Introducing Half Pass, and Second level movements

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Britt

I’m thinking of starting a Foster fan club so I can get groupies to take photos for the blog. Kidding aside, I have no new photos to share, so enjoy recycled photos. Sorry.

Feeling all inspired from the dressage show this weekend, I decided to really attempt a couple of the movements that are newer to us that show up in Second 1. Specifically, 10 meter canter circles and rein backs.

Working on rein backs first meant working on trot halt transitions, and getting a nice square halt in which he does not go splat upon stopping, but continues to stay round and wait for my aids. The following rein-backs are getting better, a true two beat movement and very little bracing.

Ten meter canter circles required a collected canter that was really sitting, and as we haven’t revisited collection so much since coming back I only schooled a couple of these in each direction. This also allowed me to attempt a canter-walk transition approaching the wall, and while not quite there the trot steps were pretty minimal.

Nov. 2012

Since I’ve been working on half pass at the walk for the last couple weeks, I also attempted introducing it at the trot. To the right he is just lovely, moving forward and lateral into the bend with ease. No surprise there since haunches-in in that direction is so easy for him, and as I read once, half pass is haunches-in on a diagonal. To the left in general he has been a bit stiffer in the connection and has trouble lifting his shoulder, so we got some good steps but in general he’s more tense and that will need some work.

Tonight we have a dressage lesson, and I am expecting and somewhat looking forward to a butt-whooping.

Recovering from the Weekend

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Britt

You’ve got to love a weekend packed full of horsey goodness, but damn it can be a bit exhausting in the aftermath.

It’s worth mentioning that the week leading up to it was full of hello’s and goodbye’s with horse friends. While the goodbye’s are always sad, it was awfully exciting to get to meet Sara of Eventing in Color, who spent time being Foster’s human popsicle (his favorite) followed by adult beverages. Sara was just as sweet in person as she seems on her blog, especially for not judging me for my inarticulateness that happens after 5pm most days.

Stealing Sara’s photo!

Saturday was an all day love fest with Foster that featured another jumping round. With the eyes of a friend on us we played around various size fences between 2’6″ and 3’3″. Foster continues to prefer the pokey pace, and in my effort to get him going forward I sometimes cowboy him around, and I’ve definitely got to work on that damn pumping thing I do with my elbows. Trying hard not to beat myself up about it terribly, since was only our 3rd time jumping since February.

I got to work on actually thinking about which lead I’d land on.. yeah that hasn’t been 4 years in the making or anything (Video screenshot- thanks A!)

Sunday I volunteered to ring steward at the big dressage show in downtown Raleigh, and by the Grace of God got to work in the actual coliseum rather than the outdoor arenas. Being in that arena, I saw all the upper level riders warm up as well as First and Second level- exactly what I intend to do at this show next year. As it was, I saw lots and lots of familiar faces, put new faces to old names, and basically just recognized how awesome it is to have been a part of the horse community here in Raleigh for the last 10 years.

New NCDCTA ribbons, aka logo swag

Exciting things happening this week and later this month, with our first XC school since November (third attempt’s a charm?), butt-kicking dressage lessons, and hopefully a trip to Southern Pines to train with a familiar face! 😉

Dreaming of Gold Medals

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Britt

Haha, just kidding.

But I have been thinking about medals recently. Not gold ones- bronze. As in two scores over 60% for First, Second, and Third level tests.

See, for the first time in my life, I’ve realized that Third Level might be possible for us. If you didn’t catch that, emphasis on the might.

Not anytime soon, or even in the next couple years, really. I just think this is one of those bucket list dreams that could be accomplished. At least at the moment, it seems far more likely than my dream of riding a camel. Any of you guys know a camel I can sit on? Didn’t think so.

In the last 6 months we’ve made progress towards the goal of completing a Second level test, which as a reminder introduces the following movements:

Collected trot
Collected canter
Medium gaits
Shoulder-in
Rein back
Walk-canter-walk simple changes
Counter canter
10 meter canter circles

All of these have been started, with the exception of canter-walk transitions, which we will start once he is really strong again. The rest will need some major polishing in order to be test-ready, but I don’t mind a bit of polishing. But even in our lessons, a few of the Third level movements are coming up for discussions. When changes were mentioned, I was flabberghasted. Me? Changes? Other movements we are actually practicing. Half pass and turn on the haunches happen in our lessons more and more often.

It will take a village to get there, but it’s awfully exciting to this eventing DQ to have a long term goal added to the list.

PS this post marks the 300th post on A House on a Hill! Woohoo!

