Trail Schooling 5/25/2013 with Video

The arenas were freshly dragged on Friday which inspired me to pull out some trail equipment. I haven't shown trail yet this year, it looks like the end of June will be our first chance. I plan to show in Rookie trail at the Region 1 AQHA in August and maybe Novice as well. Trail has always been one of my favorite classes, I love the technical challenge as my brain never really has time to get in the way. Grace loves it too, when I rode her into the arena with the obstacles set up she kept drifting towards them during our warm up. We worked on lope transitions which are coming along quite nicely and then I worked the gate to let her catch her breath.



My first experience with Trail Class was with Penny Jones. She taught me to take my time when schooling an obstacle. This is where you see me stop and adjust my jeans. If I rushed the horse while schooling the horse would then rush and anticipate in the show ring. One of my biggest challenges is keeping Grace's focus and getting her to wait on me.Working the gate itself has never been an issue, just like a trail bridge she is always willing to just power through it. It is the finesse that we've been working on. One thing I discovered yesterday is that I also struggle with taking my time. When side passing poles I became frustrated with Grace who was kept taking a step forward and a step back. I finally took her off the poles took a deep breath and tried again, this time slowing myself down and of course it was 1,000 times better. Sigh.



Speaking of poles remember when last year loping over poles was kind of a big deal? I think we've come though that now. The thing I love about this clip is that even when the distance isn't perfect, Grace carries on like it isn't a big deal. A year ago a missed distance would have caused her to tuck her butt and run. Grace is becoming a joy to ride on pattern, she does this new thing where she waits on me. This also means that I actually have to show up and ride and be the leader she is looking for. I plan to start throwing poles out in the arena on a regular basis for the summer. Working the obstacles is great but I know that the improvement is a result of the homework we've done over the winter without them.

Mario Boisjoli Lesson 5/15/2013

For the last month I’ve worked on being “less vague” in the saddle. This new focus has allowed me to keep my horse between my legs and my hands consistently. I am able to catch issues like a drifting shoulder or dropped back on the first or second stride that it happens and not halfway across the arena. My new go to aid is my leg with a goal to push my horse up to my hand. The result is a softer, happier, suppler horse that is less prone to take over.  I had one of my best horse show patterns earlier in the month, yesterday was the true test of my work when we had our follow up lesson with Mario.

Sarah told me that at the last Mario lesson that I wasn’t really present that I had gone to the place in my head that I go to at horse shows. He had started that lesson with a pattern and watched us ride a like a judge would and yes I more than likely went to the Bahamas. I was determined not to let that happen this time. Mario entered the arena while I was warming up, after a quick hello I ignored him so I could go back to focusing on each step. When the lesson started he asked me to repeat the counter canter pattern we did at our last lesson, he said he was sure I had practiced it at home and he wanted to see it. No pressure or anything! This time I rode each stride of the walk up to the lope transition and had an uneventful departure. From there the pattern was smooth; I made sure to use the arena keeping my circles big, leads changes were clean, counter canter was steady and downward transitions were purposeful. Mario complimented me on the big improvement over last month. He was pleased with how steady Grace was with her head compared to last time when she was all over the place. The only thing he critiqued were my arms which tend to turn inward. It wasn’t the worst case he had seen but it was something I needed to work on.  

Sarah brought a different horse to this lesson so instead of working on the pattern Mario worked with her on lope transitions, he told me to pay attention. Again he talked about the importance of riding each stride up to the lope transition, winding up the coil and then releasing it for the transition. He gave Sarah a series of things to do which all involved timing. I have to admit it was great to see her struggle a little as she admitted that she understood what he was asking for but it would take her a try or too to get the timing. This is exactly what I go through when she throws new things at me so it was wonderful to see that my trainer is human after all! By the end of the lesson the horse that Sarah was on not only had a much improved lope transition but his lope over all had improved dramatically.

