More Moe Lessons!

 For my last two lessons, I rode Moe again to get a better feel for her and learn more. Since she is trained in dressage I work on keeping her on the bit the entire ride, except when walking, As you may remember, she gets a little sore sometimes from being older and can't always pick up the left lead(she has a nice counter canter though), but both Saturday and Monday I was able to get the correct lead several times. Fortunately she isn't as difficult to ride on the incorrect as Chester is.

 Last Saturday I worked her around the dressage arena, trying to get her on the bit. Moe willingly gets on the bit for the most part, even if she doesn't always hold it for very long. After working for several minutes I was able to get her on the bit, and there were several times that felt really nice. Moe was connected and went at a steady pace that wasn't too fast or slow.

 For my first ride on Moe I had only rode on a small circle while I got used to her since she is very fast, but Saturday I rode a 20 meter circle and even on the straight. First, though I worked on a 20 meter trot circle at E to the right, slowing spiraling it in and out using my weight to balance Moe and bring her to a steady, slow pace. When it seemed like to was about to walk, I would spiral the out. Then I made it a bit smaller and asked for the canter right. I made a circle, spiraling it to a 20 meter then heading down the side of the arena toward F, around the corner, and back onto my circle once I reached E. Though Moe's canter is fast, it's not intimidating after riding Chester, who can challenging as I mentioned before, and I was able to make it collected with some half-halts.

 I did the same exercise to the left, but I took several tries to get the correct lead. When I did I rode her on several 20 meter circles. I was using a bit to much inside rein because of her speed, something I need to try not to do before it becomes a habit.

Trying a leg yield.

 I also did some leg yields on her. Once I had my position, reins, and legs correct, I was able to get some beautiful leg yields. I tried them in both directions, both over short distances, from centerline to E or B, or over long distances all the to P or V. Moe's leg yields feel nice and I can really tell that her legs are stretching in front of the other legs. It's a wonderful feeling.

 Next, I rode through my Training Level test. The pattern was correct, but I was focused so much on the pattern itself that I didn't connect Moe to the bit.

 I did better at it on the following Monday. The lesson started out similarly with me riding Moe in the arena and connecting her to the bit. Moe was much faster at trotting that day, even more so than in previous lessons but I was able to control her. I rode across short diagonals several times, changing directions quite often throughout the lesson. While I rode I worked on getting Moe on the bit. Sometimes she would lift her head up or turn to the inside when I wasn't using enough outside rein or when I she wasn't connecting, but I continued to ask and was able to get her on the bit many times.

 Next I cantered. Like in my previous lesson, I rode the spiraling exercise before asking for the canter transition, and when I cantered right I went around the short side of the arena and back onto my circle at E. For the left canter, Moe didn't canter on the correct lead, so I tried an exercise to get her to pick up the correct lead. I would ask for canter right, head toward F, the across the diagonal K to B so I would be heading left. At B, I would trot, then ask for canter almost right away. This caused Moe to pick up the left lead on the circle. I didn't get the same result the next time since Moe realized what would happen.

 Soon after I began my Training Level test. Besides not getting the left canter, it went well. The pattern was correct and Moe was on the most of the time. The best part was probably the the free walk---Moe has a nice one and likely picked up a lot of free walk points when she was a show horse.

 I had a nice two lessons. The cool thing is that Meghan says Moe seems to like me. It's a neat to have a horse, especially a mare like you. Meghan also says that I rode Moe well, and not everyone does because of her Thoroughbred speed. I'm going to ride Moe in lessons from no on, so it's nice that my rides on her have started out well.

Canter on the Bit with Ronnie

 Wednesday, I rode Ronnie and I had a great ride. For the first part, though, I was riding very well. It turned out to be caused by me having to push Ronnie forwards while posting since she was going slowing, so I was given a crop to help in case needed. After that, I was much better.

 I made Ronnie go more forward, tapping her with the crop in addition to using my voice and leg. while I rode her I asked for her to become connected to the bit. Meghan gave me a draw rein to use, which makes getting a horse connected a bit easier because it uses more pressure on the bit. I was able to make Ronnie become round quite a bit of the time, working on both a circle and then a straight after I had established a good connection.

 For most of the lesson I was working on a circle so I could focus mostly on keeping steady hands and connecting Ronnie to the bit. It can take a lot of work to do it properly and requires good balance so you don't hang on the horse;s mouth, but it was worth it. Riding with a connected horse is nice.

 Since I was able to keep a steady connection, I could try cantering with a horse on the bit. I asked for a forward trot, got Ronnie connected, then asked for the canter transition in the corner. While she cantered I continued to ask for connections and half-halted with the outside rein to keep her straight. The resulting canter felt very balanced. I rode several circles to right, then did the same thing the left. It still took quite a few circles to get everything in order, but I was able to connect her in the trot and canter. I had a great, productive lesson.

 Friday when I rode Chester, he was in one of his hot moods, probably from not being ridden, so I had to spend a lot of the lesson getting him to calm down. He was fine in the trot when I was warming him up. However, when began riding serpentines with the canter in the middle part, he began getting wild and doing some small hops. I tried asking only with my voice and loosened the reins, but he was still hot, even on just one 20m circle, so Meghan told to ride a trot serpentine with  halts at each change of direction. This slowed him down a bit. I also tried riding a circle and spiraling it in and out using my weight and seat.

 After doing that for a few minutes, I tried it the other way, and finally cantered on a circle. The result was much better and controlled. I rode several circles, first to the right, and then to the left. That wrapped up my lesson.

Eventing Armband from Eventing in Color!

 Today I received an XC armband from Sarah at Eventing in Color. These armbands are mandatory for both jumping and cross country in an eventing and are also needed for Pony Club activities as well. They contain all necessary medical information so if you happen to get injured, the medics can know who you are and are useful in any equestrian activity. Thanks Sarah! If you are in need of them, go over to her blog. She sells them for a good price and it is nice to support our blogging community. Here are some pictures of me trying it out. Thanks again, Sarah!

