Kenny Clinic - May 9-10

As usually Kenny's keen eye helps me fine tune my work with Gadget. I rode Gadget a bit more forward than I do with Kristin, but I felt that I kept the activity in the canter an kept him true in my hand. On video, the canter looked great. As usual, I am still holding too much on my left rein, and softening solves nearly every problem.

Things to work on:

Left Halfpasses -- the quarters trail in both trot and canter halfpasses. Both Kristin and Kenny told me to ride Gadget with slight haunches in to the left. I especially need to do this (or think this) when going into halfpass. Otherwise, I lose the haunches through most of the movement.
Very Collected Canter -- I rode 4-1 with Kenny and the circle with the very collected canter strides is tricky for me. I need to think of pushing his haunches in with my outside leg. If I try to get more bend from inside leg, I get a change.
Left change - I need to soften leg reins and let him move that direction. (Changes in general need to drift right, however.) This change still needs to be ridden with some giddy-up and go to get a clean change.
Tempi Changes -- these make me want to pull my hair out. The first change is sticky, so I need to get that sharper. I basically need to get all of these sharper and stop pulling back.

Overall, I was pleased to be able to work through 4-1 for the first time. Kenny said he thinks it's a good test for us and well within our capabilities. The plan is to try 3-3 and 4-1 at the Morven show in June. It's a large show, so hopefully we don't look ridiculous in comparison to the other 4th level horses! Onward!

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.

Catch-up Post -- Putting Together the Puzzle

It's been a long time since I have actually written any updates about Iggy. Partly, that is because it is difficult to write about things when you are still very much in the experimental stage. I think I have loved dressage since I was a teenager because of the constant experimenting, strategizing, and problem solving of every ride. I love the intellectual side of it. However, puzzles are more fun when you are making progress toward solving them. They are less fun when you spend a lot of time wondering if you have made progress, stayed the same, or actually screwed things up. From Iggy's first show - trying to keep the big canter in one piece! Iggy is my puzzle. He is a puzzle that makes my eyes light up and my heart sing when I see him. He has this sweet baby face and the personality of a labradoodle. When I look at him, he is everything I ever wanted. Yet, our journey has not been quite as straight forward as I thought it might be. When I sat on Iggy for the first tim

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

Dressage Day by Day

Search This Blog