Lesson 4 -- When a Difficult Lesson is the Lesson you Need
Gadget spent two weeks with Kristin riding him and she said she
was so happy with his attitude to come out and give it his best every day. Even
work that is hard for him, he would absolutely throw his heart into it. It
feels great to work with a trainer that appreciates that quality in him and
knows not to ask too much of him because of it.
POSITION -- RIGHT SHOULDER BACK
After 10 minutes walking, we warmed up in a forward rising trot.
Right away Kristin made me accountable for my position. I twist to the left, so
she really had me focus on taking my right shoulder back and loosening the left
to come forward a bit. I also kept my reins short with my hands in front of my
body (but not up) and staying on the front of my seat. After the loosening
work, we decided to revisit the shoulder-in and half-pass. As Kristin said,
once I learn to control the shoulders and keep myself and Gadget straight, the
pirouettes, the halfpasses, and the tempi changes will all become easier.
I really struggled in this lesson, as I feel like I have had this
lesson so many times, but my body sometimes just won't cooperate. It was the
reminder and kick in the butt I needed during this lesson. We focused on
getting a bend through the body in shoulder-in, then turning down centerline to
halfpass back to the rail. To the left, I let him disconnect, let his haunches
majorly trail, and let the trot lose its cadence. I could feel that it was
wrong, but my body wasn't cooperating to make it right. To the right, I need to
allow my body to turn more to the right, bend him around my knee/calf, and just
keep the tempo. Easier said than done. It was definitely difficult mentally for me in this lesson as I kept thinking, "I know how to do this! Why am I riding like crap??"
HALFPASS -- BEND AROUND THE KNEE/CALF and LIFT TOWARD THE MOVEMENT
After a few failed attempts, Kristin quickly put me back into
rising trot, which immediately resulted in a better connection. We then rode a
few steps halfpass left to legyield right. The legyield showed me how I had his
shoulders in the wrong position. Working through the issues in the legyield
showed me that I need to get Gadget to bend
around my knee and calf (not
my spur) and thinking
of lifting my body and seatbone on
the left to allow Gadget to step under. Kristin told me to imagine I am the
upper level rider, which automatically adjusted my shoulders back and head and
chest up. In halfpass, trainers often say to sit in the direction of the
movement, but Kristin told me to lift my body in the direction of the movement.
So I deepened my knee on the right leg that pushed the haunches, which allowed
the inside seat bone to lift. I then had some lovely halfpasses. We then
walked, talked about it, and quit on the good note. I went back to my hotel and
really thought about my lesson. The luxury of this experience is to truly
immerse yourself in dressage without the outside distractions. I was determined to ride better in my lesson the next day.
Lesson 5 -- HALFPASS AGAIN -- Trot and Canter
In clinics, I tend to ride better the second day after having time
to process all of the new info, and this felt like that scenario since I
majorly felt disappointed in my riding the day before.
In the warm-up, I was really feeling the right shoulder and
keeping it back, keeping my chest up, and riding with short reins and arms in
front. Although I am fit, this takes work for me. After this lesson, I was sore
all over from maintaining this position. And my right seat bone was majorly
sore. I sit so unevenly that when I am balanced, I am sore. The mirrors were
critical in helping me realize that when I feel like I am too far to the right,
I am actually straight.
Right after our warm-up, we moved right into the halfpass work.
This time to the left, I really rode with my inside leg asking for bend first,
then bringing the haunches strongly. Kristin made me look over my shoulder to
check the position of the haunches, so I'll have a frame of reference when I am
at home without mirrors. It's a delicate balance to keep the bend, the
haunches, and the connection. It really helped to think of letting Gadget step
up and under my left seat bone and letting my right seat bone lower and sink
into the right thigh.
The key for me and the halfpass is to keep my right shoulder back.
That means to the right, I actually turn my body to the right and really look
that direction and making sure to soften that left rein. It's amazing how he
floats so powerfully over when I get it right. It is the most incredible
feeling! Kristin was so excited when I got it right, which made these tough
lessons so fun at the same time. To the left, I really keep my right shoulder
back, soften that left rein and taking the haunches strongly and it all comes
together.
We did the same in the canter, but the focus is really getting the
correct canter before the halfpass. The canter needs to have the same buoyancy
as a horse that is taking you to a jump, forward, uphill and active.
Kristin reminds me that Gadget's left front likes to stay grounded too
long, and that is typically what is happening when his front end feels
heavier/slower than the front end. For that, I cluck and give mini upward
halfhalts. Sometimes, we just need to go forward to really re-establish his
engine and then re-collect. If I have the right canter, the halfpasses in
canter (combined with my correctly positioned shoulder!) are amazing! I have
had a mental hangup with these movements, so to feel them be so effortless was
so thrilling! It was also a relief after my bad ride the day before. I could
take a deep breath and feel like I actually can ride these movements.
Overall, excellent weekend and just the kick in the butt I needed.
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