Lesson with Ceaser and Ziggy 22/11

It absolutely threw it down for my lesson on Sunday. I don't just mean it rained a little....it rained buckets. Then it rained some more. I don't think I have ever been so chilled to the bone! But, commitment isn't shown by just riding in the fair weather. I'm in this for the long haul and I believe that if you want to succeed you have to take whatever life throws at you. (Including soggy underwear from sitting on a saddle that resembles a puddle!)

Anyway, moving on swiftly from the topic of my underwear.... 

I was looking forward to this lesson. We were beginning to actually get somewhere with Ceaser and I had seen a huge improvement in Ziggy from the previous week, so upon waking up I had a spring in my step. Which probably also had something to do with getting 12 hours sleep the night before, but you never know! 

As usual we started with Ceaser. The plan was to work on walk to canter transitions this week now that we had started to get some clean trot to canter transitions that we're getting us 7.5's in our tests (BOOM!). 

To start with we worked on some nice long and low steps to help warm him up, whilst gradually picking him up and asking him to bend more through. The left rein is always a particular struggle for Ceaser so we tried something different this week. We worked him on a circle at B and slowly asked him to work into the contact, by lifting my inside rein for a few steps and then dropping back down, then lifting, then dropping back down. It really seemed to work much better than instantly asking for the bend, and in asking in stages we didn't have any tantrums from him to show that he was struggling - so that's good, i'm going to keep using this when working at home and warming up at competitions. 

For the trot work we asked for some shoulder fore to begin with. This is really good to help the suppleness of a young or stiff horse, and seems to work well for Ceaser when warming up. Since adding this into my warm up plan I've noticed a huge difference in him when it comes to the later work. 

Anyway, as before we flip between riding shoulder-fore and shoulder-in. We'll ride shoulder-fore along the short side and shoulder-in down the short side. Not only does this help to get everything supple with Ceaser, but I really feel it helps get the connection and him listening to my aids. Especially when we then add a bit of change and go across the short diagonal, then across the next short diagonal with some leg-yield. Sometimes when I come out I find him to be quite stuffy and resistant to my aids, so this exercise wakes him up and gets him thinking whilst connecting the hind legs to the front so to speak! 

We've been working a lot on slowing the trot down, but opening and speeding up the canter. I'm not sure if you remember me saying but my instructor described our canter in my first lesson as always collected. We've been working on opening this up, moving forward and creating more lift from the front to create that impulsion and uphill look. 

In all honesty the canter has felt much better since I've allowed Ceaser to go forward more. To help get some clean transitions we've found that if I just open my inside hand and rein slightly then he canters much easier and without dropping the poll, which we were getting a lot previously. Once cantering my instructor told me to move the canter forward immediately, and change between the counter and correct bend, just to get him moving around a little. Once we did that we added some counter-canter and then came across the diagonal again onto the correct lead, and then trotted, straight away focusing on getting the same rhythm in the trot we had previous to cantering. 

Once we had warmed up it was time to start and ask for the harder work; the walk to canters. My instructor told me to focus on 10metre circles off the track and then upon hitting the track ask for a canter immediately. The first time not a lot happened in the first three strides, but we still had the forwardness which was good and he did pick up canter afterwards. She noticed I tend to flop into the canter and 'give everything away', so told me to sit up more, help Ceaser's balance with my rein, leg and seat and try again. This time he popped into canter immediately like a doll and did some fantastic transitions. I liked that because she didn't know which is our worst rein for walk to canter transitions she just picked a rein and told me to try it. It just so happens it was my worst rein which I struggle with, but it just goes to show that actually when I put my mind to it, it can happen on both reins despite me thinking it can't.

After doing this on both reins we both felt we had possibly the strongest trot we'd had in all the few weeks I had been having lessons there, so decided to be brave and ask for some medium trot work. Again, after watching some videos of my previous tests, my instructor thinks I have a tendency to get into the medium work, throw the reins at Ceaser and expect him to do some fantastic medium strides - which as we all know isn't going to happen. So to begin with we started with my shortening my reins and creating the feeling I had him between my legs, hands and seat perfectly. Afterwards we gently asked for a few medium strides, then collected him back and then along the long side asked for more. At first I did what I always seem to do and threw the reins at him whilst expecting him to do all the work. Immediately I realised where I had been going wrong all this time now it was explained and focused on keeping him balanced whilst asking for the medium trot down the long side.

