starting to get heavy on the forehand. We try several more times and she even picks up the wrong lead at some point and I find it a bit bumpier than usual. It is rides with this mare that I discover how much physical work and attention that must be paid in order to accomplish this. Riding is not for the lazy or inattentive!
I would say overall, things are coming together nicely with Trinket and I hope to continue to ride her and get to know her since she proves to be a challenging ride for me!
Before I forget... back to the start of this post: on the way back into the city, I have never seen so much traffic in one place before. There is a sea of cars in the new parking lot and the surrounding lots. It's completely unreal. In addition, the traffic goes back to Mavis! I can't fathom why so many people would want to head to an outlet for. It's time for planning of a new route out... next Friday might be frustrating.
Sunday morning was pretty quiet, but on the off-ramp to Trafalgar, there were two OPP cruisers parked with two police officers taking what looked like a coffee break. Of course, ADW took the opportunity to chastise the officers for what seemed like a waste of tax dollars (his words, not mine!). But, I mention casually that it's a good chance the officers are there to get ready for the hoards of shoppers who will eventually make their way out to this location, from the surrounding areas. More on this later!
We have a shorter lesson today because we are the only ones in the lesson. No matter. I ask to ride Trinket again because I am utterly determined to settle whatever issues I have with this mare. Sure, it's not going to go away this one lesson but it won't ever go away if I don't work at it. So, I determine to get on her and get going. The tack up is pretty quick because I totally lost track of time and we make our way to the ring, on this very cool morning.
Lenka starts our lesson with walking around the ring in both directions and then we move into the trot. She tells us to insert 3 smaller circles into the larger one, at the trot; but to be aware to continue the trot and not slow down or stop. For some reason, easier said than done! Trinket had her way of slowing right down to a walk and a few times she stalled. I'm learning to get her going better and trying to understand her better as well. Doing it at a posting trot is much easier than seated trot... which is the next exercise. My equitation on flat SUCKS.
We continue those exercises until we're both getting the flow better. I find that for seated trot, I am putting majority of weight into my heels and sort of pivoting through my ankles which is likely partially right but at the same time, wrong. This is especially likely because after the bareback challenge on Friday, I learn that my seat should be the main thing keeping me in place and not being semi-standing through my heels. It's tricky to explain without having ever done it but that's the best it'll be :P
Our next exercise is doing a line of ground poles and a cavaletti with 2-point position and half seat in the middle. Lenka reminds us to "push down" on their necks in our 2-point positions. I am starting to feel the balance points better as it literally is a slight tilt or shift forwards or backwards that means the difference between accomplishing this or not. We're talking centimeters!
Our last and final exercise is the canter. *deep breath* My objective is to get Trinket into a canter and ride the ring in a canter with as little (to no) pony trot. It isn't easy. The first go and we pony trot it for about half of the ring until I give up and bring her back. I get it the second time around but she was a little bit speedy and it always makes me nervous because her canter is much more bumpy than I prefer. I remind myself to keep my eyes up and forward because she is starting to get heavy on the forehand. We try several more times and she even picks up the wrong lead at some point and I find it a bit bumpier than usual. It is rides with this mare that I discover how much physical work and attention that must be paid in order to accomplish this. Riding is not for the lazy or inattentive!
I would say overall, things are coming together nicely with Trinket and I hope to continue to ride her and get to know her since she proves to be a challenging ride for me!
Before I forget... back to the start of this post: on the way back into the city, I have never seen so much traffic in one place before. There is a sea of cars in the new parking lot and the surrounding lots. It's completely unreal. In addition, the traffic goes back to Mavis! I can't fathom why so many people would want to head to an outlet for. It's time for planning of a new route out... next Friday might be frustrating.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Lesson #44: Bareback Challenge
Aug 2, 2013
I'm on my own today; ADW is on his way home from a week in his NYC office and I'm on my way out to Greyden.
I thought the class would just be the 3 of us today but I was so wrong! We had 2 guests whom I didn't expect... *sigh* I don't like having new people I don't know, in the class! :( But, I suck it up (sort of) and get ready to tack up Trinket. I find her busy in her stall munching away and not really caring about heading out to do anything.
Since the weather is unpredictable and it's sloppy and wet outside, we ride indoors. We're greeted by that familiar indoor arena smell... reminiscent of winter. It's been a while since we're ridden indoors and I'm not sure if I necessarily miss it. We start with a brief warm-up of trotting: with posting and seated trot. Seated trot feels good today. Because the ring space is small and there are 5 of us and Trinket isn't exactly the best candidate for a canter in a smaller space, we focus on things that we can all do.
The newbies are learning to do the basic stuff, the rest of us get to focusing on perfecting our trot and walk and transitions. When it seems we're sufficiently in rhythm with trot, Sheri says "take your feet out of the stirrups and now do seated trot."
This isn't impossible to execute but it certainly is challenging and tests our leg endurance--particularly our inner thighs. I remember to wrap my legs around Trinket's body and find that the best leg position to get her moving forward and to continue to stay seated is when my leg position is mimicking the way things would be if we were sitting in the saddle with stirrups. Even initiating with the lower leg squeeze is effective when the leg position is mimicking the proper seat position! Interesting, I think to myself.