 

Lesson on Mo

 Monday, I had a lesson on Mo so I cold try her out. Mo is one of the lesson horses but is used as often as Ginger and Reno because she is faster and can be intimidating to new riders, and most riders get a horse of their own before they are experienced enough to rider. Fortunately, I am not intimidated by speed and Meghan says I rode very well. In fact someone watching thought I had been riding for a much longer than a year when she saw me. My year riding anniversary is in November.

 Mo is a small Thoroughbred but has very large for her small size. She is trained in 3rd level dressage yet also did some eventing, which may explain why her riders often need to constantly half halt when riding her, especially over jumps. I walked her around for several minutes, trying to get used to her. Then, I asked for the trot. Mo has a nice, forward trot. While riding her I use half halts to balance her and to keep her tempo consistent. She even began to get a bit round without me really trying to ask for. Very different than Chester!

 Once I had trotted in both directions, I made a small circle to the right, her easiest direction to move, to prepare for the canter. Her canter is really big, stretched out, and fast so I needed to keep a small circle to have more control. The first time, I lost my stirrup, my the next time went very well. The first thing I noticed was how easy her canter is to sit, and how fast it. I rode quite a few circles before returning to the trot and then walk.

Leaning forward a bit

 After a lot of walking I made a circle left to ask for canter left. Mo isn't always good about cantering left, but she really aims to please and picked up the right lead canter heading left instead. She doesn't feel uncomfortable to ride, nor does she move to the right when she picks up the wrong lead, but I could tell she hadn't hadn't picked up the correct lead. I could feel that the canter felt very collected though. I returned to trot and tried again. Mo again picked up the wrong lead so Meghan decided not to push it because Mo hadn't been worked to much recently.

 Mo is fun. I love fast horses as long as I can control them, and Mo knows a lot of things. I'm still talking over with my parents to see what decision is best. I like the idea of getting my own horse soon, yet if possible I'd rather learn more to get a younger horse that can stay with me a while and even move up several levels with me. I don't know what will happen yet but I will keep you updated.

Dilemma

I have some good news, but also a slight dilemma. The good news is, my trainer found a barn for the horses to move to. It is an nice eventing place called Third Day Farms that has multiple arenas, a beautiful barn, and a cross country course. It would be a nice place for me to start eventing later on. Going there will work out well so my trainer can be the dressage trainer there. However, only seven horses, the full training horses, will go there, which makes sense since that's where Meghan will train out of. The rest of the horses will go to a place called Parker's that is not too far away. Both seem like nice places and are actually a bit closer than Silver Rose.

 Chester will be going to Parker's, leaving my in a slight dilemma. It's not exactly a good idea for me to tack up Chester in a new place without my trainer nearby, and she might not be able to make it to the place until my lesson starts since she would be teaching lessons at Third Day. Plus, all the girls my age are going to Third Day since they are the ones showing. Most likely we will end the lease with Chester. I was beginning to outgrow him anyways and even had to take a step back by riding him on a loose rein to make him happy, rather than keeping a firm dressage contact. Chester is a great horse to learn on, but walk/trot/canter are the extent of what he can teach me, making him great for beginnings or people not interested in showing. I have learned a lot, but it is time to move on. This leaves me with two options to consider. 

Option #1: I can partial lease Mo, one of the lesson horses. Mo is a small bay Thoroughbred mare trained through 3rd level dressage, so she definitely has quite a bit to teach me. The only downside is that she is in her early twenties and will most likely need some shots to keep in regular work. These shots could be around $100 or a bit more or less depending on what's needed. We might have to be partly responsible for providing veterinary care depending how the lease works out. She doesn't have many physical problems but is a little out of shape. I rode her earlier this week.

Option #2: My second option is that I can take a break from my regular several times a week lessons and reduce them to once a week on Mo. This will allow me to set aside more money to get a horse of my own, hopefully around November or December if everything works out and if trainer finds a good one. Who knows, maybe I will find a buy or lease situation at Third Day.

Both options have their pros and cons. If I pick option one I would be able to ride a horse that can teach me a lot, yet my family would have to be responsible for taking care of some of her needs, meaning less money to set aside for my own horse. Option two allows me to ride and save more money for a horse of my own. What is your opinion on the matter? I'd love to hear your input on this decision.

Pony Club Jumping

 Saturday was the last Pony Club at Silver Rose. Four other girls, including two from the barn and two young girls on ponies, as well as myself, were participating that day. We started with the group meeting, discussing what we have done this summer and introducing ourselves to new girls, then mounted. As a group, we began walking and then trotting around the arena. Since we were using the entire arena, it was much easier to navigate with other horses. We did some two-point in the trot before picking up the canter. Chester was a good mood. He enjoys riding in groups.

A very small x

 To be safe, we took turns cantering. One girl after another cantered around the arena in the two point to prepare for jumping. When it was my turn, I circled around Meghan, sat up, and tried holding my two point position. I was better then than I was Friday, which is good.

 Next, we all changed directions and did the same things, trotting and then cantering. Once all the horses were sufficiently warmed up, we began riding over ground poles. I trotted, but the other girls cantered, counting strides between each pole. After everyone had had a few turns, we again switched directions, heading right, and began jumping.

 As I have been doing before, I jumped small x's at the trot. I didn't get ahead of Chester's motion when he went over the rails and didn't end up pulling on his face either. Some of the girls jumped a bit bigger, but we all jumped around the same the height.

Heading over a trot pole

 Meghan set up a course where we would start at one fence, head almost to the end of the arena, then make a wide u-turn and jump two consecutive jumps, finally making a tight u-turn and to jump the original jump. Chester was happy, and everyone seemed to do well. Towards the end a girl named Anica jumped a fairly good-sized vertical(2' 6" maybe?). that was placed at the beginning of the course. A few strides before that was another jump.

