This afternoon went off to LMEQ for the first time. Bit of a trek over there just for some galloping which I could do on the ranges but I really wanted to do it with the furlong markers and also the ground everywhere else is a bit hard so good to go on the all weather gallops.
We did 10 furlongs easy in 8mins so he obviously trots faster than a furlong a minute which is 200mpm which is the speed we have to go. That's reassuring as means we can have a little canter, walk for a bit and still make it with plenty of time to spare. Discovered he walks at 100mpm and trots at about 250mpm in a good forward going trot. Then had my one minute break, stuck my stirrups up a couple of holes and went for a gallop!
Oh, how much fun to be able to let him go and not worry about stopping at the other end or him spooking and having me off. Well, he did manage a couple of spooks and some wild changing of legs and even managed to get a disunited gallop but in general it was good. Last furlong he slowed up considerably as clocked the PC camp next to the final furlong. But we still managed 7 furlongs in 2mins which is 700mpm. The speed for the steeplechase is 500mpm so I think even with the jumps in the way he'll still manage that pretty easily! Walked all the way back to the beginning and then did another 6 furlongs in 2mins which I think is more the speed I'll aim for. Not convinced about having my stirrups quite that high - was fine as long as not needing to use my legs but found myself getting a bit unbalanced when needing to kick on so might have them down a hole from today's length.
Used tubigrip under his XC boots today which really helped with not letting any surface up under the boots to rub his precious white legs. Also works well for afterwards for putting ice round his legs.
Easing off on him this week so he's nice and fresh for the weekend. Few light hacks and a last minute lesson on Thur evening and we'll be all set!
Sunday 31 July 2011
Saturday 30 July 2011
Lots of lessons
Friday afternoon had a flatwork lesson at the yard from Laura and for the first time in nearly a year got to see my horse ridden! Literally no-one but me has sat on him since I got him. It was quite enlightening - he looked like a proper dressage horse! He is really resistant to the contact but when we got him to give he suddenly lightened in front and the whole picture was much more pleasing to the eye. She didn't think the Verbindend was the right bit for him as he needs something that puts more pressure on his tongue but we kept it in the for the session.
Things to remember - he must give to the contact, I mustn't give it to him until he softens. As soon as he softens then that's his reward. If he goes backwards then fine but I mustn't give away the contact. In general, need to be firmer with the contact, ride him forwards from the leg and into a more containing hand. Warming up work him deeper but with the firmer contact then can pick him up. Get the relaxation in the halt and when asked to walk on he mustn't chuck his head and resist. Insist every upwards transition is done in the correct manner and dont allow the head chucking. Downwards transitions think about breathing out and riding forwards into the transition. Always think about tummy button out and dont collapse in the transitions. After doing some work in the trot we then moved onto canter and it felt so much lighter in front! Worked on giving away the inside then the outside rein and it was much improved. Tactic for next week is to give away the inside then the outside then take them both back. Have some new longer spurs which really helped me ride him up from leg into hand better. They're still blunt ended so dont piss him off too much but definitely help.
Today took him over for combined training lesson. Started with dressage with Tracey. Set off determined to work on confirming yesterday's work - he warmed up great, deeper with more of a contact. Changed his bit today back to the NS Tranz angle lozenge bit. He was still resistant in the halt but better once we moved off. Tracey said just from the little warmup he looked like a different horse from when she saw him in April. We started with cantering on the 3/4 line to try and see quite how crooked the canter was - he is more so on the right rein which I knew he would be but still said it wasn't that bad at all. Then we moved onto working on shoulder in down the long side, into half pass and back into shoulder in. Starting on the left rein he did the shoulder in/HP very nicely but then when we went back into shoulder in on the 3/4 line i had to really remember to use outside leg to keep control of his quarters as they tended to go swinging off to the outside. This exercise was all about activating each hindleg in turn and keeping them under control. On the right rein found it hard to stop him leading with the quarters in the HP and more difficult to keep his back end straight in the SI. We started this exercise in walk, then moved onto trot and finally working down the 3/4 line in canter shoulder in which I found quite easy on the left rein and really hard on the right rein - harder to keep my position and harder to get the inside positioning from him but to be expected as quite a hard exercise for him. Really concentrate on sitting on bum, tummy button out and riding him up from the leg so he supports himself into the correct outline. If they engage the abdominal muscles it will pull the hindleg under and contract the ventral neck muscles encouraging the head into self carriage. It really worked - we managed to do a whole 3/4 line giving away the inside rein. We could swap from inside to outside rein and he just stayed there. Not so great still when we gave away both but cant expect miracles overnight. It was a drastic improvement. Just those few things about my position and suddenly a much improved horse. I feel like some lightbulbs have been switched on - forwards, forwards, forwards, ride up into the contact, sit up and engage core muscles - magic!
Quick break then onto the jumping - had 3 fences set out on a straight line down the centre of the field and had to jump them coming across the field. Ground pretty hard so didn't do much. Tried to change direction after each fence and think about what leg landing on. He was tired and not jumping very forward due to the ground and we nearly had a miss at the vertical when I came on a silly angle and didn't put my leg on enough so he didn't know what I wanted but was honest and jumped. Then later on we had a total miss and he just slid into the base of the jump - he's never stopped before so that took me by surprise - I didn't think I'd done anything wrong but apparently was asking him to jump off a strange angle and he just got confused. Went back to jumping nicely again afterwards. So, when jumping on an angle, must put leg on and channel through into the contact - dont want speed, but need to give him direction. Think about what leg want to land on after the fence to help get the correct lead. Dont panic about the wrong lead/going disunited as over 90cm he can sort himself out and still jump - something to work on over the winter - getting the correct flying changes.
Poor tired pony has got to go to the gallops tomorrow afternoon for final blowout! He will be a tired pony by Monday but we need to make sure we can get 500mpm ok and give him a final pipe opener - no chance to do that round here so we need to go to the gallops. Rest of next week will be quietly working on hacking with a final lesson from Laura on thur evening before going up on Friday. Clare said not to do too much flatwork this week as it will just make his hindlegs tired and he needs those to power over the jumps so take it easier on him this week - not the time to make him any fitter or make any huge changes to the flatwork.
So pleased with how he is coming on at the moment - hope it continues like this!
Things to remember - he must give to the contact, I mustn't give it to him until he softens. As soon as he softens then that's his reward. If he goes backwards then fine but I mustn't give away the contact. In general, need to be firmer with the contact, ride him forwards from the leg and into a more containing hand. Warming up work him deeper but with the firmer contact then can pick him up. Get the relaxation in the halt and when asked to walk on he mustn't chuck his head and resist. Insist every upwards transition is done in the correct manner and dont allow the head chucking. Downwards transitions think about breathing out and riding forwards into the transition. Always think about tummy button out and dont collapse in the transitions. After doing some work in the trot we then moved onto canter and it felt so much lighter in front! Worked on giving away the inside then the outside rein and it was much improved. Tactic for next week is to give away the inside then the outside then take them both back. Have some new longer spurs which really helped me ride him up from leg into hand better. They're still blunt ended so dont piss him off too much but definitely help.