Next up? Posting trot without stirrups!! While I've heard it has been done before, I've never seen someone actually do it and I don't have a concept of how it is done. But what the heck, let's try it anyways! Let me tell you, it is tough! Seated trot doesn't use much stirrup but usually with posting trot (so far), I am using the stirrups to move upwards so it isn't conceivable in my brain. But, we somehow manage it. I find myself using my thighs to rise from my seat... and it doesn't last! It is also not the most comfortable for us to accomplish without going cross-eyed. Looks like I need to work on my inner thigh muscle endurance.
Next... we move to bareback: walking while on bareback is not new for us since we've done it before. But, try seated trot now: level of difficulty? 5/5. I experienced not only difficulty staying balanced in the seat but I was only able to maintain proper thigh contact for short periods of time. Whenever Trinket stopped short, my body would continue to move forward and my "bits" would jam into her whithers. I don't know how a guy would manage to do this unless he has incredible thigh strength endurance!! I got a few strides in there where I was able to stay seated and centered but it wasn't for long. Leg position is truly critical here because without the proper leg position, you lose balance and it's more likely you'd fall right off.
An interesting lesson, needless to say! It is certainly something to work towards and brings the learning experience to a whole new level from the original ride to cantering around on Trinket and now the balance and muscle requirements! What a lesson :)
I'm on my own today; ADW is on his way home from a week in his NYC office and I'm on my way out to Greyden.
I thought the class would just be the 3 of us today but I was so wrong! We had 2 guests whom I didn't expect... *sigh* I don't like having new people I don't know, in the class! :( But, I suck it up (sort of) and get ready to tack up Trinket. I find her busy in her stall munching away and not really caring about heading out to do anything.
Since the weather is unpredictable and it's sloppy and wet outside, we ride indoors. We're greeted by that familiar indoor arena smell... reminiscent of winter. It's been a while since we're ridden indoors and I'm not sure if I necessarily miss it. We start with a brief warm-up of trotting: with posting and seated trot. Seated trot feels good today. Because the ring space is small and there are 5 of us and Trinket isn't exactly the best candidate for a canter in a smaller space, we focus on things that we can all do.
The newbies are learning to do the basic stuff, the rest of us get to focusing on perfecting our trot and walk and transitions. When it seems we're sufficiently in rhythm with trot, Sheri says "take your feet out of the stirrups and now do seated trot."
This isn't impossible to execute but it certainly is challenging and tests our leg endurance--particularly our inner thighs. I remember to wrap my legs around Trinket's body and find that the best leg position to get her moving forward and to continue to stay seated is when my leg position is mimicking the way things would be if we were sitting in the saddle with stirrups. Even initiating with the lower leg squeeze is effective when the leg position is mimicking the proper seat position! Interesting, I think to myself.
Next up? Posting trot without stirrups!! While I've heard it has been done before, I've never seen someone actually do it and I don't have a concept of how it is done. But what the heck, let's try it anyways! Let me tell you, it is tough! Seated trot doesn't use much stirrup but usually with posting trot (so far), I am using the stirrups to move upwards so it isn't conceivable in my brain. But, we somehow manage it. I find myself using my thighs to rise from my seat... and it doesn't last! It is also not the most comfortable for us to accomplish without going cross-eyed. Looks like I need to work on my inner thigh muscle endurance.
Next... we move to bareback: walking while on bareback is not new for us since we've done it before. But, try seated trot now: level of difficulty? 5/5. I experienced not only difficulty staying balanced in the seat but I was only able to maintain proper thigh contact for short periods of time. Whenever Trinket stopped short, my body would continue to move forward and my "bits" would jam into her whithers. I don't know how a guy would manage to do this unless he has incredible thigh strength endurance!! I got a few strides in there where I was able to stay seated and centered but it wasn't for long. Leg position is truly critical here because without the proper leg position, you lose balance and it's more likely you'd fall right off.
An interesting lesson, needless to say! It is certainly something to work towards and brings the learning experience to a whole new level from the original ride to cantering around on Trinket and now the balance and muscle requirements! What a lesson :)
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Lesson #43: That'll Put Hair on Your Chest!
This week was one of those regular weeks that felt fast yet you knew full well that it took forever for Friday to come. But that didn't matter because I was on my way out to Greyden! I'm excited to get out and just experience the nice weather and do something I enjoy doing immensely. As we drive through the driveway, I see a brown coloured horse jog up to the top of paddock 7.... and I see Aspen! Since the traffic was so obliging, I decided that I would go and visit Aspen since we have free time. This also meant that I probably wasn't scheduled to ride him. :(
I'm riding Trinket again. No biggies; I'm starting to get more brazen with this mare because frankly, I was nervous riding her initially. Around the barn, the talk about Trinket is that she's got some difficulties for a green rider to contend with. But the way I looked at it is that I would be fine as long as I knew what I'm getting into and that I do what I am able to do and just keep calm and ride on ;)
Afterall, as Gillian pointed out before, "Every bad lesson is a step closer to being an even better rider!". Well put, my friend! Like many things in our lives, anything worth doing requires hard work, determination and perseverance. Nothing worthy comes for free. So, I've committed to taking things that come my way as they are and using it to my advantage and take each instance as an opportunity to learn--something that I've been working on with with my perspective about work.