 Meghan lowered the last jump for me, but I was still able to jump a small vertical, which I enjoyed. It was a fun productive day. To finish all the girls hacked around the property, following a small track.

Assembling a bridle with my friends.

 Afterward, we had a horsemanship lesson where we assembled bridles and learned about types of bits, flashes, and parts of bridles. I was able to help my group because I had assembled my bridle when I first got it. I learned that the part that holds the end of a strap on the bridle, is called a runner. The curved part that goes over the tongue, found in some bridles, is called the port. The finish I learned how to figure eight a bridle to properly store. You have to wrap the throatlatch around the bridle. looping the reins through it, and attach it to the other end of the the throatlatch. You do not however hook the buckles as that wears the tack out by increasing the stress on the point. I learned a few things about bridles that day.

Riding on a Loose Rein

 First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the kind comments on my previous post.

For Friday's lesson, I worked Chester on a loose rein because he has been a bit irritated lately when I take more contact. This may sound contradictory, but he is much more calm and controllable when`the reins are looser. Of course this means I need to use my body and voice as well to maintain his tempo and half-halt him. It's not always easy to keep the reins loose like that and I often found myself tightening them to slow Chester down, which in turn made him faster since too much of contact sometimes makes him a bit claustrophobic.

Riding one handed.

  I rode around the arena, across several diagonals, and then made several serpentines, all on a loose rein. While doing so, I talked to Chester and tried to use my body to balance and voice slow him down a bit when necessary.

Two-point

 Then I made a circle right at A to begin the canter, starting with half the circle as I had done last time. His canter was surprisingly balanced and controlled when I started. After a few trot circles in between, I once again cantered half the circle, then an entire circle.

 Afterward, I changed directions and did the same thing in the other way. Like last time, there were a few times when he picked up the wrong lead or avoided the circle, but I was able to get a few good ones.

 Since I would be doing Pony Club stadium jumping the next day, I also practiced two-point in the canter, starting to the right. It takes a lot of balance to be able to hold your position. I rode quite a few circles, at one point lifting my inside hand in the air. The purpose of this was to learn to steer more with my body than only my hands, something that still needs work. I wasn't able to keep a good circle when I did this, but was still able to turn. I next did the same thing with my outside hand up. Chester went to the outside a bit a few times, showing the importance of using my weight to turn. After getting one good circle where I used my weight in addition to hands to turn, my lesson ended.

Devastating News--Silver Rose Ranch Has Been Sold

 I'm going to talk about my lesson and Pony Club, but for now I'm going to share some devastating news that has really left me completely broken. Silver Rose Ranch, the place where I have been riding for the past year, has been sold as of September 12. Every horse on the property--all 20 something--has to leave the facility by the first of the month. That leaves two weeks to find a place that will accept at least twelve new horses, which includes the three lesson/therapy horses and ones in full training with Meghan(and a few others owned by her students that are not in the training schedule). This number doesn't even include Chester, who is not in her training program with his owner, and various other horses. Not to mention that there was so much else planned these next few months for the barn(Pony Club, therapy riding fundraiser, etc). The news couldn't have come at a worse time.

 Right now, Meghan is looking for a facility without much luck. Anywhere we go will be already established with other trainers, higher prices, and will not accept or doesn't have room for such a large number of horses in such short notice. Silver Rose was a bit cheaper than the other places in the area, but still. It also mostly contained girls my age who trained with Meghan, knew each other well, and didn't have any drama. What now?

 It leaves me with so many questions. Where will the horses go? Will Chester go to the same place? Will I continue to lease him? How far will the place be from the my home, which is already a 45 minute drive? How are we even going to find a place and get everything moved, including horses, tack, jumps, dressage cones, and more, in two weeks? How will that place compare to Silver Rose, not just by facilities but also by the atmosphere? So many more questions are flooding my mind.

 The situation makes me even more sad because the place I spent much of this past summer and even this past year is going to be used for development. The place that means so much to me because I learned most of what I know about riding and experienced dozens of "firsts" in riding--all my firsts in riding--will be gone. It may not be the fanciest, high-end facility but I love it so much and have so many happy memories of that place, memories I will cherish forever. Now, it's going to be gone. It makes me cry. I going to miss the place.

Picking Up Wrong Leads

 Wednesday I went back to the kimberwick for Chester since I'm still not quite able to ride him well in the snaffle. I warmed him up bu riding across diagonals and around the dressage arena, as I normally do, then began riding him a trot serpentine, no canter this time. He was nice for the serpentines, so I soon began a circle at A to begin cantering, heading right first.

 To get make sure Chester was responsive and that I was able to recreate the calm, controlled canter I had several times before, I only rode half of the circle, from K to F, canter. Getting a calm canter is much easier to the right because Chester is more comfortable cantering that direction, so it only took a few circles to get the desired canter. Once I did, I rode a few full circles, then headed across the diagonal of the arena so I could try the exercise the other way. When doing this, I pulled the left rein a bit to straighten Chester, so he tried to give a lead change. He's not really trained how to do it properly; he just tried to pick up the lead of the way I turned him.

 I returned to the trot, the rode around the dressage arena to make another circle at A, this time heading left. I had more difficulty heading this way. Chester picked up the wrong lead, time after time. He is not intentionally being naughty when he does this, he is simply uncomfortable cantering that direction and from time to time doesn't pick up the correct lead.

 Instead of getting mad at him, which may make him irritated and frustrated, I returned to the trot every time he picked up the wrong lead and started over, as Meghan instructed. I also loosened my reins a bit so their wasn't too much tension on the right rein. There was one time when Chester tried to head right and made a funky canter leg yield with his hind end towards the poles that marked the dressage arena.

After a little bit I tried asking Chester for the canter right after K, while I was in the middle of turning to F so he had some bend to him. this ended up working and he picked up the correct lead. I patted him and rewarded him with a short break.

