Me and My Shadow

While I am appreciative of the milder than normal fall temperatures this endless rain is driving me nutty. It's interfering with my horse time in a big way. Friday and Saturday were rainy and stormy. Saturday night was really windy as well- we even lost power from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Fortunately I had Guinness to wake me up in the morning although I was a bit confused with the clocks going back- my fitbit had set to the correct time but I hadn't realized it so thought he was trying to get me up at 5:30. Poor Guinness was busting a gut and getting a bit frantic about the whole thing.

Sunday dawned sunny but the wind was still fierce and not anything you would want to stay out in for any length of time. Or ride in. I was feeling optimist thought so in the morning I dragged the ring (I always do that after a rain) and set up a small obstacle course. The wind didn't start to die down until late afternoon. I tossed around the idea of riding and in the end decided to take her up and play with some ground work instead.

What did you have in mind? I was thinking treats...

I started with the walking around the ring and staying with me. She was right with me and not too worried despite the wind blowing.  The course wasn't anything special- some poles to walk and trot over, a slalom of cones and two poles for backing through or side passing over.

I led her through the cones using my body language to weave through and she was right with me. There was zero tension in the lead line and I began to think I that I didn't need it all. I asked her trot too and she was bemused but followed along with the air of humouring me.

I stopped and rubbed her head and then I reached over and unsnapped the lunge line. Using my hand I asked her to walk with me and weave through the cones.

And she did.

Carmen definitely knew that she was free, she stopped to sniff the cones:

what is this? Is it edible? I shall knock it over.
(I took this after I snapped the line back on) 

When I first learned about round pen work (way way back) I was taught that you chase the horse until  they figure out that staying with you means less work. I get that idea but I didn't want to do that. I wanted her to choose to stay with me. Carmen hesitated a few times and I simply stood, breathing quietly and she came with me.  

It was fun playing with moving my body and having her match me. And it felt really really cool. 

I snapped this as we were walking 

I put the lunge line back on and we played a little more. I walked her over a pole and then asked her to sidestep over it and she tried to figure it out rather than stiffen and get annoyed. 

I was ready to finish but wanted to try one more thing- I walked her on the right rein over the poles by the 'scary side'. I came around again and unsnapped the line. Keeping my body language the same I walked forward over the poles and, after a brief hesitation and a peek at the trees, she walked beside me. 

My inner 12 year old was dancing inside. I don't know if I'm reading too much into this but having her work quietly and calmly with me when she could easily leave felt like a breakthrough. When a horse chooses to stay when they have the freedom to go away seems like a gift. 

Being Present

I swear that Mother Nature is messing with us this year. After bitterly cold temperatures we are having a bit of a reprieve. Yesterday was about 6 and today was a balmy 17 degrees (celsius).  Because we have no snow, yesterday was enough to thaw out my ring so I had some high hopes for today.  While it was a bit soft in places and had a few puddles, the footing was actually pretty good.  

I tacked her up and she was reaching for the bit before I had the bridle ready. Given that the the last time I rode was Christmas eve lunging seemed to be a good life choice. I've become very good at reading her so that while she started off pretty calm and obedient I was sure that there was a layer of tension under it all. Sure enough she suddenly bolted in response to...something. A bird? Waving grass? Invisible trolls? Who knows. I immediately stopped moving and stood calmly. Funnily enough I wasn't worried at all. I knew that was in there so it was more of 'I knew that was in there'. We worked a bit in the spooky corner (between E and C, which surprises no one).  We just kept working until she seemed to be more 'with' me. It took somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes. I decided that riding would be fine so I took off the lunge line and took down the stirrups. 

I also needed to think about my goals for the ride. I decided that it made sense to work on my riding goals (from January 10th post). Mostly I wanted to focus on the first two: having a relaxed and effective seat and being 'present' in the saddle so that I was always giving her directions. 

And do you know what? That really worked out well for us. Keeping my brain on what I was doing and giving her directions seemed to help me stay relaxed. Carmen started out tense but nothing too major. Whenever I felt her attention shift away from me I insisted that it return. I played a bit with riding a diamond pattern in half of the ring. This required me to keep her straight and then execute a 1/4 turn on the haunches at the pivot points. I could feel her becoming curious about what we were doing which was fun. We only walked and trotted. I had done some canter on the lunge but wanted to keep this easy.  Whenever I felt her bulge her body away I made sure that my seat was clear that I needed her to go back. She did give one big spin/spook (yes between E and C)  but I was prepared and actually leg yielded her back in mid-spook. That was the end of it. 

We finished by practicing a few shoulder ins to haunches in and vice versa. She did really well. Probably because I was present and giving clear directions. I could really feel how my seat needed to adjust to help her position her body. I rode for about 25 minutes and called it a day. 

