June 29, 2010

Nikita's trot is coming along amazingly. We've been working on collected-medium-collected transitions, and in the mediums she's becoming so uphill that her front legs are almost horizontal to the ground. She's lost a lot of the heaviness in the reins that she was exhibiting. It's hard to believe how much power she has. We still need work in the medium to collected transitions. She has a tendency to become strung out in the medium if I let her, and it's hard to bring her back when she's that heavy. I'm trying to do the transitions more with my seat, and given the amount of power the mare has, I'm still trying to sort out how to collect her back with only my seat. I've found dressage is much harder when you use your hands, so using my seat is the only way I'm going to go.

My canter pirouettes are becoming solid to the left, but now I have to focus on the right. Nikita doesn't like to be soft on the right rein which makes it difficult to get the bend in the right pirouette. Nikita's right leg is weaker than the left, and if she had it her way she'd go around with her haunches swung inside. Pretty much left leg to right rein has become my life, since this ensures she remains through from behind, but this is more complicated in the pirouettes since there's a lot going on in that movement.

June 24, 2010

Neither horse has gotten much face time with the double bridle for 2 days because of the 90+ temperatures we've been having. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're unemployed), I've had to work the past 2 days, which means I can't ride early in the morning or late at night, when it's cool enough to actually do something. So the horses have sat, happy and impotent, in front of their fans.

I've been asking Nikita for increasing collection and carriage, and now her neck muscles are HUGE. She always had big neck muscles, but they're Schwarzenegger big now. Sounds like good training is starting to show. She's started to develop an even better show trot, more floaty like she doesn't touch the ground, using her new neck muscles to keep herself uphill (read: not putting 300lbs into the double, expecting me to keep her afloat).

This isn't to say we don't have our fair share of tantrums. Nikita likes to play in the half-passes now. I swear it's a different evasion every day with her. She'd rather avoid staying collected if possible, so she's punctuated nice, collected half-passes with sudden inverting and spinning exercises. Technically, this is my error for not keeping her through and pushing. But I'm only human, and she's only a horse. After a particularly heinous tantrum, she learned one of the unwritten Golden Rules of Dressage, which I don't use often enough: if you misbehave, you will have to just work harder. Several canter pirouettes ensued, both to illustrate my point and to let her blow off steam. Half-passes aren't our strongest movements right now, so I can imagine it's frustrating to her, too.

June 21, 2010

Why is it that the simplest problems are also the most complex? Nikita and I have been working on canter departs. Yes, canter departs. You’d think riding at the level we’re at, canter departs would be not on our list of items to improve, but Nikita likes popping her hind end in during the left-lead departs, and it’s not something I can weather anymore. The obvious solution is to take off in shoulder-in, which is easier than it sounds, because it’s not before the depart that she twists, and it’s not after, it occurs simultaneous with lift-off.

On a related note, I’m discovering the importance of the pelvis in riding. I’ve realized the essence of quiet riding is in the pelvis, which I’m using more and more to direct the horse. It’s a nice feeling, since, being the laziest dressage rider in the universe, all I have to do to accomplish a movement is move my hips slightly. I find to increase collection, all I have to do is tuck my pelvis under more. I can get used to this sort of riding, since I barely have to break much of a sweat.

What does this have to do with the canter depart struggle? To keep the horse straight in the canter depart/shoulder in pretzel, I’m realizing the pelvis bone plays an important part.

Nikita, Pirouettes, and the Good Humor Horse: May 17, 2010

I've started working on full pirouettes with Nikita. We can do them in one place, turning on 2-3 meters or so, although sometimes I get a little stuck in the middle. I'm trying to figure out the right combination of turning and slow motion needed. I'm learning that the more collected I have her before the pirouette, the easier it is to keep her on her haunches.

Everyday I get the feeling Nikita is merely humoring me. I'm waiting for her to get bored with my endeavors and drop the good-girl act.

More Canter 1/2 Pirouettes

Morven Park CDCTA Dressage Show: May 2, 2010

Today an exciting thing happened both for me and for a friend. A friend and fellow student asked me to be her "eyes on the ground" at a show because our trainer could not be there. This friend is a more recent devotee of my trainer, and isn't as familiar with our system as I am. So I was happy to oblige, and share what I know. But here's the hitch: my friend was competing in the Grand Prix.

I'm quite certain this friend has forgotten more about training than I'll ever know. She made her Grand Prix horse, a horse that she's owned since the mare was around 6 months old. So she's really made this mare into the Grand Prix horse she is today, from backing the horse to putting on the 1 tempis. I was flattered she wanted my help, but who am I compared to her?

This rider sought my trainers help because she wanted to get her USDF Gold Medal this year, and had only once scored over 60%. This weekend she was trying for her 2nd Gold Medal score. No pressure or anything.

I helped as best I could, being more familiar with our trainer's system, and coached her though her warm up, very concerned I was going to mess her up. Happily enough, my friend not only scored over 60% on the first day, but won her class over a much more experienced rider (who used to be a student of my trainer, but has since eschewed his system)! The second day, my friend competed Grand Prix again, this time for her Gold Medal score. She scored over 60%, and is now a USDF Gold Medalist.

She said she did well because of my trainer's system and my help at the show, which is a nice compliment for me, who is far from a Grand Prix rider. I'm sure it's rare someone at my level gets an opportunity like this, to have a Grand Prix rider have that kind of confidence in my abilities, to help someone win at Grand Prix with a score over 60%, and to help them get a USDF medal. I helped her, despite my concern about my knowledge, because it is such a rare opportunity, and a testiment, I suppose, to my abilities. I'm glad I was able to help her, and not totally screw her up.

April 30, 2010

I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the difference between a forward trot and an impulsive trot. The impulsive trot needed for the FEI levels is more lofty than the trot used in the lower levels, and I don't know about anybody else, but the loft in the trot makes it feel like the horse is stuck in honey and not pushing well enough. Even the piaffe feels honey-fied.

Over the years, I became used to Nicole's trot, which was mostly forward because of nervousness. Nikita's trot is forward enough, but is more "up in the air", that is, the energy is directed upwards as well as forwards. I'd always figured this sort of trot would feel super-impulsive, like driving a truck with no shock absorbers. The fact that the trot doesn't feel like that is confusing. Sometimes I think I work too hard trying to make the trot more powerful than necessary.

I've started working on most of the elements for the Prix St. George test. Today we worked on the shoulder-in/8 meter circle/half pass combination. I can see why they put that element in the test; it's a good litmus to see just how on the aids the horse is. It seems simple enough, but, like a Picasso, is deceptive in its simplicity.

I don't know if I'll compete this year. The only reason I'd compete is for my silver medal scores. Right now, competing for the sake of competing isn't that interesting to me. I'd rather focus on learning to ride at the Grand Prix level before worrying about competing. Besides learning the skills to train horses to Grand Prix, my big concern is about the money needed to support a career at that level, namely, to buy good horses and campaign them. That's a few years off for me, but is still one of my chief concerns.