Today took him over for combined training lesson. Started with dressage with Tracey. Set off determined to work on confirming yesterday's work - he warmed up great, deeper with more of a contact. Changed his bit today back to the NS Tranz angle lozenge bit. He was still resistant in the halt but better once we moved off. Tracey said just from the little warmup he looked like a different horse from when she saw him in April. We started with cantering on the 3/4 line to try and see quite how crooked the canter was - he is more so on the right rein which I knew he would be but still said it wasn't that bad at all. Then we moved onto working on shoulder in down the long side, into half pass and back into shoulder in. Starting on the left rein he did the shoulder in/HP very nicely but then when we went back into shoulder in on the 3/4 line i had to really remember to use outside leg to keep control of his quarters as they tended to go swinging off to the outside. This exercise was all about activating each hindleg in turn and keeping them under control. On the right rein found it hard to stop him leading with the quarters in the HP and more difficult to keep his back end straight in the SI. We started this exercise in walk, then moved onto trot and finally working down the 3/4 line in canter shoulder in which I found quite easy on the left rein and really hard on the right rein - harder to keep my position and harder to get the inside positioning from him but to be expected as quite a hard exercise for him. Really concentrate on sitting on bum, tummy button out and riding him up from the leg so he supports himself into the correct outline. If they engage the abdominal muscles it will pull the hindleg under and contract the ventral neck muscles encouraging the head into self carriage. It really worked - we managed to do a whole 3/4 line giving away the inside rein. We could swap from inside to outside rein and he just stayed there. Not so great still when we gave away both but cant expect miracles overnight. It was a drastic improvement. Just those few things about my position and suddenly a much improved horse. I feel like some lightbulbs have been switched on - forwards, forwards, forwards, ride up into the contact, sit up and engage core muscles - magic!
Quick break then onto the jumping - had 3 fences set out on a straight line down the centre of the field and had to jump them coming across the field. Ground pretty hard so didn't do much. Tried to change direction after each fence and think about what leg landing on. He was tired and not jumping very forward due to the ground and we nearly had a miss at the vertical when I came on a silly angle and didn't put my leg on enough so he didn't know what I wanted but was honest and jumped. Then later on we had a total miss and he just slid into the base of the jump - he's never stopped before so that took me by surprise - I didn't think I'd done anything wrong but apparently was asking him to jump off a strange angle and he just got confused. Went back to jumping nicely again afterwards. So, when jumping on an angle, must put leg on and channel through into the contact - dont want speed, but need to give him direction. Think about what leg want to land on after the fence to help get the correct lead. Dont panic about the wrong lead/going disunited as over 90cm he can sort himself out and still jump - something to work on over the winter - getting the correct flying changes.
Poor tired pony has got to go to the gallops tomorrow afternoon for final blowout! He will be a tired pony by Monday but we need to make sure we can get 500mpm ok and give him a final pipe opener - no chance to do that round here so we need to go to the gallops. Rest of next week will be quietly working on hacking with a final lesson from Laura on thur evening before going up on Friday. Clare said not to do too much flatwork this week as it will just make his hindlegs tired and he needs those to power over the jumps so take it easier on him this week - not the time to make him any fitter or make any huge changes to the flatwork.
So pleased with how he is coming on at the moment - hope it continues like this!
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Monty BD Pachesham 27-07-11
Wed evening went to Pachesham for BD - was a little nervous having seen the entries were huge and thought the tests were a bit above us but hey ho, I'm always up for a challenge!
We had a rubbish schooling session the day before - he was so resistant and awkward I was dreading what the comp would be like but he warmed up like a dream - nice and long and low to start with then deeper but with more connection then finally picking him up, all the time keeping the forwards. He was flying and felt super!
1st test was N22 and went in determined to keep the forwards no matter what. Concentrating nicely before we went in and yet still managed to completely wobble our way down that long centre line - I thought a 6 with the comment "little more connection" was generous - I ended up grinning as it was so wobbly! Kept the connection round the corner better this week though and then did a nice 15m circle for a 7. Two half circles got a 5 as he's not supple to the right. 15m circle right got 6 as not consistent to contact. 6's for both medium trots which is progress - i dont mind getting 6's for them right now as long as it's not 5's! 7 for the FWLR, then he ruined the walk to trot by hopping so even though did a nice trot to canter got a 5 for that. 6 for the 20m circle then 7's for his medium canter and counter canter (well chuffed as not easy to get good marks for them), 6 for the canter right as he did hollow slightly but big improvement then 7's for his 20m circle and the medium canter (which was wild and went well wobbly when I tried to collect him back at the end but we got given a "bold" comment and at least he went which is more than normal!) then I nearly fell over when I saw we got an 8 for the right counter canter "good position and fluent" - fantastic! 6 for the trot to walk then another 7 for FWLR (I love a test with 2 FWLR's in it, both worth double marks!), 5 for the trot and then down centre line ("off bridle on turn") - bit harsh I think having watched the video but there we go. Then we got a 7 for the final halt which give she gave us an 8 last week and having looked at the perfect squareness on the vid I think he should have got 8 there too but still good. 7667 for collectives. Last week we got 5's for the impulsion/submission so that's a good improvement. Overall comments: "A fluent and well presented test. He just now needs to develop greater engagement to lift the shoulders" List 5 judge (Sam Amos)
We were in the Training section so scores dont count but if we'd been in the restricted we'd have been =4th out of 18 if in the restricted section, =6th out of 24 overall. 64.48% would have got us 3 shiny BD points! Very very pleased.
Quick walk around before going back in for N39 - really complicated test I've never ridden before so bit of a struggle to remember it but all went ok. He was a bit tired so we lost a bit of forwardness and I thought I'd be happy with anything over 60% as really tough test for him. Got a couple of 5's for the 4 loop serpentine and the first long diagonal medium trot but then the rest was all 6's and 7's with the 7's for his walk work (3 lots of walk in a row so loads of lovely walk marks in this test too!) then 7 for his medium canter on the 20m circle left, the canter-trot-canter trans on the left rein and the change of rein with trans back to trot at X then a 7 for his final halt which again was perfectly square and then I nearly pulled him off it - must learn not to fiddle with the halt! Legs on, ride forward into it and then be happy with it! We even managed a 6 for the dreaded give and retake which wasn't too mad - he hollowed a bit but didn't go like a giraffe and came back to me as soon as I took the reins back. And we got a 6 for our walk to canter ("tight but obedient") which he has only just learnt so v pleased with that. Collectives were 777 for paces, then 66 for impulsion, submission and rider. Finished on 62.75% which would have given us another 2 shiny points and we would have been 5th out of 14 if in the restricted section, 9th out of 20 overall. Judge (list 4 - Adele Burton Cantley) said "Horse not always soft or through over the back and lacking suppleness and bend. More from behind needed to help improve medium steps" Not a very positive summing up considering it wasn't awful but there we go - we know what we need to work on!
Next step - RC Champs!
We had a rubbish schooling session the day before - he was so resistant and awkward I was dreading what the comp would be like but he warmed up like a dream - nice and long and low to start with then deeper but with more connection then finally picking him up, all the time keeping the forwards. He was flying and felt super!
