♣Ambitious♣

So, here's the Y polework exercise from yesterday. It's based off of the one I posted about a while ago , but I was limited in terms of materials, so everything was on the ground. Everything is spaced to trot through. What You Need:     - one set of jump standards     - 7 poles total (if you're just doing the cross rail) Exercise 1: Coming off the left, trot through the Y, exit to the right, trot over the ground poles, pick up the canter, jump cross rail, then halt. Exercise 2: Coming off the left again, trot through the Y, pick up the right lead canter, canter through the Y, switch lead (even though your horse probably swapped in the Y itself), go around to cross rail, then halt. Exercise 3: (this isn't actually what we did, but I remembered it wrong when I made the diagram, and I didn't feel like making another one because it was very hard and Kal was making fun of me during the process) Coming off the right, trot through the Y, canter at s...

They sticked him. He's 15hh. What's the point of being half Welsh with a very pony face if you're gonna be over 14.2??? It's fine though. I still love him, and he's still a pony in my world. Fight me, USEF. He's a pony, a very large pony So yeah besides Pixel's gross betrayal, he was actually quite good today considering what we were doing. Sure, he did his usual spook at everything in existence thing - today it even included another horse. Otherwise, he was much softer today and tried very hard to go into my hand. It was sort of a reversal of our typical standing where he gets it at the canter but struggles at the trot. He was a lot more compliant at the trot this time around. The canter was Eh but had it's good moments, more so to the left than the right. A pony that's horrible at selfies . . . Balance was back and forth today, but there was no pain. I had some momentary strain in my shins, but that went away once I brought my s...

Yes, more crop tops, all the crop tops, ride only in crop tops. 1. Aéropostale Seriously Solid Crop Tee     aeropostale.com 2. FixDesign Breeches with Alcantara Patch     shop.fixdesignhorses.it 3. Anna Field Braided Belt     no longer available 4. Wilker's Hunter/Jumper Baby Pad     shop.wilkers.com 5. Ovation San Diego Jumping Saddle     equestriancollections.com 6. GPA Speed Air Evolution Helmet     doversaddlery.com 7. De Niro Ottaviano Croco Boot     no longer available 8. Shires Fleece Lined Airflow Half Pad     vtosaddlery.com

Since I've nothing else to post on this fine Monday, here's last week's review. So, first half of the week. I can't even tell you when I worked out, but there's one somewhere in there, maybe two if I had the motivation. School wise, last week was another death week. Everyday, I wonder if a college education is even worth it (it is, trust me). I do have my recap from riding Gigi, and it's pretty much the same old, same old. Lateral balance continues to go places. Whenever I don't do the hip stretches, I can feel the difference between the directions. It's just become more slight. I'm still super pumped that I actually was able to rise the trot without feeling like I was flying all over the place, and being able to canter Gigi was awesome! Fast forward to Friday and my attempts to get kinda Dressagey with Pixel. I did ask for more impulsion at the walk and trot because his walk to trot and trot to canter transitions aren't as clean as I...

So I was back on Pixie Sticks for last week's lesson, and it went kind of similar to our last encounter . . . Pixel, no Except this time around, I actually got him over the fence on the first try, and he decided the second time through that maybe brush boxes aren't the best life decision he could make. The full video is here if you're interested, but I have more successful media from the ride. Besides our little incident, he jumped fantastic (no, seriously, he was awesome). He's been such a good boy about backing off right when I ask him or moving up to catch a nicer spot. His simple changes are nearly automatic, which is pretty convenient, except he knows that he's on the wrong lead before I do. Unfortunately, he was quite sassy about our flatwork at first because baby horse doesn't like moving forward. His canter transitions are getting much better as well. Once he got out his anger, he cantered wonderfully with good rhythm and seeking the contac...

Meet Molly, 14 hands of hell on hooves. 'heard u were talkin shit" To be fair, her insanity is partially nature, partially nurture. She's Hancock bred, and her mom is a notorious lunatic. Just mention the name Lorelei in my town, and most people know exactly what horse you're talking about. She was a rescue and came to Miss S beyond skittish and reactive. By the time I left, she had calmed down significantly, but crazy is a part of her personality. I started riding Molly in August of 2011, about four months after I had started riding. We were both green at the time, and the partnership caused many of my well-known issues. Our time together pretty much culminated in many impacts with fences, shot confidence, and a bruised tailbone at one point. But lets face it, I was a kid who finally had a pony all my own. Despite the nerves while riding (many days, I could barely muster the confidence to trot her), I was always eager to ride her when I went to the barn. ...

Olly Alexander, that is. 1. Men's Paisley Color Block Tee     amazon.com 2. Tailored Sportsman Professional Breech     doversaddlery.com 3. Wilkers Hunter/Jumper Winning Colors Saddle Pad     shop.wilkers.com 4. De Niro Salento Oxford Top     joshuajonesuk.com 5. Tekna Jumping Saddle     no longer available 6. Capacete GPA First Lady Leather      hipismostore.com.br

Actual Baby Gigi continues to impress, even if she doesn't look too impressed. I stole away from school this past weekend because wahhh, education is meaningless (I actually forgot my working headphones at home, and I wanted them very badly). Since I wanted to do something more than just binge watch LOST , I got a lesson on the babe. She came out a bit fresh. Apparently she's grown a little bit since last time, but the booty is still in the lead. My position is slowly morphing and shifting into the right spot. I was actually able to post correctly, whereas previously the sitting trot has been my haven. We even got to canter (only to the right though because baby horse doesn't like her left lead), which I had seriously wanted to ask Miss El about trying. I guess she can read my mind. So yeah, Dressagey stuff is going pretty well at the moment.

