Hot to trot

I love early morning rides (apart from the waking up at the crack of dawn part). The sun throws its morning light over the paddocks, the horses are eating quietly... and the arena is free. Jack was on fire this morning and it was wonderful. Even the cold air biting my face couldn't wipe my smile away. As soon as I was on him, he was walking out with big strides. He usually plods along like an old cart horse when I first get on, not your typical hot thoroughbred behaviour, but its how he is. He broke out into a beautiful, ground eating trot when we reached the hill below the arena. It was forward and his strides were long. His first trot normally is a short, choppy affair but Jack was showing his dressage potential... and this was all before we actually got into the arena.

I didn't want the amazing trot to end, so I trotted him straight into the arena and we went to work. (We had walked a good 5 minutes from his paddock before this in case you were wondering). We did serpentines, figure 8's, transitions and straight lines all over the place and he rocked. On the bit and light in my hands, he was showing me what he can do. Since his trot work was going so well, I moved onto the canter. He's been having trouble with his left lead recently, I think it was because I was acting more like a passanger then a rider. Instead of giving him clear aids about what lead I wanted, I would just ask him to canter. So today, I made sure I was VERY clear about the lead I wanted and he got the correct one everytime. We practiced simple changes on the diagonal too. We will be doing test A4 in the trial and last time we did this test, our change was terrible and dropped our marks down a lot. He did really well today and was quick and precise with his transitions.

After about 45 minutes he started getting lazy and falling behind my leg. Since I didn't have a whip with me, I had to give him a good couple of kicks to keep him moving forward. Once I got a nice forward trot I asked for a walk and then cooled down. I will have to get moving on that conditioning program... he looks like hes going to need it.

Dressage Lesson

My lesson was fantastic. M, my instructor, is also a good friend and I knew he would be able to help me a lot with my Dressage riding. He kindly agreed to give me a lesson.

The first thing M did was drop my stirrups down two holes. He said he had wanted to do that since the first time he saw me ride last week. Previously, my position has been bunched up and I used my heels as my driving aid, rather then my seat. Next he had me turn my toes in so they pointed forward rather then out. Both these adjustments meant that I was sitting on the middle of my pelvis rather then on my butt (this is sometimes referred to as"the armchair position".) These adjustments also meant I felt like my ankes were going to pop out of their sockets at anytime. When I told him this he said I would soon get to used to it if I kept practicing. Since I wasn't used to having my stirrups so long and I was un-coordinated with them at that length, M took them away for part of the lesson. We did lots of work without them (and I'm feeling it now in my thighs and core) and my legs lengthened down a lot. M asked me to put my feet back into the stirrups later and he said they would probably feel too short now. And lo and behold they were, so he put them down another two holes and they were perfect. If someone had said to me that I could ride with holes 4 down from my original dressage length I would have told them to stop joking. Its amazing how much a change in position can make.

The entire lesson was about me retaining the right position and using my seat as aids. There was no forcing Jack into a frame or generally interfering with him at all. We literally did nothing but transitions the entire time and I loved it. I felt I improved a lot and Jacks transitions and the quality of his paces were way better then they ever have been.

Most of the lesson was great, except when my legs and arms decided to disconnect from my brain. My elbows started moving out and upwards given me the dreaded "chicken wings", my heels would start turing out and my eyes would drop. M would be calling "Toes in! Toes in! Keep your eyes up! What are those arms doing?" and I would try and try to get everything to go in the right places but they would just float off in their own direction. I felt like an absolute un-coordinated freak. It was really funny and M and I both laughed a lot.

Jack did really well throughout the whole lesson. He responded so well to all my seat aids and he really was using himself well. The quality of his paces improved ten fold. It really shows that when you use your body right, your horse has a way bigger chance to use himself correctly. Hopefully M will be able to give me a lesson in the near future so we can keep improving.

Back to blogging

I've been having massive problems with my laptop and internet over the last few weeks which has been the reason why I haven't been regularly blogging. But yesterday it was fixed and everything is running smoothly which means I can get back to blogging.

Jack had a two week break which finished yesterday. His hooves had grown out and the farrier was unavaliable for awhile. I didn't want to risk riding when the shoes were pressing into the sole of his hoof. R, the new farrier, was good. He was very fast and he did a decent job. Although to my eye, he made Jack's club hoof much shorter then it has been in previous times... I'm going to keep my eyes open and see how that goes and ask R about it next time he comes.

Jack's ground manners have deteriorated in the two weeks that he had off. And getting his bridle on was a nightmare. I'm going to have to bring him back to basics again and do lots of groundwork with him. Next time he needs time off, I am going to make sure I bridle him every couple of days and work on his ground manners.

Once I finally managed to get his bridle on, we rode. Dressage was on the books and Jack worked great. He got straight down to work which really suprised me considering the bridling performance he had just given me. We did lots of bending and serpentines at the walk and then gradually worked up to canter and trot. We are having a Dressage lesson with one of my friends on Saturday, which I'm hoping will get us on track for improvement in our dressage since I really don't know what I'm doing or what I should be doing.