1st test was N22 and went in determined to keep the forwards no matter what. Concentrating nicely before we went in and yet still managed to completely wobble our way down that long centre line - I thought a 6 with the comment "little more connection" was generous - I ended up grinning as it was so wobbly! Kept the connection round the corner better this week though and then did a nice 15m circle for a 7. Two half circles got a 5 as he's not supple to the right. 15m circle right got 6 as not consistent to contact. 6's for both medium trots which is progress - i dont mind getting 6's for them right now as long as it's not 5's! 7 for the FWLR, then he ruined the walk to trot by hopping so even though did a nice trot to canter got a 5 for that. 6 for the 20m circle then 7's for his medium canter and counter canter (well chuffed as not easy to get good marks for them), 6 for the canter right as he did hollow slightly but big improvement then 7's for his 20m circle and the medium canter (which was wild and went well wobbly when I tried to collect him back at the end but we got given a "bold" comment and at least he went which is more than normal!) then I nearly fell over when I saw we got an 8 for the right counter canter "good position and fluent" - fantastic! 6 for the trot to walk then another 7 for FWLR (I love a test with 2 FWLR's in it, both worth double marks!), 5 for the trot and then down centre line ("off bridle on turn") - bit harsh I think having watched the video but there we go. Then we got a 7 for the final halt which give she gave us an 8 last week and having looked at the perfect squareness on the vid I think he should have got 8 there too but still good. 7667 for collectives. Last week we got 5's for the impulsion/submission so that's a good improvement. Overall comments: "A fluent and well presented test. He just now needs to develop greater engagement to lift the shoulders" List 5 judge (Sam Amos)
We were in the Training section so scores dont count but if we'd been in the restricted we'd have been =4th out of 18 if in the restricted section, =6th out of 24 overall. 64.48% would have got us 3 shiny BD points! Very very pleased.
Quick walk around before going back in for N39 - really complicated test I've never ridden before so bit of a struggle to remember it but all went ok. He was a bit tired so we lost a bit of forwardness and I thought I'd be happy with anything over 60% as really tough test for him. Got a couple of 5's for the 4 loop serpentine and the first long diagonal medium trot but then the rest was all 6's and 7's with the 7's for his walk work (3 lots of walk in a row so loads of lovely walk marks in this test too!) then 7 for his medium canter on the 20m circle left, the canter-trot-canter trans on the left rein and the change of rein with trans back to trot at X then a 7 for his final halt which again was perfectly square and then I nearly pulled him off it - must learn not to fiddle with the halt! Legs on, ride forward into it and then be happy with it! We even managed a 6 for the dreaded give and retake which wasn't too mad - he hollowed a bit but didn't go like a giraffe and came back to me as soon as I took the reins back. And we got a 6 for our walk to canter ("tight but obedient") which he has only just learnt so v pleased with that. Collectives were 777 for paces, then 66 for impulsion, submission and rider. Finished on 62.75% which would have given us another 2 shiny points and we would have been 5th out of 14 if in the restricted section, 9th out of 20 overall. Judge (list 4 - Adele Burton Cantley) said "Horse not always soft or through over the back and lacking suppleness and bend. More from behind needed to help improve medium steps" Not a very positive summing up considering it wasn't awful but there we go - we know what we need to work on!
Next step - RC Champs!
Sunday 24 July 2011
Fitness training
Off to Woolgar's Farm today with Monty. Worked out the distances round all the tracks and took my new stopwatch so I could do some training and get some idea of what 150 and 200mpm feels like.
We started by doing 2400m in about 10.5mins which is a little fast (have got 12mins to do that far at the champs) but it was basically a mix of trot and canter and we did have a walk break in the middle (not timed - I got lost!) and there was prob more hill work than there will be at the champs. Then had a bit of a detour as I got lost again so we walked for quite a while before we got to the 1km gallop stretch. In reality he'll only get a 1minute break in time to put stirrups up and catch breath.
Didn't quite manage the gallop in good enough time. It took 2mins30secs to do the 1000m (only 400mpm) when it should only take 2mins but it was significantly uphill as in really pretty steep so I think he'll manage it on the flat ok. We then did 27mins of 150mpm which is basically a good working trot. We had plenty of time to have a good few mins walking after the gallop, trotted for a bit had a couple of short, very steady hand canters and another few mins walking. A lot of it up and down hills as well so again should be easier at the champs.
Got off for my 10min box and he had his breath back in about 4mins and was nicely chilled out ready to go again. Then I picked up a good XC canter and we did a few jumps to finish off (prob about half a XC course in length, right speed with much smaller jumps. He was obviously tired though - he was sticking in short strides and climbing over a few. Will have to remember to give him a serious wake-up on the day. There is no warmup fence after the 10min box so I will really have to wake him up and get him thinking about jumping before setting off on the XC. Hopefully he wont be so tired on the day as wont have done a load of hill work first and we've still got another couple of wks to push on with fitness.
Next week gonna book the gallops at Littleton Manor and make sure we can get that gallop speed on the flat. Will also try and fit in another long hack this week. He has BD on Wed evening, dr and SJ lessons on Sat so plenty to do! Still loads to sort out and only 11days to go!
We started by doing 2400m in about 10.5mins which is a little fast (have got 12mins to do that far at the champs) but it was basically a mix of trot and canter and we did have a walk break in the middle (not timed - I got lost!) and there was prob more hill work than there will be at the champs. Then had a bit of a detour as I got lost again so we walked for quite a while before we got to the 1km gallop stretch. In reality he'll only get a 1minute break in time to put stirrups up and catch breath.
Didn't quite manage the gallop in good enough time. It took 2mins30secs to do the 1000m (only 400mpm) when it should only take 2mins but it was significantly uphill as in really pretty steep so I think he'll manage it on the flat ok. We then did 27mins of 150mpm which is basically a good working trot. We had plenty of time to have a good few mins walking after the gallop, trotted for a bit had a couple of short, very steady hand canters and another few mins walking. A lot of it up and down hills as well so again should be easier at the champs.
Got off for my 10min box and he had his breath back in about 4mins and was nicely chilled out ready to go again. Then I picked up a good XC canter and we did a few jumps to finish off (prob about half a XC course in length, right speed with much smaller jumps. He was obviously tired though - he was sticking in short strides and climbing over a few. Will have to remember to give him a serious wake-up on the day. There is no warmup fence after the 10min box so I will really have to wake him up and get him thinking about jumping before setting off on the XC. Hopefully he wont be so tired on the day as wont have done a load of hill work first and we've still got another couple of wks to push on with fitness.
Next week gonna book the gallops at Littleton Manor and make sure we can get that gallop speed on the flat. Will also try and fit in another long hack this week. He has BD on Wed evening, dr and SJ lessons on Sat so plenty to do! Still loads to sort out and only 11days to go!
Saturday 23 July 2011
Training diary
Went for a hack up the ranges last night and picked a different route to avoid the madness pre-gallop hill. Picked a route with lots of different up and down hills. Worked on collecting the canter back up after letting him gallop, leg on, sit up and get the canter back - good practice for XC. He was pretty tired after our last long canter so mission achieved!