When we arrive, we check out the lesson previous and see that the students are working on the cross country course making the jumps and cantering around on the grass! It looks so neat! That is what I ultimately want to get into when I can graduate to owning my own horse and being able to do these simple rustic jumps. It really makes me excited when I see this because I imagine the end goal I am working towards (that and being able to ride into battle with a sword should the need arise).
Anyways! We get moving today with a short trot exercise: both posting and seated. My seated trot is still not enjoyable but I'm able to endure it much longer than when I first started. It appears that we're all moving well today so Sheri quickly moves us to the canter and jumping. Jumping.... my hands get sweaty just at the thought of cantering with this mare... and now we're going to try jumping during a canter? Ugh. It's nothing complex and just a low X jump but I haven't even gotten a proper canter on this mare. Our canter exercises didn't go so badly and I managed to get her into the canter several times but they were short stints because she has a tendency to move into a heavy forehand which means she basically gets heavy on the front and she also gradually lowers her head more and more until you're having difficulty staying upright. A few times I lose my stirrup and had to recollect; which only exacerbates the difficulties getting into canter! She does a bunch of pony trot before getting into the canter and often times when she took off, I wasn't ready for her and sometimes I pulled on her mouth. But I persisted because I resolved to conquer this gait on this mare.
When we were ready to move to the jump, we line-up and ride towards the jump with the intent to canter into it and out. Going from walk to canter is a lot of fun (some of these horses can go stop to canter) because it's like skipping second gear :D But with so much pony trot transition to canter, it's difficult to be ready for the jump in a canter! I push her hard a few times and of the 8 or so attempts, I got at least 2 successful canter and jumps; that's a good success rate for me! And one of those times I was on the incorrect canter lead :| but because I am still pretty green, I didn't feel the difference and didn't have the nerve to look down. Sheri reminds me to keep my eyes up because the minute my eyes drift down, this mare decides to do the same herself.
A few things I've noticed this lesson is that I've had more success with keeping my weight in my heels and my legs where they should be. It's far from perfect but it's a big move forward! I am consistently working on my inner thigh muscles and my balance has improved. Now it's a matter of continuing to refine my balance in transitions and sitting tall during these transitions too--especially at a pony trot. But, I feel pretty good about this lesson and actually look forward to riding her again!
I'm riding Trinket again. No biggies; I'm starting to get more brazen with this mare because frankly, I was nervous riding her initially. Around the barn, the talk about Trinket is that she's got some difficulties for a green rider to contend with. But the way I looked at it is that I would be fine as long as I knew what I'm getting into and that I do what I am able to do and just keep calm and ride on ;)
Afterall, as Gillian pointed out before, "Every bad lesson is a step closer to being an even better rider!". Well put, my friend! Like many things in our lives, anything worth doing requires hard work, determination and perseverance. Nothing worthy comes for free. So, I've committed to taking things that come my way as they are and using it to my advantage and take each instance as an opportunity to learn--something that I've been working on with with my perspective about work.
When we arrive, we check out the lesson previous and see that the students are working on the cross country course making the jumps and cantering around on the grass! It looks so neat! That is what I ultimately want to get into when I can graduate to owning my own horse and being able to do these simple rustic jumps. It really makes me excited when I see this because I imagine the end goal I am working towards (that and being able to ride into battle with a sword should the need arise).
Anyways! We get moving today with a short trot exercise: both posting and seated. My seated trot is still not enjoyable but I'm able to endure it much longer than when I first started. It appears that we're all moving well today so Sheri quickly moves us to the canter and jumping. Jumping.... my hands get sweaty just at the thought of cantering with this mare... and now we're going to try jumping during a canter? Ugh. It's nothing complex and just a low X jump but I haven't even gotten a proper canter on this mare. Our canter exercises didn't go so badly and I managed to get her into the canter several times but they were short stints because she has a tendency to move into a heavy forehand which means she basically gets heavy on the front and she also gradually lowers her head more and more until you're having difficulty staying upright. A few times I lose my stirrup and had to recollect; which only exacerbates the difficulties getting into canter! She does a bunch of pony trot before getting into the canter and often times when she took off, I wasn't ready for her and sometimes I pulled on her mouth. But I persisted because I resolved to conquer this gait on this mare.
When we were ready to move to the jump, we line-up and ride towards the jump with the intent to canter into it and out. Going from walk to canter is a lot of fun (some of these horses can go stop to canter) because it's like skipping second gear :D But with so much pony trot transition to canter, it's difficult to be ready for the jump in a canter! I push her hard a few times and of the 8 or so attempts, I got at least 2 successful canter and jumps; that's a good success rate for me! And one of those times I was on the incorrect canter lead :| but because I am still pretty green, I didn't feel the difference and didn't have the nerve to look down. Sheri reminds me to keep my eyes up because the minute my eyes drift down, this mare decides to do the same herself.
A few things I've noticed this lesson is that I've had more success with keeping my weight in my heels and my legs where they should be. It's far from perfect but it's a big move forward! I am consistently working on my inner thigh muscles and my balance has improved. Now it's a matter of continuing to refine my balance in transitions and sitting tall during these transitions too--especially at a pony trot. But, I feel pretty good about this lesson and actually look forward to riding her again!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Lesson #42: Dr. Smedley says...