 Next, I went through the Training Level dressage. The downward canter transitions need a bit of work, and I still need more flexion on the loops, but the test went without incidents, other than Chester just once picking up the wrong lead as I neared the canter circle to the left. I know the pattern now, I just need to focus on fine-tuning in and riding it well.

Group Lesson

 Friday I had a group dressage lesson with two other girls: Anica and Kaylee. I rode Chester in the snaffle bit again. I haven't been using it every ride because Chester is very fast and much less calm than he is in the other bit. Simply having the stronger bit calms him down. To begin, I started by trotting Chester around the arena(after walking), halting at every letter to make sure I had control over him. He is more challenging to ride in this bit so it is important I have complete control over him, especially in a group.

 I asked for the canter on the middle section, working up to cantering the whole thing, with trot transitions in between to change directions. Canter serpentines still need some work, but I was able to do them.

 Next, everyone took turns riding the dressage test's they are working on. Chester had been a bit hot earlier, but I decided to keep his snaffle bridle and work it out. I began my test, tracking left at C to ride the loop. Everything was fine for the first half of the test, but as I rode the loop to begin the second canter part, Chester became a little faster. I was able to control him for the canter part until I almost finished the circle to the right. I must have glanced down or something because the next thing I knew I was slipping off--again. Somehow I managed to land on my feet beside him, holding the reins. I guess it's just one of those weeks. Horses have a way of showing us that we have a lot more to learn, especially when we begin to think we have improved a lot. I'm still amazed that I landed on my feet. Maybe I should be a vaulter, ha ha.

 Anyways, I remounted and resumed the test at the part when I rode the MXF loop. The rest of the test went fine with a controlled canter. After watching the other girls ride their tests again. I rode the test once more. It was much more successful and more calm and controlled.

 When I finished, I hacked around the property with the other girls, riding across one of the fields rather than taking the usual path that loops around the barn and paddocks. I like riding with other girls, but still like having private lessons since I can have more focus on what how I am riding and what I'm learning. I'm going to do group lessons every other Friday for now.

Hanging on Like A Cross Country Rider

 Wednesday's lesson started out nicely enough. I was trotting around the dressage arena, heading across diagonals and doing what I usually do for  warm up. I made a circle at , asking for  slight bit of connection, then began cantering on  circle. It went nicely enough at first until I glanced down when Chester and I reached  a pole. I've been good about not looking down lately, until then, and when I did, everything went crazy. I lost my balance and fell onto Chester's neck. He continued to move around while I clung to his neck, trying to stay on like you would see someone do during cross country. I managed to hang there for several seconds while Chester wondered why I was still on his back. Unfortunately, it didn't end the way it often does when top riders do it. I ended up hitting the ground. I missed the pole, landing in unhurt on the arena sand. Meghan was impressed with how well I was able to stay on, saying that I held on like an event rider trying to stay on as they begin to fall in cross country. A little bit like the third video of Andrew Nicholson on this page, except without the jump and the save. :)

I got up and remounted, the went on a circle again to begin the canter. There was another rough time when Chester stopped by the same spot because he was afraid of getting in trouble, but I sat back, stayed on, and continued riding. A few times he picked up the wrong lead since he was still  bit worried, but was fine after that. I asked for the canter by the rail instead so he(and myself) would forget about the incident. Once I calmed him down, he was much better.

This one is beautiful

 Next, I rode through my Training Level Test 3. It went nicely, a little fast over the cantering diagonal from H to F, causing a rough downward transition, but the rest went okay. After finishing that, I tried  new test: First Level 1. It will be while before I'm showing at that level, but Meghan wanted me to try it to both prepare me for the future and teach me new movements. The First Level Tests introduce the ten meter circles, and Test 1 has the half circles. The test itself goes like this: Enter working trot, X halt salute, C track left. At E, half circle to X, the to B. At K ride diagonal to M, stretchy 20m circle at C. Free walk from H to P, medium walk from P to F. At F working trot, at A canter right lead, and at E 15 m circle. Canter round the arena, head across the diagonal when you reach K, trot at X. C working canter left lead, E 15m circle, canter round arena with trot at C. Ride a diagonal from h to F, then up centerline.

Chester being cute while I learn my new dressage test.

 The test is complicated and a big step up from Training Level. The purpose of me trying it now, as I mentioned earlier, was to prepare me for when I have a horse of my own. It was fun giving it a try.

Boyd Martin and Shamwari 4 Drawing

 Some of you may know that one of my hobbies outside of horses is drawing. What do I draw? Horses of course! It's been a while since I've posted one of my artworks on my blog, so I decided to share one with you today. After the WEG eventing ended, I decided to draw of picture of my favorite rider, Boyd Martin, on his WEG mount, Shamwari 4. Shamwari was trained by Ludwig Svennerstal, a Swedish rider who competed with the horse in the London 2012 Olympics. Earlier this year, Boyd purchased Shamwari with a group of people and began riding the horse. Anyways, here it is. Enjoy!

Bringing a Horse to His "Happy Place"

 Monday's lesson brought a great learning experience. It started with me riding canter serpentines with a trot transition in between to change leads. This is actually very difficult, much more so than riding on the straight because you need to do a quick downward transition, turn, then canter again. I worked up to doing this by cantering one part, the two, then the entire serpentine.  It is difficult to focus on everything all once and still keep your geometry correct. I found myself not quite making it to the letters after the canter transitions.

 After a few ones with a controlled canter and good geometry, I went across the diagonal to change directions, riding the same exercise in the other direction. Like last time, it was difficult. Focusing on riding transitions and directions takes practice, but I got a few good ones.

 Next, I rode through the dressage test I recently started working on, Training Level Test 3. It not go well at. In short, it was tense, wild, fast, and not very controlled. Chester was in one of his energetic moods and was completely running off, causing me to keep a tighter hold on the reins, which irritated him more. I kept him on the pattern, but it was anything but the balanced and calm test the judges are looking for.