Schooling this afternoon and he was brilliant! After our last few sessions which have been a bit rubbish it was a relief! Making a note of what we did as he went so nicely so prob a good regime to follow. We started very long and low, concentrating on getting him swinging over his back and getting him forwards off my leg. Moved the trot on and back whilst keeping him swinging and it all felt lovely. Did this in trot and canter then a walk break. Next picked him up more and worked on lots of transitions on a 20m circle - direct ones and progressive ones. All the time working on not holding him in an outline, esp in the canter. He did some lovely walk to canter on the left rein and his best ones yet on the right rein. A couple of months ago we started the direct transitions and it was rubbish - he couldn't stay round in the trans and he wouldn't go direct but they're really coming on now. Good timing as realised N39 on Wed has walk to canter in it! We then did some pole work - I set out 2 lines of 3 poles - one line 2 strides apart so on a nice short bouncy stride for him and the other line on 3 strides which was a bit long for him at this stage. He couldn't quite lengthen that much without flattening and running which I dont want to encourage so wont put them quite so far apart next time. Worked on moving from one set to the other. After doing the short ones sat up round the corner and got a couple of nice canter to walk transitions. Finally did a bit of work in canter on the left rein on a 20m circle and managed to give away the reins and have him take the rein down and not stick his head up like a giraffe and bog off so that has got to be progress. :)
Schooled Llewi afterwards - not much fun. He felt stiff in canter although ok in trot. I really need to find him a new happy hacking home :(
Schooling this afternoon and he was brilliant! After our last few sessions which have been a bit rubbish it was a relief! Making a note of what we did as he went so nicely so prob a good regime to follow. We started very long and low, concentrating on getting him swinging over his back and getting him forwards off my leg. Moved the trot on and back whilst keeping him swinging and it all felt lovely. Did this in trot and canter then a walk break. Next picked him up more and worked on lots of transitions on a 20m circle - direct ones and progressive ones. All the time working on not holding him in an outline, esp in the canter. He did some lovely walk to canter on the left rein and his best ones yet on the right rein. A couple of months ago we started the direct transitions and it was rubbish - he couldn't stay round in the trans and he wouldn't go direct but they're really coming on now. Good timing as realised N39 on Wed has walk to canter in it! We then did some pole work - I set out 2 lines of 3 poles - one line 2 strides apart so on a nice short bouncy stride for him and the other line on 3 strides which was a bit long for him at this stage. He couldn't quite lengthen that much without flattening and running which I dont want to encourage so wont put them quite so far apart next time. Worked on moving from one set to the other. After doing the short ones sat up round the corner and got a couple of nice canter to walk transitions. Finally did a bit of work in canter on the left rein on a 20m circle and managed to give away the reins and have him take the rein down and not stick his head up like a giraffe and bog off so that has got to be progress. :)
Schooled Llewi afterwards - not much fun. He felt stiff in canter although ok in trot. I really need to find him a new happy hacking home :(
Wednesday 20 July 2011
Monty GBEC unaff dressage 20-07-11
Took Monty to GBEC in the rain - fortunately it kept at a drizzle so we didn't get too wet.
Had some acrobatics above the ground getting him into the warmup - spin followed by huge leap and then buck, repeated twice! Lovely horse. Good as gold once in the warmup. Still finding him hard going on the right rein not helped by waking up this morning with a really painful right wrist for some reason.
1st test was P18 and the arena was really boggy with huge puddles in each corner and right on the 20m circle line at B/E which wasn't helpful. Of course being an eventer/hunter you'd think he'd be used to mud but he spent the whole test trying to climb the sides of the arena! We had the same judge who gave us 69.1% at BD last week and today we got 70.4%. Really unhelpful sheet though - straight 7's with an 8 for his final halt and one comment on his canter left trans saying "smooth trans". straight 7's for collectives "A smooth, very consistent, accurately ridden test - well done" 4th out of 20
Had a little walk around and then we were in for N34 in a different arena with a much nicer surface. I thought he did a really nice test for him but it still needs more impulsion and he needs to use his back end more. He tried a little something in the medium trot but it's still not quite there - I can feel the potential for it, just need to unlock it! V pleased to see he got 67.5% and was equal first with matching collectives. Unfortunately venue decided they didn't like equal first and to split us they would look at the marks for the first 3 movements and make the decision based on that. We had straight 7's but the other girl must have had an 8 so we lost out on first place, qualification for some championships and the £10 saddlery voucher. Not impressed. I am not a bad loser but I didn't lose - they just made up that rule on the spot. Why not look at the last 3 movements - I had an 8 there, might have won based on that, I mean what a ridiculous rule. If the marks and the collectives are the same then it's a draw! I tried to tell them it wasn't fair but they wouldn't have it and by this point it was gone 9pm so I grabbed sheet and the poxy blue rosette and legged it. Made it back to yard just before 10pm - yuck!
Am pleased with Montster though - he got straight 7's for the first 6 movements, then 6's for his medium canters, but 7's for the changes of leg through trot, 5's for his medium trot saying no difference, 7's for his stretchy trot and centre line and another 8 for his final halt. Collectives were 776 for paces, 76 for impulsion 77 for submission and 87 for my riding - I like getting 8's for my riding - that always cheers me up! COmments: " Lovely harmony between horse and rider, just ran out of steam for trot mediums, would like to see more push from hindquarters to encourage lift and more difference. Could be more through and supple in the canter work" Both judges list 6. Equal 1st out of about 10 I think.
Onwards and upwards - we are off to BD again at Pachesham next Wed for N22 and N39 and I'm pretty sure 39 has a dreaded give and retake in canter. We might be pushing it a bit with these 2 tests but he has come on a lot recently. I just need to get some more impulsion from somewhere - he is a lazy git in the dressage. Bigger spurs dont help as he just gets tail swishy and arsy and you cant use the whip as he gets even more arsey! He is on a calmer to try and reduce the number of airs above the ground and spookiness in his general day to day life but I do think it makes him hard work to get enough energy for the schooling. I dont much like hacking him out even with the calmer though, so he's staying on it for now as I like to live!
Had some acrobatics above the ground getting him into the warmup - spin followed by huge leap and then buck, repeated twice! Lovely horse. Good as gold once in the warmup. Still finding him hard going on the right rein not helped by waking up this morning with a really painful right wrist for some reason.
1st test was P18 and the arena was really boggy with huge puddles in each corner and right on the 20m circle line at B/E which wasn't helpful. Of course being an eventer/hunter you'd think he'd be used to mud but he spent the whole test trying to climb the sides of the arena! We had the same judge who gave us 69.1% at BD last week and today we got 70.4%. Really unhelpful sheet though - straight 7's with an 8 for his final halt and one comment on his canter left trans saying "smooth trans". straight 7's for collectives "A smooth, very consistent, accurately ridden test - well done" 4th out of 20
Had a little walk around and then we were in for N34 in a different arena with a much nicer surface. I thought he did a really nice test for him but it still needs more impulsion and he needs to use his back end more. He tried a little something in the medium trot but it's still not quite there - I can feel the potential for it, just need to unlock it! V pleased to see he got 67.5% and was equal first with matching collectives. Unfortunately venue decided they didn't like equal first and to split us they would look at the marks for the first 3 movements and make the decision based on that. We had straight 7's but the other girl must have had an 8 so we lost out on first place, qualification for some championships and the £10 saddlery voucher. Not impressed. I am not a bad loser but I didn't lose - they just made up that rule on the spot. Why not look at the last 3 movements - I had an 8 there, might have won based on that, I mean what a ridiculous rule. If the marks and the collectives are the same then it's a draw! I tried to tell them it wasn't fair but they wouldn't have it and by this point it was gone 9pm so I grabbed sheet and the poxy blue rosette and legged it. Made it back to yard just before 10pm - yuck!
