Two Halves of the Circle

If you are perfect, and your horse is perfect as well, at a clinic, you learn nothing.  Save that fantasy time for the horse show.  Princess and I had an instructive weekend with Linda Allen, judge and Olympic course designer.  Saturday was low gymnastics with different striding and one very cooperative horse.  Sunday was a little different.  Distractible and spooky, definitely more of a challenge.

Add to that the technical challenge of the course.  Lots of roll backs and oxer to oxer bending lines, then trot into a short gymnastic, all the variation you need to get through a big course.  In the circle before the first jump, she suggested moving up and collecting three to four times, could be barely perceptible, but definitely to have them listening.

Princess has more challenge with tight right turns.  A little more stiff, does not get her feet under her and she therefore gets stressed and stiffer.  There were lots of right right turns.  The more successful ones were jump, half halt and balance and slow down for the turn and get this done BEFORE the half way mark.  Then move up to the fence.

If you are still half halting and trying to slow down 3/4 the way through the turn, you have one stride left to the jump.  Either it is tiny dorky decelerated hop from the base, or you are gunning it in one stride and lucky if they get enough impulsion to get the job done.  Either way, not elegant.

So one practical suggestion is canter on a circle, extend for half the circle and collect for half.  Then extend for a quarter and collect for a quarter, like 12-3-6-9 o'clock on a clock.  Today we did just that and Princess got it!  Now we have to get it on the landing side of a jump.  Always something to learn.  Oh yes, and don't lean and keep your shoulders even with the direction you are going, or more precisely, keep the line through both shoulders perpendicular to the direction you are going,

Joan and Princess studying hard for the next challenge.

Capote Caper

Our barn is a little unusual.  If a horse needs exercise, out of the stall, head clearing trot and canter, then we can ride each others horses.  This is different from schooling, or actual training, which is reserved for Hugh's hands.  But if you are equal in proficiency as the owner, and the same owner is working or away, then you can rise one, two, or three horses after your lesson. More time in the saddle, extra conditioning for me, always a treat.

Yesterday, I got to ride Capote.  This is the middle of winter, and he is clipped.  Sort of makes him look like a Marine recruit, with a new crew cut, the icy air directed straight to the unaccustomed scalp. Energizing to say the least. He was on his toes, perusing the horizon for anything alarming, any excuse to act genuinely scared, basically any excuse to buck me off, to be frank.

But we managed to keep our cool, cadenced trot and lovely canter, settled down until he felt truly relaxed and got his wiggles out in a safe (for me) manner.  I returned him to the barn and proudly told Antonio, "No loco" in my limited Spanish. I thought I was super horse whisperer in training

Deflation time.  Antonio admitted he lunged Capote that morning.  Deflation, not a horse whisperer but regular amateur dreamer.  But dreaming is fun too.