 The next time through, my focus was mostly on calming Chester and getting him back to his "happy place." Rather than nagging at him by constantly half-halting, I decided to relax, take a breath, and talk softly to him. The result was successful. I was able to get Chester relaxed and happy, and it wasn't just by holding him back, the latter of which may slow him down, but not truly get him back to his "happy place."

 This test turned out much more smoothly and controlled. Chester was reassured when I talked to him and gained confidence. Meghan says that being able to relax a horse that quickly takes a good rider, so I must have really improved over the summer. If something like that happened three months ago, I probably wouldn't  have stayed on and would likely have dismounted  and tried again another day.

Dressage Loops & Riding Training Level Test 3!

 Saturday, I Chester in his snaffle bit since Meghan thinks I'm ready to try him in that, which will make getting him on the bit easier since the bit is less severe than what I normally ride him in. To begin with, I worked on testing my brakes. I rode on a circle and did some walk-halt transitions. Those went well enough, so I began the trot. I worked on connecting Chester to the bit. He is a lot more willing to use his back and connect when I use this bit, which is because it doesn't hurt his mouth if I use too much pressure. It still wasn't easy, but I was able to get him to connect much faster than last time.

 Once I had tried this I both directions, on a circle, I asked for the canter. Chester did seem ready to canter yet a took off, giving a small buck(just a small one---not even close to a rodeo buck). I managed to stay and wasn't very tense afterward. A month ago I would've come off, but I have developed a better seat since then.

 After the unsuccessful canter, I began working on controlling Chester's tempo in the trot. He tends to run off if his tempo is checked, so I gave him a lot of strong half-halts, nearly bringing him to a halt before pushing him forward. I then did this same thing on a serpentine, giving the strong half-halts on the parts in between each part of the serpentine. Once I had a controlled trot, I cantered on a circle left at A. Chester's canter was controlled and balanced. I even managed to get a fairly balanced canter the other way.

 Next, I went through Training Test 1. The test still needs some polishing, but it is a work in progress. When I had finished the test, I began learning a new skill: loops. A loop goes something like: Start at H(or F, M, or K) reach X, then turn towards K. If you start at F, you hit X and head to M, and so on. The pattern itself is pretty straightforward, but the tricky part is having the correct flexion. The horse has to look the way he is going without going off course, so you need to add leg to keep on track. I rode several loops, from H to X to K, then the FXM loop. The flexion part is what I need to practice.

 Once I had ridden several loops, I learned a new test: Training Test 3. It goes like this: Enter A working tort, X halt salute. At C, track left, ride a HXK loop, then canter at the corner before F. Head down the long side, circle at B, round the corner after M, making a diagonal from H to F. At X is the trot transition. Medium walk at A, then free walk the KXH loop. Trot at C, ride a MXF loop, canter in the corner before K. Head down the long side, circle at E, trot at C. Stretchy circle at B, then up centerline.

 This test is much longer and more complicated than Test 1. It asks more from the horse and rider because the horse must have the correct flexion and not just go through the movements. The flexion is still a thing to work on, and I went off course a couple times but I am beginning to remember it. I tried it twice that day. As I familiarize myself with the pattern, the test will become more smooth. By looking through the test, I realize that the judges ask a lot for good geometry and balanced gaits, transitions,and turns. These are what I should focus on once I have the test memorized. I'm looking forward to practicing it.

WEG Eventing Recap

 All the excitement from the eventing competition at the World Equestrian Games has concluded. Though I was not able to watch it, I have followed the updates to hear everything that went on. The competition as definitely exciting with some surprises, so I have written the highlights  for you to read.

 The first day of dressage ended with William Fox-Pitt and his mount, Chilli Morning, leading with a score of 37.5. Micheal Jung and FischerRocana FST second with a score of 40.7, and Ingrid Klimke earned 3rd place, scoring 41.2 on FRH Escada JS. Only three of the U.S had ridden that day: Phillip Dutton, who earned 43.8 and 6th place on Trading Aces; Buck Davidson, who scored 48.7 and placed 11th; and Sinead Halpin on Manoir de Carneville, who earned 50.8. Boyd Martin, Kim Severson, and Lynn Symansky had yet to ride.

 On day two, German rider Sandra Auffarth on her horse, Opgun Louvo, took the lead with their score of 35.2. William went to second place, and Micheal Jung third. Boyd rode Shamwari to 17th place in dressage, earning a score of 46.3 only because his test, which started out smoothly, ended with a few mistakes. Lynn Symansky and Donner completed the dressage with a score of 53 and a placing of 47th. As many of the riders said, though, it was not a dressage competition and they hoped to prove it the next day.

 The U.S. riders went into cross country with a third place national rating. Germany, which had two riders in the top three, was in first place, followed by New Zealand. The going was muddy from the huge amounts of rain, so many riders couldn't ride as fast as they wanted to. U.S. entered the phase hoping to move up in individual or team rankings, but ended up disappointed. Rider after rider ended up getting eliminated from the tough course. Buck Davidson retired his mount, Ballynoe Castle RM, from the course after two refusals. 

 Buck said, “It’s exhausting. This last water, it’s serious. Where they cut the new turn up the hill [after removing two fences and a loop from the course] is like a plowed field. Poor old Reggie, he gave me every ounce that he had like he always does, and if I had to do it over again I would have aimed him at just the bank [at 30B] and gone to the log [option at 30C], but I probably would have just pulled up after that anyway. Yes, it’s the World Championships, but still he’s my pet, and he’s still one of the greatest horses ever, and I would never want anything to happen to him. I’m really, really proud of him. He jumped perfect; he tried his heart out.”

Phillip retired Trading Aces from the course after the horse ran out gas. The horse is young and simply wasn't used to such a difficult course.

