First Dressage of the season

We got 55% and fairly straightforward comments (by which I mean that I am not using the word 'harsh', but there weren't many positives) about our performance. I am not good enough rider yet to concentrate on getting the horse to go prettily AND do the correct route, so yesterday I reverted into my default settings and didn't collect Rainbow but just tried to ride her around with an even contact and go the right route. 

Rainbow could sense my nervousness and decided that, at one point, the arena white boards were scary, so we had a little spook. I obviously wasn't nervous about the white boards but in Rainbow's little horse brain, she had to find a reason for 'mummy' being on edge – and nothing else was different in the arena except the addition of the boards... I got her back on track but, admittedly, after that I didn't ride her into the corners properly and made a 20-metre circle something between 10 and 15 metres. So my standard stuff – haphazard and half-hearted.

Now I am surfing horse blogs and trying to read about getting horse to listen to my leg aids. I am not upset about my score, as we didn't practise. Also discussed the scoresheet with Tim last night and he was wondering about the scoring, wondering if anyone ever got higher than 8 for a movement and, if not, how does anyone ever get 100%? I said I don't know and I have never seen a judge give better than 8 in the competitions I've witnessed and where I've written for the judge... It's silly really, as if you, for example, do perform a perfect circle, and tempo is good and horse looks good, why wouldn't you be able to get 9 or 10?! I said to Tim to think of it as university grading (here in the UK), no one ever gets better than 70%... Perhaps the readers of this blog could tell me if they know. I know the judging is subjective, but still, how can anyone ever achieve 'perfection'?

So I guess after the little come down from last week's victory, I am having thoughts of incompetence. I also feel I can never get Rainbow to work off my legs effectively, hence never truly achieving collection; I can pump away with my legs and pull the reins to bring her nose down, but she's not really doing it for 'pleasure' or from wanting to do it. So I guess the dressage score and the comments hit home... Generally, I am a very average rider and not sure my horse enjoys her time with me sitting on her. (*Get the violins out!)

I am also fed up with instructors (various instructors) all in their own way saying, do this, do that, don't sit like that, keep your leg there, not there, THERE, do that, Result! But no result! We have a result on our dressage lesson if I give Rainbow a few swipes from the stick, but I don't enjoy that. I don't particularly want to even have to have a stick with me. I don't want to use spurs, as I have never used them and I think that's just upping the ante, and not really improving me as a rider, but just a short-cut to a 'desired' result. Not something I am interested in.

So, this morning, I am wondering why I bother. Maybe I should just hack and let my horse run around in the school nose up in the air. Who cares!

The plaiter and the plaitee.

Last pose before turning the 'grand prix' dressage horse out to paddock and owner off for a cup of tea.

This week we learned to long line

I have been pondering the merits of lunging for a while now.  I am still very much learning about all the horsey stuff, so I wanted to learn to lunge Rainbow. But, I haven't been able to shake this feeling of lunging being a bit futile and demoralising for the horse. 

There are probably some benefits in lunging, which I haven't come across, but I am worried the running around in the tight circle is not particularly helpful for the horse's joints, etc. either... And – let's put it this way – now that Rainbow lunges with me fine, i.e. she behaves, but I can see it in her eyes that she's just 'obliging'. Not sure if she particularly enjoys working this way.

I thought I'd pay someone to teach me properly and to show me how to do it safely. As far as I was aware, no one had every long lined Rainbow. So it was new to her as well. 

I got in touch with an instructor through Intelligent Horsemanship website, as I am also interested in Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks' methods overall. (I am thinking of going to one of Monty's demos as they're touring around the UK this month.)

A lovely instructor S came over to our's and we learned about long lining. First she took Rainbow and put the dually halter on her, and lead her around the arena, doing some backing up exercises and stepping aside exercises; basic IH exercises. Then I had a go. 

Rainbow was behaving exceptionally and even though she was occasionally a bit puzzled by this odd lesson we were having, not once did she misbehave or refuse to cooperate. Well, maybe the backing up was the hardest thing for her get her head around, but she did eventually. Also I was learning a new way of communicating with R and I was trying to get my head around using the dually halter correctly; it's based on pressure and release as a reward. So timing the release is important to get right. Rainbow also followed me perfectly on loose lead and stopped when I stopped. 

