The meaning of success

It’s been a big week or so for Bravo. In the last 10 days we did a recognized USDF show, then a dental “power float” on Monday, and today (Sunday) we were back in the sandbox–this time at a schooling show at Susie Wiedman’s Encore Sporthorse in Sanford to benefit the Misty Creek Ranch tornado disaster.

Bravo is not a big spook-er, and for this I am grateful. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get affected by the stuff around him–in fact he gets quite anxious and internalizes it. When I was working with local natural horsemanship guru Linda Hoover, she described Bravo as “wearing it”. The problem with this is that you can only “wear” your anxiety for so long before it gets to you, and in B’s case this usually involves wheeling and bucking back to safety. With this in mind, at the USDF shows I always take gobs of time letting him settle in (with varying success–unfortunately sometimes it’s all good until I start applying the pressure of a warm up before he decides leaving Dodge is his best option). At schooling shows, you don’t get as much time, but the experience is no less useful. We arrived today about an hour and a half before my test, which proved to be plenty! I have discovered that part of the key is letting him look about, on the buckle, for a good 10-15 minutes. It’s no pressure on my part, he can put his head up like a giraffe and gaze at everything (usually he is mesmerized by other horses in the distance, as though he’s never seen one of these fantastic 4-legged creatures before in his life!) with no agenda from me other than we keep moving.

After he had his share of being a looky-loo, we had an easy, confrontation free warm up–first in the warm up ring, then in the grass right next to the covered (competition) ring. He was not as supple as his usual, but in it’s place he was super rideable (ah, to get all the pieces at one time–it’s so elusive!). Unfortunately, the footing in the indoor is nearly polar opposite to the home turf, and while it was soft and inviting, we felt a bit like we were swimming compared to the firmness we’re used to for our daily rides (amazing how much difference various footings make–particularly when you are “used to” a particular type). Regardless, there were some highlights in our Second level Test 3 ride: the walk pirouettes were BOTH active and correct, the free walk included the heretofore missing stretching out and down with the neck, and every piece of the test was performed precisely where and when I asked.

We finished with a respectable 65.9+%, winning our class and the series championship! (OK, full disclosure–we were the only Second level test of the day AND of the whole series of 3 shows, so all I had to do was stay in the ring to triumph. )

But fancy ribbons and Encore Sporthorse swag-winnings aside, the real accomplishment was just being there–more time in the tack, more positive experiences in the “bank”, and another test at a new location under the belt with no histrionics. The bonus is getting to see all the friendly faces–mostly “old” and a few new–enjoying themselves and their horses as well!

Climbing out of the “Pit of Despair”

“the pit of despair”: idiom/USDF R judge Jan Jacobson (2007); referring to Second Level

My last USDF show didn’t go exactly according to plan. I’ve been working really hard this winter–training, schooling shows, etc.–but I was a little nervous that I could have another tragic weekend of competition. Not only did I still feel demoralized by how poorly I had ridden in Williamston last November, but my last attempts at Second Level (with James and Graham) led to the coinage of the above phrase by Jan Jacobson, which I still use to this day.

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I am happy to report that the demons in my head did not defeat me, and the show was a HUGE success for Team Aloi.

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Anne and Doc Holliday had great scores for super rides in the Developing Horse test Friday and Saturday, and the Chyro-saurus was brilliant.

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Keni got her remaining Silver Medal score at PSG on Friday (with a spare on Sunday) with Princess Snarky Pants.

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Bravo was 3 totally different horses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday which is always a challenge for executing an effective warm-up. I can say in all seriousness that without Anne, I’m not sure my end result would have been the same (Thanks Anne!). Thursday started out with the drama of a lost shoe. Of course, I did not DISCOVER said missing shoe until I was tacking up in Pinehurst (and I always look at B’s feet when I bring him in from the field, so apparently I am partially blind). The farrier on call was unavailable until Friday morning, so luckily I had an Easy boot in the trailer and we soldiered on, largely unfettered. I lunged for a bit, then rode in the warm up ring near the barn without incident. Once I moved to the other side of the field to the competition rings, however, the story changed and there were a few tantrums. The bad news is the tantrums still exist, but the good news is they are so much reduced in intensity. We finished up and I felt really optimistic.