"The greater the obstacle, the greater glory we have in overcoming it."This was such an apt quote I found in my Toastmasters Magazine today. I've been doing Toastmasters for a long while now and I know that whatever you do, you can translate those soft skills onto other things in your life. I am by no means a glowing speaker but I continue to work on improving my skills; much like riding.
Sunday is my biweekly lesson and I was paired with Trinket again. The weather is nice so I figured I'd go in a tank top over my breeches. This was a big mistake, I realize that evening, after taking a shower... but let's get back to the topic at hand.
This is a large class today... with 6 students for Lenka to instruct. And she did great. We had some beginners, a newbie and some more advanced riders so it was a smorgasbord of levels. I do enjoy riding earlier in the morning but since HH and his buddy prefer to make it there a bit later, we've switched to 11am. Trinket is raring to go it seems to I quickly get her put together to get tacked and helped HH's friend Ty bring in Nikki.
I kind of like full classes because the barn (technically stable) is buzzing with people and everything is busy. When we get out there, we start with posting trot and keep going and going and switch things up with seated trot and changed directions. I try to keep Trinket entertained with random circles in the ring so we both work on turning and such. I notice she much prefers foot aids as opposed to rein aids so I remember to use my feet before getting into my hands.
Since Sheri last described the very complicated leg position, I have been consistently working hard to be conscious of what I'm going with my legs while in the saddle. It is hard work and I still can't seem to get it right because I move one section and the other opens up and if I close that section, the other flaps open. It's incredibly frustrating!
We add in some stride exercises over ground poles and work on position through 2-point and seated trot. Not exactly my idea of fun but a useful exercise nonetheless.
I relate to Lenka about my concerns with Trinket and the latest experience I've had on her. Even Lenka mentions that Trinket's canter is a challenge to ride because of her floppy, the higher bounce and the heavy forehand. I tell her that I'll try it anyways since I seemed successful on Friday and that as long as it was in short bursts. Let me tell you, it was a messy section of the lesson. She got into her fast pony trot and went the whole perimeter for several tries. It didn't matter what I did but the pony trot disassembled my seat time and again and I was pitching forward and jossling around and even getting tired enough to want to grab the saddle. It was NOT pretty. Though, Lenka mentioned that it's likely even she'd have difficulty looking graceful on Trinket and that Trinket's normal rider works hard to keep it together.
I got a few canter strides in every now and again and there was one final successful loop when something just clicked and we got together and were able to go the lap. The only thing is that I still tense up and things get a little messy and I'm just not in my seat anymore. I've got a trick to work on that but I'm going to try it out several weeks before I post about it--if it's successful. Hopefully my consistent hard work will pay off... but like many things: persistence, consistency & discipline, determination and reflection are necessary for me to taste my grand glory.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Lesson 41: Level Up a la Super Mario
The heat wave finally broke on Friday. But it didn't go without a good fight. If you were in the city or in the surrounding areas of Southern Ontario, you'll have endured tornado watches/warnings and severe thunderstorms. This thorough process of putting out warnings and being more conservative with the information was likely in response to the last flash flooding we got from an unexpected amount of rain. Last time, I was left in the dark for a few days and many others experienced flooding damage in their homes.
This time, as we were on our way out (without knowing if we were okay to go for certain), the sky over the city was changing from blue to grey. It was only 6pm but the sun had already been blocked out by the clouds and it looked more like 9pm. I get an email from my mom titled "hail... has arrived". We head out quickly so that we don't get caught in anything like golf ball sized hail. Strangely, the more west we went, the less armageddon cloud cover there was. Eventually, the skies cleared up enough that we felt like we started in one far away place and ended up in another. It was surreal.
It's a semi-private lesson because NR and Kent are away so the lesson was shorter. I was assigned Trinket and ADW was assigned Rock. Trinket is a pony sized Bay Thoroughbred with a sweet demeanor and Rock is (as the name suggests) a heavy half draft horse cross who's as big as he sounds; not so much tall as fat :)
Trinket is notorious for having a heavy forehand when she canters and I've seen her take a little girl for a wild ride around the ring when she's cantering and racing around. It can be pretty scary because if you let her, she'll pull you right forward and down. I don't know why that is the case but I was prepared because Sheri had told me already. This lesson turned out to be a "fun lesson" as for both of us, these were horses that were very new to us and Trinket is considered a more advanced horse to ride. So, we worked on just getting used to things and doing circles and loops and the different gaits. This was not one of my more graceful lessons and my positions were really all over the place; but the point was to get familiar with these horses and the way they move and are.
When we arrived at the moment that the canter was a possibility, I took the opportunity to do it and just go. I figured that since she's a Thoroughbred, she should be pretty zippy and eager to get into a higher gait. I was half wrong. We did the fast pony trot for half the ring before getting into the canter. And, this includes me falling all over the place when asking for the canter and just being a general mess atop the saddle.
A few times, the pony trot made me tired and I actually realized I wanted to grab the saddle because I was tired of trying to balance and stay strong. My legs were all over the place too and I even lost my stirrup during one attempt. In addition to that, my hands were god knows where (not in that context! :P) and my eyes were down. This didn't help.