The we had a go at the long lining. S draped some leads over Rainbow to check her reaction to leads and she didn't flinch once. Not even when the long lead was placed over her bottom. 

Rainbow received lots of praise and I was complimented on a well-behaving horse. S said that such a trusting and calm horse, must mean she has a good owner. Awwww... thanks... :)

In the first image we were teaching Rainbow to turn on the line before introducing the second line. In the subsequent images Rainbow is going fully on both lines. 
(The pictures are a bit blurry as had accidentally HDR on on my iPhone, which means it can't deal with moving objects too well, but I am hoping the blurriness conveys 'movement' to you!)

I really enjoyed the 'physicality' of long lining, and I like the idea of how versatile it can be; so not limited to arenas but can go out on a walkabout with Rainbow.  Also the riding-like cues, i.e. the lines are like reins, helps her understand my cues better, and making her work through the top line was a LOT easier this way than trying to convey this to her from the end of a lunge line with no real contact to her whatsoever.

I also like the dually halter, so I will get one for her, as this means I don't need to use a bridle. Using a bridle is fine, of course, but I think this is gentler. 

Today we had a dressage lesson again, which went well. Well, maybe Rainbow didn't like it as much as I did... We worked on her listening to my leg, to which I feel she's become a bit dead. She's never been the 'quickest' off the leg, but she seems to be obliging with other riders more readily. I think I have also let her get away with it too much. So today I asked A if we could take a step back to basics and make her listen to me without the need for me to 'pump' speed into to her constantly. I have fallen into a bad habit of working harder in the saddle than the horse underneath me, so that had to change!

Unfortunately, to get Rainbow listening to me again and to take my legs seriously (without me having to have legs like steel-clamps, which I don't!), I had to get a bit mean and give a few flicks of the whip when a squeeze of the leg didn't produce the desired effect. But she's a quick learner and actually, only after a few taps, she did start taking me seriously and I could just enjoy the ride. First time in ages, I wasn't sweatier than the horse at the end of the lesson, and I was wearing a padded gilet!

I had to post this image of the girls. The weather turned arctic today, or so it felt. Well, it's still around 10 degrees, but northernly winds. When I went to the paddock to collect Rainbow and Zara, they were both standing there with their light turnout rugs on and with flymasks! The flies have been very persistent this autumn, but this was little bit of an overkill. A true cross-over of seasons! Well, the staff at our yard do their best and only well meaning, I am sure. Couldn't help but chuckle though.

Nostalgia

When I popped in Finland last month, I dug up some old photos. Unfortunately, in the days pre-digital cameras, and even though I was lucky enough to have a camera as a kid, taking photos was a lot 'slower' than it's now, so these are really the only horsey photos I have from my childhood. (I have one more album from pony camp, but I couldn't find it... Will continue to look for it.) As you had to wait to get to the end of a photo film and then get them developed, plus cameras being that little bit bigger, it wasn't a daily occurrence of carrying them to the yard. ... And I guess there wasn't anywhere else to put them than in photo albums, instead of the current obsession to document everything on 'tinternet'.

But here they are – first few taken at my cousin's house in 1994 when she owned this lovely Finnhorse Rimmo. He was preliminarily a trotter and competed extensively in harness trotting, but he was really lovely and sensible with a 10-year-old girl riding him, as seen below.

Me and Rimmo (note the 90s-style riding hat, complete with chin guard!)

This was my first (and only) 'loan' pony in Finland; one that I could groom and look after at the yard I went 2–3 times a week, and in exchange got some free riding. She was a Shetland Pony called Xenia (she did have a full name but I can't remember it now). 

She was lovely and sensible too. Soon after I started to look after her, she was in foal, so they didn't use her on the lessons anymore, which meant that I was allowed to ride her without a saddle and take her out hacking a bit. In the summer, we also took our ponies for swims in the lake. We sat on top, as we made the horses go in the lake and once their feet couldn't touch the bottom, they began swimming! You had to be a sensible rider and remember to turn them back to the shore occasionally, so they could rest a bit after the swimming. 