Getting to ride three different horses is a great way to finish off the week, even if one of them (*cough* Vick *cough cough*) was far too hype. I was put on LB again for the team lesson, and it was totally better than last time. I did about a lap of hip stretches which opened me up enough to be effective but not quite enough to lengthen my leg all the way. When we went to sit the trot, I was struggling, so I dropped my irons and tried it that way instead with moderate success (didn't sit trot for long). He cantered and jumped exceptionally well. I swapped first onto Vick and then onto Lionel. Vick was forward, and I was handsy, so that didn't go down too well. On the flip side, Lionel was laid back and game for pretty much any fence (which led to him locking onto the wrong fence). He can be added to the list of horses that are far too big for me but still accept cues from my puny legs.

1. Blair Better-Than-Basic Sweatshirt     blair.com 2. Petrie Coventry Riding Boot     divoza.com 3. Wilker's Hunter/Jumper Baby Pad     shop.wilkers.com 4. Charles Owen Custom Riding Helmet     doversaddlery.com 5. Horze Silvia Women's Denim Self Patch Breeches     horze.com 6. Stubben S Portos Elite     stubbennorthamerica.com

Me, the midget, has yet again decided that the big horses are the better option for myself. Despite having the option to choose between a much smaller, more physically suitable mount, I decided that Beorn, 17hands of pacing, sweaty beast, was exactly what I wanted to ride. He was the one from the flatwork ride that wasn't the easiest to canter. What fun. So I guess the big question here is "Why?" Not gonna lie, I did sense some hesitation from the other teammates; Brittany was adamant about switching horses with me if I didn't feel comfortable, and rightfully so. I picked Beorn because he's a big horse with a big stride, but he's not straightforward. He's somewhere between Romeo and Abbey. I was fairly direct with Steph and told her that I might get nervous, and there was a 50/50 chance that I'd be able to canter him. I typically wing it in these situations, but I don't need another setback, and two less than stellar rides last week made me gros...

Coach finally switched it up on me yesterday. I rode neither Romeo nor Pixel but instead got put on LB, a barn favorite who I hadn't the chance to ride yet. He's a fairly dainty horse, but he can get going despite his size and apparent age. He also grossly over estimated the size of carrot which he could consume at once, and wow that was an interesting few moments. Of course, I was late getting into the ring, so I didn't have any time to do my hip stretches, and I consequently hated my stirrups for the entire ride. I could probably attribute most of my issues yesterday to not properly warming myself up. LB was easy off my leg, which I appreciated. By the time we started jumping, my whole body was quite out of line (front and right side collapse), plus my leg reverted back to the up/downer days. I looked like a slight wreck, but I have media, so who cares? So, yeah, bad ride yadda yadda the sky is falling yadda yadda all that nonsense.

Gus doesn't know. Well, he does know, but only at the walk, and kind of at the trot after you really dig your heel into his side. I (finally) took my first actual lesson with the Eventing team. I was on a large, opinionated pony named Gus, and I spent most of the ride trying to make it look like I wasn't an up/downer. My attempts were futile; I couldn't really get Gus to work all that much. Despite doing my hip stretches, I wasn't as balanced as I needed to be, and I could not keep it together going to the left. Once you add in the fact that Gus falls in horribly, it didn't make for a pretty picture. Needless to say, we didn't mesh, but I'll probably be on him again next week. The flatwork was approaching useless, but I did make him work at times, so he gained some fitness. We did the Y-jumping exercise below. image from Horse Channel And pony ran out quite a few times. It was kinda all over the place because I was overdoing it for the height of the...

To say I've been bitten by the opportunity bug would be an understatement; a whole goddamn swarm of them have been chasing me for quite some time. Trust me, I'm not complaining, especially when it means that I get to meet (or have phone calls with) my idols. Ellen Shevella was the judge at regionals on Saturday, so she stuck around through Sunday and gave a clinic basically on how to give the judge the ol' razzle dazzle. Much of the focus, especially for the flat section, was being seen by the judge. Walk in, and make sure the judge gets your number. If it's a big class, try to stand out. Put yourself in places where the judge will see you the best. Some general comments: A horse is like a wet bar of soap that your legs are wrapped around. Squeeze too tightly, and it'll slip right out of your hands. Leg contact should not hold or pinch but rather grasp and wrap. Hold the wet soap with a gentle grasp, and it will not slip. A different color coat is not a...

Yes, I have my first weekly review! So this past week was comprised of one ride and two workouts (plus regionals, but I just froze my buns off for four hours). As expected, left to right balance was an issue, but, while riding, it was resolved well through the hip exercises. I have decided to also work on the no stirrup work at the sitting trot to help me find my center and relax my thigh/knee area. I still feel unbalanced when I do the workouts, especially with the side crunches and anything involving upper body strength (flyers, for example). That'll probably be fixed minutely through the hip stretches but also through general yoga or something like that. I also looked into that issue of shin pain that's mentioned in the "Weekly Review" section. Turns out there isn't a lot of info on it; most people talked about shin splints in relation to riding, and, after checking the symptoms, I definitely don't have shin splints. The answers I found were mostl...

I mean, some would argue that toddlers are worse than babies, but Romeo did have a much more mature approach to (most of) our lesson yesterday. Of course, he still keeps his head in the air 99% of the time, but we had a couple of moments at the trot where he dropped down and into my hands. It takes a bit outta him. He also cantered fantastic; both of us held it together pretty well to the point where I actually felt like I could equitate while he did his thang. It did get a bit quick going to the left, and I managed him with a few circles, but I wasn't quite getting the half halt (more on that and other things tomorrow). He jumped quite well, too, trot right up to trot fences, and didn't lose it at the canter, plus came down a lot nicer. His one drawback was that he really didn't want to leave the group and preferred to ignore my inside leg on the approach. I know, Romeo, life is so hard because sometimes you have to move 20ft away from your friends and perform an ins...