Am pleased with Montster though - he got straight 7's for the first 6 movements, then 6's for his medium canters, but 7's for the changes of leg through trot, 5's for his medium trot saying no difference, 7's for his stretchy trot and centre line and another 8 for his final halt. Collectives were 776 for paces, 76 for impulsion 77 for submission and 87 for my riding - I like getting 8's for my riding - that always cheers me up! COmments: " Lovely harmony between horse and rider, just ran out of steam for trot mediums, would like to see more push from hindquarters to encourage lift and more difference. Could be more through and supple in the canter work" Both judges list 6. Equal 1st out of about 10 I think.
Onwards and upwards - we are off to BD again at Pachesham next Wed for N22 and N39 and I'm pretty sure 39 has a dreaded give and retake in canter. We might be pushing it a bit with these 2 tests but he has come on a lot recently. I just need to get some more impulsion from somewhere - he is a lazy git in the dressage. Bigger spurs dont help as he just gets tail swishy and arsy and you cant use the whip as he gets even more arsey! He is on a calmer to try and reduce the number of airs above the ground and spookiness in his general day to day life but I do think it makes him hard work to get enough energy for the schooling. I dont much like hacking him out even with the calmer though, so he's staying on it for now as I like to live!
Monty RC SJ Farnham Town Showground (Wey Valley RC)
Was meant to have a dressage lesson Sat but it was cancelled due to the weather. Then ended up riding in glorious sunshine in the afternoon. Had a rubbish schooling session best not talked about - just cannot get him to hold himself in the canter so he is always on my hands which makes give and retake impossible!
So, having missed going out on Sat I really wanted to go out Sunday and it wasn't raining when I left home or when I got to yard so thought we'd go. Got halfway to venue and it started chucking it down. Sat in car for a bit and it eased off so decided to go and enter the 90cm. They were doing 2 phase so I had to try and remember 14 jumps which is a lot for my little jumping brain. It chucked it down in the warmup and despite studs Monts was sliding all over the place and not happy to the point where I thought might be something wrong with him. Decided to take him in and see but obviously just the ground as he jumped a lovely clear over the first part of the course, had a little look at the water tray and then pinged it, so onto the jumpoff part of the course. Due to the ground I was not going to push him for speed or tight corners. Eventing is my priority so I wanted a nice rhythmic clear round and we got it lovely. Only had one sticky moment where got too close to the jump on a related 4 strides before the double so we were a bit off the first part of the double but he popped through no probs.
I really wanted to do the 1m class as he'd made the 90cm seem so easy but I didn't want to have to take him back in the warmup and I didn't want to push it on bad ground when he'd just jumped so well so we went home again.
fence1:
fence 2:
last fence:
part 1 of the jump off double
part 2 of the jumpoff double:
fence 11:
fence 2:
fence 3:
fence 4:
fence 9:
fence 12:
fence 6 the water tray
Yesterday we did more work on his canter - loads of loads of trot-canter, canter-trot transitions which I did feel made him carry himself a bit better but still trying to give and retake the reins results in him running off with his head in the air. 2.5wks till the champs - better hope the rest of the dressage test is good enough to make up for it! My stopwatch arrived last night - very exciting this roads and tracks and steeplechase thing. Aim for next year now is to do one of the BE100 3 day events (especially as they are direct qualifiers for Badminton and the XC phase is so his strength!)
Dressage tonight - P18 and N34 unaffiliated - prob his last unaff prelim but we had free entries to use up so thought we might as well. Currently umming about whether to do the BD Novices at Pachesham next Wed - have booked half day off to do it, but not sure he needs to go out again or whether we'd be better working at home. Saying that, he seems to work better at comps than at home so maybe we should just do it.
Lost all enthusiasm for riding Llewi at all. Sharer rode him both days at weekend. I spose I should ride him today, I just cant be bothered as I cant see the point :(
So, having missed going out on Sat I really wanted to go out Sunday and it wasn't raining when I left home or when I got to yard so thought we'd go. Got halfway to venue and it started chucking it down. Sat in car for a bit and it eased off so decided to go and enter the 90cm. They were doing 2 phase so I had to try and remember 14 jumps which is a lot for my little jumping brain. It chucked it down in the warmup and despite studs Monts was sliding all over the place and not happy to the point where I thought might be something wrong with him. Decided to take him in and see but obviously just the ground as he jumped a lovely clear over the first part of the course, had a little look at the water tray and then pinged it, so onto the jumpoff part of the course. Due to the ground I was not going to push him for speed or tight corners. Eventing is my priority so I wanted a nice rhythmic clear round and we got it lovely. Only had one sticky moment where got too close to the jump on a related 4 strides before the double so we were a bit off the first part of the double but he popped through no probs.
I really wanted to do the 1m class as he'd made the 90cm seem so easy but I didn't want to have to take him back in the warmup and I didn't want to push it on bad ground when he'd just jumped so well so we went home again.
fence1:
fence 2:
Yesterday we did more work on his canter - loads of loads of trot-canter, canter-trot transitions which I did feel made him carry himself a bit better but still trying to give and retake the reins results in him running off with his head in the air. 2.5wks till the champs - better hope the rest of the dressage test is good enough to make up for it! My stopwatch arrived last night - very exciting this roads and tracks and steeplechase thing. Aim for next year now is to do one of the BE100 3 day events (especially as they are direct qualifiers for Badminton and the XC phase is so his strength!)
Dressage tonight - P18 and N34 unaffiliated - prob his last unaff prelim but we had free entries to use up so thought we might as well. Currently umming about whether to do the BD Novices at Pachesham next Wed - have booked half day off to do it, but not sure he needs to go out again or whether we'd be better working at home. Saying that, he seems to work better at comps than at home so maybe we should just do it.
Lost all enthusiasm for riding Llewi at all. Sharer rode him both days at weekend. I spose I should ride him today, I just cant be bothered as I cant see the point :(
Monday 11 July 2011
Monty Rackham RC Area Qualifier 10-07-11
So, onto the RC Areas. Test was HN1 which I only got a copy of on Thur and found it had give and retake the reins in canter which is not something I've worked on with him yet, I give the inside rein a lot but I haven't got his self carriage good enough to give both so that was a minor disaster which involved him sticking his nose to the sky and bogging off on both reins - I thought 5's were generous! Got a bloody 5 for his final halt as well when he decided he couldn't stand still in a straight line (got 8's in both tests at BD on Wed - grrr!) Still, the rest wasn't bad and we ended up on 36.4.