Armed with a newly placed shoe, I had 2 tests on Friday and Bravo was hot as mustard. Bravo is not normally a lazy horse, but I would not characterize him as “spicy” in general. Having a horse that would like to wheel and gallop back to the barn AND is twitching like a cat had me honestly a bit unnerved. Anne schooled me before the first test and had a few profound observations. My favorite new saying of her’s is: “If he’s going to run back to the barn with you, he should at least do it in a 3-beat canter instead of this fractured 5-beat thing you’re doing now.” Point taken! (Although in my defense it does take some digging deep to give the hand 2 inches and kick on when my horse is threatening to leave the county with or without me.) She offered that Bravo has plenty of “up” and so we needed to focus on the “out” to lengthen the neck along with several other “pearls” to digest. The second warm up was even more challenging because we had been caught in the rain, forced to retire to the barn for a 1.5 hour rain delay, and then return with a less-than-ideal amount of time to get ready for the second test. Anne came out and asked how it was going. My answer was “Shit.”, followed by “I’m gonna scratch.” as we skittered sideways squealing and hopping. Anne would have none of that, and put us back to work exactly as in the morning. I’m pleased to report that I won both tests, with 64+% and 68+%.  Bravo was hot in the tests too, but on the aids, and in particular the second test (Second Level test 3) felt pretty effortless.

Saturday was a different story. I did a quick lunge to let out the morning bucks, and could tell immediately upon mounting that I was in big trouble. I felt like I was riding a teenaged plow horse with legs made of lead. Seriously–from hot head to dead head in less than 24 hours? Ugh. He was perfectly behaved in the warm up, but ultimately was a fraction behind the leg for most of my test. OF COURSE this was the sweepstakes class for money, although our effort landed us in second place (with a payout coincidentally about equal to my retail therapy/new breeches!).

Today I had the best of both worlds–I skipped the lunging, and Bravo was just a teensy bit on edge out in the field. Anne headed back to Virginia first thing, so I replayed the tape of my previous 3 warm ups to the best of my ability. Bravo was right on the aids–quick to the leg, but super-responsive to the half halt. This Second Level test 3 had a few minor pilot errors, so didn’t have quite the flow of the one on Friday, but still garnered a 67+% for the AA Dover Medal to finish our weekend. Apropos, the judge was Jan Jacobson!

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There is also just a tiny amount of fun to be had when the ponies are all tucked away for the night, and with our successes all weekend, we had a lot to celebrate. Couple that with stabling with Team Marley (Hey, gurl!) and you have the ingredients for some serious partying! Three nights, five gallons of margaritas, eight bottles of champagne, and two full moons later, a good time was had by all.

And now, a word from our sponsor…

I’m gonna get on my soap box for just a minute. I respectfully ask for all my adoring fans (all 5 of you) to please read this, educate yourself through the links I have posted or through Google searches of your own, and then share this information with everyone you know, “horsie” or not. (I’m gonna paraphrase Lloyd Dobbler here–I assume that most horse folks buy, feed, or know someone who produces, buys, or feeds alfalfa; so we may be a bit closer to the loop than the general public). This is an issue that has the potential to effect everyone. I have also included links to tell our elected governmental officials, including our president, that this is NOT OKAY and hope that you will take a few minutes to voice your opinion to them. This current issue (I have a lot of issues, ha!) was brought to my attention by my friend Janice Aquino, and I thank her for the information to get me started…

Just a couple of months ago, Monsanto, a HUGE ag-biotech company, began distribution of their GE (genetically engineered) Alfalfa seeds and is proceeding with getting this stuff planted nation-wide completely unregulated by the USDA or APHIS. This new Alfalfa has been altered to be “Roundup Ready”–resistant to the herbicide Roundup (which, not coincidentally, is a Monsanto product as well)–so that weeds can be easily controlled by dumping it on the whole crop to destroy the weeds without destroying the Alfalfa.