Sinead Halpin was the first U.S rider to finish, yet not without a runout at one of the fences. Lynn Symanksy also finished, yet she, too experienced a few runouts. She said, “I’m frustrated with my ride. He was great in the beginning. I had tons of horse, even to the end I had a lot of horse, so it wasn’t that he got tired. At the second water we were really bold coming in, and he just ducked out of the second element of the one-stride at the very last minute. I thought I was on my line, and I thought he understood it, but at the last moment he sort of had a cheeky duckout. My second 20 was at the trakehner to the corner that I actually wasn’t worried about. I was just a little bit quiet in, and it was a little bit of a reaching distance for him, and he went out to the right again. I ended with a healthy horse. We made it to the finish, but obviously not the result I was looking for."

Boyd Martin and Shamwari, taken by Shannon Brinkman. Photo via USEA on Facebook.

Kim Severson was not displeased with her ride on her mount, Fernhill Fearless, despite earning 20 penalty points. She was proud of her horse.

 The one shining star of the U.S. team was Boyd Martin. Though he started out slow to conserve Shamwari's the horse had plenty of strength left at the end. Boyd received 13.6 time faults, yet rode the course clear and was able to move from 17th place to 9th.

 Boyd says, My horse is a real trier. My plan was to set out and be really steady and see what my horse had left at the end. In hindsight, I probably should have pushed him a bit more at the beginning because he was full of running at the end. Coming in I expected this to be the toughest competition in the world, and I think that’s exactly what it was. I am well mounted on a wonderful horse that has the heart the size of Australia, so I knew it would be a good show. I feel like we are a team of great horses and great riders, but with this course, even the best combinations were having difficulty. I think everyone tried their hearts out, and they should all hold their heads high.”

On August 31, the show jumping ended the eventing part of the 2014 World Equestrian Games. William Fox-Pitt ended up knocking down one rail, earning him extra penalty points that prevented him from winning the Worlds. Sinead Halpin ended up knocking down two rails, while Boyd had one rail down. The day ended with Sandra Auffarth riding to victory with a clean round. The final placing's are Sandra and Opgun Louvo for gold, Micheal Jung and Fischerrocana for silver, and William Fox-Pitt for bronze. Not bad for Jung considering the fact he was riding a reserve horse. The national rankings are Germany in first place because the country has two riders in the top three, Great Britian silver, and the Netherlands bronze. Boyd Martin ended eighth overall. Unfortunately, this means that U.S. hasn't secured a place in Rio's 2016 Olympics.

Sandra Auffarth by Jenni Auty credit

 This year's Games had many ups and downs for the sport of eventing. An new top rider, Sandra, has come out and defeated more experienced top riders, giving the eventing world surprising news. Overall I'd say the Normandy 2014 WEG was very exciting. Congratulations to Sandra Auffarth and everyone else!
 Notes: http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/martin-shines-us-team-fight
http://eventingnation.com/home/germany-dominates-in-nail-biting-weg-show-jumping-finale/

Lots of on the Bit Work

 For Friday's lesson, I worked mostly and getting Chester on the bit, which can be a hard skill to learn. He knows how to bend his neck very well, but often doesn't use his back and really connect to the bit. I spent most of the lesson trotting Chester on a circle and trying to get him on the bit.  I supported with my outside rein and squeezed with the inside rein, holding my hands apart to keep connection with the bit. It is important that the reins are not floppy, a way to tell if you have a connection. After a lot of effort, I was able to briefly feel what Have a horse to truly on the bit feels like. The reins are straight and taut, not loose, and you feel a gentle, steady pressure from the bit.

Toward the beginning

 I had only experienced it briefly, so I continued to work on the skill, heeding in the other direction this time. Chester was getting a bit irritated about working and began evading to the side and not moving forward. My outside hand had followed his head,of course giving him what he wanted. Since he didn't quite want to stay on the circle, Meghan had me ride him around the dressage arena instead.

Trying to get him on bit.

 This made him happier, so I continued to work on getting him on the bit. Those brief moments that he did actually round up and come on the bit, I rewarded him. I was able to, even for short moments, connect him, so I began working on cantering instead to give him something fun to do.

This looks nice!

 I cantered on a circle at A, trying to achieve his slow canter, managing to be successful before heading across the diagonal to ride a circle at A in the opposite direction. I had to ride this circle several times because I needed to use more leg to keep him in canter.

 Next, I rode through the dressage test I'm working on. Since I already know the pattern well, I focused on fine tuning it by fixing little details, such as taking my time, going into the corners, and making the geometry perfect. Some of my figures were more accurate than others, and I made it into the corners better for the second half, but though it still needs a lot more improvement, it went fairly well.

 It's exciting to be learning all this new things, especially considering the fact that I have only been riding consistently since the beginning of the summer.

Controlling the Canter

 Wednesday, I worked more on controlling the canter, one of my goals, so Chester doesn't go full speed. I did this by working on a serpentine, cantering for the middle section. It took quite a few tries, but I was finally able to get that slow, easy canter I had achieved earlier this week. I rode the same serpentine a few more times because I had lost the perfect geometry and wasn't pushing Chester to all the points, particularly at the canter parts, but I before long I got a better serpentine.

This one looks beautiful!

 I then changed directions, doing the same exercise, except in the other directions. This time I was heading left, toward Chester's faster side. Again it took some tries, with Chester getting a bit irritated when I asked too strongly with my legs, so I then began asking using mostly my voice. Things were better after that, and with a few half-halts I was able to slow him down before begin my dressage test.

 The first time through, I felt that Chester was too fast and energetic, causing me to focusing to much on controlling his tempo rather than making a good test. The next time around, however, I worked on maintaining an consistent, slow tempo. I went into the corners and tried to reach all the points on the pattern. It turned out better than before and wasn't as rushed. I seem to be good at riding through the pattern correctly, I just need to work on the finer details, Meghan says, such as going into the corners and maintaining a consistent tempo. All this will come in time.

 I ended the lesson with a hack around the property, which Chester enjoys. Besides being a little energetic, Chester was good for the lesson.