Dressage Lesson Recap: A Checkup and Rein Backs

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Britt

Monday night we had our first lesson since mid February. Since Foster is starting to feel so much better, I’ve been adding slightly more work and asking a bit more of him with each ride, but continue to feel his hind-end weakness as a result of having so much downtime. So I scheduled the lesson in order to have a professional assess the weakness and the program I have come up with, to see if I am heading in the right direction.

no new media- who wants to come play photographer for me? 🙂

To make a long winding story short, all is well. After riding him for 15 minutes, Eliza agreed that if you really leg yield him to the left his weakness gets prominent, as he takes uneven steps getting worried about it all. Otherwise though she was happy with how he felt, especially his canter work. She felt that it was exactly right to insist that he do things correctly, and just keep it in short sessions until his fitness returns. It will be hard for him to stay straight for long periods until the strength comes back to that leg, but the only way it will get stronger is if he uses it.

Also worked on making him use his abs at the canter and really lift his back, instead of cantering ‘even’ like this

I also got the all-clear to practice walk-canter transitions again, which I am excited to hear. And for now, any and all lateral work at the walk will be great for him. In the past week I had started re-introducing shoulder-in and haunches in at the walk, so it will be fun to practice half pass and renvers in addition to these movements. Rein-backs as well will officially become [a small] part of our routine.

The Rein-back. [gif by Citron Vert]

Since it has been, oh, 15 years since I last taught a horse rein-back, and knowing that in a test it is such an easy thing to go wrong, I wanted some feedback on the movement. A rein-back actually starts with a quality walk then halt. If the halt is crap, the rein-back will follow suit. So, square halt, soften then jaw, then put both my legs slightly back and even but light resisting aids with my hands. I’ll have to watch out for him dragging his toes, and staying soft through the jowl. But it was shocking how easily the idea came to him. How is this the same horse that in our early days, would stand with his jaw like a rock and refuse to give in any way shape or form?

Overall I am really pleased with how things are going, and am hopeful that the next scope will reveal a happily ulcer-free pony. Just two more weeks!!

Janet Foy and Chris Hickey Clinic Recap: Second – Fourth and Overall Impressions

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Britt

Phew, how are you guys handling the information overload? Today’s post starts with the Second level rides, which was most interesting to me as this is what we are (were) working towards this year. Because of that, I took some rather shoddy video of Janet critiquing this pair as they rode part of Second level test 1.

(excuse my video skills, was trying to watch and listen at the same time!)

Second Level

At this level, collection is expected to “come and go” slightly
When the test was rewritten, Janet advocated for less counter-canter in the second level tests as she thought it was counter-productive for those schooling changes
- She feels the current test therefore has too much counter canter
The short sides of the arena are the only place where the judge can see overall balance/collection/etc

Eliza demonstrates the Extended trot for Third level

Third Level

The primary goal of the half pass is forward, the secondary is sideways
The half pass should have more bend than a 10 meter circle

Another Raleigh trainer rides in the Fourth level demo

Fourth Level

In walk or canter pirouette, the haunches should be in the direction of the bend
Flying changes are the most “personal” of movements for a horse/rider pair, and so are most difficult to replicate for a strange rider
- This because each rider is built differently- for instance she compared her leg length to Chris’s, which are about 6 inches longer. Her cue for the change will be in a very specific place, so if Chris asked for a change on her horse the horse might overreact due to not being used to feeling the leg ‘there’. If she got on Chris’s horse, the horse would likely ignore her aid for the change because her leg couldn’t reach where the horse is expecting that cue.

Interesting Tid-Bits

In Europe, judges at the CDI level are only paid a per-diem fee of roughly ~$150, but nothing else, so judging is really out of a passion for the sport
The German language has much better verbage for dressage, whereas they have a single word for a concept, in English we sometimes need whole sentences to describe it. Takeaway? Germans just speak dressage better than us.
The change of diagonal (HXF or MXK) in intro builds the foundation for flying changes, as it tests the straightness of the horse
Most tests are written for the judge at C, so in tests where there are multiple judges C tends to be the highest score
- Judging at ‘H’ is referred to the Hellhole, since judge’s can only see the horse’s ass (her words, not mine)
- Judges at E and B typically give the lowest scores because they can see the most sins
Do not, under any circumstances, retire from the arena without the judge’s permission. Not only is it bad sportsmanship, but the judge can (and Janet Foy will) give you a zero for the test (which at a recognized show is a big deal since the scores stay with you forever) and the judge can also opt to give you 0’s for every other ride (even on other horses)
- It doesn’t matter if it is a local show or a Selection Trials, good sportsmanship matters.

Congratulations to you if you made it through all that! 8 hours of dressage clinic left us all a little brain dead, but eager to hop on our own horses and apply some of the new found knowledge.

