October Ryan Clinic

Last weekend I had another clinic with Ryan, and I rode all three days for the first time. Friday, Gadget felt forward, light and happy. Even Ryan remarked how he was happy in the contact and working well. It was a bit of an ordeal to make it to a 6:45 ride time aftr work, but totally worth it. We did forward and back in the trot, but later moved into a new exercise to get him softer in his back. At the trot or canter, take Gadget deeper and rounder. Half halt him back on the outside rein to try to sit on his haunches, then send him very forward and then half halt back again. This doesn't sound earth-shattering or new, but because Gadget is lower and rounder, it really helps get his back swinging. Ryan said he would use this exercise about 3/4 through the ride when Gadget starts to get a bit stuck. Here's a clip of this exercise from the end of our ride:

Saturday was a cold, wet day and neither Gadget and I put in our best performances. I don't have any video of the ride, but Gadget felt behind the leg most of the ride. We worked on forward and back for most of the ride.

On Sunday, Gadget was a bit sticky again, but we worked through it and got some nice work. I have made improvements in not clamping on the left rein, but I now need to steady and improve the contact on the right rein. I also need to go back to getting Gadget more reactive off of the leg. He is beginning to collect while maintaining a nice canter rhythm, but I need to kick him up to the right rein when tracking left. Here are a couple clips from my ride on Sunday:

A bit of shoulder-in, haunches-in, and halfpass in trot:

Comments

When old becomes new - update to my old Pikeur Diana!

Here is the finished product! It was a plain black jacket so I added white and light blue trim with RHINESTONES! It's very sparkly! Here's a closeup of the collar, which looks better than the pocket. Now I am going to try to add coordinating trim (minus the rhinestones) to the saddle pad.

New Near, New Goals - 2019!

NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS! I usually love reviewing my goals, progress and dreaming up new goals for the coming year, but this year was a tough one with the loss of my dear Gadget. I read a great set of articles on the Chronicle of the Horse by Matt Brown about how to shift your thinking about goal-setting. He makes the argument against fixed, outcome goals and to instead set more of "growth mindset," process-oriented goals. And here's a link to the first article: http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/a-case-for-not-focusing-on-your-goals-part-1 They are totally worth reading. I think dressage requires a strong focus on the "process" and I've always enjoyed thinking about the little things that build to success. However, I will totally admit to being outcome goal driven. I love setting specific score goals and even the goal of mastering a movement. Just as Gadget taught me lots of humility and patience, Iggy is going to drive those lessons home in a who

August 2019 update!

I have really put this poor little blog on the back burner this year, but there's actually been lots of great things happening! Iggy and I have made huge leaps forward this year in terms of balance for both of us. I am finding ways to stay softer in my hands and more supportive of his straightness that has really helped. Iggy has really gained so much strength in his canter and feels like a totally different horse. We still get changes behind, but it's no longer the defining point of the ride. We switch back and carry-on just fine. Iggy has attended 3 horseshows, and he has been wonderful. He has gotten progressively braver at each show in the warm-up, and I think he actually understands the drill now. He gets a bit excited and "takes over" a bit, but it's a great feeling to have a horse that wants to go! Although I am most thrilled about the huge boost in his confidence, his performance has been great too. He has won all of his classes, with only one score o

Dressage Day by Day

Search This Blog