I want to start this post by saying I hope you all enjoyed the Ziggy post. It's so much easier having everything out in the open about him as I'm sure it'll make him easier to understand when it comes to me blogging about our time together.
As the days and weeks go on I find myself falling more and more in love with him and hoping he takes as far as Ceaser has and is continuing to. The aim has always been and still is medium level with Ceaser. Whether we get there is a different matter but Andrew Fletcher told me last year at camp to follow my dreams because there's no reason Ceaser can't make me achieve them - so I'm forever holding hope that by the end of 2015 we would have completed a medium. Anyway, let's see! For now we're in the here and now and at the moment we're having a bloody good journey.
I'll start with Ceasers lesson as you can probably guess this went the best. I haven't got round to updating my blog and writing about the Arena UK Area Festival yet so you'll have to bear with me. Anyway - this was my first lesson since the Area Festival. We'd done a nice positive test with some obvious improvements and one judge absolutely loved us - giving us 7.0's and even some 7.5's for most things. We even got a 7.5 for the canter transitions which has never happened so I was pleased with that!
My instructor began as she always seems to; by watching my video from competing and reading my test sheet. Some things she agreed with, some she said "what do they expect from a novice level test", but we know by now that some judges love us and some hate us - it's all taken on the chin.
She felt we Still needed to work on slowing down. It was coming, we were definitely slower, but still not enough. And in becoming slower we didn't want him to get the coiled spring neck action again and become overbent which we had seen glimpses of in the Area Festival test. So, we spent a lot Of focus on asking him to slow but keeping that frame nice and stretched, whilst using those pesky hind legs a little more! He may be 19, but there's no reason to say his hinds can't work like a 9 year olds - they just take some warming up!
So, after warming up it was time to drop my stirrups. It was something I had thought about and my instructor had mentioned. We needed to stop my legs riding up, but because I'm "all leg", it's difficult - so we tried dropping just one hole and wow what a difference it made! It no longer felt like that I couldn't sit up and use the tummy muscles!! And my leg finally were able to wrap around him so I could use my lower leg more effectively! It's amazing the difference a slight change can make!
Anyway, once we had done that we focused a lot on getting the left bend as its Ceasers most difficult rein. My instructor wanted to eventually move up to getting a smooth transition into canter and a new way of doing so, without the tantrum and reluctance to go forward. So for a while we spent a lot of focus on doing more shoulder fore work and shoulder in down the long sides, then changing the rein and visa versa. I love this exercise as it really helps me to get Ceaser working from behind and those hind legs stepping under him more.
Once we had done that we moved onto a circle at E and focused on slowing the pace and then lengthening. My instructor wanted me to slow the pace to almost a walk, but keep it a trot - so with lots of core muscle and a slight flick from the whip behind my leg, then gently push on to eventually a working trot again. At first I rushed the trot from slow to working, but what she wanted was me to slow, a few slow paces whilst still engaging those hinds and then one step at a time lengthen the stride and pace back out. It took us two attempts but we soon got it and I found it a really useful tool to slow around corners and on short sides, then lengthen on long sides.
After this it was back on the circle to do the same, but this time whilst sitting trot, gently encourage a more left bend and then ask for canter. And Pop....he'd cantered obedianetly without the bucking! I couldn't believe it....with such minimal changes! Following this we did the same on the other rein and eventually came to cantering large.
The canter felt bigger, more connected and in the mirrors looked such a
different cAnter to what I'm used to from him! My instructor said it was
definitely the best work she had seen from Ceaser since meeting him and I think
the pictures prove this!Thrilled to bits with this weeks lesson on him and am now looking forward to next weeks, and then competing the Friday after!
Now...Ziggy.
Where do I start? Ziggy hadn't been ridden for 5 days prior to my lesson; because he was so difficult the Sunday before I had spent the week lunging him getting him to understand poles and blocks aren't scary! Don't ask.... I'll explain!
The Sunday before, I had just got back from competing Ceaser and the dark night was coming in. I knew I needed to ride Ziggy and quickly got him in from the field and set about tacking him up. He was ridiculously jumpy, which was annoying because I thought we were over this. He jumped at someone walking behind him and he had a tantrum about me picking his feet up. Maybe this should have been my sign not to ride?
Anyway, I got on and he was difficult from the moment my bum touched the
saddle. He was spooky, and every slightest noise around him made him fly 10
feet in the air. A livery came into the arena to ride with me and when her mum
started to move jump blocks and poles around he was flinching at every movement
- I honestly thought we were over this. I didn't want them to stop as he's got
to get used to it, but after 15 minutes of flying backwards and forwards I
realised we weren't getting anywhere and so got off and took him in. Que... A
week of lunging with blocks and poles scattered in the arena!! Anyway, back to my lesson. I got on and at the beginning it was going well. He was responsive, coming down onto the bit nicely at times and seemed much less spooky than the previous time we had taken him there. Until....
Mark was sat at the gate and the instructor’s dog joined him. Ziggy took this opportunity to develop a sudden phobia of dogs and shot sideways.....into the plastic mounting block which had been sat there all along!! So basically he freaked himself out twice and ran off...twice!
I just gave my instructor 'the look', that this is what I'd had to deal with all week, so she told me to hop off, she was getting on!
I was quite excited at the prospect of someone else getting on. He had only had some of the kids at the yard sit on him and apart from that, me! He'd never had someone better on and someone that was actually good.
My instructor said that he just seemed to be a bit green and not really sure of what he's doing. The basics are there and as soon as he's going forward he pops into the outline nicely by himself - so the main work is there, we now just need to develop it. When she asked for canter he popped in two flying changes which she said was good as it shows he has basic understanding of more, and we can utilise that when it comes to asking for the more difficult dressage moves.
She had him going lovely. He looked much better than what I had ever seen him go which was reassuring. And when he tried to back off she didn't make a fuss but simply nudged him on - which she told me to do now if he spooks.
I think it's partly him having found his feet and testing me because he was fabulous for her, and although green showed more than he's ever done. I was so proud of him!
She also said I couldn't expect him to be perfect after having a few days
off and I need to be more consistent in his work. So slapped wrist for me and
him....and this week were both going to try harder!As we were finishing off my instructor’s saddler arrived and asked who Ziggy was and his history. She said he looked much bigger than what he actually was and she liked him. She also felt the saddle I have him in, which is Ceasers dressage saddle, might be restricting his shoulder a little. So, it looks like I'm finally getting a new saddle!
Anyway that's all from me now - I've got another lesson on Sunday and so far *touch wood* Ziggy is behaving this week!
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