There are a few problems with this:

• Roundup has potential to be EXTREMELY harmful to people, most importantly the workers using it with the GE seed, if not used exactly according to label directions.
• It is EXTREMELY harmful to organic farmers (of crops and animals/milk) because cross pollination from bees will occur between organic and this GE  crop.
• It was BANNED by the Supreme Court in 2007.
• Prominent scientist Don Huber in this and related fields have SERIOUS concerns and reservations about its safety (unclear whether due to the modification itself, or the increased use of Roundup as a result of it’s planting)

The letter from Dr./Col. Don Huber really clinched it for me.  This letter (and the associated link above) was sent to me by Janice. When scientists who have spent their life studying a subject consider something in their purview an “emergency”, I tend to sit up and take notice. Even if worst case scenario never happens, we all know it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, and there WILL BE ramifications to this altering of “God’s green Earth” whether we can quantify it in the here and now or not.

I hope you have made it this far.  If so, I hope you are at least curious enough to click through the information links below. Once you’ve formed an opinion, I hope that you will also use the other links and let that opinion be heard.

• Send an email to President Obama and Secretary of the USDA Tom Vilsack.
• Send an email or call (800) 685-8916 Senator Burr (NC). Or find your state’s senators here.
• Send an email or call (202) 224-6342 Senator Hagan (NC).
• Find your US House Representative and email them too.

Information on GE crops (a bit long, but very informative, lots of references if you need ‘em–this website is awesome for general information about food/water safety and accessibility).

Information FROM Monsanto about GE Alfalfa (I’m trying to be fair, but I can tell you that some of this information is actually misleading (aka FALSE) based on reading the EIS from the USDA).

You can read the USDA’s EIS statement on GE Alfalfa, here are a few points that make me scratch my head…

• Genetically engineered alfalfa will increase the use of herbicides containing the deadly toxin glyphosate (found in Roundup): “The net effect on alfalfa production with the increased adoption and planting of GT [glyphosate-tolerant] alfalfa will likely be some increased use of the glyphosate with an increased use of herbicides.” (p. vii) This is particulary interesting because as of right now, 90% of all alfalfa is grown/harvested WITHOUT ANY herbicide needed–why do we need it now? Could it be so Monsanto can control the RoundUp Ready seed and the RoundUp?  Or is that cynical?
• Glyphosate is highly toxic to plants and could affect plants close to the GE alfalfa:“Glyphosate exposure could occur through aerial drift, runoff of surface waters containing glyphosate, or leaching of glyphosate into drainage systems. Plants exposed to glyphosate via aerial drift might experience impaired germination or growth characteristics.” (p. vi) Mmm…RoundUp leaching into ground water–that can’t be bad!?
• As a “non-selective” herbicide, glyphosate kills almost all plant species when enough of it is applied (p. 3) and glyphosate is currently used to remove entire alfalfa fields (p. vii) So, basically, it can kill any plant–but I’m sure it’s perfectly safe!
• If the USDA confers non-regulated status, it would no longer require permits or notification of the introduction of the GE alfalfa (p. 10). Therefore there will be no oversight on the production or the long-term environmental impacts of GE alfalfa. Who needs oversight? I’m sure Monsanto is thinking of the global environment and human health and the balance of the two, and not their profits.
• If GE alfalfa is unregulated, there is the risk on contamination with non GE crops:“Although the probability is low, GT alfalfa genes could be found in non-GT alfalfa at low levels. (p. v). This is a problem for producers of organic meats and dairy, as well as organic crops.
• “unexpected and unintended compositional changes arise with all forms of genetic modification, including both conventional breeding and genetic engineering.” (p. 74) Furthermore, the report bases its safety data regarding allergenicity and toxicity on similar genetically engineered crops—but there is no evidence on the long-term allergenicity and toxicity impact of specifically GE alfalfa on humans and animals. (p. 175) So something that is not really “out yet” has not yet proved to be toxic…we’ll just have to wait and see…sound reasonable!

Just 4 weeks ago, a suit was filed over the approval of GE Alfalfa despite the Supreme Court ban. Hopefully this will bring this and other GE crops to a screeching halt. In the meantime, let your elected representatives know how you feel–they are supposed to working for US after all, not Monsanto.

I know everyone is busy. But I also know you all care about the stewardship of our horses and those who work and farm so that we can enjoy them! I have tried to make it as easy as possible to have your voice heard–I urge you all to exercise your right to have our elected officials know our opinions. And please, PLEASE, share this blog post with anyone you know so that this can reach as wide an audience as possible.