#nobodydied

After I gave her a good groom and she gave a shake like they do after they roll. That's when I knew that she had enjoyed it all too.

this is how spent the rest of the day because she exercised and
was without food for almost a whole hour! 

I don't know if I'll get t ride again, even though it's staying warmer until Sunday night. Tonight into tomorrow we're going to get torrential rain so I will have to check the ring. I spent the afternoon making sure that the rain had a way to drain away. Guinness 'helped':

Welcome Back

I was able to take Monday afternoon off from work. Cynthia's daughter, Ashley came out to ride Irish.  I could tell right away that Carmen was more of like her normal self. We had a nice ride. Not that she wasn't spooky in some areas but it wasn't anything to worry about.

I had left the poles up and I am really enjoying playing with them. I like how they give us something to think about. I'm learning to not try to micromanage her over the poles and let her figure it out on her own. She really was starting to figure out that sometimes she needed to contract or extend her stride length. I think she quite enjoyed the cantering over them. Or maybe that was me. Hard to tell but fun was had.

As we were riding, Ashley's friend, Julia showed up. She had brought a helmet and hung it on the jump standard outside of the ring. Carmen took one look at it and decided that it had materialized and was clearly up to no good and most likely dangerous.  She spooked into the middle of the ring and I dissolved into a puddle of giggles.
Julia looked at me and smiled.
Me: Oh Carmen. You are something else. 
Carmen:  I saved us. I do it all the time and you have no appreciation of it. 
Julia:  She looks so proud of herself
Me: Yup. Wanna buy a horse? Three dollars and she's yours. 
Carmen:  humph. 

We carried on riding and she was very good. Nice and forward, although I would have loved to be have her neck a little longer. At first she was trying to figure out why there was this person standing in the ring but not giving instructions.  She was clearly puzzled. After a bit I stopped and asked Julia if she wanted to hop on. Turns out that she did. I did my usual disclaimer which is that I can't promise that she won't fall off.

Ashley was riding Irish and he was feeling quite perky and happy to be out. Ashley had him going really well. I think that they both needed each other.

Carmen and Julia did very well together. I gave instructions. I had to be careful- every time I stopped walking Carmen would stop too. That was fair- it was all based on our groundwork and her responding to my body language. I enjoyed watching Carmen go. I can see a real change in how she was going.

Watching her go I felt a sense of pride - she has lovely movement naturally and I have had a lot of help but in the end I'm the one in the saddle and it feels good to see results. 

Smooth Sailing

Hark, now hear the sailors cry

Smell the sea and feel the sky

Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

~Van Morrison~

the joy of living near the ocean- being able to take photos like this

I didn't really have explicit goals for the weekend. I just had a 'sort of' plan. I think that that was a good idea because it allowed me to enjoy the time and not get caught up in whether I was meeting any specific goal. 

I am sure that you are all shocked that I could be super-obsessive about goals and achieving them; but I have been known to be a bit intense. 

What I did want to do was to break our pattern of tension when I'm riding. It's become so that I can predict when Carmen will start to spook or act up. So instead of a goal of a calm ride, I decided that I would just ride and school. 

Sure enough, when I first mounted I felt her tense up. As we approached the far left corner (the one she spooks as in every ring), I felt her tense up. I flatly refused to copy her. I left my legs dangling and ignored all the scary things she wanted to notice (like the diffirent coloured dirt, patches of sun, crack in the door). Instead I just rode like it was all fine. 

And so it was all fine. Our rides were nice and productive. I worked on what she was doing in the moment. I spent a lot of time getting her to stretch into the bit. And on Sunday was able to get some pretty consistent transitions without her stiffening her lower neck and hollowing. 

I also discovered that her canter has become strong and powerful. Nothing like riding in a 20 x 40 arena to realize how quickly a corner can come up! 

Karen rode her for a bit on Saturday. It was great to watch them work together. Carmen started off as 'I just can't do shoulder in, it's impossible and you are mean for asking me to' to 'oooh I can do it!'. When I hopped on after to cool her out she was so soft and relaxed over her back. It was lovely. 

It was wonderful to spend three days riding and working on things without pressure or an agenda. I could do a little leg yields, then switch up to something else. 

On Saturday Karen, Janet and I went out for lunch and then to Bits N Bridles tack shop. Where I found a very special saddle pad: 

Carmen: "hmm, that might just be fancy enough for me"

While some individuals may think that I have a saddle pad problem I know that it's perfectly normal to have about 15 pads. After all I have 2 horses so it's really just 7.5 each. Right?

Anyway, I have had my eye on the Baroque saddle pads for a while. Last year I had decided that if I had a good year of showing with Carmen I would buy one. Of course by the end of the year I hadn't gone to one show. 