I'll be riding again today. I'm hoping to work on Show Jumping since we both love that and what is riding if it isn't fun?

YAYAYAYAYAYAY

I've been busy getting ready for University and haven't been riding.

However, last night I found out that at the Dressage and Show Jumping Night last week that Jack and I placed 5th equal in the Dressage and 3rd in the Dressage! These are the first Rosettes I have ever won so I am really happy! Jack got a big pat when I found out.

We leave for Palmerston North next week so keep checking back to see how we go.

Dressage and Show Jumping Night

We had a dressage and show jumping night at Pony Club tonight. The test was a Open level one and required fun things like extended trot and change of rein through canter which I have never done before.

Even though I was expecting our test to be as bad as the one on Sunday Jack proved me wrong by trucking along with an awesome trot. He was forward AND on the bit. We got a bit of extension on the second trot and our change of rein through the canter was shocking but otherwise I was really happy. I love it when he gets into his trucking trot. He just gets on the bit and stays there and moves along at this really nice pace.

Our show jumping was fantastic. They had banged the jumps up so I was doing Training Level and we both flew over the course without hesitation! I even went the right way on the course. We went clear and I was soo happy. I think I'm finally gaining some confidence. We got heaps of yells and cheers and kind words from people after the round.

I am VERY happy with my boy.

Massey ODE - Sunday 1st of February

Phew, boy am I tired. Its been one long weekend.

The day started off cloudy with that annoying spitty rain that doesn't stop. I got there nice and early because I HATE feeling rushed at competitions. Apparently it wasn't early enough because I still felt rushed while I was getting ready. I had plaited the night before so I balled his plaits and saddled up. Our warm up was good and I got a nice working trot around the arena until the judge stopped me to ask me something about my number. Once I asked him for a trot again, it was not nice. The test was bad but it was much better then I expected. The judge thought it was bad too and we were placed last. I was really happy with him though because he was calm and responsive the whole time. The judge commented that once we "established our paces" we would do great.


It was onto Show Jumping. By now it was heating up, and I was sweating in my jacket. I hummed to myself before going into the ring to keep us calm. I probably should have been concentrating on the rider before me because after the 3rd jump I lost my way and acquired 23 time and "crossing your tracks" faults. Otherwise Jack was amazing and HE jumped clear. So once we sort out the pilot errors we'll be great! I was REALLY happy with him though. He jumped everything without hesitation... in spite of his rider.


Onto the Cross Country. We started off really strong. Jack was on fire and he DID NOT want to slow down. After the second jump there was a bridge that is supposed to be trotted on for safety and I couldn't get him to slow down until about half way over the bridge. The third jump was a ramp, which was quite steep and Jack ran out. I didn't think it was going to be a problem so I wasn't ready for the run out. He jumped it the second time and then we had to circle because I had caught up to the rider in front of us who was attempting the Pa jump which consisted of jumping up a bank onto the Pa and then spinning around and jumping down the other side. Heaps of people had trouble, including the person in front of me so once she refused I was allowed to ride in front of her and do the jump. I lost speed control after that :)


We hooned around the cross country course. My gloves provided a problem as they are goat skin leather and they got slippery on the course so Jack could pull the reins out of my hand easily. We had a second refusal at the Dog Box. I must have been looking at it but I was ready for a run out so when I felt him start to dodge to the left I jammed my left heel into his side and he thought better about it... and ran out to the right haha. Sneaky horse. Lots of other people had trouble at the Dog Box too. After the dog box it was a sharp turn into the next paddock. Jack was at a flat gallop by this point and I thought that he would be over on his side if I tried to take the corner at that speed so I circled him and took it fractionally slower and on the straight. It was all go after that. I was pretty much a passenger that controlled the steering and not the speed. We did the rest of the jumps at a nice fast pace and cleared them all with no trouble. I did, however, manage to get him to slow to a trot for some control on the water jump which he did without hesitation. Then it was out of the water and up the double bank and then over a staircase jump and that was it.


Jack's old owner came to watch the Show Jumping. She told my parents that Jack seems to be really happy and that Jack and I have more of a rapport with each other then Jack ever had with her. She also said that she can't believe how calm is Jack. Speaking of Jack being calm; sometime during the day I had tied Jack on a long lead so he could graze around his pen. I left him to graze and then came back a little while later. Jack had his head close to the ground, and his lips touching the grass but he wasn't eating. I thought he looked a bit funny but went on with what ever I was doing. When I looked at him again, he was still in the same strange position. Then I realised that he had got his leg caught in the lead rope and he was waiting calmly for me to come help him out. I really love this horse.

We ended up being placed 13th out of 22 starts. Lots of people got eliminated on the Cross Country so even after our massive penalties in SJ and the bad dressage test we got boosted way up! I was really, really happy with Jack all through the day. He tried his heart out for me. Once we get the pilot errors sorted out I think we'll be a forced to be reckoned with.