Last Thoughts
My overall impression was that each horse was extremely well schooled in the level it was representing. With the exception of the Friesian, all horses were warmbloods of varying quality. A couple were built downhill, a couple flat-crouped, and a couple that were just absolutely drool worthy. The riders also in general were very well turned out and for the most part had nice equitation, but some had holes in their position that definitely reflected in their rides. Seeing some of these imperfections made me think that perhaps a dressage clinic of this caliber might be something that Foster and I could do in the future, and will definitely be something I would consider going forward.

For certain, each rider left the arena having been improved in some shape or form, and the auditors left being a little more schooled in understanding scoring and the execution of movements at each level.

Janet Foy and Debbie McDonald Clinic Recap: Overall comments, Training and First

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Britt

Or should I say, the Janet Foy and Chris Hickey Clinic. Unbeknownst to us, Debbie experienced severe vertigo before getting on the plane and was banned from flying, so Chris Hickey (formerly of Hilltop Farm – a la Riverman, Don Principe etc) filled in for her. Certainly it was a dissapointment that Debbie could not be there, but that didn’t mean the day wasn’t exceptionally informational nonetheless.

The clinic was structured around each level, progressing from Training level to Grand Prix with two riders demoing part of their level’s test or movements. Janet spoke mostly from a judge’s point of view, providing scores and their justification as the riders went through the test elements, followed by Chris working on each pair’s weaknesses for a short time.

Because the clinic was so darn long (8:30am – 4pm) there was just too much to capture in one post. So today, let’s look at the more general feedback and Training and First level demos.

General:

Janet describes a “red line” for her, where at scores of 5 and 6 there are more problems than good, and where that starts to affect the overall scores of submission, gaits, etc.
Horses tend to like the right leg better than the left, and therefore be more submissive in that direction
Watch out for “jelly belly”, or the rider absorbing too much of the motion of the horse in their torso
The horse MUST be in front of the leg
- Send the horse forward and back to confirm being in front of the leg
- Also test how quickly the horse responds to the forward request (sounds familiar to me!)
For the horse that evades a more forward trot by cantering, don’t bring them back to the trot, instead send them forward at the canter, so the horse does not learn the escape being forward
True dressage is when things look easy, and the relationship is symbiotic

Training Horse checks out the crowd

Training:

Stretchy trot: The nose should be between the shoulder and the knee, but not any lower, else the horse be on the forehand
Use the geometry of the tests to fix the horse’s problems, often being accurate allows the horse to better be on the aids
Even at this level, corners should be obvious, not part of the 20m circles
Straightness down the long sides is really represented by shoulder-fore (so the shoulders are in front of the hips)

This lovely creature appeared in the First level demo

First Level

Even in the working trot, a lengthening should always be accessible at any moment
Don’t bother lengthening the frame in a trot lengthening until the weight is properly on the hind end
The canter is truly balanced when it is “10 meter circle-able”, or that the rider could complete a 10 meter circle at any time without the horse losing balance
The canter should be 50% pushing power and 50% carrying

Tomorrow, Second thru Fourth level and my overall impressions from the day!

How to Embrace Incompetence

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Britt

Not having much to update today, I thought I would share this article from Dressage Today. If you are, or have ever been, frustrated by a skill that seems out of reach, this is the article for you.

Full disclosure, it was written by my dressage trainer, Eliza Sydnor, and so it’s probably no surprise that the words speak to me. I think they also translate very well into any discipline, as it describes the psychological phenomenom of learning to ride a horse, and that you could probably use Hunter-Jumper, or Western Pleasure, or whatever, and the article would still hold true.

Photo by High Time Photography

Eliza discusses the responsibilities of the trainer-student connection, and how communication is vital to the learning process. Her discussion of that most frustrating stage, conscious incompetence, where you know what to do but just can’t seem to do it, reminds me of so many lessons where I have struggled to make my body do as I knew it should. Renvers, I’m looking at you. But knowing that we are moving from Conscious Incompetence to Conscious Competence, and that the cycle of learning is renewed with every new skill, is part of the process. Personally, I find this challenge of dressage part of the draw, and I imagine any rider who has learned along with their horse can relate.

As part of my continuing dressage education, I will be attending the Debbie McDonald and Janet Foy clinic this weekend. A couple local trainers, including Eliza, will be riding as demo riders, which should make an already interesting day that much better. Plan to see a clinic rehash next week!

A Fosterpants Update

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Britt

First of all, thanks to all of you who commented yesterday. I really enjoyed reading them and getting to know you all a little better! It was especially interesting (though maybe not surprising) to see that there were a lot of creative interests shared, fellow nerds, and to find that our equestrian lifestyle tends to permeate even the non-horsey parts of our lives.

Just a quick update on how the majestic beast is doing. His overall happiness is still greatly improved, and he’s consistently whinnying when he sees me arrive and when I walk away from his stall to get his tack. Cute as it is, I am fairly confident that he knows this adorableness often earns him a cookie. Again, horse is not stupid.