All for very good reasons and I have no regrets. It was time (and money) well spent. But I had a plan and so while I could have bought the saddle pad I decided not to. You may think I'm silly and that's okay. It made sense to me. 

However, this year has been a huge success for us. I know that Bits carried these and I was not disappointed. I fell in love the blue and black one. I am impressed by the quality of them as well (fashionhorse.com).

As you can see it looks perfect on her. I rode in it on Sunday and she was so good. I'm sure that would be lots to fix if I was getting a lesson but she was trying hard to figure out what I was asking and I was trying hard to give her what she needed.

Obviously it's the magical saddle pad.

It really was a perfect weekend. There was so much laughter and sharing the joy that horses bring us that completely recharged my batteries. Riding is becoming fun again. And not just every now and then but all the time. Having another eye watch us go and give some advice was wonderful. Watching others ride was fun.

I even got to ride Karen's stallion. He's amazing and so powerful- I call him a Ferrari! I had him cantering and I couldn't figure out how to get him stopped (I didn't want to haul on the rein, he's trained to respond to the seat) but I never felt in danger. Just like, uh oh, where's the brake pedal? 

I am sure that Carmen felt the vibe as well. She was so calm and relaxed through it all. I had to laugh because on Friday she nickered to Kalimo (Karen's stallion) and raised her tail (I realized she must have been in heat!) but on Sunday she pinned her ears at him and her tail was firmly clamped. He didn't seem to notice either way.

The mare who walked off the trailer calmly and meandered out to her field later on sunday is miles different from the mare I had last year or even this spring. She has a confidence now that wasn't there before. And maybe I do too.

I definitely want to have a few more of these weekends over the winter: horses, friends, food and shopping. How could it be better?! 

From the Ground Up

I am back from what was a perfect weekend. There were wonderful friends, beautiful horses, delicious wine and food. Oh god. So much food:

Saturday morning there was a Dr. Suess challenge thrown down and Chef Jim did not disappoint. 

yes, we even had a 3 layer santa gingerbread cake that Karen won at an event.
it was amazing

authentic Thai dinner. 

There was also shopping but I shall save that for a different post. 

I am sure you are all dying to know how Carmen and I made out. 

In short, we both had a wonderful time. 

In this post I want to talk about the ground work. Karen has the perfect indoor to do liberty work. I haven't done much of it with Carmen- my ring is too big and has far too much grass. I thought that I could use the ring to play. 

On Friday when we arrived there was no one there yet. I put her in her stall and unpacked. I then relaxed for a bit in the tack room before taking her out into the arena. I let Carmen get used to the place and move around as she wanted while I made myself useful by cleaning up some poop. 

I then picked up the lunge whip and we began to play. I know that I have done a lot of work with Carmen on ground work and lunging but I was amazed at how she responded to my body language. She stayed in a circle around me and moved with me as I moved. If I stilled my body (like a half-halt) she would slow down. If I pulled back from her she would stop and turn in. I was blown away. 

I did a short video. It was hard to get because with the phone between us she was much more uncertain. She went from Canter to trot and to halt all from body language. 

I spent time each day 'playing with her in the ring. 

Practicing our ground tie. I was able to get 20 feet away and
all around her. 

Karen has a large ball she uses as well with her horses. I got it out to see what Carmen thought of it. She walked right up and sniffed it. She seemed to like rubbing her nose on it. I asked her to play catch with me. Based on her facial expression in the video it seems that she figures it much easier to just humour me. 

I set up some trot poles to play with when we were riding. I asked her to trot over them. The first time she went around on the rail. Which was perfectly fine. The next time around I drew back from her to bring her off the rail and with just a brief consideration she trotted right over. 

On Saturday evening I wanted to tackle the wash stall. Carmen would not go near it any time I was there (she was the same at Stacies). I tried to get her in before but I failed. I was also disappointed with how I tried- there was far too much pressure. That was last year. I had done some thinking and decided to tackle it like I would trailer loading. I decided to do step by step and not move ahead until I had relaxation at the step I was working on. 

I started with walking her by it a number of times. We then stopped by it. I then walked in a step but let her hang outside just looking. Each time I released pressure by walking away. The whole time I didn't care if she went in or not. I was totally chill. I would ask her to come in a little bit but didn't fight if she didn't want to. I just assumed it was too much and backed off. In about 15 minutes she walked right in and stood there totally relaxed and checking it out. I wanted to do a happy dance but thought that might be a bit much for her. I praised her heavily and put her back in the stall. 

I was so impressed with she and I connected over the weekend.  I was able to see how much she has come to look to me for direction and how much she trusts me. I have learned so much from her on how to control myself. 

That would have been enough to make the weekend a success but the riding was pretty spectacular as well. 

