The positive show experience really boosted my confidence that I was on the right track. And that I was making progress in small steps.
The next weekend was our wedding anniversary and Ed and I went away for a weekend break. We rented a small cottage on the ocean with a hot tub and a sauna. It was lovely to get away and unplug for a couple nights. The first night we went out to dinner and the second we cooked at the cottage.
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| We went to Carter's beach for a few hours |
And wow it's working. Quaid and I are cantering all over the place. His balance is really improving. I've been also focusing on half-halts. We walk-halt-walk-halt-walk-almost halt- walk on. Rinse, repeat. And then trying it at the canter. At first it was all very confusing to him and we had a lot of breaking into a fast trot and head flinging. But we found our groove. Not that it's perfect. But it's progress.
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| true for all the disciplines I think |
What I like is how easily he picks up the canter now and I'm sitting much better. And when it falls apart we regroup and get back to it.
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| enjoying some pre-ride scritches |
Carmen is also doing really well and she's down 90 pounds! I haven't had to a use a grazing muzzle which is great. Being able to exercise her helps a lot. We're back to normal work and she feels great. There's much more push in her stride. I realised how much I missed riding her. I also realised that time is ticking by and I have no idea how she'll be next year. So I signed us up to do a Freestyle in the show in September. I've noodled with the idea off and on but always bailed. Now I'm buckling down.
And choreographing a freestyle is hard you guys. I measured out the timing of the music and asked Chat CPT to design one for me with the timing of X minutes trot/walk/canter. I figured I could take it and edit it. Turns out that AI has zero idea how to design a freestyle. It was not just objectively bad, it was impossible. Like it thought that C was on the sides and put in a half-pass (which is illegal at our level) from C to C. It was kind of funny.
In our rides we warm up and then I play the music and try out various configurations. Carmen has started to recognise the music and the transitions. Either way it will be a lot of fun.
I'm hoping that we'll have a lesson this weekend. I want Jane to see where we are. It feels like a good place.
Ok so obvi now we are gonna need you to find a way to manifest this ChatGPT freestyle — I’m dying of curiosity to see what sort of insane stuff it put out !! I def used ai a lot to help create the scripts for the Brit bot pocket coach I was using last year but it required a surprising amount of supervision to keep things making sense …..
ReplyDeleteI will see what I can do, lol
DeleteI took a clinic once from someone who designed freestyles. They started with getting the exact (average) beats per minute for the horse's gaits and then picked music to match, as choosing music first can lead to rushing or holding back the horse. There are software programs that can tweak BPM slightly if what you want to use is already pretty close. Having someone video you doing the trot you want can help you get a base number. I love freestyles and hope you enjoy yours!
ReplyDeleteI’d love a clinic like that!
DeleteSounds like Quaid is becoming a "good horse to ride" for you. And love that mane!
ReplyDeleteI love watching freestyle, especially in the reining and / or liberty classes. what fun to choreograph your own! Looking forward to the video of your performance.
His mane is wild. I have to braid it, otherwise the reins get all tangled.
DeleteAI has a long, long way to go. I prefer to avoid it. That will be fun to design though. Everyone should design a freestyle to a favorite song. It’s like dancing with your horse. Sweet.
ReplyDeleteI’m excited for it. I was just curious to see what it could come up with.
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