Despite all this, I persisted as did she and we got into a few short burst canters around and that was good enough for me! I was getting a better feel for her movements and the balance required to stay with her. I hope to ride her again and work on my seat with her because she is challenging me in other ways.
This time, as we were on our way out (without knowing if we were okay to go for certain), the sky over the city was changing from blue to grey. It was only 6pm but the sun had already been blocked out by the clouds and it looked more like 9pm. I get an email from my mom titled "hail... has arrived". We head out quickly so that we don't get caught in anything like golf ball sized hail. Strangely, the more west we went, the less armageddon cloud cover there was. Eventually, the skies cleared up enough that we felt like we started in one far away place and ended up in another. It was surreal.
It's a semi-private lesson because NR and Kent are away so the lesson was shorter. I was assigned Trinket and ADW was assigned Rock. Trinket is a pony sized Bay Thoroughbred with a sweet demeanor and Rock is (as the name suggests) a heavy half draft horse cross who's as big as he sounds; not so much tall as fat :)
Trinket is notorious for having a heavy forehand when she canters and I've seen her take a little girl for a wild ride around the ring when she's cantering and racing around. It can be pretty scary because if you let her, she'll pull you right forward and down. I don't know why that is the case but I was prepared because Sheri had told me already. This lesson turned out to be a "fun lesson" as for both of us, these were horses that were very new to us and Trinket is considered a more advanced horse to ride. So, we worked on just getting used to things and doing circles and loops and the different gaits. This was not one of my more graceful lessons and my positions were really all over the place; but the point was to get familiar with these horses and the way they move and are.
When we arrived at the moment that the canter was a possibility, I took the opportunity to do it and just go. I figured that since she's a Thoroughbred, she should be pretty zippy and eager to get into a higher gait. I was half wrong. We did the fast pony trot for half the ring before getting into the canter. And, this includes me falling all over the place when asking for the canter and just being a general mess atop the saddle.
A few times, the pony trot made me tired and I actually realized I wanted to grab the saddle because I was tired of trying to balance and stay strong. My legs were all over the place too and I even lost my stirrup during one attempt. In addition to that, my hands were god knows where (not in that context! :P) and my eyes were down. This didn't help.
Despite all this, I persisted as did she and we got into a few short burst canters around and that was good enough for me! I was getting a better feel for her movements and the balance required to stay with her. I hope to ride her again and work on my seat with her because she is challenging me in other ways.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Lesson #40: Inner Thighs Burning
Friday's lesson started out as most do: with some trot warm-ups. I had my new crop in hand from Greenhawk and was ready to really get things going. Last time I rode Aspen, we seemed to connect well and when I asked him to do something, he got right along. Last time, I remembered to bring a crop with me right away and was firm with what I wanted and if leg aids didn't work, it was straight to the crop. I do tend to be less forceful and perhaps consistent with what I want but I was determined that this time, I would go full out and be firm with him because the previous Sunday's lesson was me on Nikki and we were going pretty well because I decided to be firm with her and use the crop right from the instance I felt she wasn't listening to me.
So, Aspen was speeding around and I was in good condition too! And today was one of those evenings where I didn't pay enough attention to the posting diagonals and Sheri caught me time and again--DRAT! It's not that I don't know what a diagonal is... but that I wasn't paying enough attention to check to be sure I was doing it right everytime.
When my mom rode during the Mother's Day ride, she told me that she wasn't used to the "rocking side to side" that the horse's body did when they walked. And when we cool down with bareback, we get a feeling for the way their bodies move underneath us. When I was on the incorrect diagonal, I took notice of how I was feeling... and it felt like I was being bounced off the saddle each time I sat in the seat and like I was being bounced right out when I was rising. However, when I switched to the correct diagonal, this feeling went away. Now, it's the first time I've noticed this so perhaps it's just me but I'm going to check it out during our next trot to see if this is that "feeling" that Sheri was saying that you can learn to develop eventually.
Sheri gives each of us some individual attention to help us further refine our leg position. She shows us the proper leg position while riding to give us an idea of what we should be aiming for. She tells us that there is good firm contact of inner thigh to the flap of the saddle and firm contact with our half chaps against their bodies with ankles relaxed yet strong (?) and so the weight can be dropped down through there. None of this "grip" should be death grip and it is a nice firm placement on these areas mentioned--like enough to hold a bill in place and not suffocate our equine friend. It is possibly the most unusual position I have ever felt. When we walk, stand or even sit, we never get into this position; it just doesn't happen. So, to work on this position while developing the proper inner thigh muscles (and others), it's and incredible amount of hard work! If anyone tells me that riding a horse is easy, I would laugh at them and tell them to get on a horse and show me what they got.
In addition to this, the few lessons with Lenka have been helping me improve my seat and thus work on improving my classical seat. Sheri has commented that my heels look better and thus my weight distribution is getting better and balance is a touch easier. The funny thing is that it feels like I'm actually leaning forward when I get myself better into this position. But I'm told that I don't appear to be in a bizarre alignment so I'll take that!