Working on First Level

I've not been riding with the same intensity as I had been earlier this year. I am actually okay with that. Work is busy and I have a rather large, sometimes goofy, puppy to train.

yes, I took Guinness to a local brewery. We both approved of the Jesus Murphy Red

In my rides I start off seeing where she's at in terms of suppleness, attention and tension. And then from there I figure out the warm up. Sometimes it's for her body to get it relaxed and flowing.

Sometimes it's for her brain to get her focus on me. Sometimes that discussion takes a long time. Sometimes I have to be really firm with it.

But I refuse to end the ride until I get to work on some piece of first level. And this is not about being driven (although heaven knows I can be that). It's about not making the ride about being ridden. We've been there and done that. Carmen can be reactive. And, frankly, sometimes it seems to me that she looks for things to spook at. It's not unusual to hear me say 'uh-uh' when I can feel her planning to duck. She's learning that I will follow that up if she escalates and is actually responding to just the verbal (so yay, progress).

Things that we are working on are trot-halt-trot, lengthens (those are hard but are getting easier). I do baby counter-canters (to quarter line and back). Those are not hard for her at all. Cantering into the corner is a whole 'nother deal.  Simple changes through trot are old hat and she barely registers them. Leg yields are 'okay'. The straightness part is the problem- it's so easy for me to get her crooked.

It's fun to be working on First Level. I know she has so much talent and that the limiting factors are me and her tension. But we're on our way.

I'm sure as she's grazing she's thinking about how to improve her First Level moves. Right? 

Show Business

"There's no damn business like show business. You have to smile to keep from throwing up" ~Billie Holiday

Well that was quite the weekend. Hang on to your hats because it might be a long post- there's highs, lows and even an unexpected twist at the end.

I headed off for the show with high hopes. Carmen and I have been working along and making progress. The trip there was interesting and could be it's own blog post. But it would be a post about how drivers are stupid and should just get off the road and who really wants to hear that rant?

Carmen settled in really well and our ride in the ring was lovely. There was zero drama and she was just so settled. I kept it short because it was hot and humid. Caelen and I headed to the hotel. Because it was the long weekend I found one hotel with a room available. It was very basic and there was a sign that said that the hot water would only last 15 minutes in the shower. But it was only 15 minutes away and close to everything.

At least it was clean. 

I planned for a 35-40 minute warm up for the first test. It was not enough. Carmen was blowing through the aids and not really all that keen on listening. But we went and did our test and really it was not bad. There were places where she was more resistant and our scores ranged from 5 (stretch trot which was legit because we had maybe 2-3 strides of reach) and 8 (final halt- nailed it and our medium walk!) . I got an 8 on my position and seat and 7.5 on effective use of aids. I was thrilled with that. The judges final comment was "lovely mare- lots of potential. Needs to get straighter in right canter and more supple over back. Lovely moments". Our final score was 67.5. Totally fair.

Our next test had a better warm up and I was feeling more ready.

jackets were excused by then thank heavens. It was HOT. 

I felt pretty positive about the test- it felt smoother to me but there were some moments of resistance. There was one funny Carmen moment that I posted on FB:
Carmen & I: Trot to B and then circle- no problem.  
Carmen: OMG WHAT'S THAT?
Me: it's a beam of sunlight 
Carmen: so duck away?
Me: No, keep trotting and bending
Carmen: so jump it then
Me: Just keep going. It's a fricken sunbeam 
Carmen: got it- jump with the front and twist the hindquarters around.  
Me: *sigh*
Carmen: phew. I saved us. You're welcome.

Our final score was lower: 62.9 ranging from 5 (stretch trot) to 7. Once again I scored an 8 on my position. Caelen was near the judge's table and she told me that she overheard the judge compliment my position more than once. Her final comments: "well ridden. Too bad about the resistance. Lovely moments. Needs to get straighter in shoulder for right canter.  

That night I took her out for a brief lunge in the ring focussing on the 'spooky spots' and getting her calm. 
I had her comments and reflected and I determined that the next day I was going to warm up focussing on keeping her straight. What happens is that when Carmen gets tense she throws her hindquarters in and will NOT straighten out. I need to establish her responding to my cue before that because in the moment it's useless. I have to say that we had a brilliant warm up. I kept my focus on straight and ignored any spooks or resistance. I praised her heavily for being straight and corrected when she went crooked. I felt her to be 100% on the aids and listening to me. 

We were ready. 

Then disaster struck. 

By which I mean the heavens opened up and there was a torrential downpour as we entered the indoor. I have no idea if Carmen is used to rain on a roof, I suspected she wasn't used to it on a coverall. So I walked her around the ring carefully. It was so loud I had to ask the judge if she rang the bell. You could not hear at all! We entered at A and Carmen was a bit tense but listening. We then turned right. Just past the corner was a door with a gap at the top. Into that gap was a waterfall of water streaming in. Carmen took one look as was 'nope'. 

we're supposed to be going my 'M' not bolting across the ring. 