A busy weekend

Oh, Super Pony, I love you like you were my child. My unpredictable, anxious, petulant, obnoxious child.

The clinic with Anne did not go according to plan (leave it to animals and children to remind those of us with borderline OCD that you absolutely CANNOT plan anything with any degree of certainty). Suffice it to say that despite being in Wilson MANY times by this point, some combination of factors or alignment of the planets had Bravo wigged out. For Bravo, wigged out = poorly behaved = defensive rider = defensive horse = diminishing returns. There was lunging, there was a VERY accommodating Anne splitting my lesson in 2 so that we could try to get B’s head on straight, there was a tiara awarded for my riding through it (aka cajones).

It wasn’t all bad. By the end of the second lesson on Saturday I had shown Anne our changes. She thinks we’re largely on the right track and can proceed with emphasis to be on the canter and not the preparation (I focus so much on preparation for the change–i.e., correct bend, perfect aids, etc.–that I lose the forward momentum and the quickness of the hind legs). Excellent, as predicted I will need to just channel my inner 12 year old and kick on! The second day when little shit B was more rideable (but still not his normal) we focused on bringing up the wither and lengthening the neck into the contact. Words of wisdom (homework) were imparted and we got on the road to hit a schooling show on the way home at MacNair’s.

Bravo was the poster-child for calm once out of the trailer at MacNair’s schooling show. But I’ve been fooled before, and knew the droopy lids and yawning did not mean the riding would be all sunshine and roses. I hopped on with about 45 minutes before my test (first time at Second 3) and proceeded to the super sloppy, very full warmup. “I’m awake!” Bravo seemed to say, head up and ears pricked, as we picked our way around at the walk for a few minutes. When I gathered my reins there was some perkiness, but we tromped around in the slop like the veterans we actually are (finally) and he was attentive to the aids, soft, and very compliant. Ahh….. I immediately began to rewind back and play the tape from the weekend’s lessons: slow the trot, quicken the canter, out in the neck, up in the wither, bend ribs left, bend ribs right, don’t over bend the neck, hind feet in line with the front ones, breathe. Even though this was the fourth ride in two days, Bravo had plenty of power and energy, and I was feeling really good about the test.

We entered the covered arena right after a break to lengthen the ring from 40 meter to standard 60 meter sizeand proceeded around a few times; Bravo getting a few looks in from this new vantage point (but easily redirected because he was still ultimately listening to me) and then started the test. It went something like this: A enter collected trot, X halt salute, proceed track left, HXM medium trot, M collected trot.  Oh wait, that’s what was supposed to happen…for us it went H turn onto the diagonal and begin medium trot, X abruptly JUMP INTO THE AIR OVER THE IMAGINARY HOLE CREATED BY THE COLOR DIFFERENCE FROM THE RING FOOTING BEING WATERED IN PATCHES, proceed with rest of test as though nothing ever happened, X halt salute.

It felt something like this:

I think it probably looked something like this:

It was good for a hearty laugh right there in the test, which considering my defensiveness the day before (and even earlier that day) was a very good thing. This was a legitimate spook, not a misbehavior for any reason. Overall, the test was fluid, and I was VERY happy at the end, and I was proud of myself for being able to ride my horse through the test while thinking of Anne’s coaching the entire time. I admittedly rode a bit more conservatively than my other tests this year, and that coupled with the huge ding I got for that mark, the associated mucked up transition score, and the harsh submission score (the judge thought this was a huge buck apparently), we ended up with a lackluster 58%.  C’est la vie!

A special thanks to my “cheering section”, who came out to MacNair’s to watch us: Karen Young, Keni and Lynn Kerin, and Brian and Ruby Davis. Ruby gave Bravo a big hug and kiss before she left and told him he was a good boy.  All’s well that ends well.

Why do we fear (the) change?

Flying changes have become the first Holy Grail of dressage. How on Earth did this happen? When people are horse shopping, one of the first questions is “Does he have a change?” We stand on the rail and analyze the changes on Third level horses, disregarding, for the most part, the other 95% of the test. We talk about late changes, flat changes, crooked changes, croup-high changes, and drop changes with the fervency of an obsessed movie star fan.