We finish up the last part of the lesson working on canter and cavaletti jumps. It's great that the sand is dry so I don't feel like the horse is sliding around. Aspen and I are also able to get into the canter from walk now so it only takes a couple strides before he's in full canter and we can dash around the arena. In this case, taking the jump on the proper angle is important. It's kind of like turning a car in that if you turn too early, you might end up on the curb and if you turn too late, you've missed your lane entirely! And, Aspen is sensitive to the amount of pressure I put on his mouth to turn so it doesn't take much and I have to remember to look when I want to turn so he's prepared for it too.
I'd say that the area I'm going to focus on is proper leg position since it's just so unusual but so key to being properly seated on the horse.
So, Aspen was speeding around and I was in good condition too! And today was one of those evenings where I didn't pay enough attention to the posting diagonals and Sheri caught me time and again--DRAT! It's not that I don't know what a diagonal is... but that I wasn't paying enough attention to check to be sure I was doing it right everytime.
When my mom rode during the Mother's Day ride, she told me that she wasn't used to the "rocking side to side" that the horse's body did when they walked. And when we cool down with bareback, we get a feeling for the way their bodies move underneath us. When I was on the incorrect diagonal, I took notice of how I was feeling... and it felt like I was being bounced off the saddle each time I sat in the seat and like I was being bounced right out when I was rising. However, when I switched to the correct diagonal, this feeling went away. Now, it's the first time I've noticed this so perhaps it's just me but I'm going to check it out during our next trot to see if this is that "feeling" that Sheri was saying that you can learn to develop eventually.
Sheri gives each of us some individual attention to help us further refine our leg position. She shows us the proper leg position while riding to give us an idea of what we should be aiming for. She tells us that there is good firm contact of inner thigh to the flap of the saddle and firm contact with our half chaps against their bodies with ankles relaxed yet strong (?) and so the weight can be dropped down through there. None of this "grip" should be death grip and it is a nice firm placement on these areas mentioned--like enough to hold a bill in place and not suffocate our equine friend. It is possibly the most unusual position I have ever felt. When we walk, stand or even sit, we never get into this position; it just doesn't happen. So, to work on this position while developing the proper inner thigh muscles (and others), it's and incredible amount of hard work! If anyone tells me that riding a horse is easy, I would laugh at them and tell them to get on a horse and show me what they got.
In addition to this, the few lessons with Lenka have been helping me improve my seat and thus work on improving my classical seat. Sheri has commented that my heels look better and thus my weight distribution is getting better and balance is a touch easier. The funny thing is that it feels like I'm actually leaning forward when I get myself better into this position. But I'm told that I don't appear to be in a bizarre alignment so I'll take that!
We finish up the last part of the lesson working on canter and cavaletti jumps. It's great that the sand is dry so I don't feel like the horse is sliding around. Aspen and I are also able to get into the canter from walk now so it only takes a couple strides before he's in full canter and we can dash around the arena. In this case, taking the jump on the proper angle is important. It's kind of like turning a car in that if you turn too early, you might end up on the curb and if you turn too late, you've missed your lane entirely! And, Aspen is sensitive to the amount of pressure I put on his mouth to turn so it doesn't take much and I have to remember to look when I want to turn so he's prepared for it too.
I'd say that the area I'm going to focus on is proper leg position since it's just so unusual but so key to being properly seated on the horse.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Lesson #39: Alignment and Balance
The weather's been all over the map lately and today's no different. The weather network told me that it's supposed to thunder shower all over the place but that didn't happen. ADW and I get to Greyden to ride today--me for my biweekly and ADW to make up his Friday lesson. I'm scheduled to ride Nikki and I have the usual reservations because the last few times I rode Nikki, I was quite frustrated; she would do a pony trot when getting into canter and also had this intense desire disregard my commands. I am determined to overcome the dread that I get when I ride this little pony that innocently destroys my confidence. I told myself, today is going to be different because I'm going to go in there with the right attitude and be firm with her.
When we arrive, I find Nikki in one of the paddocks with the other small pony, Honey (she's so cute! and sounds like a sheep) and I wade through the muck to get to her while she just chews. No, not come over to me... not at all... standing there and watching me while eating. LOL. Go figure with these animals ;)
In addition to ADW and I, my buddy Han came out to ride today as his first lesson to learn to ride. He just had a major dragon boat regatta yesterday and is probably feeling pretty tired today. He's riding Aspen.
Nikki is mucky and dirty so after sponging the muck off, I continue to squeegee the excess water off and prepare for tack up. Since the weather is kind of unpredictable, we plan to ride indoors. The indoor ring is substantially smaller than the outdoor one but at least it's dry. Lenka has us warm up with the usual trot... posting to start and moving to seated trot. Today's seated trot is a little more comfortable than usual. I focus on deepening the seat and maintaining the weight in the heels. I recall some of the things that we did last time and I remind myself about my heel alignment and overall "classical seat".
To work on balance and proper seat position, we are given a simple exercise (during trot) of rising 2 beats and sitting 2 beats. Let me tell you... it's tough! The pivotal balance points are so fine that if you literally are out of alignment for just a bit, nothing works! I try to remember to look up and forward as well as putting the weight into my heels. One of the bigger challenges for me, in the indoor ring is keeping my eyes up and forward because there is really nothing to look at except the wall.