Our next competition is on Sunday the 15th. We leave for our new life in Palmerston North on the 16th so we are going to have to be mega organised. Once I receive the professional photographs I'll make sure I'll put them up here.

He was round and on the bit

Wow. Thank you for all the comments with suggestions about how to get Jack to come round and on the bit during transitions. I really appreciate that you took the time to do that for me.

Jack had an unexpected 3 days off when I went to Parachute Music Festival. Once I was back to reality, it was back to work. The ODE is this Sunday and Jack really needed to get worked hard. The first day back (Monday) was a bit of a write off. Jack never works too well after time off , his brain seems to stay in vacation mode. So I made it easy for him and just did fitness work.

Tuesday it was back to the hard slog. Rally started up again for us, just in time too. I really needed help with the hollowness in transitions and during the trot. Thankfully, half of the lesson was focused on flat work and we really got to work on being round. A, my rally instructor, has a style of teaching that usually doesn't appeal to me. I am definately a person who needs words of affirmation and she doesn't do this often. Through the majority of the lesson I felt like I was doing something wrong but we got results from Jack, so I'm happy. This being said, she really likes Jack. She hasn't seen much of him due to his lameness and I don't think she liked him much at the start of the lesson when his head was way up in the air. But as he softened and rounded she started complimenting him. My favourite was "He's a really nice mover." I never expected anyone to say this due to Jack's mincing trot, but by the time she said this he had started lengthening his stride nicely.

A had me concentrate on getting Jack long and low throughout the whole lesson. By flexing his head to the inside then asking for roundness and lowness with the outside rein, Jack really responded and lowered his head nicely. When transitioning from walk to trot, A told me to ask him to lower his head and as he did ask for trot. This resulted in him having to use his hocks to transition rather then pulling himself into the trot with his front legs and head. It worked wonders and he stayed collected almost throughout the whole transition. Once in trot, Jack stayed rounded and on the bit almost the entire time. I was truly flabbergasted. We got some nice downwards transitions too. We didn't do much canter as we were concentrating more on the trot and walk.

I was aiming to reiterate last nights lesson today as I was hoping it wasn't just a fluke. It wasn't! Jack was really responsive and worked rounded and on the bit nicely. We also did leg yields and turn on the forehands which Jack is getting better at. Again, we didn't do any canter work. We were working in a un-even paddock which only had a very small flat area and it was too difficult to do anything much. I'll be working on canter tomorrow in the arena or on a nice flat paddock.

All-in-all it looks like things are going well. Hopefully this means we won't completely humiliate ourselves at the ODE on Sunday. I'm riding 2nd in my class which means I won't have to spend ages waiting around to go into the arena which is a good thing.

Show Jump Champs and other things

I headed down to Cambridge on Monday to watch day one of the Pony Club North Island Show Jump Championships. Two of my good friends from Pony Club were the seniors competing in our District Team and I also had a few other friends from other clubs around the North Island competing. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but let me tell you, there were some pretty fantastic falls. I never seen so many falls at champs in the 4 or 5 years I've been attending. Even one of the comentators said that someone might need to break out the PVA glue. One of the falls was really bad and the ambulance had to be called in. I didn't see the fall so I'm not sure what happened and I don't know how the rider is doing. One rider was almost bucked off her horse, she ended up with one foot still in the stirrup and was holding onto the mane for dear life. She was pretty much touching the ground but the whole crowd was encouraging her to get back on and with sheer will power she managed to haul herself back into the saddle and kept on with the course. The crowd went wild lol.

Unfortunately our District place 2nd to last but some of my other friends did pretty well. I think I have a pretty good chance of getting there next season. Its been my dream to get there ever since the first time I saw my friend compete there. And since Jack is such a good show jumper I think we just might make it.

Speaking of Jack, we did some dressage schooling today. I usually ride with a Martingale but since they are not allowed in the dressage phase of competitions I figured we needed to school without it. I'll tell you what, that martingale really helps keep him from hollowing out and sticking his head straight up. He is particularly bad with hollowing his back in the canter/trot transition. Its just terrible. I can get him to go round a couple of strides after but the initial transition is nasty. He also hollows when I'm doing rising trot sometimes, I'm guessing this is my fault but I don't know how to fix it. Anyone have any ideas? Can anyone give me any exercises to help him stay round in downward transitions?

Photo Fun!

Dad came to take some pictures of Jack and I riding today. He has an awesome new camera and I wanted some good photographs of Jack and I since we don't have many decent ones.

We were going to get some jumping but Jack was acting up quite badly and I wasn't willing to risk it so here are a few dressage pics to show you. The colour photo is one of Jack doing his crazy thing. I'm not really sure if he is bucking or not but whatever it is, it is naughty.

Finding my canter

I've been getting up at 6.30 recently to go riding. I figure it is nicer for Jack to ride when its cooler since he attracts the sun so much, and it also means that I have the rest of the day to do whatever else is needed. If I ride in the afternoon it feels like my whole day has been taken up by Jack which really annoys me.