Meanwhile, over in Hunter Land where I grew up, almost every horse–from lesser quality New Holland finds to the purpose-bred warmblood–has a change. People don’t talk much about them (and they certainly don’t obsess), except in the rare case where a horse consistently cross-fires. The only descriptor you might hear is “auto” as in the horse who will automatically change to the correct lead after a line of fences.

Huh? How can something so “important” in the dressage world seem to come so easily to our hunter compatriots? Why do we struggle with something every single horse does over and over again at liberty in the field?

I already hear your counter argument. “But hunter changes aren’t the same as dressage changes. They’re flat. They’re on the forehand. They lack impulsion.” I’m with you– it certainly seems that way, at least with the “non-elite” hunters. Now, thinking back to everything you’ve learned about the canter in dressage–shouldn’t this make their changes harder to get (and clean)? And yet, we struggle while every 12 year old on a pony is blissfully kicking through a clean change in each round.

I don’t know about you, but this all has been making me feel empowered. Of course I can teach Bravo the changes–every horse can do them, he does them in the field, and he is certainly athletic enough! As a teen, I acquired my hunt seat equitation mount when he was a 4 year old–I no longer have recollection of teaching him the changes (although I must have since he was not in any sort of training) and we had a long and semi-illustrious career not-thinking-about-but-managing-to-accompish MANY flying changes over the years.

So work the changes we have! It’s one part correct canter/counter canter, one part change of bend and direction, and occasionally brute force–lather, rinse, repeat. Sometimes they are effortless, sometimes they are explosive, sometimes they are absent, and sometimes everything in between–but I have definitely seen progress in the last couple of weeks. I have my monthly clinic with Anne this weekend and can’t wait to get her opinion, help, and perspective. Her advice so far was the inspiration for this journal entry–whatever happens, do not get negative. Do not have failure as an option in my mindset.

Fair enough. I just need to channel my inner 12 year old.

In dressage, is competency the key?

In the weeks since finishing my whirlwind training tour of North Carolina, the riding has been good. Bravo’s behavior (with few, but profound exceptions) has been stellar and the connection gets more solid every day.  I also put a renewed interest in getting him to truly bend his ribcage to the right as a priority as well. I think it’s paying off.

Due to a scheduling conflict (ie, work, the Anna’s Angels annual gala, and running my first 5K) I was unable to ride in the March clinic with Anne Aloi. That, coupled with a few financial decisions (ie, lack of consistent work hours and the ordering of that D@*% L’Apogee saddle), conspired to my realization that I should skip competing in the March Magic Dressage show in Williamston. But I made lemonade–I traveled to the show to support my trainer and friends and to learn by WATCHING. I also decided that with a now-longer span until my first USDF show of the year (all signs point to Dressage in the Sandhills in May), I would spend time working the flying changes (which have been going surprisingly well, considering I have no idea what I’m doing). This way, if I blow Bravo’s mind, or we succumb to “flyingchangitis”, I will have time to fix it before hitting the centerline in 6 weeks.

Well, Anne and my friends certainly gave me plenty to watch–there were multiple successes and personal bests. There were certainly a lot of blue towels decorating our barn aisle! Anne brought 2 horses: her most advanced horse (Doc), now at 4th level; and her greenest horse (Buddy) in his Training level debut.  The two horses are quite different–Doc is small (not that there’s anything wrong with that–he IS bigger than Bravo, not that it takes much ), very workmanlike, has a great attitude, and good but not WOW gaits. Buddy is much larger (in both height and width–the boy is solid), and also quiet–but with more of a baby mentality (as to be expected), with very impressive gaits.

Buddy scored a mid-60% basically on his gaits alone (steering was optional and there were several “shiny object”! moments), handling the Williamston coliseum very well.

Doc scored over 70% in 2 of his 3 Fourth level tests. They are a fun pair to watch–Anne is a very accurate test rider, and of course she makes it look easy. A few days after the show I was talking to her on the phone and she mentioned in passing about riding Doc–and she said something that I have been chewing on ever since. She described Doc as “competent”. The casual observer might think she is being humble, but when I really think about it, the description is apt. He’s not the kind of horse you pick out of a warm up ring because he’s blowing the doors off. He’s not even the kind of horse that sneaks up on you unassumingly. He “just” goes in the ring and does his job competently and correctly, and in my opinion we (unfortunately) don’t see this very often in the ring.