And we then had a ride that really was more like a wrestling match. We circled up by M three times and then I took her down the long side and leg yielded over. I began to talk to her through the whole test.  I figured we had blown it all anyway and that she needed my support. It doesn't appear that the judge heard me. All I can say about the test is that we made it through. We had some moments of her listening- she was really trying. But was getting totally freaked out by the storm. I am not sure how many times I tried to do the canter circle in the middle before saying 'screw it' and heading down to side to finish this disaster. 

So that was discouraging. Five minutes earlier and we would have been before the deluge. Oh well. 

I put her in her stall to rest. I looked at the rain coming down in sheets and decided that I was not taking her out to warm up ring. I went to talk to the show manager and she was kind and said that she was going to let riders hand walk in the ring during the break. Which was perfect because I was right after the break. Then they realized that the warm up ring would be impossible so they allowed for riders to have a 5 minute warm up in the ring and then ride the test. Since we are all training through first and Western dressage that worked well. 

I handwalked Carmen during the break letting her see that the rain coming in. She was tense but was listening. But when I got on we had a disastrous second test. I think it was less disastrous then the first one but can't say for sure because I totally forgot to go get my test. I remember looking at it but they still needed it to place the class. I know I saw scores as low as 4 and perhaps as high as 7/8. 

'nope' with a frosting of 'hell no'

All I can say about the test is that I didn't give up and I didn't come off. I came close to both of those things. I did pick up the last test (see total mind freeze). Our scores ranged from 5 to 7 with a score of 58.86. Once again I got 8 on my position. Perhaps for the velcro seat. Final comments 'well done. Too bad about the tension today. Lots of potential'. 

I was bummed and a little upset. Not with Carmen, not with me but that we did not show what I knew we were capable of. It did show us that there is more work (and that Carmen will be able to nail canter pirouettes). But I am nothing if not goal oriented and wanted to do better. 

The rain had a lull and the weather was predicting thunder and lightening later. I did not want to be trailering home in that. So I went to the office to apologize and explain that I wanted to leave before it got worse again. Ed had let me know that it was clearing up in our area so I felt that we could drive out of it. I have left a show early only one other time- when my father in law was dying in hospital. I believe that organizers work hard and we, as riders, should be there for the final ceremony. However, Carol was very understanding and gave me a much needed pep talk on how well I have been doing with Carmen. She told me that she was seeing real improvement and gave me details so I know she wasn't just trying to make me feel better. I can't say enough about how great the shows there are and how helpful to everyone. 

With Caelen helping we were able to pack up and clean up pretty quickly. The first part of the drive was awful- at times the rain was so heavy you could barely see but after an hour we drove out of it and it became easier. 

And the plot twist you ask?

Well when I got home there was a message from Carol telling me that Carmen and I were reserve Champs for the series. I think it was based on your highest score of each of the three show. I was happy with that and will try to get there soon to pick up my prize. 

And that was what I did this weekend. 

How was your weekend. 

Saddle Fitters with Benefits

I've been wanting to get my saddle checked for a little bit. Carmen has been fine but I could feel my position shifting and becoming more difficult to keep in line. I know that something about the way that Carmen and I work together results in the stuffing getting compressed on the right side.

I finally made arrangements to take Carmen to Rachael's for a fitting. Rachael is not just a Master Saddler,  great horse trainer and teacher, she's also become my friend.

I got the trailer ready in the morning while the horse's watched me suspiciously.

Yup she's loading up the trailer.
I know it's me she's taking, where can I hide? 

Carmen loaded easily and we hit the road. This would be my first time trailering for about 2 hours each way for a day trip. The ride was uneventful (my favourite kind). We put Carmen in a stall that had 2 small pigs next door. I thought they were adorable but Carmen was less enthused. Rachael brought in her mare, Carpichosa to keep Carmen company. The saddle check took very little time- it was indeed flattened on one side and the fix was easy.

where have your brought me? I am suspicious. 

Then we got the horses ready and headed to the ring. Rachael has set up a Working Equitation course, complete with bull. Carmen was a bit spooked by it at first as I walked her by it but she was quite brave and came up to touch it.

It looks weird and smells like wood. I shall bite it. (fortunately I got her off before she damaged it)

Under saddle she was initially uncertain but in the end walked right up and tried to eat the ball.