Onto the SJing, warmed up positively working on rhythm, cantered into the ring to avoid napping and he flew round for a fab clear round which is our first clear since May so very pleased with that, even if the height was nearer 80cm than 90cm, I was sure he would have cleared higher as our rhythm was so much better.
pro pics: SJing pro pics
video:
Onto the SJing, warmed up positively working on rhythm, cantered into the ring to avoid napping and he flew round for a fab clear round which is our first clear since May so very pleased with that, even if the height was nearer 80cm than 90cm, I was sure he would have cleared higher as our rhythm was so much better.
pro pics: SJing pro pics
video:
Onto the XC which was identical to the BE course 2wks ago - we were 25secs inside the time then so elected to go slightly steadier and really slow up through the bad ground in the woods which was even worse than 2wks ago.
fence 1-3:
Nearly ran over some people walking the course in the 1st woods as I wanted the outside line for better ground and they were stood right in the way! He looked at the fence out for some reason but no real probs. The ground at the bottom of the sunken road was forming holes when we walked the course so tried to stick right to avoid that then onto 2nd woods. Well, wasn't too impressed with the ground to fence 8 - Monty is a very good hunter and used to jumping out of mud, but this was a thick thick bog of woodchips and he floundered, got right underneath it, couldn't get his feet up, fell over it and I heard the wood crack as he went over it - lucky escape. I only watched one other horse jump it when we walked the course and he did the same thing so I'm pretty sure it should have been taken out but hey ho, we survived and he flew the rest of the course no probs.
fence 9-12:
fence 14-16:
So, we finished on our dressage score after 5hrs of waiting for them to sort the scores (snore) we discovered we were inside the time and had won our arena. Still, have no idea if I won overall as there were 4 arenas and they have to do some complicated equation to work out who was actually the best as there's some coefficient to apply to even out any bias from the different dressage arenas. As there were only 36 runners I have no idea why they didn't just put us all in one arena and then it wouldn't be an issue. To top it all off I then found out the champs are in 4wks time, entries close on Thursday, I still have no idea if I've qualified and I'm meant to be working on the Saturday and it's a 2day champs with dr/sj on the sat and 4 phases of XC on the Sun. Work is a nightmare to swap weekend days and I cant set about swapping until I know for def! I'd love to go and do the roads/tracks and steepchase but I've entered West Wilts Regionals 3days later so would have to withdraw from that and reroute to BCA and all the time I still have no idea if we've even qualified and they expect me to sort everything and enter by Thur if I have - rah! RC organisation is a nightmare! Would be great to go to the Nationals but just cant see it happening
Unfortunately our team didn't complete but we did have a fab day out. Here is the happy team and the miserable bunch of ponies!:
and my fave piccies courtesy of LRG photography:
way to fence 11:
fence 12:
water at 13:
out of the water:
__________________
Friday 8 July 2011
Monty's first BD - Pachesham 06-07-11
Well, this was meant to be Llewi's competition but made a last minute substitution after Sunday to give me more chance to think about things with Llewi.
So, Monty had to stand up and he did so in great style with my best mark ever at BD Prelim!
First was P15 - it was blowing an absolute gale and he was a bit spooky as it's so blowy in that arena but he held it together to do a sweet little test. He got almost straight 7's. Just a 6 for canter right 20m circle (falling in) and the canter left to trot across diagonal (on forehand), then the final turn onto centre line (stiff on turn), 8 for final halt, straight 7's for collectives "An obedient, willing horse working in a pleasing outline, now needs to develop suppleness through back to get the really high marks" List 6 judge. He got 69.13% and was just one mark behind the winner who finished on 70%. So 2nd out of 6 in the qualifier and 3rd out of 12 alltogether. so, that's one sheet for area festivals and we won a tenner too!
Wandered around for 20mins then picked him up again for N38 - quite a challenging one for him but was ever so pleased with him. Seriously spooky going round to start with and I lost the connection at the end of the first centre line so got a 5, another 5 for his first medium trot but otherwise all 6's and 7's with an 8 for his final halt! (have been seriously working on halts as he tends to halt with legs everywhere!) 7's for his canter right, his right counter canter but then no more 7's until his walk work and the trot down the centre line which was a little disappointing and he did another good counter canter left. More disappointed with collectives though. Only two 5's in the test but he got 5's for submission and impulsion :( 7 for his paces, 6 for my riding. "a steady test today, he now needs to develop greater swing over the back more consistently to your contact for better connection" List 5 judge. Finished on 60.96% which would have got us our first point if we weren't in training section so should be pleased with that as hard test for him at this stage. Just feel a bit disappointed as watched a couple of the people we beat in the prelim and one of them was all over the place - huge moving stunning horse but all her circles were the wrong size (not just inaccurate but she actually did them completely the wrong size, flying changed in the counter canter etc and she still managed to get 2% more than me! We were 6th out of 9 in total, 1st of 2 in the training section and ahead of one open and one restricted rider.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. Tempted to register him and let him start clocking up points but think we might just do a few more training section first. Next one is on the 27th - 2 Novices this time.
Eventing plans - Rackham this Sunday for the RC team, then a break until the Regionals at West Wilts on 10th Aug (one of the early ones but we cant really do the Sep ones at BCA so gonna be brave and go somewhere new - SJing is on a surface which I cant decide is a good thing or not and obviously XC will be brand new but he's good and consistent XC so we're going to really focus on improving the dr/SJ between now and then and have got lots of training planned starting with another John Smart gridwork clinic on Thur. There is dr at MW on Wed afternoon but cant be bothered to take him for rubbish judges - gonna stick mainly to affiliated now and venues that use decent judges. Not decided on next wkend yet - was gonna take Llewi to sponsored ride at Stratfield Saye but ruled that out now. There is SJ at Farnham Town showground so might take Monty there and do the 90 and 1m classes as not jumped a course that big in a while so would be good practice. Not taking him to a sp ride - since hunting he has turned into a loony in company!
So, Monty had to stand up and he did so in great style with my best mark ever at BD Prelim!
First was P15 - it was blowing an absolute gale and he was a bit spooky as it's so blowy in that arena but he held it together to do a sweet little test. He got almost straight 7's. Just a 6 for canter right 20m circle (falling in) and the canter left to trot across diagonal (on forehand), then the final turn onto centre line (stiff on turn), 8 for final halt, straight 7's for collectives "An obedient, willing horse working in a pleasing outline, now needs to develop suppleness through back to get the really high marks" List 6 judge. He got 69.13% and was just one mark behind the winner who finished on 70%. So 2nd out of 6 in the qualifier and 3rd out of 12 alltogether. so, that's one sheet for area festivals and we won a tenner too!