Honestly, I think my face said it all at that moment - I couldn't believe what I was feeling. We had power!!! At last! I'll upload the photo Mark took during the trot work, but it doesn't show what we felt, nor what we had. Fingers crossed I can keep that feeling in my test on Friday. So, that was it for Ceaser - he had been a complete star as usual!

*

Next up was Ziggy, that had been an angel all week, up until the previous night when I decided to ride with some kids from the yard and once again we had a spooky pony.

We started by changing his bit into a Neue Schule loose ring snaffle to see if he relaxed more into the contact and stopped the constant chomping. Without jinxing it, he seems to be going much better for now which is good.

At the moment I'm getting really hung up on getting Ziggy into a constant contact and because he can be such a star, it's hard to remember he's only 4 at the end of the day. This week we focused on keeping my hands wide to offer a foundation for the contact and to ensure I had him at the end of my rein all the time, but without pulling him in the mouth. It's so different to how we're now expecting Ceaser to work, so to come off one pony where you're trying to do the complete polar opposite and then get on one you need to its quite confusing.

My instructor told me to focus a lot on my position and keeping ziggy moving forward, forgetting the contact and how pretty everything looked, as well as his spooking - if there was any!

From the beginning he was much easier as he had been the previous week and felt a lot more willing, with much less spooks. Whilst before I've been making an issue of spooks, my instructor wanted me to just ride forward and positive - even if we had spooks. It's really difficult for me not to get hung up on the spooks as I feel like we're never getting over the monsters outside the arena and so on, but actually when I make less fuss of a spook, he doesn't bother again - so maybe it doesn't have something to do with trying it on? Who knows.

It is safe to say I was considerably exhausted after both lessons but am really looking forward to putting all we worked on into practice! I'm enjoying varying Ziggy's work to ensure he doesn't become stuffy, but it's scary just how big he can jump!

 

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Last two affiliated events of the season

I had it firmly set in my mind that I wanted to get my first affiliated Novice test in before this year was officially "over" so I set about entering one at two different venues, but the same test - just so I could look at my progress over the course of the two weeks.

Firstly we went to Sheepgates 3-day show at the end of November. I had decided to use a Prelim to warm up and then do a Novice to finish us off for the day. Unfortunately though the times got published and we realised I had a huge almost 3 hour gap between my tests which wouldn't bode well for Ceaser.

He warmed up tremendously for the Prelim 19 test and felt right on form and exactly where I wanted him to be. Warming up with big, powerful warmbloods is always off-putting and as always I let it distract me, but nevertheless he felt amazing and I was ready before my allocated time to go in and do my test. We had pulled the short straw and I found out our test was going to be in the dreaded arena 3, but where I would usually let it bother me I tried to turn it into a positive and thought it would give us more experience of riding in the usually spooky arena.

The test felt foot perfect and although I seemed to have a brain freeze where I couldn't remember how to do a 15 meter circle at S, I think it went okay. On reflection my circle wasn't too bad and I was given a 6 which was appropriate for how it felt. Ceaser felt fantastic which to be honest has been how he has felt quite a lot lately. Whether it's the additional schooling I am investing in, his superb supplements from NAF or the feed he is on, I don't know, but I like to think they are all playing an important factor.

Unfortunately there was a 3 hour gap between the prelim and our novice test. I would have ideally liked the opportunity to go almost straight into the novice as that was what I was using the prelim as; a warm up.

We were given 67.05% for our prelim test which stood us in good steed of gaining points for the summer championships. That put us into a respectable 2nd place which I was thrilled with as it was one of our better scores in the last few months.

After what seemed like eternity due to the very cold weather it was finally time to start tacking up and plan the warm up for the novice test. I don't know what changed but the happy relaxed partnership that we had in the morning seemed to have evaporated and I was tense, which led Ceaser to be tense and we did one of our worst warm up sessions to date. As soon as I walked in I was told by one rider not to go near her horse as he disliked others coming towards him! Right...ok. Add that to a mix of rather huge warmbloods and then a small Ceaser trying to all warm up together, it turned into an absolute disaster. After spending plenty of our warm up time on two legs I was rather thankful to say the least when they called my name to go and do my novice test.

I think my negative attitude from the moment I got on was reflected throughout the whole test and everything Amy and I had worked on in the last few weeks just went out the side door. I rushed, I pushed him forward too much and I completely lost all sense of direction - no, really. I was supposed to canter straight off a diagonal, but instead I carried on trotting until I realise sugar I should be cantering and as I pushed on to canter the judge beeped her horn. Thankfully she realised I had just remembered what I should be doing and allowed me to continue. Silly rider error! Once that happened I got myself together and bucked up and I rode a not bad test afterwards.