Roundness and New Riding Goals

 For Monday's lesson, I worked on my position, mostly on gripping with my calves to give my body more support. I rode Chester on a trot circle as I tried this. It's amazing how much better and easier posting becomes when I actually support myself with my calves rather than the stirrup irons. I also focused on landing lightly in the saddle when I post the trot and not going up so high,which takes a lot of thigh muscles and a solid support from my calves gripping Chester's sides.

Next, I worked more on getting Chester on the bit. Luckily, Chester is fairly easy to get on the bit, yet it still takes a lot of work and coordination to get things right. If I don't add enough leg, he would go into a slow trot. Too much and he almost canters. Not holding the outside rein would make Chester's head go to the inside. After a few minutes, I was able to get him to round up for a little at a time. Once I began squeezing the inside rein until he lowers his head, rather than using short bursts, I discovered that getting him to round up became a little bit easier. He also held it for longer once he noticed that I would stop asking when he rounded up. It's such a nice and rewarding experience to have a horse that is round and connected.

 I did this exercise on a circle in both directions, then tried it on straight. I wasn't able to get him round as well on the straight; I need to work on that and remember that rounding him is the same on the straight or on a circle. To help, I probably need to hold the outside rein more so he doesn't turn to the inside. Nevertheless, I am still learning and connecting a horse perfectly takes years of practice. I'm going to look in my dressage book to see if I can get better understanding of the subject.

 Next did some cantering, also on a circle to begin. I am improving at relaxing into the canter and letting myself flow with the motion, one of the goals I had for myself, though it still needs a bit more work. As long as I remember to sit up, put my shoulders back, and grip with my calves, my position is better. There's a reason why we are all told that.

 After a short walk break, I cantered again, this time working on half-halt for a more controlled canter. I was able to have more influence on what speed Chester cantered, rather than riding the pace he chose, thus become a more active of a rider. I was even able to control his left lead canter, which is faster than his right lead canter, ending on that good note.

 Meghan and I also discussed some goals for the next six months, coming with these ones together:
-Swing my hips with the motion of the canter and have better control of the canter
This one Meghan thinks it won't take too long to achieve. I already almost there.
-Be more comfortable riding in groups
Another easily attainable one seeing as I will take group lessons soon.
-Reach Pony Club D-3 level
At this level I can actually canter in Pony Club and thus be able to participate more
-Do more jumping and improve at that
-Get my first few shows under my belt, even if they are the small local flat classes.
-Possibly get me my own horse.
Meghan thinks that I'm getting to the point that I need my own horse pretty soon(next six months)

That is what I will be working these next six months. The first two are easily attainable and would likely be accomplished long before February, but the last four are more long term. What are you working toward these next six months?

Getting Chester on the Bit

  For Wednesday's lesson, I practiced getting Chester to round up and connect to the bit, I new skill that Meghan thinks I am ready to learn. Before that, I started my lesson by warming up around the dressage arena, trotting across diagonals and riding several serpentines. Chester was being nice, which was good.

  After the warm up, I went through my Training level test. It went smoothly, though I still need to make him straight when cantering down the long sides. Also, I need to swing my hips with the motion of the gait. It needs some work, but I am much more comfortable and confident and mostly need to work on my position, such as learning to keep my shoulders back.

 I finished the test, letting Chester stretch before working on leg yields. I did them trotting now that I have been able to accomplish them walking. The patter I rode went like this: start at K, leg yield to centerline, head to C, track right, then at M leg yield back to centerline. At A, track right to begin the pattern once more. I rode through pattern a few times, pushing Chester over with my leg. The leg yields are starting to improve from how they were about a month ago, when they were more like diagonals. By using more leg and slowing Chester done with half halts, I can get better leg yields.

 After the leg yields, I made a circle to the right at C and began learning how to make a horse round and connected. You do this by holding the outside rein and squeezing the inside rein. When the horse listens and lowers his head, stop asking and reward him with softness, which doesn't mean loosen or give Chester the reins back, losing all you work for, which is what I did at first. It took a few minutes to get Chester to understand what I wanted. He thought something like, "Slow down? Turn to the inside? Go faster?" Before long he began to lower his head for a little bit at a time. As he found that rounding up with earn him softness, he held it for a bit longer. I did this at the walk and then the trot. The tricky part with doing it at the trot is that you must be able to balance with your legs and body and not your hands; hanging on the horse's mouth is uncomfortable for him and can make him irritated. I'm at a level now that I balance without hanging on the reins.

Look at his frame is rounding up. 

Looking nice. This is what I need to create in the test.

 There were a fews time that Chester went in on the circle because I didn't push him out with my inside leg, or slowed because I didn't use enough leg, but I soon found a good balance. When I did, Meghan told me to practice my test and try to keep this feeling throughout(except for the canter parts; I'm not ready to try it cantering yet.). The test feels smoother when Chester is connected like that. For the canter parts and stretchy circle, I loosened my reins. Chester even lowered his head for the stretchy circle, which is nice. While he wasn't connected throughout the entire test, there were parts that he was.

Riding Romeo

 Monday I test rode a bay gelding by the name of Romeo, who is being sold by an operation that resells unwanted horses. He is an older 18-year-old gelding that has competed in both hunters and eventing, reaching all the way to Preliminary level for eventing. Though he may be a bit old, he still can do a lot of jumping and has a lot of go left in. My parents and I didn't plan on getting him, but Meghan thought it would be good to ride different horses and build a portfolio of what I want in a horse.

 One of the people working there rode Romeo first, then Meghan, and finally me. When I rode him, I made a small circle in the huge arena. After getting a feel for his walk, I trotted him, switching directions after several circles. His tempo is consistent in both directions; I don't need to constantly adjust his speed, which is good. Next, I cantered him. heading left first. His canter isn't very hard to sit, though I had a little trouble stopping him when heading to the right. It's amazing how much go he has for his age.

