Dressage Day by Day

November Clinic with Ryan Part 2 -- Iggy! The last two clinics, I have lunged Iggy before hopping on him as that was my practice at home. In early November I did away with the lunging before getting on him. It seemed that he really didn't need it and I would rather influence his balance while on him as opposed to letting him play on the lunge. So I walk Iggy into the arena and Ryan holds him while I get on and remarks that it seems like he has grown again. Ryan said this at the last clinic as well. I laughed and said he is growing like a weed. He was around 16.2 when I tried him in Holland and he is around 17 hands now. I love his size currently, but I'm hoping he is about done growing! Anyway, we got to work with a bit of free walk to let him acclimate to the arena. Then moved into a medium walk with contact. Ryan wants him to feel the reins in the walk, but not to back him off from the rhythm or contact. Iggy goes nicely forward in the walk now and is happy in the bridle

It was a bitter sweet clinic as it was the last time we will see Ryan until next Spring. It's amazing the progress that both horses have made this year. 1. Gadget Over the last month, I'd tried to make Gadget more responsive to my leg in an attempt to get him a bit hotter for the twos. Last weekend, I had a couple great rides where Gadget was getting the twos relatively easily. Then, he didn't want to let me catch him from the field. I decided a couple days off were warranted since he hasn't been that skittish in the field in years. On Wednesday I rode him and he felt like crap. The canter felt like it had no life, so I put him away and hoped it was just an off day. By Friday, I felt like Gadget was feeling much improved. Our ride on Saturday, Gadget felt pretty good but he did not want to keep the activity in the collection. So we focused on riding movements that would loosen him -- haunches in on a circle in canter, big sweeping and forward canter halfpasses, l

I have fallen into the bad habit of not updating this blog, but I think it's been because things have been going relatively well (touch wood). September was a wonderfully horsey month for me. I rode with Ryan the second weekend of the month and had very good rides on both horses. Gadget felt stiff but actually gave me some very good work. I had a breakthrough ride on Iggy just before arriving at the clinic, so I was able to confirm that we were still on the right path. I realize that by riding Iggy's canter more forward, he will stay more balanced and less likely to lose his lead or swap leads. It is completely common sense, but I think it took a bit of bravery on my part and strength on Iggy's part to figure this out. At the Ryan clinic, we positioned Iggy with a bit of flexion and bend to the right going both directions. He is weak on that side, so tends to drift or lean that way. This positioning makes him stand up on that shoulder and helps me keep him straighter.

Iggy is the first horse that I've bought with the help of a trainer. Gadget I rode for roughly 6 months before buying him. I knew his quirks, knew he'd been lame with a stone bruise for several months, knew his fear issues, and I also knew what a solid citizen he was. I had a local vet flex him and trot him up and down the concrete aisle, and we declared him sound. It's actually kind of funny. Of course, as soon as I bought Gadget, he looked rein lame for months. I spent lots of time worrying about him, but eventually we got a better connection back to front and that particular issue disappeared. Lovely 7 year old by Briar that we tried. So I tried a few horses solo before heading to Holland with Ryan. I watched them be groomed, ridden, and then I got on and tried the horse. Afterward, I would feel the legs. That's it.  Ryan checking a horse while being tacked. So it was a bit of an education horse shopping with Ryan. While the horse was being prepped,

So I had a terrible ride on Friday before the clinic. I started with playing with halfsteps on the ground before the ride, and Gadget was not in the mood. I had watched a youtube video to try to make the steps more on the spot and do a few steps rein back to get the horse on the haunches. Gadget gets fairly pushy during halfsteps, so I thought this would be a good idea. Wrong. He was so frustrated by not moving forward that he just opted to buck or rear. I gave up and moved outside to ride. I think we just couldn't shake the negative beginning and we just could not get on the same page. After a good stretch and attempting a few exercises, I called it quits. I am at least proud of myself for just ending the session and saving him for the weekend instead of trying to make a point. So on Saturday, I really didn't know whether Gadget would still be holding a grudge or sore from his antics. Lucky for me, he felt fine, if not a touch tired. He spent the night turned outside, so

Baby horse brag- just did at least 10 saddle changes and test rides while testing saddles and Iggy was a star! ⭐️ No lunging and he stood for moving stirrup leathers each time (in the heat with the flies pestering him). He was actually the best he's ever been. He offered the canter and stepped right into it each time (instead of trying to rush). I think he appreciated being in saddles that fit! ❤️ Picture is of Iggy in Gadget's saddle, but we'll have pictures of him in his own. soon!