To continue on proper alignment and thus balance, the next exercise we get into is one where we combine the half seat position and 2-point while riding over trot poles. This is tough to do too! A half seat is new to me but it is essentially when your back bum bones are out of the saddle with light contact of the pelvis (need further clarity about this since I think I might have missed a nuance or two). 2-point is all about balance so it's tough to do for a long while especially if you don't get the alignment just right.
We work into the canter next and I do have some reservations about the fast pony trot that I've experienced in the past. We go from walk to trot to canter. I wonder if Nikki is capable of skipping trot because I think Indy and a few of the other horses might be able to do so. Anyways, today's canter is going really well!! I have to say, the several times we had the opportunity to take off into the canter, Nikki's been quick and I don't have to kick (and scream inside) and add enthusiastic use of the crop. In fact, I didn't use a lot of crop today at all. Even to get her started, I just lightly nudge her through my lower leg and add some verbal encouragement and off she goes. I'm very pleased with her today.
The last exercise we do is canter half the ring and then trot for one letter and come to a full halt. The slowing down transition is tough because it requires me to sit back and I have a tendency to pitch forward--thereby pushing her to continue to move forward. I try to remember to sit back and tall because it also means there's less of "potato sack Deb" up there.
The major "issue" I encountered with Nikki today was in canter when we were making a specific turn where she was cutting the corner. Lenka pointed out that I tend to drop my shoulder which then gets Nikki off balance and she drops her shoulder and then we end up cutting a corner and leave Deb a hot mess (literally). We try several times to correct this and during one turn, she does a deek and I almost fall off. Big exasperated and embarrassed -_______-' . We try for another correction and go back around and she reminds me to sit up straight with chest open shoulders back with a reminder for her to keep left of the pylons.
Success :)
When we arrive, I find Nikki in one of the paddocks with the other small pony, Honey (she's so cute! and sounds like a sheep) and I wade through the muck to get to her while she just chews. No, not come over to me... not at all... standing there and watching me while eating. LOL. Go figure with these animals ;)
In addition to ADW and I, my buddy Han came out to ride today as his first lesson to learn to ride. He just had a major dragon boat regatta yesterday and is probably feeling pretty tired today. He's riding Aspen.
Nikki is mucky and dirty so after sponging the muck off, I continue to squeegee the excess water off and prepare for tack up. Since the weather is kind of unpredictable, we plan to ride indoors. The indoor ring is substantially smaller than the outdoor one but at least it's dry. Lenka has us warm up with the usual trot... posting to start and moving to seated trot. Today's seated trot is a little more comfortable than usual. I focus on deepening the seat and maintaining the weight in the heels. I recall some of the things that we did last time and I remind myself about my heel alignment and overall "classical seat".
To work on balance and proper seat position, we are given a simple exercise (during trot) of rising 2 beats and sitting 2 beats. Let me tell you... it's tough! The pivotal balance points are so fine that if you literally are out of alignment for just a bit, nothing works! I try to remember to look up and forward as well as putting the weight into my heels. One of the bigger challenges for me, in the indoor ring is keeping my eyes up and forward because there is really nothing to look at except the wall.
To continue on proper alignment and thus balance, the next exercise we get into is one where we combine the half seat position and 2-point while riding over trot poles. This is tough to do too! A half seat is new to me but it is essentially when your back bum bones are out of the saddle with light contact of the pelvis (need further clarity about this since I think I might have missed a nuance or two). 2-point is all about balance so it's tough to do for a long while especially if you don't get the alignment just right.
We work into the canter next and I do have some reservations about the fast pony trot that I've experienced in the past. We go from walk to trot to canter. I wonder if Nikki is capable of skipping trot because I think Indy and a few of the other horses might be able to do so. Anyways, today's canter is going really well!! I have to say, the several times we had the opportunity to take off into the canter, Nikki's been quick and I don't have to kick (and scream inside) and add enthusiastic use of the crop. In fact, I didn't use a lot of crop today at all. Even to get her started, I just lightly nudge her through my lower leg and add some verbal encouragement and off she goes. I'm very pleased with her today.
The last exercise we do is canter half the ring and then trot for one letter and come to a full halt. The slowing down transition is tough because it requires me to sit back and I have a tendency to pitch forward--thereby pushing her to continue to move forward. I try to remember to sit back and tall because it also means there's less of "potato sack Deb" up there.
The major "issue" I encountered with Nikki today was in canter when we were making a specific turn where she was cutting the corner. Lenka pointed out that I tend to drop my shoulder which then gets Nikki off balance and she drops her shoulder and then we end up cutting a corner and leave Deb a hot mess (literally). We try several times to correct this and during one turn, she does a deek and I almost fall off. Big exasperated and embarrassed -_______-' . We try for another correction and go back around and she reminds me to sit up straight with chest open shoulders back with a reminder for her to keep left of the pylons.
Success :)
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Lesson #38: Envision It
Finally. It's the weekend. We made it!
I thought it was going to rain during lesson but the weather was wonderful--despite being a little humid for my liking. I'm happy to see I'm riding my unicorn friend, Aspen! WOOPIE!! He's inside today so I go and find him. When I see him, I call for him and he looks up; but doesn't budge from his stance--as if to say "aw man... crud". The tack-up goes well and we get ready to head out in a good easy pace. Did I mention I'm super excited to be riding Aspen? This horse is truly the bee's knees and cat's pajamas.