We're mostly doing fitness work at the moment. A little bit of trotting and cantering with lots of long walk breaks in-between. Yesterday I took him into the arena for the first time since the accident. There was no spooking and no silly business. I don't know what set him off on Monday. My good friend was watching and she says Jack's trot has improved at lot (YUS!). Instead of his mincing little steps he doing much bigger ones.

Today after a good long warm up in one of the paddocks I took him into the arena again to start some schooling. He has no clue what leg-yield is so we started off with lots of serpentines and figure 8's and I was able to get a couple of steps of leg yield from him which is good enough for me for the first day. We also worked on transitions. Jack has been running into the canter and so today it was all about precision. Lots of transitions got him listening to me. He started collecting himself and was very light in my hands which I was pleased about. By the end of the session his transitions were beautiful, even the downward transitions which usually are all over the place. I noticed towards the end that when I ask for a canter I kind of jump into the canter. Instead of sitting and letting the canter happen I kind of stand in my stirrups a bit which gets me out of balance and then takes me a couple of strides to get my position back. Its hard to explain but the next time I asked for a canter, I sat quietly and it was stunning! It was the best canter of the day and I was very proud of myself for noticing my fault and correcting it. It can be so hard schooling by yourself since it can be hard to see whats going wrong.

I've been tossing the idea of setting up a video camera on a tripod so I can tape my sessions and see whats happening. Has anyone done something similar to this before?

Timberlands ODE - Sunday 16th March

Well my first Pre-Training went great. Not result wise at all but I had a whole heap of fun.

We went to Taupo on Saturday for Dressage lessons with Linley. The horses were groomed to perfection, with their tails silky smooth and their manes pulled. Linley makes a big effort to keep the horses on her property looking great.

After a broken nights sleep on Saturday, mostly due to thinking about show jumping, we were up early on Sunday morning. While we were booting up the horses, Ghost got her lead rope caught on the hinge of the gate and went absolutely nuts. She hit her face a bunch of times and by the time I managed to calm her down she was bleeding from half a dozen places on her face. She also had a bleeding nose. Thankfully it was all superficial and she went back to eating almost immediately. It shook me up a bit though.

We arrived at the show in good time, I went off to walk the cross country course by myself which wasn’t ideal but couldn’t be helped since Sarah-Anne’s course went the opposite way. Most of the jumps looked fairly simple except for a corner, which I and Ghost have never done, and a big hedge at the end. I was also worried about a large, but narrow roll top jump down a bank because I’ve never been taught how to jump onto a downhill slope. I discussed the corner with Sarah-Anne when I got back and we figured out the best course of action.

First up was Dressage. I was riding 22nd so I had a while to wait. I went into the arena feeling totally at ease and not worried at all. We did an adequate test in my view. But ended up coming first at the wrong end i.e. we came last. I laughed when I heard that. Our score wasn’t even incredibly bad, everyone else was just better. I also got comments about my nice position which made me happy.

I went almost immediately into show jumping. I repeated my affirmation over and over again as I cantered around the ring waiting for the bell. We flew around the course like it was nothing, Ghost was amazing. Unfortunately we did have a run out at jump 6 because the ends of the reins kept getting caught under the saddle and I was trying to pull them out as we were coming around the corner into the jump. I was a bit angry at myself for that. We finished the rest of the course off with ease; even the large double which I thought was going to be a problem. Ghost barely batted an eyelid at it. I was ecstatic as we trotted out of the ring. My confidence was back.

We had a while to wait for Cross Country. Ghost sailed over the first 5 jumps and then refused at the double. I badly needed a whip to give her that extra push when she started backing off. Next time I’ll have one. A couple more jumps and then came to the roll top. As I cantered into it I remembered the picture in my cross country book of a similar jump so I copied the position of the rider and we landed and went beautifully, it was truly my favourite jump in the course. Straight after that was the corner. I did everything Sarah-Anne told me to do, but unfortunately I needed the whip again. My legs just couldn’t get her to move when she backed off. I tried again and she refused again. Another rider on a grey pony about Ghosts size had caught up to me by then so I had to let her pass. Her horse refused also but she got her over the second time. I decided to do the option and then we were on our way again. Next it was the ditch. The rider who had over taken me was having trouble with it and had to stand aside to let me pass. Ghost was reluctant to go over it (I needed to whip again) but I was not having her stop again and so kicked my little legs as hard as I could and she over she went. The rest of the course was going well until we got to a raised log just before the water. Ghost refused and ducked out, I tried again and she did the same. Soon the rider caught up to me and her horse refused too. We had a quick chat about playing leap frog and then I tried again, and got another refusal. I was well and truly eliminated. The girl on the grey tried again and also got another refusal. It was quite funny. Another rider had caught up to us by then and also got a two refusals before she was over. In the end there were about 5 of us at the jump with only one getting over the first time. I finally got Ghost over and down the bank into the water. Straight after the water was the large hedge I was worried about. We had no impulsion as we trotted into it (I reallllly need a whip) but somehow my super little pony jumped it. We then cantered into the last jump and were finished. Even though it was a truly bad ride, I didn’t feel devastated as I had before. I thought we had done alright on our first cross country, with little practice and at a higher level then I had competed at before.

