This could get long - my brain is whirring with all the things I need to remember! Sadly there are no photos or videos though.
We arrived early Friday afternoon and had an hour to settle in before our first lesson. The stables were lovely - all rubber matted, clean bedding and automatic waterers. Had my suspicions Monty might have an epic fail with one of those though so made sure he had a bucket as well.
Watched the first group do their gridwork lesson and then it was our turn. Started with generating that good, bouncy canter - I moved him on, brought him back and whizzed him up a bit. Just got told I needed to soften my arms a bit - need to get him more in self carriage if that results in his head coming up but mustn't fight him - need nice, soft contact. Monty is a bit of a pro at gridwork and made it all seem pretty easy even though I haven't done any with him for ages. We had quite a grid by the end - pole, bounce, one stride, upright, one stride, upright, 2 strides, oxer. Just tipped the back rail of the oxer first time - need to make sure I give him enough freedom with his head and neck over the wider fences. So he altered the grid slightly to make the final oxer seriously wide but only 1m high and he took out the bounce at the beginning so just had x-pole, 1 stride, vertical, 2 strides, pole, 2 strides, big oxer. Rode like a numpty to the first x-pole and held him back to nothing but he still cleared the grid fine. Next time was much better and made sure to really give with my hands so he could use himself - because of the shape he makes over a jump I really have to throw my hands quite far forward which is a weird feeling but if I don't then he feels restricted and is likely to have fences down behind.
Settled Monts in for the night, cooked myself some dinner in the lorry and settled down to catch up on some WEG for the evening. Went for some late night cuddles with Monty and he looked nice and settled so off to sleep for me - busy day ahead!
Saturday
As predicted Monty had drained the water bucket dry and judging by the amount of hay in the waterer hadn't touched that - daft pony! Sorted him out then we got WEG set up on Nick's ipad and sat down to watch that and try and pay attention to the first group having a flatwork lesson. Next it was our turn. I was really pleased with the way Monty worked. We did some work on the medium trot, making sure to really overly collect the trot in the corner and then ask for the bigger steps up the long side. A lightbulb is definitely flickering in Monty's mind regarding this. He really started to give some good medium strides - it's still a bit messy at the moment but he is definitely trying very hard.
We also did some work on his canter - at the moment when he collects, the hindleg slows so we need to establish that me using my leg doesn't always mean go faster, but can mean get snapppier with the hindleg. We were on a 20m circle and had to ask him to do medium for a stride then back and repeat and really think of activating the hindleg.
I did some work on the canter leg yield which is really improving and then attempted some changes - he is changing in front when I ask but not behind for a few strides so Nick suggested that the leg yield is leaving his quarters trailing and we need to get them back underneath him for him to be able to give the change from the back end. So, we asked for travers towards the new leading leg on the centre line - so right canter, left travers and he just popped in a completely clean change without me really asking for it. Tried again and got the same thing - eureka! Left it there for today as he'd worked really hard.
We then got served up the most amazing lunch in the farmhouse and settled down to watch the WEG XC for a few hours. We even delayed our afternoon lesson a bit so we could watch it all! We were all so sad to hear the news about Harry Meade's horse. They are such fragile creatures :(
After WEG we went out and did some SJ, warmed up over a x-pole, then vertical, then oxer all fine. We did a line of 2 verticals on a related 4 strides no problems. Then put together a course where true to form I managed to mess it up. I can't quite remember the first course we did but remember making it down a meaty treble combo on 1 stride, then 2 strides - vertical, vertical, big oxer and we did a good job of that. It wasn't that big - 90cm or so so we got round that course ok.
Then the 2nd course involved the jumps going up to 1m-1.05m and jumping the treble combo back the other way off quite a tight turn. He aced it and I think I got a bit carried away with that feeling, messed up the tight turn back to the verticals on 4 strides, buried him and then put in 5 strides. Then I managed to seriously mess up the final line of oxer then curved line to vertical on 6 strides. Just could not manage to persuade myself to ride forwards on the curved line and kept hooking him back and burying him - wanted to bang my head on a brick wall! I had to ride it about 5 times before I made a good job of it. The first time he jumped the oxer well but I overshot the turn to the next fence and there was another one in the way so I just totally missed it. The second time I was concentrating too much on the second fence and didn't ride at the oxer at all so he stopped! He very very very rarely stops at anything so that was just shameful. Then I kept getting in deep to the oxer so definitely couldn't make 6 strides to the vertical. Finally, I got a good stride to the oxer, kept riding forwards and made the 6 strides easily but god, what a palava.
My SJ has seriously suffered since my fall at Stratford Hills in the warmup where I trusted him to go on a long one and he didn't and I'm still in quite a bit of pain as a result. I just don't seem to be able to get my head around just riding forwards to a fence in a good rhythm and letting him sort it out. I really don't trust him to go off a decent stride. I want to micro-manage it all and jump off these tiny nothingy strides which is fine at 80cm but not fine at 1m10. Argh. Everything was going so well SJ until then. Clearly still have lots of work to do in this department. Thank god Monty is a forgiving sort. He really is the best schoolmaster ever. Must must remember to generate the powerful canter and then just keep riding forwards - really shouldn't be that difficult.
