Sunday Funday

Another Sunday has come and gone.
Hollie's back!
Hooray!
But unfortunately, Kandee has gone.
Oh well! :)
Today I didn't ride, but I did see several lessons. Some riders were really good, but hypocritically I seemed to judge everybody. Not that I can really judge as I have little experience and little expertise.
Last week, a really truly brilliant new client came and rode one of the most unbalanced, weird little ponies ever in a truly wonderful fashion. Tons better than me, even though I like to think I can ride her a little better than most people. I am talking, of course, about Tess.
It's only once in a while I get to see a really great rider at work.
It's so fun :P
I've decided on my horses for the future -
- Eden Smarts (Grey Irish Hunter X Thoroughbred stallion)
- Golden Glory (Dun thoroughbred mare(Smart's wife))
- Jimmy's Call (Chestnut Thoroughbred X Irish Hunter stallion)
- Glory's Hope and Glory's Joy (two pure white thorougbredXirish hunter twins)
Jimmy and Hope and Joy will all be sons and daughters of Glor and Smarts.

Yep, it never hurts to dream.
But today I had a (sort of) epiphany. I realised, while working with Sienna in her box, that most of the horses at the riding school respond only to food. Seeing as nobody really has the chance to truly bond with them, they have learnt to be slightly dead to a friendly human. So when I'm older and bigger and cleverer and more experienced, I'm going to buy a foal. A foal who has just been weaned. And I will work with the foal and try and try and TRY to form some kind of link not created through bribes or violence.
Something like Parelli or Whispering.

Of course I know I will have to spend about 11 hours a day with horses and the other 1 hour reading about them, or watching informative dvds.

If I do this. I will be a happy person forever.
See you soon.
TLCx

Tessie Lesson JUMP!

Another Tessie lesson today. Which was very lovely. We did some lovely jubbly jumping, which went quite well until someone came off Sienna. But only because she did a ridiculously stupid jump. Very unlike her.
Despite all my efforts, Tessie would not go off the track and into her corners. I tried, leg, rein and whip but nothing worked. But in the end, she did some really good jumping. I just had to slow her down a bit before the jump and she went really nicely over the jump. The only problem is me - I tend to only fold properly after about three jumps, meaning that Tessie had to start todays jumping with a giant immovable bulk on her back. Thankfully, I learnt to fold properly in time with her and made a not too bad job of it all. She usually refuses a couple fo jumps, but today she was great.
Love you girl x

TLCx

Another Sunday...

What a hellish day.
On the journey home, I didn't have my bus pass so I borrowed £2 from Kylie. Then I dropped one down the drain as the bus approached. The bus driver wouldn't let me on, so I walked for 34 minutes to my friend's house. I borrowed a pound from her, then walked to the nearest bus top which was another 36 minutes away. Then, I waited 14 minutes for a bus, and when I got on one, someone was sick and we all had to get off. Then another bus came after 17 minutes.
I have sore feet.
I am really not in the mood to list happy things about horses today, but here goes...

- all the horses had a sunbathe today (19 degrees!)
- Dawn came to teach and it was fun :)
- I fed everyone lot of carrots
- It was a jolly old funhouse on the yard.

That's all the positivity I can dredge out today. Check back tomorrow for a proper account.
*sigh*

TLC x

Scary Little Ponies

Today I was walking down a... fairly busy road near my house, and some little driving ponies came hurtling round the corner driving a tiny little cart. The scary thing is, these two ponies were only about 13.1hh, completely bonkers, going about 300 thousand miles an hour. And there seemed to be no one driving the cart.

I'm sure someone small was driving...
I think...
I hope...

If you see any tiny carts with tiny chestnut ponies leading it without drivers, please let me know.

Random post, I know.
But it was scary.

Tessie Lesson

So I had another lesson on Tess today, but it was the Friday Flyers usual Friday lesson. Tess was more sluggish than usual, but still did a cracking canter on the left rein, which is meant to be the worst one. However, the right rein went wobbily and we lost it. But overall, she was a good girl :)
A was a complete spazbo. She bucked someone off, like she did with me a couple of weeks ago, without stirrups. Honestly, the slightest thing and she sets off like a... gazelle. With the power of a rhino :)
No, only kidding. She's normally lovely, she just got spooked by someone kicking a bright yellow ball around. Smarts was good too, with some really good canter too.
See you sunday!
TLCx

Pics from Dressage

OK, so the title says pics but I'm only putting one up, of my superstar little girl Tess. She was so fabulous :P
I know that I look abnormally large on her, and my legs are WAAAAAY to long, but thankfully I'm not growing anymore and I'm quite thin, so she can support me yet :)

This morning I went for a hack on Chance, the (fairly) new boy. Despite some stories I've heard about him, he was great. We didn't canter because we had a new client with us, but he trotted along quite happily behind Smarts and Phurts. We saw about three other horses, it was so busy!
Chance is a lovely horse to ride because you don't have to constantly remind him to go forward. His canter really allows you to concentrate on your position and aids, rather than kicking him. However, I don't think I ride him particularly well - I'm used to riding tiny ponies who either dart everywhere in a fright or ones who hardly move at all. Sitting on an almost perfect horse is a bit of a culture shock :P
Also, as much as I would like to ride more perfect ponies to improve my riding, I'm nearly always put on a slightly more wacko pony. This is probably because I once foolishly declared I would ride anything that was available, so I'm put on the ponies which run into walls/eat people/kill other horses etc. And not just at my stables. Wherever I go, I get the warning, 'Now be careful, he/she can get a bit silly'.
Maybe I just have that face.
It's nice to be trusted with some odd ponies.I think (very self presumptious here)that I can manage most spooking, except that one a couple of weeks ago when I came of Ada. But she was being a complete chicken and was broncing down the long side and none of us had stirrups and there was a kid in the field with a massive inflatable red ball.
Yeah, except for that.