We’ve all heard about accurate test riding, and how this can improve your score a few points basically by just having correct geometry and movements–I’m not talking about that (and neither, I garner, is she). This is correct, absolutely correct, basics. This is training a horse–and then demonstrating that the horse has mastered–the guidelines of the dressage training pyramid exactly. Doc is relaxed yet forward, he is straight, he is uphill and balanced with his weight on the hind legs, and he is into the connection without bracing against the hand…Doc is, in a word, competent.

Why am I so fixated on this word? Like many amateur dressage enthusiasts, I do not have an expensive horse. Bravo is wonderful in so many ways (occasional naughtiness notwithstanding) and I love him dearly, but he is no world class mover and never will be. In the past, with each of my wonderful dressage partners, I have surrendered to the “compare and despair” trap and convinced myself that I can’t accomplish “X” because I don’t have a fancy horse.

The epiphany is that we don’t have to be brilliant; we don’t have to be world class. We just have to be competent.

Lagniappe

My week long dressage-fest has come to a close. My bags are unpacked (and my laundry room filled), my daughter Ruby and I were joyfully reunited (after our longest-ever time apart), and my bed is whispering to me even though it is only 7:45 PM. I am exhausted but SO serene and still almost need to be pinched to believe how fortunate I have been to be able to enjoy this week.

Lest we forget, this week was made possible by an adult amateur grant from the Dressage Foundation, funded by Carol Lavell in memory of her horse, Gifted. I stretched that $1000 pretty far and it almost entirely paid for my whole week. Now if I could just get them to buy me the new L’Apogee saddle I’ve fallen for…

Today the culmination of my week was a schooling show at Whinstone Farm. I had a leisurely breakfast with Lynn and Keni Kerin and our hostess-with-the-mostest Tammy Proctor, and then the Kerin’s left for home and Tammy and I headed to the barn to prepare to travel to the show. Both our horses behaved in our trailers, and we arrived with plenty of time for them to settle before our respective tests. Last month at the Whinstone show, Bravo was a powder keg for a good 40 minutes before relaxing into the work. Today I did not feel any of that tension, although I still allotted us a full hour for warm up. There was one small tantrum of maybe 2 small bucks, but mostly there was a lot of bluffing and squealing. (Bravo is the most vocal horse I have ever met, and often reacts “verbally” when he is being resistant to the leg–today several of my friends got quite the entertaining earful, as he was extra verbose!) In fact, he was not the worst behaved horse at the show, and I rarely get to say that!

Being a schooling show out in the “country”, you get to experience things that you might not expect.  For instance the neighbor shooting semi-automatic weapons into a berm on his property, or the resident donkey braying and causing some “inattentiveness” during the middle of your test. Nonetheless, this venue is a great place with a laid back atmosphere and is half the way home from Wilson.

I was very happy with my warm up, and had 2 tests today (Second level test 1 and 2) with just a few rides between the two, which I like.  Both tests felt great.  The first started out well, but the counter-canter serpentine was not so great. Yesterday in my lesson, this is where Bravo exploded several times, so it’s possible I was a bit too defensive, but honestly I just don’t think I practice this movement enough.  I get too much neck bend and lose control of the shoulders and Bravo just trundles along getting strung out and on the forehand.  Half way through Bravo lost his brain a little when he could hear, but not see, the donkey (burro?), but behaved and just became distracted.  We had tiny bucks (just a “croup high” moment really) in each medium canter, but I also really went for them.  Our medium trots are really coming–a combination of having a much better connection after this week of training, and the L’Apogee saddle which seems to help me maintain a better position–I could EASILY sitting them today.  The second test was better and I felt I maintained the connection almost the entire time, kept the gaits forward and energetic, and didn’t lose my head in the transitions.  Overall, our efforts earned a 66.285% in Second 1, and a 67.630% in Second 2.