I was adamant I had just mucked up our first affiliated novice up and I spent the next half an hour ranting to everyone that would listen that I would now have a shocking score on my record for the rest of my life. I text Amy to say I had just rode the most shocking test and what the hell was I doing. Oh I do like to dramatise. Anyway, thankfully the judge was nice and gave us 66.45%, to which Amy replied with a "Stop moaning, that's a bloody good score". Okay, I deserved that. So, our first 4 BD points and we had gained them in one sitting - I was on cloud 9 and also on the naughty step for having a brat moment that I "couldn't do it".

**

Next up was Elms farm the following weekend and what a blooming drama that was! First of all we arrived to find silly Ceaser had gotten his leg stuck in the lorry partition. How, I will never know, because he isn't a bad traveller so god only knows what he had done! Anyway, after further inspection we realised he was fine, not lame and it was a tiny graze that had caused some bleeding. Phew. Definitely needed a corner to rock in after that though.

I had a really long wait until my tests as my yard manager had come along to take part in the unaffiliated dressage which was being ran in the morning. I wasn't on until 2pm and we had gotten there at 10! Thankfully Mc Donalds isn't far away and Mark fetched me one to gear me up before it was my time to start tacking up. It also gave me plenty of time to fuss over Ceaser that he'd potentially nearly tried to break his flipping leg! There is never a dull moment when you own a Ceaser Pony, I promise you!

When it was time to hop on and start warming up I was thrilled with how he felt. He warmed up just perfect. Everything felt smooth and not rushed. Transitions were bang on perfect and I had a good feeling. When it was our turn to go in I told myself to remain calm and I think I can hands down say the test we produced was our best ever. Everything just felt spot on and despite the wind howling around us at nearly 80MPH Ceaser wasn't phased and took everything in his stride. We went on to win the class with 67.50% which is fantastic and another 4/5 points to add towards our summer qualification in Prelim.

Thankfully there wasn't long to wait until the novice and with just 30 minutes to go I kept Ceaser ticking by adding some lateral work into our warm up to get him really thinking and working uphill. He felt on fire and really powerful behind, which is a feeling I admit is a new one from him! His medium trots are really coming along and instead of just pulling himself along I can really feel his hind end working.

With reflection of the week before I just wanted to go into this novice and enjoy it - which is another reason I had booked in to do the same test. As it was another summer qualifier I went in with the idea that any BD points would just add towards our regional qualification but I wanted to come out with a smile on my face. It was really windy and I struggled to hear anything Mark said but it was a much better test. Everything went smoothly and thankfully there were no rider errors! My circles resembled circles this time and I made sure there was nothing but coolness, calmness and collection (apart from in the mediums of course!). I only nearly made one tiny error where I forgot to circle but thankfully I managed to pull it off and circled just in time. Phew! Before I knew it, the test was over and I was trotting down the centreline.

I had not been judged by this particular judge before so was keen to see what she scored us like. A respectable 2nd place and 66.50% put us .5% ahead of the week before and some much more positive comments. Maybe a little on the harsh side of judging, but a fair and accurately marked test. So, another 4 British Dressage points to add to our record and of course to our summer regional qualification!

I cannot believe how well Ceaser has done in the last two competitions of the season and I am thrilled to have ended it on a such a high like that. He is a remarkable pony that I am so lucky to own and compete. I cannot wait to see what 2014 brings and am sure what we are experiencing now is only a taste for the future.

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Barely able to move after a dressage lesson

It's not often I have felt completely unable to move following a riding lesson but after training so hard in the last few weeks I think it has finally caught up with me. Yesterday I woke up with a sore back, stiff neck and legs that seemed to scream in agony and object every time I tried to move them.

I don't know if anyone can shed any light or recommend anything but I still get the feeling I may have a trapped nerve in my back or neck on the left side. My right side feels fine and both my right arm and leg feels stronger than my left when riding. On the other hand my left side is always getting stiff, aches after an intense riding session and generally just feels weaker. This has definitely shown in Ceaser's way of going and his massage lady always comments how more developed he is on his right side. I think what I could benefit from is a deep-tissue massage but whether it works is a different story.