Gifs from our last Doug flat lesson

We’re about 60/40 on days that he doesn’t kick his belly as the girth is tightened, and he definitely isn’t tensing up when the saddle goes on.

At the warm up, I still have to insist he get in front of my leg at the walk, and the trot still has lots of tranter steps as he finds his groove. After having so much time off from work his right hind is back to being very weak, and his overall muscles have gone a bit soft. So the tranter response seems to happen when he finds himself a bit off balance. Once I get him going and he starts using his back and hind end, the trantering disappears almost completely.

I’m still staying somewhat conservative with what I ask of him, but slowly pushing the envelope bit by bit. What work we do I want to be correct so he builds up the right muscles, but I can only do it for so long before the fatigue becomes both mental and physical. Right now we’re at about 35 minutes of work, with about 15 of that being purely at the walk. It gives me lots of time to work on my own habits, such as my elbows, and weighting my right seat bone.

With all this is mind I have scheduled a lesson for next week with Eliza, as more of a check in than anything. Then if all goes well, the week after will include a flat lesson with Mr. Payne (or Mrs. Payne if need be), of course assuming that 45 minutes of work is something Foster can handle at that point. I know you guys have missed my lesson recaps! Right? 🙂

Glimpses of Dressage

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Britt

Forgive me this week. I’m riding the struggle bus this week with both life and work moving at full throttle, and the struggle bus, like any other bus, goes 45 mph at best.

The good news is that I got to see the Foster pony a lot this weekend, and am seeing more and more improvement in his demeanor. That means I come home every evening with horse slobber from shoulder to fingertips and a smile on my face.

FENCE, September 2014

Yesterday we had the barn to ourself and while it was dismal outside, the lower temps helped put a little pep in his step. I decided to bypass the extra feeding before exercise since he had recently finished dinner, and the lack of mash rumbling around his stomach may have helped as well.

Re-using photos yay

We started with lots of bend on a figure 8 at the walk in order to get him bending properly and moving into each leg and hand equally, and help him let go with the stiff base of his neck. When I saw the slobber on both sides of his mouth we started trotting, and he offered some lovely stretchy trot that must have felt wonderful to his back.

Following that I asked for canter and started to ask him to sit down and stay active, rather than the loopy stretchy canter that I have been doing, and while it wasn’t perhaps amazing test quality, I considered it successful enough. Now that he is improving a bit I am trying to get that rear end a little stronger before asking anything too serious of him. In that vein I also tried a bit of leg yield, and was surprised that he seems to flip which direction was easier for him. When he was staying soft and moving away from my leg I called it a day. All this is 30 minutes of riding, and he finished with perked ears and a happy attitude.

CHP, November 2014

I realize that is potentially a rather boring post, but having a happy ride with no trantering, nappiness, or sour grape faces is a big deal. We haven’t had that kind of ride since early March.

I don’t know how much I’ll be able to replicate our success this week, but that ride, though not brilliant or exciting by normal standards, should last me the week nonetheless.

Show Recap: Dressage at MacNair’s

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Britt

I know many people, including myself, were expecting to see a complete show recap today.

Surprise! I didn’t go to the show. Or rather, I did, but Foster did not.

Saturday I went out to the barn to prepare, and before giving him a bath I hopped on him. Since the horses had been stuck inside due to rain all day, I gave him a long (10-15 min) walk warmup before asking to trot. Normal trot seemed an impossibility to Foster- instead his options were short choppy pony trot, short choppy up-and-down canter, or walk.

I did what I could to coax him through it, offering stretchy trot and canter, and staying in two-point to get off his back (as much as you can two-point in a dressage saddle, that is).

I gave him a walk break before deciding to try one last thing- sitting. Making my seat as quiet as possible, we trotted around the arena in relative peace. I ended it on a good note and put him up.

fb_DSC7131

All night I wondered what to do, if I should scratch or continue on with the show as planned. As I was giving a ride to the show to a friend as well, I went ahead the next morning and hooked up the trailer.

Sometimes talking through your issues is the best way to bring clarity to the situation. As I consoled the few people there about where or not I should take my (potentially/probably?) ulcery horse to the show, it became obvious- Foster should stay home.

I asked A to document Foster’s cleanliness, since he certainly won’t look like this on our next visit!

So, my ultra clean, beautifully trimmed horse spent Sunday in the sunshine instead of the dressage court. My friend had an excellent day, scoring a blue ribbon in her second ever dressage test and giving her horse a positive showing experience. I immediately made peace with my decision to leave Foster home and have contacted the vet to get him scoped. My desperate hope is that we will find ulcers and can begin treatment as quickly as possible.

While it would have been nice to ride at the show, in front of my favorite judge (she’s a tough cookie but great feedback!), the day ended up being a success even without any saddle time.