Saturday evening we went down to the Italian in the village. Nick's dad kindly drove us all down there. There was Nick, his wife, his head girl and 5 of us. Had a great time and lots of laughs. Back for a late night check on Monts and then the head girl gave us a tour of the yard and we met all the horses including several of Chilli Morning's offspring and Nick's current top horses.
Sunday
Two buckets later and Monty has still not learnt to drink from the automatic waterer - doh! No coughing though - 2 nights in a normal stable and not one cough. Have had him on Maxavita Maxabreathe for the last week so maybe that was helping or it was the nice airy stable with clean beeding and rubber matting but really happy to see no snotty nose and no coughing. Took him for a graze in-hand and watched Nick school one of his Chilli Morning youngsters. Then went to watch the other group do their arena XC. Then it was our turn! Started with an oxer that we had to pretend was a log and come at it in XC canter. Still failing to see a forward stride Nick asked if I did that to a XC fence and I had to shamefully admit that I most certainly could. Got told to just keep riding forwards and forget about everything else and he flew it but it felt like I was miles off it only to be told it was perfect. Really need to stop strangling my horse - so frustrated with myself at the moment. Did the same to the wooden house so had to come round and do that again. Then we did a skinny vertical and I actually managed to ride this well - got a nice, forwards but contained canter round the corner, saw a forwards stride and went with it and there was no hesitation so Nick made it seriously skinny - could only just fit through the wings and he aced that too. We did a wooden chair too - the curvy type like they had at Badminton - started with pole wings then took them away and he was nice and straight to that. Flew the little arrowhead no probs. Then we did the corner left handed and he was perfect first time so we made it more acute and I just failed to see a stride, had no commitment and he ran out - totally deserved that but very annoyed with myself for letting it happen. Came round again and did it fine.
Then we put it together into a course - started with the oxer pretend log, then round to the house on an angle and then the chair - I think it was meant to be 3 strides but we managed 4 as I just wasn't riding as forwards as I needed to be so let him put in the 4th. Round to the skinny and then 90degrees right hand turn to the left sided corner - I rode the skinny well but in typical Monty fashion he was then off and I did have to hoik him round to the corner. Thankfully I remembered to let go of his head and use my legs in time to get a lovely stride and he flew it - I know if I'd pulled he'd have run out so was pleased I remembered I had legs. Then we had to come round and do the arrowhead and then 2 strides on an angle to this impossibly skinny pole - we all thought it was an impossible question but he just locked on and pinged it no probs. As a final exercise I asked if we could do corner to skinny coming the other way as it's left turns I seem to lose him on. Nick whacked the pretend log up a bit bigger and told me to ride at it proper XC style then collect up and control for the corner. I did ride it forwards, although Monts shortened himself slightly to get a good stride Nick said that was fine as I was still saying go. We then got a good canter for the corner which he jumped nicely, sat up, used my legs and body to turn and flew the skinny. Clever horse. Pleased with some of the questions he answered there. I just HAVE to remember to bloody well ride forwards. I don't know why I have such a mental block about it - it is so frustrating.
We were served up another amazing lunch in the farmhouse afterwards, watched the first few SJ at WEG then went out for final flatwork lesson.
Thought Monty might be tired but he actually came out with good energy levels so we worked some more on what we'd done the day before. I put on him Maxavita Maxapower a week ago so maybe it's having some effect. I was really pleased with all his lateral work, especially the half pass. Having the huge 60x30m arena and mirrors was brilliant. Checked my walk pirouettes and could really make sure he wasn't sticking and that his halts were square - so useful. Made sure the canter was active. We didn't quite manage any clean changes which was a bit disappointing but it is pretty hard work for him and very new so it's something we'll need to go away and work on some more. Got some more good medium trot but Nick said his normal working trot afterwards was then looking a bit disappointing after the nice medium. I need to be braver and ask for more, same in the canter. It's very safe and nice but it's not good enough for the higher marks. He is more than capable of producing some very good work but he's not going to give it to me unless I ask for it. We got his trot much more punchy and up and together and he looked pretty wow in the mirrors.
Finished up with watching the final few SJ and see GB get their silver medal then packed everything up and set off for home. I really didn't want to leave. The horses were all so relaxed on the yard. Monty settled in straight away and worked really well all weekend. The facilities were fab with amazing school, gallops, horse walker, horse spa etc etc. I could quite happily be based on a yard like that and be in absolute heaven. Nick and his family were really welcoming all weekend and everyone there was so friendly. So lovely to see a yard full of happy horses.
So, we have Goring BE100 Regionals this weekend and my mission is to make sure I have him forwards and off my leg in all 3 phases. I am going to do my absolute utmost best to make sure I do not strangle him into jumps and we will give it our best shot to get him the result he deserves. I had this all sorted back in March so I know I can get back there again.
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