We left soon after as we had all finished the day and none of us were getting prizes. The trip home was good, we were all tired and thirsty though since we had run out of human consumable water. We found a little gas station in the middle of no where and each got a drink and an ice cream. Then it was off home. We unloaded the horses and cleaned out the cab off the truck. I was exhausted so had a quick shower and was off to bed by 9.30.

I had a great day and can’t wait for the show jumping competition this weekend. Its going to be a lot of fun.

Pre-Training... here we come

I’ve been working towards Pre-Training for a long time. It may seem silly but Intro has always seemed just that one level too low, like somehow it wasn’t respectable for someone my age. I know horse riding isn’t about the age of the rider rather the rider’s experience but still, I always felt like I was just too old for Intro (probably because I always see a lot of younger children riding at Intro level).

Red never seemed up to doing Pre-Training in competitions. I could jump pre-training height easily in training and my dressage was respectable at that level but competitions were always our downfall. As you know something always went wrong in the Show Jumping. And I know that it wasn’t all Reds fault, obviously my nerves were getting to the both of us in Show Jumping which is probably why we performed worse then in training.

Well after all that I’ll finally be competiting at Pre-Training this coming weekend on Ghost! I am so excited but slightly nervous too. Especially about the Show Jumping phase. She’s a great jumper and very honest so really I don’t have much to worry about but every time I think about Show Jumping at a One Day Event I think about the embarrassing rounds Red and I had… and these jumps are bigger. I’ll be doing a little praying before I go in for my round. Hopefully my dressage will be up to scratch since Ghost is off to Taupo this week for some dressage schooling and we are having a dressage lesson on Saturday. I would’ve had liked some more Show Jumping practice on Ghost but unfortunately that’s not an option because of the dressage schooling. Thankfully I am not worried about Cross Country at all because Ghost is a machine.

Check back next week for the account of my very first Pre-Training One Day Event! And pray for me, in case my nerves try to overcome me.

Massey ODE - Sunday 3rd of February

The ODE started off hot and muggy. I was riding 5th in my class so I didn’t have to get up REALLY early. I had gone to Taumarunui on the Friday and arrived back in Auckland on the Saturday afternoon. As soon as I got back I had a driving lesson and then I had to pick up my new car. Then it was off to the course walk which was I late for, and as a result was late finishing. It was almost dark by the time I had counted my strides for the last show jumps. Although I’m usually a stickler for doing ODE’s properly i.e. plaiting and a full grooming I opted not to plait for this one. I was too tired from the long drives and late night Friday night. I also still had to go home to get all my stuff ready so Red was just given a quick bath.

Dressage did not start well but it got better. I forgot the second movement and got a course error. I’ve done that test at a lot of other ODE’s and so I didn’t go over the test just before I entered the arena like I usually do. I thought I would be fine, but I wasn’t. So next ODE I will stick to my old ways. We did however CANTER ON THE RIGHT LEAD THE FIRST TIME. I know! Amazing isn’t it? In my opinion it more then makes up for the course error. We actually did the best test we have done (minus the course error) so I was very happy.

A sudden downpour drenched everything before show jumping. It also made the ground very slippery. We hadn’t had rain for a few weeks and the ground was very hard and couldn’t soak up the water. Our show jumping was going before Red decided to refuse at a basic upright for no apparent reason… sigh. We tried again and he flew over it without a care. He refused again at another jump a little later. This time instead of just stopping he skidded on the wet grass and fell into the jump, demolishing it in the process. I was on the ground before I knew what had happened. To the cheers of my family and friends (thanks guys) I got back on and trotted around while some helpers rebuilt the jump. We finished show jumping with no further mishaps.

Cross country was an exhilarating, heart in my mouth the whole time, blast! Red usually walks calmly into the starter box and will wait calmly in there. I knew something was up when he started jogging as we moved towards it and wouldn’t settle once we were in there. As soon as we were given the signal to go he tucked his head down, took the bit in his mouth and was off. I was a passenger and really not much else. A very scared passenger! We soon caught up with the rider in front of us. She started speeding up when she saw me coming which really bothered me because she was just going fast enough so I couldn’t over take her which meant I had to try to make him a little slower. This did not bode well with him and he fought me the whole time. Unfortunately he ran out on a jump while he was fighting and I managed to battle him down to a trot so we could turn around and try it again. After this I managed to get him into a controlled gallop and we moved along nicely. He did however refuse for no reason at a ramp he has done about a million times. I was annoyed. We finished in good time!