Carmen: I think you've lost your mind.
Me: But think how easy dressage will feel now

Rachael was so good in helping Carmen and I deal with everything. She walked me through a despooking technique that was very helpful. I knew the theory but had trouble with the relaxation part. With her help we managed to be successful in playing. Carmen did bolt once- Caprichosa had just galloped over the bridge and the noise startled her just as a person pushing a wheel barrow came up behind her. That was just a bit too much for her. But we settled back down again and all was fine. We walked the bridge and even trotted the 'livestock pen'. I tried the gate and she nailed it the first time: pick up the rope, back through the two standards and put the rope back without letting go. I was impressed with us on that one. 

After, we traded horses. Carprichosa had a Dom Vaquero saddle with a sheepskin seat. All I can say is that I want one in the worse way. 

dear Santa, I have been very good this year....

I was thrilled when Rachael complemented me on how responsive Carmen was. "You have done a great job with her"  she said. If you knew Rachael you would know that she never gives idle compliments.  Then Rachael dismounted and helped me with her horse to ride the Spanish Walk, Passage and Piaffe. It was my first time every riding those gaits. It was amazing to feel the power and compression of the passage and piaffe. The Spanish Walk made me giggle. Frankly, by then I was giggling like a school girl.

We brought the horses back into the barn and Rachael brought out Elegida for us to go for a hack. Ellie was Steele's dam. She is the grand daughter of Gaucho III and Carmen is his daughter. I was amazed how similar that they look.

Hey, she's pretty cute! 

hello my new best friend.

It was funny- they took to one another right away. As we walked in the woods Carmen wanted to put her head on Elli's rump. Elli is a very calm horse and exudes the self-confidence that she passed on to her off-spring.

After we had a lunch and a chat and then Carmen and I headed home. Carmen was actually not so sure she wanted to leave but got on on the second try. After her supper she had a nap- I'm sure that the day was tiring for her. I could have used a nap as well. It was an epic, fun day.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow and I am so happy about that. The pastures can use the rain but I think that Carmen and I could use the rest!

Dancing on Air

Shanea and I booked a lesson for early Sunday morning in order to beat the heat. I had a good feeling about the lesson as soon as I brought Carmen into the barn. She was calm and mellow and seemed in a great mood.

In the ring once I got on we started walking around warming up before Shanea arrived. I found her to be soft and forward. There were no issues in any part of the ring. We worked on bend and leg yields fro about 15 minutes and then Shanea arrived. We discussed the show results and what we've been working on. Then we got to work.

And you guys- I had the best ride on Carmen that I've ever had. She was soft, listening and responsive. With everything we asked she tried her best to figure it out.  We started at the walk working on shoulder fore. Finally I figured out how to keep her straight through the shoulder so that she was really carrying herself.

 

I love everything about this photo- she's soft and listening, her hind leg is stepping through.

We then added in haunches in. After a bit we were doing shoulder in to straight to haunches in. It was cool to have her soft and bending- even in troll corner. When we went to trot there were no issues at all like we often have with the first transition (although that has been getting better). She simply moved into trot promptly and energetically.  We repeated the same exercises at the trot too.

After some initial posting trot, Shanea had me work on my sitting trot. We started off just on the short sides. When Carmen's back is tight it's very hard to sit. But when it comes up it's so much easier. But not effortless because I have to hold myself without tensing. That takes a lot of core strength and I could definitely feel it as we worked. But as sore as I figured I was going to be I didn't want the ride to end because it felt so easy.

We worked on leg yields. To the right Carmen tends to lead with her shoulder and to the right she leads with her haunches. So I have to be aware of this and ride accordingly. But it's amazing the nuances you can feel when you aren't dealing with a stiff horse refusing to go into a corner. Shanea had us go into the corner, pick up a shoulder fore and then ask for a right lead canter at A. And she picked it right up and we went forward. We cantered around the ring and it was so much fun. Except that she began to go faster then she could handle.  I was to allow the canter but not let her fall out behind or onto the forehand. That was hard to do without clamping or arching my back.

so much to hate about my position here. But at least Carmen is doing her part by stepping under

I could really feel her power and Shanea had me sit up and use my seat to get her to keep coming from behind. It wasn't easy for either of us and she broke a few times just because it was so.dang.hard. But we were working together, figuring it out and nailing it.

artsy canter photo catching the moment of the half-halt. Look at those ears. 

We finished working on her stretchy walk. When I start to give the rein Carmen will 'snatch' it and then stick her head straight up. I was to ask her to stretch forward and when she 'snatched to put my legs on and ask her to move forward. That really worked and she started to figure out what I was really asking.

we even got more stretch then this but I love how she's reaching

We halted Carmen and basked in the pleasure that a good lesson can give. Many times I heard Shanea say 'good girl' and I don't know which one of us she meant but it felt like both of us. Carmen really wanted to stay close to Shanea and tried to follow her. It was kind of adorable.