The last time I remember feeling like this was in Year 12. I went hunting on the Tuesday and on the Wednesday in school I was barely able to walk, let alone put my hand up during the class. I think tonight I’ll have a long soak in a Radox bath to see if that helps. In the meantime if anyone can suggest anything or anyone to take a look at my poor back and neck in the Skegness area then please get in touch by tweeting me @FurryMane

**

My lesson this Saturday was very productive. I told Amy I didn't want to overwork Ceaser as he is really fluffy at the moment and in desperate need of a clip when I get my blades back from being sharpened. Our plan was to go through my dressage test in preparation for the Area Festival the following week. One aspect I wanted to achieve was a decent warm-up plan. When Amy asked me my warm-up routine I felt embarrassed to admit I didn't have one. I usually just see how he feels on the day and work my warm-up around that. However, apparently every horse and rider needs a warm-up plan, so we set about working on something that would benefit Ceaser before his tests, taking consideration for his age and how long we should give him to loosen up.

Amy thinks that lots of flexing to the left and right on both reins really helps him loosen up and start to use his hind end more. For the first ten minutes we spent time getting him working off my leg and stretching long and low into his contact. At first he is a little reluctant to work and tries focusing on things going off around him rather than on what we are doing, so lots of transitions and changing what I do gets him focusing. Once working into the contact, not resisting, I've walked, trotted and cantered on both reins and when I feel like I have 'got him' I give him a breather for five or ten minutes and then pick up where I left off, this time asking him to pick himself up more and work just that little harder.

This part of the warm up consists of lots of the more difficult transitions, for example lots of walk to canter and so on. Additionally lots of leg-yielding on and off the track a little further into the warm up ensures he is loose and working properly but also working to a higher level. If I want to 'pick him up' here so to speak then I can do. This basically means getting him working much more uphill, forward and off my leg.

Once we were finished he was already a little sweaty - damn that furry coat he gets from being crossed with a cob!

Whilst I had been warming up Amy had created an arena inside our ménage. Although ours is the correct size, 60 metres, we still wanted to create something I could trot into so it felt like I was doing it for real. As soon as Amy told me to start riding in the enclosed arena I could feel both Ceaser and I tense up. Our transitions were awful, his hind-quarters were swinging out and my riding was shocking. Amy told me to stop and asked me what had changed mentally in my head. Well....I'd just clammed up and riding in that arena had made me realise I didn't have long left to practice and how shocking we were.... (See, I really do have zero confidence and often need a good kick up the bum!). Instantly she managed to calm me down by telling me to trot on and regularly reminding me when to breathe and just enjoy it because I was only at home! Phew - not long after we were back as a pair, Ceaser was going well and his silly rider wasn't getting into a state. Poor pony and his dysfunctional mother!

Remembering to breathe and enjoy it I started to run through my test with Amy following my movements on the test sheet so she could tell me where to improve once I had finished. Surprisingly I managed to remember my test and I now know for definite that this is what is freaking me out - not having a caller for the first time in 2 years!! I'd only not had a caller once before and that was a one day event where I was under the impression callers were allowed until I got there and was told no we weren’t. You see then there wasn't much time to panic and so I learnt my test in 5 minutes. Since then people ask me why I have a caller and it is honestly because I get in that ring and freeze if I don't. So Sunday should be interesting.

Anyway, the run through of the test wasn't too bad. The arena we had created was quite small so some turns were tight but once riding in the full arena this would disappear. Amy noticed a few minor 'errors' which weren't anything I was doing wrong, just places where she felt I could get eights for instead of the six or seven I was. For example, the simple movement of riding across the diagonal, she told me to ride deeper in to my corner and I would more than likely get an eight. (Fingers crossed!).

After running through a couple of the movements alone and giving Ceaser a break we ran through the test again. This time with Amy shouting out occasionally to tell me to sit up, put my leg on or allow him to stretch more. Needless to say I was really thrown off then and didn't even get to the second movement without forgetting the test. After telling myself off and telling Amy I was just testing her I managed to do it again without forgetting. See... I was just testing her to see if she was watching...honest!

The second time felt much better: after riding deeper into my corners it allowed me just a few split seconds longer to prepare for movements and made a huge difference. It was the first time I had ridden without a whip - and without wanting to sound like Taylor Swift here - for like ever, so Ceaser was a little lazy but I can work on that this week. Plus he is always far too forward when out competing so I doubt I'll need my whip!

So, all in all I have no idea why I am aching as I didn't do too much strenuous work. Ceaser was good and I am determined not to forget this flaming test!

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