I was cooling Red down in the arena when my friend Sarah galloped past on her Kaimanawa pony Charlie. I was cheering for her when she turned a corner into one of the jumps. Suddenly Charlie’s legs had flown out from underneath him and they were on the ground. They went down hard and fast. I kicked Red into a canter and went straight towards her. I saw my mum standing a little way off so I got off and gave her Reds reins. Charlie was standing near Sarah who was lying on the ground with her eyes closed. People were running from all directions. She talked when people talked to her and after awhile could open her eyes. She had hit her head pretty hard and had got concussion. I held her hand the whole time the nurse talked to her. Soon she could get up, and she was walked to the clubrooms. I took Charlie and Red and walked them around until they were cooled off. I had no idea where Sarah’s float was so I tied him next to Red. Unsaddled him and gave him some water. Sarah came a little bit later to get him and take him home. Thankfully she was alright.

So that was my last ODE on Red, it was good fun. Heres a picture of us doing the show jump that Red demolished the first time around. The other one is off us doing Cross Country... goodness me my buttocks are defined. I thought I'd mention it rather then having you all think I was oblivous to the fact.

Back to Work

Well its back into training again now that Reds better. Since I’ve been away at camp, last night was the first time I had been on in him in a couple of weeks. I didn’t want to do anything too hard so we started off doing some baby cross country jumps in the tractor paddock. I concentrated keeping him rounded and balanced over and between each jump. We progressed to some of the slightly bigger jumps as he was going really well, and we then did a tiny course of the jumps in that one paddock. He was fighting to go the whole time I was riding him through the course which I took as a good sign, you know… that he wanted to get back into work.

I then took him into the arena for a little bit of dressage. Well I tell you, he was great! His collected work on the left rein was stunning. He was balanced, elevated and soft. I decided that I couldn’t put it off any longer and made the decision to work on his right canter. The first transition was bad, I hadn’t kept him balanced as I cued for the canter and he cantered on his left leg. I bought him back, balanced him again and then asked for the canter. AND HE DID IT! The second time I asked he cantered on his right lead! I couldn’t believe it at first, I had to keep looking down to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. I kept him going around the arena a few times, praising him non stop and then bought him back to a loose walk. Deciding to finish on a good note, I cooled him down. Now please excuse me for this next part, but I need to brag. Pony Club camp is on at the moment and a lot of people were watching us as we worked. When I came out of the arena I stopped to talk with Elmir, my old instructors mum. She complimented us over and over which was great, since she knew what we were like when we first came to Pony Club. One of the instructors from another pony club complimented Red too, saying that he was a gorgeous thoroughbred with muscle in all the right places and that I must be training him right. They also said we were looking amazing in the arena, and to keep up the good work. I was on a high for sure.

So now I’m hoping beyond hope that I manage to get him going exactly the same way in the competition next weekend. I remember exactly how I warmed him up so I’m going to do the exact same thing in the comp. Here’s hoping.

Henderson ODE - Sunday 16th of December

I was up at 6 on the morning of the Henderson ODE. I had to be at the Pony Club at 7 to get Red and Harlequin (my friend’s horse) ready to be loaded at 7.30. This proved to be a tad difficult as Red doesn’t like Harlequin much and would attack every time she came near. I got them down to the clubrooms, with the help of another grazer. We then loaded them and off we went.

Massey Pony Club had been designated a special place to park so we could spend the day together. It was quite nice having all my friends at easy distance. Red and I were about ½ way in the class. I thought we would have ages to get ready and warm up but as it happened we were on sooner then I thought. Our warm up was hurried and for some reason Red didn’t do his usual warm up in the trot cough. I should have known he would do it later. Once the previous rider had come out of the arena we started trotting around waiting for the starting horn. That’s when Red started coughing. He coughed all the way down the centre line and into our first movement. I couldn’t get him settled after that so our test wasn’t the best.

Show Jumping was next. Our warm up was amazing. Red was jumping beautifully. Unfortunately this didn’t go on to happen in the actual round. He refused jump 1 and 2 once each but we completed the rest of the course with no other mishaps. I was still quite happy with him.

Cross country was amazing. Red zoomed around! I almost came off over one jump when he did one of his HUGE jumps. My friends were by that jump and they were all yelling encouragement to sit back up and keep going. But he was so good the rest of the time. He took everything without batting an eyelid… that is until we reached the last jump. The jump happened to be immediately after a pretty sharp corner and I almost missed it as I was thinking it was a bit further up. I must have looked at the jump as we were coming up to it because Red slammed on his breaks. You won’t believe how frustrating that was! He went over it fine the second time. It was a brilliant course and I had so much fun on it so I was very pleased with him anyway.

All in all it was a good day. I felt much better about it then I did after the last ODE. We have a break until February. Then it’s another Massey ODE. I’ll be working on doing some consistent Show Jumping courses in the mean time. I’m determined to go double clear yet! Here are a few pictures Peter took. The picture at the top of this post is my favourite. My dad also videoed all my phases so if I can find the cord I’ll put a short video clip up sometime soon.

Lesson with Sue # 3

Its been awhile since my last lesson with Sue. This is mostly due to Reds recent lameness. With the ODE that happened on Sunday (I'll write about that in my next post) I decided that a lesson was well in order. Since Area games was on we weren't able to do Show Jumping so we did a Dressage lesson.