Tonight, when I was doing the night feed Carmen was highly affectionate and wanted some snuggles. I feel like we starting to unwrap Carmen and letting her out from beneath her layers of anxiety and worry. I know that this is not it- we will still have days that are less than ideal. But for now I'm holding onto today and how good it was.

Day 2 Show Report: Doing the Work

No matter what kind of horse it is, or what we choose to pursue as our sport. It's hard. So much of it tho is just showing up. Putting in the work. Plugging ever forward with that incremental, almost imperceptible progress. Doing the thing. ~Emma at Fraidycat Eventing

 Sunday went better in some ways and not better in others. That morning I walked Carmen in the ring to stretch her legs. We stood by the ramp and scary corner while she stood calmly and tried to eat it (this is important later). I was worried that I had overdone the warm up on Saturday so I probably didn't warm up enough. It was hot and humid and I just wanted to get her bending and forward.  So I made a plan and made sure I stuck to it.

Our warm up was good. By then she had identified a few spots to be wary of and I focussed on riding her through them. On our second warm up she actually did a little bolt in one of the spots. As I steered her around a circle I said 'really? Aren't you tired? Why would you be so silly at this point in the show?  Since there was no tensing or me carrying on she quickly came back to me.

When I did my first trot down center line she halted at X and shot her head straight up. I knew then that we were in for a bit a discussion. For both tests she was nice and forward. Except for our first canter depart in our first test. I asked for the canter, she said no. I asked again, again the answer was 'no'. Since it's a schooling show, I schooled and gave her a smack with the crop. At which point she gave a big buck and leapt into canter. I burst out laughing- I mean what else could you do? After that there were no issues with the canter depart.

coming around to the ramp- see her head coming up and she's
falling behind the leg- photo by Joanne Kane

BUT the ramp was a big problem and she tried flatly refusing to go there. Again I schooled it. Our free rein work is a bit of a work in progress so it was not stellar but she stretched some so I was happy, I was able to build the stretch in the trot circle which was terrific.

Better but starting to come up a bit. PC: Joanne Kane

So out scores for both T1 and T2 were 63.something which netted us two Second place ribbons. But i was happy with them and felt that they reflected where we are at the moment. The judge was kind and gave us positive comments. She said that Carmen was a lovely horse with tons of potential and that I rode out her silliness well.

More importantly was how we did on our goals: 
1. keep Carmen on the aids. If she spooks I want to recover pretty quickly. Stretch goal is to have no spooks. Use shoulder fore to help with this.

I was pleased with how I rode out her spooks. We had three tests with potential spooks that I averted so that was good. I'm calling this a win. 
2. do not speak out loud in the show. I tend to talk to Carmen while I school so I need to make sure I don't lose points by doing that. Phrases that sometimes pop out of my mouth include (but are not limited to:

Laughing doesn't count (so there) :)  I may or may not have spoken quietly to Carmen at the far end but since the judge couldn't hear it didn't happen. 

3. Bend to the inside - even when tight. To do this I need to make sure that I don't clamp my outside thigh when she tenses (cue vicious cycle: she tenses, I clamp, she tenses more) but give her room to bend. 

This was a sort-of win. There was some resistance to this in her spooky spots and I really tried.  But I was pretty sure I didn't 'clamp', or if i did I let go. Calling this one a 'half-met' goal.

4. Help Carmen to stay straight and not throw her haunches in OR bend to the outside. Fix if that happens. 

This came up in our second test on saturday. It also came up on Sunday- always down the far side heading to 'A'.  Saturday I couldn't fix it but Sunday I did. It took a lot of mental effort and some clear riding (thank you Centred Riding because the 'ball' analogy really helped).  So it's a win in that I 'fixed it'. 

5. smooth transitions and keep the rhythm. 

Transitions were largely smooth and that was some of the comments I received as well. But when she tensed her rhythm went off. It's a work in progress. Carmen does have tons of potential. We just need to keep working. 

6. Have her relaxed enough to give me some semblance of stretch in the free walk and stretchy circle. 

Achieved. It wasn't 'test perfect' but she gave me as much stretch as she does at home. The problem is that as we approach the wall she tenses. This is again is a goal we are working on. 

7. Have fun. keep in mind that it's about a positive experience and getting miles on Carmen. 

Oh my god. I had so much fun. The group of ladies competing were all so supportive and helpful to one another. There were lots of smiles and fun. It was one of the most positive shows I have been to. It's a great venue to introduce horses to showing. 

This photo sums it all up perfectly. 

All the feelings. PC Joanne Kane

Well That's Better

Tuesday was too freaking hot and humid to ride. I decided instead to paint some more poles and try to not drip sweat all over them. 

shortly after this photo it rained. Of course it did- paint AND laundry?
I pretty much cursed myself. 