Wandered around for 20mins then picked him up again for N38 - quite a challenging one for him but was ever so pleased with him. Seriously spooky going round to start with and I lost the connection at the end of the first centre line so got a 5, another 5 for his first medium trot but otherwise all 6's and 7's with an 8 for his final halt! (have been seriously working on halts as he tends to halt with legs everywhere!) 7's for his canter right, his right counter canter but then no more 7's until his walk work and the trot down the centre line which was a little disappointing and he did another good counter canter left. More disappointed with collectives though. Only two 5's in the test but he got 5's for submission and impulsion :( 7 for his paces, 6 for my riding. "a steady test today, he now needs to develop greater swing over the back more consistently to your contact for better connection" List 5 judge. Finished on 60.96% which would have got us our first point if we weren't in training section so should be pleased with that as hard test for him at this stage. Just feel a bit disappointed as watched a couple of the people we beat in the prelim and one of them was all over the place - huge moving stunning horse but all her circles were the wrong size (not just inaccurate but she actually did them completely the wrong size, flying changed in the counter canter etc and she still managed to get 2% more than me! We were 6th out of 9 in total, 1st of 2 in the training section and ahead of one open and one restricted rider.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. Tempted to register him and let him start clocking up points but think we might just do a few more training section first. Next one is on the 27th - 2 Novices this time.
Eventing plans - Rackham this Sunday for the RC team, then a break until the Regionals at West Wilts on 10th Aug (one of the early ones but we cant really do the Sep ones at BCA so gonna be brave and go somewhere new - SJing is on a surface which I cant decide is a good thing or not and obviously XC will be brand new but he's good and consistent XC so we're going to really focus on improving the dr/SJ between now and then and have got lots of training planned starting with another John Smart gridwork clinic on Thur. There is dr at MW on Wed afternoon but cant be bothered to take him for rubbish judges - gonna stick mainly to affiliated now and venues that use decent judges. Not decided on next wkend yet - was gonna take Llewi to sponsored ride at Stratfield Saye but ruled that out now. There is SJ at Farnham Town showground so might take Monty there and do the 90 and 1m classes as not jumped a course that big in a while so would be good practice. Not taking him to a sp ride - since hunting he has turned into a loony in company!
RC National Qualifier - Newlands Corner 03-07-11
Started off with Monty in N28. He did a very sweet test for him, just spoilt it by snatching the rein into the free walk and again after we halted but generally very pleased with him. Only his 3rd Novice test. Bit disappointed with 62.92%. Bit confused by sheet as good equal mix of 6's and 7's for marks but only straight 6's for collectives. If she'd just given a couple of 7's then we would have been a place or 2 higher individually (we were 6th in our arena our of 14) and our team would probably have won instead of coming 3rd (we were equal score to 2nd, just split on collectives and only 1 place behind 1st). comment said "Pleasing partnership of horse and rider, just needs to work with more wt behind, well done" list 5 judge
Almost straight into N34 and it was really hot so that wasn't ideal. Again though he did a sweet obedient test, not great in his medium canters but a tough test for him. He got a 5 for his working canter right into medium canter and a 5 for his first medium trot, then a 5 for his trot down the centre line as he swung his quarters right. rest was a good mix of 6's and 7's though. collectives 777 for paces, 76 for impulsion, 56 for submission, 66 for rider. "attractive horse just needs to develop greater suppleness through the back to allow good paces and energy to work more consistently into the contact". Another list 5 judge. came 7th out of 14.
Then onto N28 with Llewi. He felt ok warming up and then I thought he did a really sweet test just ruined by him spooking at some people behind the hedge in the final halt. It was the calmest test he's done in a long time. Was really depressed to see score of 55.83% which has got to be one of his worst scores ever. Mix of 5's and 6's and a 4 for final halt. Comments all the way down are "stiff" but mostly for the canter work, his trot work got the 6's, canter the 5's. 6566 for collectives (which takes the piss as she gave Monty 6666 and he was way better than Llewi). "Kind horse, pleasing partnership, however some stiffness created loss of balance and running onto forehand - check hocks?" Gutted :( First time a judge has had a problem with him since his injury. Watched video and def doesn't look happy on right hind when its on the inside.
Did the riding test afterwards as had no idea about score/comments at this stage. Numpty rider forgot the test but as it happens didn't drop me a place anyway. Laura was fab and won her arena, but me and Karen 11th and 10th in our arena so team only placed 5th. Didn't feel like I rode that well - tired as 4th test of the day. Felt Llewi did another nice calm test though. I had given him a Magic calmer syringe for the first time before the first test so whether that helped him calm down dont know but he was definitely calmer than usual. Rubbish score of 58.5%, How can I have dropped 10% in a week? Girl I beat by a percent last week beat me by 15% - ridiculous! only got two 7's although then got straight 7's for my position at the end with 6's for empathy and effectiveness. "soft in seat, good use of lower leg, allowed movement well but needs to keep horse balanced on long rein" got a 5 for the 2nd G&R which said brief when the direction says 2-3 strides and i know i def counted 2 strides. grrrrr. i hate riding tests!
have got videos of everything but they take so long to upload so just put the one on.
trying to decide what to do with Llewi - not nice being crucified like that. perhaps he is just not happy to do dressage on grass. Come to the conclusion he is never going to be my dressage horse though - he doesn't have the temperament and after this injury there is just no point pushing him when he'll never be truly competitive as he's so silly. Just trying to decide what to do now. Either keep him but tone down my expectations - do the odd test at places he likes (good practice for me to ride tests but not sure what other benefit there is of doing this as never been one to just do things for the sake of it - always like to have things to aim for) and just hack and light schooling in between. Dont need another horse just doing not a lot though. He's expensive and time consuming. Try and get another sharer for him, loan him out, LWVTB to low key home where not so much expected of him. If cant do any of these, hunt him until he breaks - feels a bit harsh though. He needs to go to a nice low key home where he has a nice big field and just goes hacking and maybe the odd local bit of showing/dressage. My expectations dont fit with him physically or mentally :( Love him to absolute bits though - would miss him sooooooo much :(
Almost straight into N34 and it was really hot so that wasn't ideal. Again though he did a sweet obedient test, not great in his medium canters but a tough test for him. He got a 5 for his working canter right into medium canter and a 5 for his first medium trot, then a 5 for his trot down the centre line as he swung his quarters right. rest was a good mix of 6's and 7's though. collectives 777 for paces, 76 for impulsion, 56 for submission, 66 for rider. "attractive horse just needs to develop greater suppleness through the back to allow good paces and energy to work more consistently into the contact". Another list 5 judge. came 7th out of 14.
Then onto N28 with Llewi. He felt ok warming up and then I thought he did a really sweet test just ruined by him spooking at some people behind the hedge in the final halt. It was the calmest test he's done in a long time. Was really depressed to see score of 55.83% which has got to be one of his worst scores ever. Mix of 5's and 6's and a 4 for final halt. Comments all the way down are "stiff" but mostly for the canter work, his trot work got the 6's, canter the 5's. 6566 for collectives (which takes the piss as she gave Monty 6666 and he was way better than Llewi). "Kind horse, pleasing partnership, however some stiffness created loss of balance and running onto forehand - check hocks?" Gutted :( First time a judge has had a problem with him since his injury. Watched video and def doesn't look happy on right hind when its on the inside.