I've found that since I am an older teenage rider people assume I know things about the basics of riding. But since I only started riding properly two years ago i.e. not just hacking around the farm, I really don't know much at all. Unfortunately this means some instructors just don't teach me things or they are very suprised when they ask me to do something and I have no idea how. For example recently an instructor commented in a group lesson at Rally that I don't attempt to keep Red rounded and on the bit. She couldn't believe it when I said I had never been taught how to really do it (I must state here that even after she found out this help she didn't try to tell me how to do it). So this is what Sue and I (or should I say Red and I) worked on during this lesson.

I know the theory in getting a horse to become round and on the bit (I've read enough books) but when I had tried to do it nothing really happened. He would sometimes stay on the bit in walk but there was no point in even trying in trot and canter. My friends would try and tell me how to do it but nothing ever seemed to work. I explained all this to Sue at the start of our lesson. She explained the balance between the leg and the hand and likened it to the clutch and accelerator of the car. How you must have the right amount of balance between the both for it to work. So I tried. Nothing really happened, he would come down onto the bit but would not stay for long. Finally Sue resorted to getting on. She walked and trotted him around and finally she figured it out! He needs a lot more leg then hand and once hes on the bit he needs a matinence leg for him to stay there.

So I got back on. We worked consistenly on the bit on each rein at a trot and a canter. He was worse on his right side (not surprising) but his left rein was amazing. I found that Red gives me two options when it comes to this 1. Rounded and slow or 2. Not rounded and forward. Hes incredibly slow when he comes on the bit, especially in the trot. My legs ached as I tried to get him to move forward. Sue then handed me a dressage whip. Now this is another basic I've never been taught. I don't know how to use a whip. She showed me how to hold it and it definitely worked. Red was on the bit and moving forward nicely. Unfortunately I couldn't keep my hand from moving and the whip waggled around a bit which made Red a bit upset. I guess I'm going to have to work on that.

In the canter I was rocking too much. I used to have the problem where my butt wouldn't stay on the saddle. Once I got that sorted I started the rocking. Sue figured I was overcompensating with the butt thing and it caused my upper body to rock. She explained to me in theory how my body was supposed to work in the canter and I don't know how it happened but when I put Red into the canter it went perfectly! I didn't even think about it. It was like my brain had cemented what Sue had said and then just did it! After that we just worked on Red cantering on his right leg and then we finished up.

Coming up: Henderson ODE Post

Another Goal Gone!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Red and I were due to compete in a particulary hard dressage test against my Pony Club ride. I only had 10mins to warm up and I wasn't expecting anything spectacular but as I trotted around the ring I said to myself 'We are going to be amazing, we are going to do the best dressage test ever' over and over again. Lo and behold we did great!

Red and I scored really well. We got a lot of 7 and 8s in the transitions which I was very pleased with. The only thing that let us down was the right canter which I'm not suprised at all about. But we're working on that.

But even more exciting was we got lots of great remarks about Reds bending! Comments like 'Supple and bending well into the corners" and "Great circle, bending nicely' showed up. I was so pleased. We didn't place but hey sometimes achieving a goal is better then getting a rosette.

Moving on up

Well we did, Red and I passed our C certificate Exam. We are now the proud holders of the C level badge (well not really, I haven't recieved the actual badge yet). Every wednesday night I would drive an hour to Sues house in the whop whops. I studied the theory side of the exam with a couple of other girls there. We discussed, we talked, we ate some chocolate cake and we revised all the particulars of the C exam and finally last night we sat it.

Sue didn't give us much warning about when we were going to sit it. In fact she only gave us one day. She also neglected to tell me until lunch time yesterday that Red needed to be plaited. I had work till 5.30 and the exam started at 6.10. and I can't get up to PC till 6. Luckily my amazing friends came to the rescue. When I arrived at Pony Club last night Red was standing tied up in all his plaited glory. Stephanie, one of the older riders had even plaited his tail for me.

Soon we were in the arena, following the direction of the judge. All was going well, its a relatively easy exam, until the judge said "Take your feet out of the stirrups" and then "Cross the stirrups over please, we're going to do some sitting walk and trot". Now I can bareback as well as the next person, it took me awhile but now I feel completely secure with no saddle on Red. But sitting trot in the saddle is a completely different thing. I combed my brains for all the information I had ever heard on sitting trot in the saddle with no stirrups. I relaxed, put my heels down and low and behold TROTTED! And I didn't fall off.

