Independent Student

Another day, another Dressage lesson on Roman (and possibly another one tomorrow if Silver isn't available). The day started with the usual trek across the pasture to catch him because the only place he likes to graze in that massive piece of land is the area furthest from the gate. Much to my delight, his saddle got passed around more than usual and ended up with a nice, sparkly pad. It would've gone nicely with my Horze chaps, but I prefer my Mondonis when I'm in Dressage tack.

DQ mode enhanced
While Miss El was warming up Artec, she had me do hip stretches and arm circles because these old joints need stretching. Believe it or not, Roman was actually a bit fresh, well, as fresh as Roman could be. He was a bit looky and dodgy at the walk, then we went to trot, and holy inconsistencies, Batman. I'm still not chilling with these stirrups 100%, Roro. Please don't make me have to half halt.

Big, sweaty baby
I did a lot of trot work with rather minimal direction. I got bored going to the left, so I switched to the right, then I got bored of being on the rail, so I started doing serpentines. Then I got bored of posting, so I started sitting. Of course, the judgmental watchful eye of trainer was there giving me all sorts of corrections. Once I put myself onto the serpentine path, much of the ride was focused on accurately changing directions and reacting properly to Roman testing the contact. Being fresh made him a bit stiffer than usual, so more inside rein, more inside leg, and more give when he either gets it right or when he's straight up hanging.

Shameless glamour shot of the old man
The trot keeps coming along, as does the canter. The left lead got shoddy at times (i.e. falling in on the short side), but he was much more consistent in the softness department. The right lead only took four tries to get this time. That's a major improvement. Maybe I kinda know what I'm doing with this Dressage thing.

Also, snow is in the forecast, so get ready for my annual shaming of the white nonsense.
Category Is

Comments

  1. emmaJanuary 6, 2017 at 7:19 PM

    Lol I definitely give myself a pat on the back when it only takes me half a dozen laps of the arena to attain a left lead canter ;)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unspoken Rules of the Hunter Ring

Image
Ever since I started riding, I've been a part of the hunter ring. It's not an easy sport, and it's kind of difficult to really fit into a hunter operation if you've never experienced it before. So, if you're about to switch disciplines or just dipping a toe into the sport, keep these bits of information in mind. From one hunter to the next, good luck! 1. Only black or white saddle pads are allowed. I cannot stress this enough. It's about being profeshunal, people. Just because the page on Dover said HUNTER green, doesn't mean it's allowed in a hunter barn. Common mistake. Don't make it. sin!!! sin, I say!!! 2. Your everyday riding attire will be as follows: solid colored polo shirt (tucked in), beige Tailored Sportsman breeches, a black belt, black tallboots (either Ariat, Tredstep, or Parlanti). The only time you can divert from this is at shows. Then, you are allowed to school in a quarter zip, but that's it. Also, I'd like to r...
Read more

The Regionals Swing

Image
Yup, that time of year again. I still didn't qualify for regionals, but after seeing how last year went, I didn't even put it down as a goal. Eh, I might try senior year. I don't feel too pressured about it. Reaching (in vain) for my taco My parents and I made the 2.5 hour drive on Saturday morning. We actually arrived early, so I started helping bring horses in and unblanket them. Everything ran smoothly during set up. I was only schooling Leia, which went fine except her being super slow. Over the past year and a half, Leia has gone from being super strong and forward to fences to being a leg ride the whole time. We started with some trash distances but got it together for a good school. Unfortunately, so was just as slow and chippy with most of the people who rode her. Eh. Horses are kind annoying anyway. Looking for free tacos I spent a decent amount of time cuddling with Carlos in the morning before helping tack up Murry for the flat classes. I also finally...
Read more

A fortunate snow day, believe it or not

Image
So, yeah, it snowed, and waaayyy more than expected. Forecast said we'd get 3"-6". Final totals were anywhere between 8" and 11" for the Eastern Shore. My Saturday lesson was cancelled, and the sub-freezing temperatures haven't let the snow melt at all. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow and Wednesday. We'll see. Still, it's fortunate because guess what's happening down in Wellington??? I'm still on Anne Kursinski's ride , but her horse and the information she's giving is a little bit more relevant to my current riding state than the whole session was last year. First, the horse she's on is quite similar to Silver. He's an apparently laid back gray gelding that, every once in a while, loses focus and gets dramatic. He's even weaker to the right and occasionally swaps off behind, just like Silver. Big difference is that Anne's horse is significantly less dramatic than Silver. He swaps off, thinks for a minute,...
Read more