This is one of the first tastes of humidity and riding... I hate humidity. I think I was sweating through my breeches. Gross. ADW is sick today so it's just 3 of us and we make our way over to the ring to get our lesson started.
Sheri gets us warmed up through the usual trot. I find that this is most helpful not just for the horse who might be just coming back from doing nothing but for a rider like me: who doesn't ride often and this time is generally used to loosen things up and get into the right rhythm. Tonight even Denise is out to hang out with us and I think it's nice to have company/an audience. The sand is wet so I'm not exactly keen on the idea of running around on a horse but heck, if they say it's ok, I'm going to just go with it. Afterall, it's time to make the most of my lesson.
Posting trot andlots tonnes (not tons) of seated trot. I still loathe seated trot. It's one of those moments when I go
But, that's okay because developing a good seat is fundamental to pretty much everything else. So, I persist! And since it's on Aspen, things are generally more comfortable. We do a lot of this funfun seated trot and move into some canter too. I love cantering on Aspen. Sheri has us do some walk to canter and back to walk transitions. I am falling all over the place during transitions. I bet if I had to do equitation, I would fail miserably. I do notice though, that when I sit straight and chest up and out as well as shoulders back, things aren't as "messy". It's a matter of endurance and training those muscles to persist the position.
My position is pretty poor and I notice that when my position starts to suffer, everything else kind of cumulatively goes with it. So, things to keep in mind when I'm riding, in terms of position: arms at my sides with the hands approximately 6 inches apart, heels DOWN, sit up straight with chest open and shoulders back and down, hips loose, "tripod" seat position, eyes where you're going. All of this while maintaining a relaxed body. Sheri points out that at the level we are getting at, we should be using our lower leg to encourage the horse to move instead of our heels--this makes total sense!!! When I was giving canter aids before, one of my feet always lifted up out of the stirrup until I wasn't in anymore! It was so frustrating. Then again, I've learned to take back my stirrups while cantering or adjusting the stirrup during a fast gait--mainly because I'm forced to do so...
K, so I find that when I ride Aspen a few of the above items come together a bit better than the others but to get them to all simultaneously come together? That comes and goes. I'm aiming to have it all together... I've developed a few mantras I use when I ride and mumble them to myself when I'm losing focus. It's something I used to do when I dragon boated so I could prep before a major race. Actually, maybe I should try that during lessons... to focus on what needs to be done and envision what I should be doing.
I thought it was going to rain during lesson but the weather was wonderful--despite being a little humid for my liking. I'm happy to see I'm riding my unicorn friend, Aspen! WOOPIE!! He's inside today so I go and find him. When I see him, I call for him and he looks up; but doesn't budge from his stance--as if to say "aw man... crud". The tack-up goes well and we get ready to head out in a good easy pace. Did I mention I'm super excited to be riding Aspen? This horse is truly the bee's knees and cat's pajamas.
This is one of the first tastes of humidity and riding... I hate humidity. I think I was sweating through my breeches. Gross. ADW is sick today so it's just 3 of us and we make our way over to the ring to get our lesson started.
Sheri gets us warmed up through the usual trot. I find that this is most helpful not just for the horse who might be just coming back from doing nothing but for a rider like me: who doesn't ride often and this time is generally used to loosen things up and get into the right rhythm. Tonight even Denise is out to hang out with us and I think it's nice to have company/an audience. The sand is wet so I'm not exactly keen on the idea of running around on a horse but heck, if they say it's ok, I'm going to just go with it. Afterall, it's time to make the most of my lesson.
Posting trot and
 |
| Did you say... seated trot? -___-' |
But, that's okay because developing a good seat is fundamental to pretty much everything else. So, I persist! And since it's on Aspen, things are generally more comfortable. We do a lot of this funfun seated trot and move into some canter too. I love cantering on Aspen. Sheri has us do some walk to canter and back to walk transitions. I am falling all over the place during transitions. I bet if I had to do equitation, I would fail miserably. I do notice though, that when I sit straight and chest up and out as well as shoulders back, things aren't as "messy". It's a matter of endurance and training those muscles to persist the position.
My position is pretty poor and I notice that when my position starts to suffer, everything else kind of cumulatively goes with it. So, things to keep in mind when I'm riding, in terms of position: arms at my sides with the hands approximately 6 inches apart, heels DOWN, sit up straight with chest open and shoulders back and down, hips loose, "tripod" seat position, eyes where you're going. All of this while maintaining a relaxed body. Sheri points out that at the level we are getting at, we should be using our lower leg to encourage the horse to move instead of our heels--this makes total sense!!! When I was giving canter aids before, one of my feet always lifted up out of the stirrup until I wasn't in anymore! It was so frustrating. Then again, I've learned to take back my stirrups while cantering or adjusting the stirrup during a fast gait--mainly because I'm forced to do so...
K, so I find that when I ride Aspen a few of the above items come together a bit better than the others but to get them to all simultaneously come together? That comes and goes. I'm aiming to have it all together... I've developed a few mantras I use when I ride and mumble them to myself when I'm losing focus. It's something I used to do when I dragon boated so I could prep before a major race. Actually, maybe I should try that during lessons... to focus on what needs to be done and envision what I should be doing.
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