Wedsnesday was much cooler and a better day to ride. Cynthia joined me after supper. I walked Carmen up to the ring and mounted. Immediately I began to walk her all over the ring. She was a completely different horse this day. Soft and listening rather than stiff and pissy. We worked on changes in bend and transitions. Her leg yields were soft and flowed nicely. She looked at a few things but nother major. I was giving her a walk break walking beside Cynthia and I said "Look at this mare- completely relaxed and happy. This is NOT the mare I rode on monday"

Right then she gave a littel 'eek!' and scooted a few feet sideways. I laughed 'there she is!' And I then put her back on the rail and back to work. (Carmen: it's no fun if you're laughing at me'). 

I began to ask her to half-halt and bring her hind legs under rather then string out. I worked on getting her trot and walk shorter and longer. Not by a lot but she responded off my seat. I then asked her to canter and once we had that going nicely I asked her to shorten it and then let it out. I could feel her figuring out how to shift her weight back rather then string out in the canter stride. And shd didn't break. I asked her to counter canter a shallow loop- no problem. Down the short side I asked her to shorten and then let her out down the long side. I could feel her legnthen (just a wee bit but sitll!) and I gave her a tone of praise. We even practiced a canter sepertine and it didn't suck. 

I was so happy with her and I'm thinking she felt the same. Cynthia dropped the gate and we rode over the bridge and down to the barn. I wanted to hack out but the blackflies became really bad so it seemd better to end at the barn and go have a glass of wine (priorities you know). 

It seems to me that that ride I had on Monday, although hard, was an important lesson for both of us. I need to keep my expectations of Carmen even when she's not sure she wants to play the game. 

Carmen: You know if didn't have so many dogs you'd be able to be faster with my night snack instead of checking on those puppies so much

Me: You're right. If I didn't have the puppy I could probably ride you EVERY DAY. 

Carmen: Neiver mind. 

What do you mean 'not have me'? I htought you loved me!
Of course I do- you are the best of puppies. 

Follow My Lead

I came home from work to 36 degree temperatures! I wisely decided to wait until after supper to ride. By then it was a cool 31 degrees and humid. The horses were sleepy in their stalls but Carmen gave a nicker when I came in. I spent some time braiding her mane to help her stay cool and then we headed up to the ring.

We started off fairly mellow with the usual alerting around troll corner. But I wasn't worried and we went to work. Slowly Carmen became more tense even though I was not (I swear on a stack of horseman's manuals!). I could hear small creatures in the brush and I'm suspecting that some dear were circling (they bed down in the tall grass by the ring. What started as a plan for a quiet, short ride quickly morphed into a lesson on listening.

I no longer work on getting Carmen to be okay in spots of the ring. Instead I work on schooling and where is not relevant. It's like a dance where both partners want to lead. That never works well - in dancing or in riding. 

I'm fascinated by how I don't get upset or scared by shenanigans. I guess that is the lesson that Carmen is teaching me. I found myself tonight staying focussed on the plan and I didn't let any mare tantrums deter me from the exercises. If we were working on bend on a 10 metre circle I insisted that we ride the 10 m circle with bend and not speeding up. This is new for us. I have let shenanigans interfere in the past so I'm not surprised that my drawing the line on this leads to some resistance. Resistance is not bolting (yay), more like if I ask her to circle and she ignores my bending aids, if I tapped behind my leg with the whip or gave a kick she would spin away and be all offended. I simply put her back on the circle and carried on, despite the drama.

The sequence of drama with Carmen often goes like this:

I think scary things are over there we should avoid at all costs.
I am NOT going there!
Okay, I will go in the general vicinity
Fine! We will go there but I will be bent to the outside and ready to flee
Stop asking me to bend or I will FREAK OUT. I'm warning you
Okay we bend going through there but I will keep an eye cocked and go as fast as possible
STOP ASKING ME TO SLOW DOWN
Okay, I am going slow. Are you happy with how you are crushing my spirit?
Hey, they is easy, I don't understand what all the fuss is about.

I rode much longer then I planned but I wanted to finish with her walking slowly around the ring- not rushing. I realized that I was holding her in the pace I wanted but that is not a good plan for the long run. So I asked her to slow and relaxed my hold. If she sped up I asked again and upped the strength of my aids until she slowed and then relaxed again. Carmen needs to be in self-carriage and she cannot do that if I hold her. I have no idea how many times I circled the ring. I was starting to worry if I was going to be late for work tomorrow. Finally she gave me what I wanted- a slow walk and didn't speed up.

Life with Carmen will never be boring but there was also some very good work in our session tonight as well. The leg yields were excellent and she's starting to adjust her bend with the softest of aids- when she choose to. The trick is to convince her to let me lead.