Time flies.. It's hard to imagine these photos were taken almost 20 years ago... I'm old! 

Talk about time flying – I noticed I've already been blogging a year (and 100th blog post is looming)! It's been great to write this little diary. Mainly for my own 'benefit', but it's great if someone else can be bothered to read my ramblings on. Thank you :)

The pair do their first SJ competition...

We took part in our first show-jumping competition today. 

I had quietly thought of doing it ever since the autumn fixtures list went up, but, quite honestly, have been bricking it ever since I expressed this to others...Also, the timing wasn't ideal as I have only come back from recovery after the operation, and have been back in the saddle only a week. But there was no other 'very novicey' show-jumping scheduled until next year, so it was a bit now-or-never scenario. Hence the intensive dose of three jumping lessons (and one fall) this week.

I wanted to keep it quiet as I didn't want to jinx it. I didn't even tell my parents about it. And wanted to give myself a chance to retreat towards the nearest exit, if needed...!

I woke up this morning at around 5:30am but made myself stay in bed until 6:30am when my alarm went. I somehow managed to shower myself and get dressed in the competition gear. I couldn't eat anything, so grabbed a banana and a flask of coffee with me. 

I got to the yard before 8 o'clock and went straight into the arena so have a look at the course. The first class was meant to be 40cm with no fillers, etc. I also thought there wouldn't be oxers, but I was a bit wrong! They had built mini-oxers... 

Luckily I had some good instructions from my friend Julia who walked the course with me a couple of times. Julia gave me instructions, talking through what to do and where. I just quietly walked around with her, not my usual chatty self (wonder why!).

I mucked out and went to sit in the sun, trying to eat my breakfast banana as I had a little bit of time to kill. Becca arrived and probably noticed how scared I looked. 

I realise this blog is probably read by people who think absolutely nothing of popping over some fences and the idea of getting scared by a course of 12 forty-centimetre jumps is at least laughable (I find it laughable). But, I have never competed in SJ. The last time I took part in a SJ 'competition' was about 20 years ago on a pony camp in Finland, aged 10, on a shetland pony – over a few jumps and not really being a competition at all. 

As expected, I was against children on ponies – some being lead in-hand! – but I didn't even consider the competition. I just wanted to face some fears. Start from somewhere – have something to build on. So 40 cm, Class 1, it had to be.

My riding instructor A had agreed to help me with the warm up and she was great: she made me pop over a few jumps and an oxer, giving instructions, and then she said to go in straightaway before I had time to think about it. So I was first one in. My instructor, in fact, followed into the arena to shout instructions at me as I went around (I hadn't expected her to, but it was very welcome)... Well, at least she didn't have to lead me in-hand...

We did a clear round! Rainbow was a superstar. Went over every jump without hesitation and looked after me when I wasn't quite on the ball. At one point I remember having rather loose reins and thinking, "Another jump coming up, no reins, oh well, point Rainbow at jump, hold on (to the mane) and collect the reins after." :D 

I have a piece of gold in a form of a horse. It's all I can say. I love that horse.

Afterwards, we were milling around, I had agreed with Becca for her to take Rainbow around 50 cm class so we were discussing that and other logistics. When suddenly Sarah said to me, "Do you realise you're in the lead?" She had heard it on the tannoy. I was dumbstruck. So far in the class, no one else had had a clear round. The children on their ponies had either fallen off, had refusals, dropped poles and been slow (especially those led in-hand). I had taken part in a competition but I was so preoccupied with getting around in one piece, I hadn't even considered being placed. 

And so, not only did we do a clear round – and I didn't fall off/Rainbow didn't misbehave, etc. – but we won! 

The victory was so unexpected that I had already managed to ditch my show jacket and boots, so I had to go and collect the rosette in my yard attire!

Here's a little collage from the day – which includes my 'super-polished' performance!

Red Riding Pant

Nothing cheers up a grey October day like a hack around the village with a friend, and red breeches! Bought these CRW breeches in Hooks,  while in Finland. A bit avant-garde and maybe falling off in these could be borderline embarrassing, but at least we're seen when hacking out! And they're comfortable. 

Oh and Rainbow is wearing Albion (except the reins as we're still waiting to receive them).