Next it was the show jumping. You might remember that last time I show jumped it didn't go quite as planned. I tried not to think about it as we trotted around the jumps. "We are going to go clear" I chanted over and over to myself (in my head). "You may do some practice jumps" the judge declared. "Here we go" I thought to myself as we cantered towards the jump. SLAM! Red threw on his breaks. He did it twice more before I got him over. Teresa was first, her horse Copper refused at the big barrel jump but was fine after that. Then it was Red and I. The first part of the course was simple and we did it with no trouble, but then we reached the barrels. I rode Red in, legs on, eyes up but he refused. I turned him around and rode him towards its again, he refused. We tried again and again he refused. Now I was getting angry, I turned him around, determined to make it over. He cantered in and I felt him hesitate so I put my legs on hard. He came almost to a standstill and then took a leap. It was one of his huge jumps that clears the heights by miles. I came flying out of the saddle and landed with a thump on his neck, my jaw wacked hard against his head. I felt myself slipping so I monkey grabbed around his neck with both my hands and legs. I then managed to wiggle myself back into the saddle. And with my head pounding Red and I finished the course with no other mishaps.

Cross country was next and we went clear with no problems what so ever. After a bit of theory with the judge we were told we had all passed!

So congratulations my darling Red, thanks for helping me pass. I'll love you forever no matter how many times you refuse :)

Massey ODE - Sunday 11th of November

I just got back from the ODE, in fact I'm still in my cross country gear. I'll go have a shower soon :P The ODE was not a great success overall. We were first in for Dressage in our ring. We were a little late getting to Pony Club so I had to rush to get him ready. My friend Brooke balled Reds plaits for me while I did the rest, but we still only had 10 mins to warm up. As a result our dressage wasn't the best! I coudn't get Red to bend and he went a bit wonky down the straight lines but otherwise it was alright. It was also boiling hot even though it was only 8.30am in the morning and I was sweating profusely under my dress jacket.

Reds head is up in this picture but I still think he looks gorgeous.

Then it was Show Jumping. We had a lonnnnng wait between dressage and show jumping so I unsaddled Red and parked him under a tree with a bucket of water and watched some of my friends doing Show Jumping. Then it was our turn. Heaps of my friends turned up right before I started warming up and I got a bit nervous which didn' t help my jumping at all. We also had a bad warmup. Over one of the jumps my stirrup dropped off my saddle but I managed to stay on. Then we went into the ring. Red was doing a beautiful canter and after we the bell went we cantered through the flags and came up to the first jump. Red did one of his HUGE jumps over the first one, which was alright because he always starts off bad. The second jump he did the same thing and as we were coming around a particularly sharp corner my stirrup fell off a second time and I went off with it. I got up, dusted myself off, put my stirrup back on and got back onto Red. We then went on to refuse three jumps and I was eliminated. Only my pride was hurt but all my friends were very comforting when I walked out of the arena.

I opted in for the cross country because both Red and I love zooming around the cross country course. He went beautifully, although he did refuse one jump which was entirely my fault. I hesitated at it and then I let Red duck out. He sailed over perfectly the next time. I came through the finishing flags to a ovation from my friends. Luckily I felt so good about the cross country that I forgave Red and myself for the terrible Show Jumping phase. I also got lots of compliments on my new cross country colours so that was a bonus.

Coming into the finishing flags, a bit fuzzy but you can still see
how cool we are!

My trainer Sue told me not to invite my friends next time because it makes me a lot more nervous and she also said to warm Red up longer in Show Jumping because he needs a lot of time to work in for it. So next ODE, which is at Henderson, we are going to do a million times better. I'm also going to ask Sue to help develop my warm up for Dressage so I can get Red supple and ready for his time in the arena.

The photographer wasn't there today so mum took a few photos but they are not the best. Have a look at the set of them on the link in the sidebar marked 'Massey ODE Nov 07'.

Lessons with Sue #1

Hello everyone,


Did you have a good weekend? I did.


Because you see I had my first weekly lesson with Sue and frankly it was great! We did dressage and Red has improved so much! I was so impressed. It was also a really windy day and Red usually spooks incredibly on windy days and he didn't once bat an eyelid. Go Red! I have a list of goals I'm wanting to achieve this season (I'll write about them in another post) and we worked on some of those.



First we worked on suppleness and bending. I am always getting remarks in my dressage tests about getting Red to bend more but as I know almost nothing about riding I could never get him to do it. Sue gave me tips and within ten minutes he was bending beautifully! He was also coming on the bit by himself without me constantly having to work to keep him there which was great! His frame was absolutely beautiful. We also corrected my problem of my dropping my shoulders especially my right one when I turn with Red. As soon as I got that fixed I was so much more balanced which in turn helped Red carry himself correctly and he was in a gorgeous frame. I recieved heaps of compliments on him afterwards which always makes me feel great!



We then worked on keeping Red going straight. I get lots of bad comments about not being straight coming down the centre line so it really needed some work. We soon had him trotting down the centre line without a waver in sight (though it did take a lot of work to get him there). About the third time I got him straight he started getting really grumpy and kept bopping his head like he was threating to buck. Reds never bucked with me and I didn't think he wouls go through with it but we went onto someting else. He was probably just a bit bored.



The rest of the lesson was just working on feeling for the right diagonal. I still need to work on that but I am getting better. Anyway Rosemary was there taking pictures and heres the best picture from the lesson. She only sent me one lol.