Gadget and I went to the VADA dressage show in Leesburg, VA with some friends a few weeks ago, and it was not quite the experience I expected. He has been feeling so reliable at home, so I was hopeful that I would get that in the ring. However, the PSG still proves to feel disconnected once I get in the ring. I have been practicing riding the pirouettes bigger at home to gain control of each step. I think this has been a great startegy (thank you, Ryan!), but I failed to close them up in the tests. I guess bigger is still better than spinning. However, the biggest buggaboo is the darn tempi changes. I think coming out of the pirouettes, I don't get Gadget back in front of my leg and straight before the tempis. Anyway, I only had one line with the correct count through the whole weekend. So frustrating, when we can clock them off fairly easily at home!  Over the last couple weeks, I've been unsure how to school to fix these issues. Afterall, the tempis feel pretty good at ho

Spoiler -- I bought a horse! After being home from Holland for weeks, I still thought about my favorite horse by Dream boy. I watched the video of me riding him almost every day and I wondered if I had made the right decision. To satisfy my own worry, I decided to find an independant sport horse vet, someone that knows dressage, and have that vet look at the films. My vet, who has done such a fabulous job keeping Gadget sound, admitted that he doesn't look at warmblood rads all of the time and knows they are different than his usual customers. So I found a vet who specializes in sport horses, does lots of lameness work, and is married to an upper level dressage rider. He reviewed the x-rays and immediately noted the same small issues on the x-rays, but said he was not concerned and would tell his wife to buy the horse. To be extra careful, he decided to request a few extra views. When Ryan called to see if the horse was still available, someone was flying from Canada s

So the remaining days of the trip in Holland were amazing! We looked at a total of 40 horses, and that was after I nixed all three year olds after one ran off with me in a round pen. Thank God Ryan was on the end of the lunge line as  I spun around like a horse/human kite! The feeling of the "click" definitely occurred for me. I rode a beautiful Dreamboy gelding with the most amazing canter and I just smiled (and bounced, there was a lot of bouncing during this trip). On the ground, he was a love bug. For a young horse, he was polite and loved being scratched and loved on.  He was the first horse that I had under contract and then did not pass the x-ray review. It was a bit shocking, really. We actually had three vets give opinions because he was far and away the favorite. The vets were sort of all over the place, but ultimately, he had three separate concerns on the x-rays, so taken together, it just didn't feel like the smartest move.  Below is the Dreamboy -- yes, I

So day two, Wednesday started with breakfast at the hotel (delicious croissant, fresh chopped fruit, eggs and coffee). We then traveled with the agent we are working with and set off to the barn first. Barn 1: We arrived to see a horse That arrived at this barn only five days previously. It was a 6 year old bay gelding. He had a very attractive type. We watched him be ridden and then it was my time to try him. He has suspension in his gaits, which makes them feel bigger than anything I am used to riding. He had a very solid feel in the hand and was very honest to ride. Despite bouncing away on him, he was excellent. Ryan then rode and got him to do a green, clean change each direction. He played with seeing what he would do if compressed in baby collection, and his hind end stayed very nice and active. Great first horse. Horse 2 was a beautiful three year old chestnut only two months under saddle. I loved his look - definitely my type. He had ridden in the indoor first, then out

Although this was a last minute trip, only booked a week ago, I have nonetheless been counting down the days, hours, and minutes. Finally, I woke up on Monday and thought, "this is it!" With cold, rainy weather in the forecast for Amsterdam, I struggled not to over pack. Adding tall boots and a helmet is my excuse for having a carry-on in addition to the normal suitcase -- and I wanted to leave room for purchases! Lin and I had a great time chit-chatting on the fight from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Then we met Ryan, and it started to feel real. The flight to Dublin was light, so we were able to spread out and have some room. Unfortunately, a delay in departing caused us to miss our connection to Amsterdam. Despite running full tilt from one end of the Dublin airport to the other, we had a 3 hour layover. It was actually nice to sit and talk to Lin and Ryan about their experiences buying horses and particularly what Ryan looks for in a young prospect. Admittedly, when I see

The first clinic with Ryan finally came, and Gadget and I have not been as focused lately. After getting our last score needed for the USDF silver medal, I had admittedly ridden less. The rides that I've had have been more about the basics and lots of cavaletti work. My rides have felt good, so I was hopeful going into this clinic that Gadget would be feeling fresh and renewed. I think it worked. DAY1 The first day we worked on really collecting the canter while keeping his shoulders up. In the past, when we asked for more collection, he lost the rhythm or really buried his head. On Saturday, he took the half halts and really sat. It was the best feeling. We did some changes -3s and 2s. Although the 2s are still quite green, they are there. I need to make sure not to over ride them. I just need to get Gadget sharper off of the leg, so that I am not tempted to "help" him by jumping up in my seat. We worked on some canter halfpasses, with a focus in the left halfpass

So in March, Gadget and I ventured to Lake Erie Winter show to try to get our final score for our silver medal. It was fairly cold weather hovering around 40 degrees, but Gadget was such a good boy. We warmed up Friday evening with Kristin Stein schooling us, and he felt like a PSG horse. Truly, with Kristin's coaching, everything flowed! It was awesome! The left pirouette wasn't great, but everything else felt good. I felt hopeful that evening. Hani and I stayed with good friend Lauren and her husband Frank at their beautiful home, and we had a blast. Hani will never have accommodations or meals as good as he had at this show. (This is a constant complaint of Hani's -- that I don't feed him at shows and I make him stay at crappy hotels). On Saturday, Gadget was very stiff during his warm-up. Nearly every left change was late, so I was really struggling. I finally had to goose him a couple times to get the bucks out and loosen up. Lake Erie has a very small warm up