After the ride

 Romeo seemed like a nice horse. He was friendly, his tempo was consistent, and he didn't at all act like he was old. However, there were some downsides that made us decide against him. He doesn't have papers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but that means that the only things we know about his history is what we were told: he raced a little, went to a hunter barn, then was sold to eventer. Somewhere along the line something bad must have happened to him because he came to the facility a bit swaybacked, caused by a long period of time not being worked, and underweight. The question is, why wasn't he worked for so long? He also has a trouble with one of his ears being touched when bridling, proving that he might have been mistreated at one point.

A cute face.

 I'm passing on this horse. In the mean time, the hunt for the right horse continues.

Jumping Course!

 I had another great lesson Friday, riding with Anica for part of it again. First, though, I warmed Chester up in the arena and trotted around the dressage part. I worked on lengthening and shortening his trot(not really extending like in dressage test, just making his gait a bit bigger or smaller) as I rode across diagonals and around the arena. I also did some trot leg yields in both directions. I got Chester to leg yield, though I need to slow him down a bit so he goes a bit more sideways. Other than that, it was successful and not just a diagonal.

 Next, I started a serpentine, heading right on the outside circles and left in the middle part. When I reach the P-V(or S-R on the way back) I asked for the canter transitions. My transitions are getting a lot better and more immediate, which is good. I rode several serpentines, then headed across the diagonal of the arena to change directions, making a serpentine the other way. I did the same thing, this time cantering the right for the middle part. Since I would be jumping later that lesson, Meghan had me hold my two-point for the canter part and for several trot steps. I'm getting better at holding my two-point trotting, though it took a little bit to find my balance in the canter until I put my hands more forward as I remembered from a previous lesson. Now that I've done a lot of cantering throughout my lessons, I am much more comfortable at that gait.

 Once I had done some canter work, I began the Training Level Test that I am working on, test 1. The upward and downward transitions were better than last time, which is good, but I need to work on relaxing a bit more and not rushing through the test. As Meghan said, my test time at a show is my time in the arena, so I can take my time. For the second half of the test, after going across the diagonal from F to H at the walk, I focused on taking my time, not cutting corners, and making the 20 m circles the correct size. This part went better. I  also found that I'm better at controlling Chester's fast canter tempo.

Chester decides the jump is too small and steps over it.

 After I finished my test, Anica came in on Roxy and we began practicing a small jump course consisting of four jumps. We started out with just ground poles, though. The course went like this: go over one jump, then another several strides away, turn left after the second and looping back, in between the first two jumps, over another one placed near the rail, and final over the last one around the corner. It probably sounds complicated so I'll share a diagram.

Here's how the course looked like. Note: Image not subject to scale; it's just a picture to give you an idea how it looked.

 I rode through it several times at the trot without any jumps in it. After both Anica and I had gone through it several times, Meghan began adding one jump at a time until there were four jumps, two cross rails and a small vertical that was a foot and a half to two feet(all the jumps were about that range; I'm just estimating.

More like jumping! This looks like the slightly bigger one.

 I kept Chester at a good tempo as I rode through the course. It's fun doing an course of jumps. As I rode I learn to focus on safely and efficiently maneuvering the course and lining Chester up for the jumps. For example, I needed to take one turn wide to line Chester up for one cross rail, so when I started doing that he was able to jump more easily and get better aligned for the last cross rail. The last cross rail was a bit bigger than the others, so he needed to to get to it straight. Jumping it was fun!

Jump!

After going through the course quite a few times, I started cooling Chester out. He had been bumping several of the jumps with his hind end, which we suspect is because he is sore from all the times he has been out this week. He was even more sore Saturday, but he should be okay after a day off.

 The lesson was really fun. It's great that I can progress at this rate, which is partly because I get to ride with a more experienced rider, watch her, and do the same thing. Meghan plans something that's sufficiently challenging for both of us. I'll be riding with others more often this fall because all the girls come out for a weekly group lesson during school time. While taking private lessons is great, riding in groups is fun as well since you can learn from what others do. It's not going to be a very huge group either so I can still get personal instruction as I ride. I'm looking forward to these lessons!

Two Rides, One Day(Ride on Ronnie)

 For Wednesday's lesson I rode Ronnie, the bay mare I mentioned earlier, riding Chester on my own just before so he wouldn't sit until my next lesson. On Chester I didn't do any hard work, just letting him stretch his legs in walk and trot. I did walk leg yields, which are improving, serpentines, and rode through my test pattern. Then, after putting him away, I got on Ronnie for my lesson.

 Ronnie had been ridden earlier and was a little tired, not moving very quickly, so Meghan let me use a crop just in case Ronnie needed some encouraging to get her going. I used is several times, but only when she didn't respond to my leg.

 I started the lesson as I often do, riding around the dressage arena and across several diagonals to change directions. Then, I did some serpentines on her in the trot, working on keeping her looking to the inside as I do with Chester. Meghan says my position seems better in the dressage saddle, possibly because I'm more supported and balancing is easier.

 I tried my new dressage test on Ronnie. The downward transitions from the canter weren't really good at first; it took a couple strides to slow her down. The other parts went more smoothly, though I needed to used a bit more leg to keep her going to the points of the circle. Ronnie really stretched down for the stretchy trot part, as the test says. I went through the test twice. At one point I needed to circle again and give her a tap because she didn't canter right away, but the other upward transitions were good.

 Then I made a serpentine to work on the canter to trot transitions, which needed some work before I tried my test again. I trotted the outside parts of the serpentine, the picked up the right lead canter upon reaching the middle part. When I asked for the downward transition to the trot, I tried using my voice to slow Ronnie, which worked well. The transitions became more smooth as I rode the serpentines, though somewhere along the line I lost my geometry and wasn't going straight on the lines in between the circles of the serpentines. I adjusted that, did another serpentine, and let Ronnie walk before beginning the test.

 The next time trying the test was a lot better. Though her canter was a little fast on the straight parts and half circles, I was able to slow her down to the trot right away using my voice. Ronnie is trained to respond well to voice commands, so she listened when I used them.

 I like Ronnie. She's a sweet, level-headed mare and I enjoy riding her.