We worked on developing his medium trot more - really pushing the medium out of him rather than erring on the side of caution - need to push him on round the entire arena and encourage him to really open up.
Need to make sure he doesn't overbend towards the inside in his canter transitions, thereby popping out through the outside shoulder and propping with his neck so not coming through from behind.
We ran through bits of N38 which all went well and he finished with a lovely square halt with his bottom nicely underneath him. His halts are definitely improving. Just need to make sure to use my legs into the halt, make sure he doesn't halt too abruptly and make sure the front legs step up equally.
Also did some super straight medium canters up the long side, but need to watch the quarters don't swing in when collecting again and he does need to come back to me a bit quicker so we make a more obvious transition.
Chris Burton SJ - 26-03-14
Did the canter poles exercise to start with and now his canter is so much softer and he's much stronger he made it easy. Started with 5 strides and increased it to 8 strides one at a time.
Then moved onto an oxer on the centre line and changing which direction we went afterwards, making sure he landed on the correct lead by opening my inside hand which worked well as long as I remembered which way we were going! He wasn't really going forwards though, poncing around in a dressagey canter after doing the canter poles so Chris made us get going a bit round a small course (I say small but it was a good 1m high - that just seems small these days!)
In the course we had a 5 stride related distance from an oxer to an upright and he jumped in boldly over the oxer and then just ploughed on through the vertical. I said to Chris this was exactly what he did at Munstead and he said no excuse as he wasn't on a bad take off point so should have picked up. He whacked up the vertical and then the oxer to make him try a bit harder and we proceeded to mess it up in about every way possible, Mainly because we weren't getting a good stride to the first oxer because I wasn't managing to keep the power coming through and control his quarters going through the turn so he was then landing short or long from the oxer and messing up the striding to the vertical. The vertical was skinny and I managed to catch the wing once and knock the whole thing flying! It must have been 1m20 though and he wasn't finding the height a problem. Had another couple of 1m10 fences in the course and he was making them feel easy and I'm feeling so much more confident coming to fences this size now. Did get told I was putting one too many strides in each time to the big brown vertical - I still haven't mastered how forwards the ideal SJ canter is and it doesn't do me any favours to do collection exercises first as then I get stuck in a dressagey canter. I think it happens at events too - we both get stuck in dressage mode! We did get it right eventually but by god it took some work - one day I will crack this SJ!
XC schooling - Boomerang - 18-03-14
First XC session of the year. Did lots of work with the water including jumping fences on the edge so landing in the water and steps in and out plus just cantering through lots to build up his confidence with water. He did all this well and no probs with the ditch or steps. We did a combo of steps down, through water, over brush, sunken road and 5 strides to a Novice corner which he made feel easy.
Then 2 Novice triple brushes on a curve which he made feel so easy.
I did try a shaped skinny brush with a very narrow part to jump and just totally messed up getting him back after a long gallop, held him and held him for a stride, he tried to go right to make more room, was confronted with the much higher bit of the brush from a nothing canter and so ducked left and I did a lovely somersault over the top of the jump. Bang - first time for air jacket going off! Was good though as I didn't hurt at all afterwards!
Finished with the big, Novice sized trakehner and he flew it - useful session.
Other videos:
BD - Priory - 16-03-14
N34 in the small outdoor first - idiot moment when we went in about having to go near a hedge - doh! After we got over that it was quite a nice test but definitely a bit tense down the hedge side of the arena. Scored 66.875% and won the Restricted section so that was nice.
It was quite a hot day and he totally went off the boil by the second test which was N38, the Area Festival Championship test. He wasn't forwards and therefore wasn't connected enough and the outline crept out longer. Scored 64% - grrr, just short of a qualifying score and only came 3rd. Need to somehow learn not to let him get away with doing that to me!
Carl Belson SJ clinic - Merrist Wood - 12-03-14
Canter poles to start with which he did nicely and then built that into a little grid which again he popped through well. Built up to a course including two 1m10 spreads on a 4 stride distance which may well have terrified the life out of me a while back but was off a nice gently corner and we just popped through easily. Had a really tight turn to do at the end of the course and managed to get him back and round it and over the next fence all in one piece. Our SJ is definitely improving lots. Just a shame we still seem to be knocking a pole in most rounds - bit frustrating.
Ginny Howe Arena XC clinic - Farley Hall - 09-03-14
Useful clinic working on skinnies, angles turns etc. No real changes to our technique at all other than trying to remember to open hand after jump to indicate direction of travel. Just really useful to challenge him with lots of accuracy questions.
Afterwards we then stopped off at the gallops and did some fitness work. Three lots of 5min canters with the middle one at Novice speed. Think he enjoyed himself!
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