If I had to pick a show highlight, it would be the medium trot. Two months ago at our December clinic with Anne Aloi was the first time I can truly say we achieved our first steps of medium trot. One month ago at our January clinic and schooling show the medium trots were still quite unbalanced and I needed to post them for both our sakes. Today not only did I have balanced medium trots that could be maintained for the entire diagonal line, I was able to sit them and scored three 7s and an 8.

So what did I learn this week?  I learned that the shoulders are EVERYTHING, Jules Nyssen and Jennifer Brinkley are amazing and wonderful, I can ride 6 intense daily lessons in a row (and without “knitting a sweater” with my hands), only 9 fingers are actually necessary, my horse can travel the state and come down the ramp in a different place every few days with nary an ear flick, I’m lucky to have Anne Aloi to train with (and be a saddle enabler), I have the most fabulous group of friends, and most of all–that Bravo truly is my “Super Pony” and is perfect for me.

Apparently I learned something!

I love our monthly clinics with Anne Aloi in Wilson.  We work hard, and we then “socialize”.  I would say that we party like rock stars, but that wouldn’t sound very professional. I arrived yesterday as the lessons were finishing for the day, but today I was first up to ride at 8:00 (which didn’t feel early compared to a few days ago). Anne immediately noticed a difference in my hand position (improved) and even said I should let Jules know (which I have–and his reply was “Thank God”–HA!).  I warmed up in the field adjacent to the ring, similar to how the schooling show is set up tomorrow.  The trot was much easier to get through and connected, but I knew there was a storm a brewin’.  Sure enough, even though I’d trotted around for over 10 minutes and cantered to the left, once I cantered right (my nemesis) there was an explosion.  That pesky bugger can BUCK. Now, he doesn’t get a lot of air in his hind end, but he leaps up in front first and the consensus from the peanut gallery is that I look like I’m being cracked like a whip each time (which would explain the pain between my shoulder blades running up my neck now). But we got through it, and the warm up ended well–we were connected and through and forward and it felt great.

We moved to the ring to practice a run-through of Second level test 1.  I did a trot around the ring to get our bearings and then we went right to it.  Enter halt medium trot shoulder in shoulder in walk CANTER RIGHT LEAD explosion turn repeat explosion Anne yelling turn repeat explosion.  It was rough for a minute or two . After Bravo saw things my way, we got through the test and both Anne and I were happy.

Today I rode in one of Anne’s saddles, a L’Apogee, which is also foam flocked like Jules’ Tad Coffin saddle. It fit Bravo well, and fit me even better than Jules’ saddle–unfortunately I might be in love, and I have damn expensive taste.  Crap, I guess my saddle is officially for sale–anyone want a Prestige Academy in great condition? There was also no lameness today, so either Bravo has worked out whatever the issue is, or the dose of Equiox fixed it.

Now we’re being festive and getting ready to have a cook out.  I need to behave so that I’m not feeling rough tomorrow for the show.  I’m not on until 2:00, so I have plenty of time to ride out the bucks before I head down the centerline.

Super Pony says, “So long!”

I really hated to leave today.

This morning, I slept it until 6:30, took my time packing up at the hotel, and got to the barn about 8:00. I watched Jules a little bit and then hitched up the trailer before my morning lesson. I was honored that Carla Moss, Bravo’s first owner, had traveled to come see the lesson and video tape the ride (I’ll need it when things aren’t going well and I need a good strong kick in the keister! I promise to post pics and a video link when I have it).

Jules was kind enough to let me ride in his saddle today as well. I was intrigued by how well it fit every horse and by Tad Coffin’s website explaining his philosophy on saddle fit.  The saddle fit Bravo as well and was comfortable for me to ride in too. I hate it when I like an expensive saddle.

We got right to work and I immediately started working my “shoulder” exercises to get Bravo through and connected–and once again we arrived there quicker than the day before. Today I could keep the connection for much longer stretches, and even got some nice medium trot (that I could SIT–woo hoo!) and medium canter. I really don’t have much else to say, because it was basically a repeat of the last 5 days. Bravo behaved with nothing more than a little squealing (and I’m okay with the little man voicing his opinion–so long as that’s as far as it goes ). Unfortunately, Bravo intermittently took a couple bad steps on his left front, and my spidey senses (or my 4 years of veterinary school) tell me we may have a hot nail brewing. Oh, gosh, I hope not because I’m not ready to deal with hoof issues again.