Did the riding test afterwards as had no idea about score/comments at this stage. Numpty rider forgot the test but as it happens didn't drop me a place anyway. Laura was fab and won her arena, but me and Karen 11th and 10th in our arena so team only placed 5th. Didn't feel like I rode that well - tired as 4th test of the day. Felt Llewi did another nice calm test though. I had given him a Magic calmer syringe for the first time before the first test so whether that helped him calm down dont know but he was definitely calmer than usual. Rubbish score of 58.5%, How can I have dropped 10% in a week? Girl I beat by a percent last week beat me by 15% - ridiculous! only got two 7's although then got straight 7's for my position at the end with 6's for empathy and effectiveness. "soft in seat, good use of lower leg, allowed movement well but needs to keep horse balanced on long rein" got a 5 for the 2nd G&R which said brief when the direction says 2-3 strides and i know i def counted 2 strides. grrrrr. i hate riding tests!
have got videos of everything but they take so long to upload so just put the one on.
trying to decide what to do with Llewi - not nice being crucified like that. perhaps he is just not happy to do dressage on grass. Come to the conclusion he is never going to be my dressage horse though - he doesn't have the temperament and after this injury there is just no point pushing him when he'll never be truly competitive as he's so silly. Just trying to decide what to do now. Either keep him but tone down my expectations - do the odd test at places he likes (good practice for me to ride tests but not sure what other benefit there is of doing this as never been one to just do things for the sake of it - always like to have things to aim for) and just hack and light schooling in between. Dont need another horse just doing not a lot though. He's expensive and time consuming. Try and get another sharer for him, loan him out, LWVTB to low key home where not so much expected of him. If cant do any of these, hunt him until he breaks - feels a bit harsh though. He needs to go to a nice low key home where he has a nice big field and just goes hacking and maybe the odd local bit of showing/dressage. My expectations dont fit with him physically or mentally :( Love him to absolute bits though - would miss him sooooooo much :(
Friday 1 July 2011
Training report
Tue - orange ones have a punch up slightly upsetting plans for the week.
Wed - light hack on Monty who felt fine, raring to go and do more. Nasty wound on the front of his left hind cannon though. Llewi big fat swollen right hind, nasty deep cut to lat hock. Cold hosing, no work for him. Start abs for both of them.
Thur - light hack for Llewi, didn't feel 100% but v v footy (trimmed on Monday) so difficult to tell. More cold hosing. Monty - John Smart clinic at Pachesham, Meant to be group lesson of 4. One other bloke turned up and that was it. Unfortunately said bloke was obviously a fair beginner at jumping so not great - he kept demolishing the grid! We did have a good lesson though - v confidence building which we needed after last week and I think I'll go back again. We built up a grid until we were doing pole then jump x 3, trotting into it then picking up canter. then took out the poles in the middle and just kept the first placing pole, building up the last fence into an oxer with a cross in front of 2nd and 3rd jumps to keep straight. concentrate on keeping straight after the grid, keep going if correct lead otherwise back to trot before round the corner. Then we did a single jump with a pole in front of it, then took pole away and worked on cantering to it keeping the rhythm. We did it well with a short run up so he made us take a longer one but he did it spot on again - I just concentrated on sitting there keeping the rhythm, concentrate on the jump and dont fiddle. We then did that jump and then round to the final part of the grid with all the other bits taken away. I managed to just sit quietly and he popped it fab! John said couldn't see what the problem was with him - he had a great jump and shouldn't knock anything down! Probably means it's all me then!
Today - schooled Llewi - his leg seems fine and much less filled after working him although did some more cold hosing to be sure. Ran through N38 for next Wed and practised the 1/2 15m circles for N28 on Sunday. Need to work on keeping lower legs still for the riding test from last week's sheet. Tense as usual - he is such hard work. He has the potential to be great, but he just doesn't have the brain. Contemplating hunting him again this winter and if he stands up to it then loan/sell him as a hunter. He just doesn't enjoy dressage, it's all too stressful for him :(
Was gonna take Monty SJing at Langshot but couldn't be bothered with another late night with work tomorrow so just schooled him. Put the POW spurs on to try and get him a bit more forwards as he's so lazy at home! It did help although it also highlighted the lack of stability of my lower leg in trot-canter transitions as I could feel them coming into action when I didn't really need them to - must stretch leg down, not grip up and in. Did get some nice trot work though and we got our right canter transition without giraffe impression when I asked correctly. Ran through N34 for Sunday - changes of rein in canter through 2 1/2 20m circles not really our thing yet but the rest ok and the 1/2 15m circles and back to track in N28 went fine.
Hacking for Llewi with sharer tomorrow. More schooling for Monty.
Wed - light hack on Monty who felt fine, raring to go and do more. Nasty wound on the front of his left hind cannon though. Llewi big fat swollen right hind, nasty deep cut to lat hock. Cold hosing, no work for him. Start abs for both of them.
Thur - light hack for Llewi, didn't feel 100% but v v footy (trimmed on Monday) so difficult to tell. More cold hosing. Monty - John Smart clinic at Pachesham, Meant to be group lesson of 4. One other bloke turned up and that was it. Unfortunately said bloke was obviously a fair beginner at jumping so not great - he kept demolishing the grid! We did have a good lesson though - v confidence building which we needed after last week and I think I'll go back again. We built up a grid until we were doing pole then jump x 3, trotting into it then picking up canter. then took out the poles in the middle and just kept the first placing pole, building up the last fence into an oxer with a cross in front of 2nd and 3rd jumps to keep straight. concentrate on keeping straight after the grid, keep going if correct lead otherwise back to trot before round the corner. Then we did a single jump with a pole in front of it, then took pole away and worked on cantering to it keeping the rhythm. We did it well with a short run up so he made us take a longer one but he did it spot on again - I just concentrated on sitting there keeping the rhythm, concentrate on the jump and dont fiddle. We then did that jump and then round to the final part of the grid with all the other bits taken away. I managed to just sit quietly and he popped it fab! John said couldn't see what the problem was with him - he had a great jump and shouldn't knock anything down! Probably means it's all me then!
Today - schooled Llewi - his leg seems fine and much less filled after working him although did some more cold hosing to be sure. Ran through N38 for next Wed and practised the 1/2 15m circles for N28 on Sunday. Need to work on keeping lower legs still for the riding test from last week's sheet. Tense as usual - he is such hard work. He has the potential to be great, but he just doesn't have the brain. Contemplating hunting him again this winter and if he stands up to it then loan/sell him as a hunter. He just doesn't enjoy dressage, it's all too stressful for him :(
Was gonna take Monty SJing at Langshot but couldn't be bothered with another late night with work tomorrow so just schooled him. Put the POW spurs on to try and get him a bit more forwards as he's so lazy at home! It did help although it also highlighted the lack of stability of my lower leg in trot-canter transitions as I could feel them coming into action when I didn't really need them to - must stretch leg down, not grip up and in. Did get some nice trot work though and we got our right canter transition without giraffe impression when I asked correctly. Ran through N34 for Sunday - changes of rein in canter through 2 1/2 20m circles not really our thing yet but the rest ok and the 1/2 15m circles and back to track in N28 went fine.
Hacking for Llewi with sharer tomorrow. More schooling for Monty.
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