When Mario asked me what I wanted to work on I told him I wanted to do the same lope transition exercises he was doing with Sarah and that one of my goals it to improve my lope departure on pattern as I know how important it is. Again the focus was riding each stride up to the lope transition, I kept getting this moment where my horse would get fussy and my reaction was to separate my hands. I had no idea I had been doing this until it was pointed out. The new reaction was to keep my hands together and drive Grace up to the bridle. Within in a few transitions I had what Mario called a 0 score lope departure. This was a big improvement over the negative scores I would have received for each previous lope transition. This led to a discussion about scores on a pattern. Mario said that at the amateur level most people receive negative scores on their pattern, that if you think about walking into the show ring with $70 in your pocket and that with each negative score you lose a dollar. He went on to say that if you consistently scored a 70 for the entire show season you would win quite a bit at the amateur level and that people give it away in the negative scores. This changed the focus from working to get a +1 maneuver to focusing on a 0. This made a lot of sense as he talked about the idea of pushing a horse that can consistently score a 0 to score a +1 puts you at greater risk of making a mistake of now going negative. This is why I love riding with Mario; he not only has the trainer perspective but the eye of a multiple carded judge who watches thousands of patterns a year. I have plenty of homework to work on between now and our next lesson. Mario left me with the reminder that from now on each lope transition counts, which of course means I have to ride each and every step to get there.

Grace Has A Friend

The neighbors are using their turnout pastures now that the weather is good and the grass is tall. One of the pastures shares their fence line with Grace's turnout area. I usually keep her in when I see that they have a horse out. Grace can be rather alpha with other horses and I didn't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt. I missed it the other day when I had Grace out and they turned out one of their horses.When I went out to put Grace back in the two mares were getting along fabulously. The other mare is a 4 year old German Warmblood. She has the sweetest personality and a calm energy about her. She will come and visit Grace at the fence and then spend her time grazing along side her. I've never even seen a pinned ear between the two of them. It is really refreshing to see Grace play well with others! 

Western Riding 5.5.2013

Grace and I went to a show on Sunday. I was lucky enough to have someone film my patterns with my cell phone. Instead of picking apart everything that needs improvement in this ride I am going to take a moment to stand back and appreciate it. The mare waited on me, listened to me, did not throw in any of her extra credit lead changes and was almost a tad slow! We are so much more relaxed than we were a year ago. 

I only did 4 classes at the show, the footing was recently replaced and it was a bit deep for my liking. It made for a nice day as I left the house at 7:30am and was home at 4:00pm, the show grounds is 40 minutes from my house. I cold hosed and poulticed all 4 legs when we got home, I will have a better idea tonight if Grace is sore from the footing. Hopefully it settles more before the next show. 

Bridleless Lead Change

I had the camera out yesterday to film my ride. It wasn't until I looked at the footage later that night that I realized that the camera wasn't pointed at the poles I had been working for most of the ride. They did capture the bridleless lead change at the end of my ride. This was the first time I've ridden bridleless without spurs. In the past I have used them for most of my steering and as my emergency break. I was able to jog a pattern through the poles, lead change and stop without the bridle or the spurs. The thing in my hand is a wand, similar to a dressage whip but stiffer. I held it between my hands to help keep my shoulders balanced.

Mario Boisjoli Lesson 4.14.2013

“Don’t this the wrong way, you are too vague. Your legs, seat, hands all of it is vague” Those were Mario’s words to me after running though the counter canter exercise during our lesson on Sunday. He went on to tell me that I “leave a lot of money on the table” during my patterns. He is absolutely right; my conversations with Grace go something like this “So maybe if you wanted to pick up the left lead we could do that in a stride or two, or three you know whatever you feel is best”. It should be no surprise that the mare’s answer is to throw her head in the air when she does pick up the lope; I forgot to also ask if maybe she would like to keep her down.