So Bravo got his last fancy bath and heat lamp treatment, and loose plans were made to return for more training. We were on the road by noon and headed to Wilson to clinic with Anne Aloi tomorrow and then show Second level once again at the Whinstone Farm schooling show on Sunday.  I am going to be one TIRED girl (or more accurately, MORE TIRED) by the time Monday gets here.  I need a vacation from my vacation!

A little freedom from the circle…

…to hang myself with…

Today started off very well. Despite starting my lesson at 6:45, I felt energized and strong. I warmed up as Jules put his first horse away, and could get a more forward and solid connection much more easily and quickly. Jules thought so too, and we quickly moved to the canter–and Bravo promptly leapt in the air in a series of crow hops and bucks across the arena (but with a clean flying change–one needs to make lemonade ).

So it was canter-walk-canter-walk–interjected with quite a few mini-tantrums for a few minutes–until Bravo was back on the aids and was clear that we WOULD be working this morning, thankyouverymuch. Jules gave me a great visual for my canter to walk transition. He wanted me to have the feeling for reeling in a fish on a line.  I got that pretty quickly, but unknowingly was dropping the contact as soon as Bravo walked.  I was instructed to “finish the thought” and we did several more in both directions until it was clear to both of us.

After this warm up, Jules said it was time to leave the circle and ride the second track around the ring in our pretty, connected trot. Freedom! Despite being able to almost endlessly circle in a correct and straight balance now, it only took about half a long side before losing the connection totally and once again seeking solace on a circle to get it back. Sigh. So Jules gave me another “simple” exercise–continue around the ring, on the second track, and move JUST THE SHOULDERS left-right-left-right in a very shallow serpentine while keeping the haunches straight. Good googly moogly that’s not easy! I eventually was steering the shoulders around and holding that balance and connection longer and longer, with 10 meter rebalancing circles as needed for stronger resistances.  Just when I stopped feeling like a complete moron I had to do this in canter. It became apparent VERY quickly that I don’t have 10% of the adjustability in the shoulders at the canter that I need, but we muddled through and worked it in counter canter, too.  However my overall ability to get Bravo balanced, straight, and through has skyrocketed which makes the incredibly long road ahead more bearable.

We ended after some of the most powerful, uphill canter I’ve ever gotten.  Poor shaggy Bravo even had a mist of dewey sweat beaded around his eyes, but I wasn’t even winded (this whole 5K training, and running at the hotel gym even when I’m exhausted is paying HUGE dividends).  My abs however, have been screaming for 3 days now and I may never walk straight again.  Bravo was bathed and put away, my tack wiped and put up, and my breakfast eaten–looking at my watch–8:03.  Stonegate Farm: We do more by 8:00 AM than most people do all day.

Then it was time to watch another full day of Carol Grant teaching. She has the most incredible eye. She sees exactly where the horse is lacking and immediately has an exercise to correct it. Her mantra is all about the shoulders as well, but she has lots of neat ways to harness those shoulders depending on the individual horse. She incorporates a lot of “sideways” or “lateral” movement with forward, and ends every exercise with “both legs, forward” to get the horse really moving.  Something that seemed to work well with almost every horse was a forward moving turn on the forehand with a slight flexion to the outside (and when I say flexion, I mean with a straight neck–I seriously have not seen a bent neck all week).  She has a lot of cute sayings that really help you understand what she’s trying to accomplish with an exercise or how she wants the horse to go, but my favorite was “Ride him with the tail down and going somewhere”.

I informed Jules that I would be sleeping in tomorrow–no crack of dawn ride for me!  Of course, since Carol won’t be there, I can fit my lesson in anywhere I want.  For Jules’ horses, their work tomorrow will be light since they all worked so incredibly hard in the clinic the last two days. For Bravo, I suspect it will be more of the same, which is exactly what we need. Then it will be time to pack up and leave and I am going to be incredibly sad to do so.  I will, however, have a lot to work on (and fortunately, WITH) to keep me going until I can sneak out here again (which I definitely want to do!).