When Sarah and I were warmed up and ready to go Mario asked us to ride a pattern. It was a counter canter exercise that he had been using. One thing I appreciate about his lessons is that he allows you to work the exercise with no input – very judge like. We then talk through what could have been improved and run the exercise again. This exercise was to pick up the left lead on the wall, tear drop into a circle to the right while on the left lead – 3 circles, lead change to the right lead 3 circles to the left, lead change to the left lead one circle to the right, tear drop to the left while still on the left lead, trot halfway down the walk then walk. I had to work hard during the first pattern to keep Grace on the counter leads without my spurs. Her head was in the air for most of the pattern. I was surprised by the quality of lead change from counter lead to counter lead, but still I knew there was a ton of room for improvement. Mario pointed out that I didn’t use the arena like he had told me to, and I transitioned too early into the trot. I fessed up that Grace actually broke at that point. 

The second run through of the pattern was much better and I didn’t seem to have to work as hard to keep her on the counter lead, still there was that darn lope transition with Grace’s nose in the air. Mario told me that if he were me he would have spent the time in between pattern runs doing everything to make sure she would have a better lope transition the next time.  That really hit me, I don’t do that, I just hope for the best next time which never seems to work out. Before the next exercise I walked and jogged Grace asking her to drive up into the bridle. Mario had me riding on a much shorter rein and explained that if my horse won’t take the contact on a shorter rein it doesn’t make sense for me to ride on a longer rein at this time. When I moved Grace up into the jog she stiffened so I added more leg, I could hear her mouthing the bit and making her snarky noises. This is usually when I back off with a longer rein and less contact. This time I kept pushing her through it, I didn’t back off. It took another minute before I felt a change; Grace relaxed her neck and shoulder and gently pushed into the bit. I was able to soften my hand but keep my leg. The next lope transition was the best one of the day. 

Mario repeated a lot of what Sarah tells me, he just used different words. I walked away from the lesson with the realization that I can ask much more of my horse and she might even appreciate the clarity.  One of my fears of riding on a shorter rein with more contact is that I will hang on my horse’s face. Sarah assured me that I have the feel now and will know the difference; leg will also make a big impact. I also have some cool new exercises to add into our arena rides. Mario encouraged Sarah and I to find times that we can move our horses out to get them moving forward. We have our next lesson in one month and I have every intention of arriving with a +1 lope departure.

Slow?

2 weeks ago Grace found her 1^st gear. I still seemed to be searching for mine. I found myself kicking her with my legs at the jog in attempt to boot her up to the pace I was accustom to. She wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere; gone was my tense, sensitive, over reactive horse. After confirming that Grace was not sick, lame or dying I started to wonder what brought on the change. Why did she decide to slow down 10 years into my asking, wanting and nagging? The timing was interesting – 3 weeks after I took my spurs off, 2 weeks after I found my legs. There was one problem; I had no freaking clue how to ride it!

I’ve watched Western Pleasure for years and always assumed that it was easy for the riders. I still believe that those sitting on a dead broke horse that the trainer sits on 90% of the time have it easy, but that is not what I experienced when my own horse slowed down. My body was totally confused – missing was the tension radiating off my horse. I’m not ashamed to admit that more than once I slapped the mare on the hind end with the reins in frustration. The result wasn’t an improvement but at least the hurried pace was familiar. Did I have a 1^st gear? Did I want one?

I think I might have found my slower gear tonight. Our first lope transition was really pleasant; Grace stepped into it with no squealing, pinned ears or tail swishing. I didn’t have to readjust my body after the transition; I just sat where I was and added more leg. The gait was an actual lope, not the usual canter in a Western saddle. I was able to engage my abdominal muscles to lighten my seat, not just the muscles beneath my belly button but all of them. I felt the obliques that I worked during side planks today; I’ve never felt them while riding before. I’m not sure that I’m ready to admit that the trainer was right, but it could be that all this time I’ve been pushing the mare with my spurs and seat. It could be that because I was riding off my spurs I couldn’t engage my abs and soften my back. It maybe, just maybe could be that the horse wouldn’t find her slow gear until I found mine.