And perfect horses can get a bit...dare I say it...boring? Where's the fun in a horse having a good canter in the park by doing collected canter with perfectly precise footfalls. Sometimes a good happy buck is just good happy fun.

Anyway, I'm ranting. Back to Chance.

He's got a really slow walk, but you don't realise it. This is because he's so active underneath you, but puts all his energy into his steps instead of moving forward. In my first lesson on him, I tried making him a bit more extended to catch up with Sienna, but there's a certain point where he has to break into trot or slow down :) Very cute.
He has a lovely trot and is very vocal. He squeals and grunts and whinnys and neighs all the time.
All the other horses join in cause they think he means that dinner's ready.
His canter's gorgeous too. Not really very forward, but you can make it faster. And he stays on the track!!!!
!
:o
!
:)
TLCx

SUCCESS!

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to my two instructors, Charlie and Wiola.
Then, I'd like to say thanks to my two great dressage horses/ponies.
And last, to the Stables that made this all possible.

OK, I didn't exactly win an Oscar. But hey, 1st and 6th isn't too bad!

Tess in walk and trot went really well - that was the first - and since there were no puddles, I scored much better. She is really annoying in wet weather, sidestepping and not going on the track. I scored 60.95% with 128/210, which was great, and got five sevens :)
With Smarts, I came sixth out of... I think it was ten...which may not seem like a great result, but I was thrilled. I just thought he'd be so sluggish and dead to the leg, but he was quite forward off the leg and I even got a canter in the warmup! But the best thing about the whole day was definitely the canter in the prelim test. Smarts didn't break once! I officially love that horse.
Even though it was a massive struggle to keep the canter, he did stay in it, and we managed to get 117/200 and 59%. Not bad for a horse I haven't properly ridden in a year. :P

What is most surprising is my marks for rider position and seat in the prelim test. 7 out of ten! (pretty good for low level stuff :).) Especially as I had to boot him a bit to get him moving.

Very happy. Obviously improvements need to be made but it's the best birthday present I could get. Speaking of which, I got lots of yummy presents, so thanks if you gave me one :)

Will post some photos soon.

TLCx

Dressage Test Final Moments

OK, so tomorrow I'm doing my tests. Even though I've practised way more than I usually do, I am still totally nervous. I guess however much practise I do, it completely depends on the ponies on the day. I've been learning the tests like mad...
argh.
So anyway, I'll check back in tomorrow to tell you how it went. Fingers crossed!

TLCx

Leg yield in different ponies

*WINK*

Ok, I'm confused. Leg yield is not natural, I swear. Jargle, my friend'd horse, is at a massive 17hh, but can leg yield around the arena from one side to another, hardly moving forward. For all the love in the world, I can't make Chocolat, my other friend's pony, move even one step sideways, even though he has been trained super well in all aspects of equitation and can do it in a second.

So what do I do?

I think I'm giving the wrong aids. Maybe the aids differ from horse to horse. Inside leg and outside rein contact, slow walk/trot/canter and inside rein allowing movement. RIGHT!?

Do some ponies just hate me?
It seems rather likely :)

Stable Life

So here's the horse I'm going to be riding in the Prelim. Don't let it fool you, he doesn't canter through his own will, he's on the lunge. Smarts is gorgeous (when he's not all grubby in the morning) and on hacks he is FAB. Haven't ridden him in the arena for AGES so I'm pretty scared.
Fingers crossed :)

TLC x

Second Dressage Prep Lesson

Sleepy Girl!
So today I was working, so I didn't expect a ride. But thankfully, a client cancelled so I got to practise the Prelim Test on Tess. On Tuesday I'm doing it on Smarts, who is... well, sluggish but also a bit testy. So Tess, who is forward going and quite willing for me is not really a good practice horse. But I'm glad I got to ride the Prelim once before the actual thing!
It started off with Tess tanking me beyond the poles and out of the specified area, which is her private joke. But by using the outside rein and leg more before each corner, she soon stopped. I think I got the most canter out of that pony I have ever got from her. She did about 4 circuits, not all of them quite on the track, but she hardly broke.
Beaming with Pride.
I feel like I understand Tessie better now. She's capable of so much, but not everyone can see past her unbalanced trot :). Not saying that I can ride her any better than others, but I like to think I can get her moving better than a 6 year old :P.
In the canter test, there are 20 metre circles with canter transitions between X and C, A and X, then a continued canter around the school to the starting point. It's long! And if I can't get Smarts moving, it might be impossible. A lot of 3s, maybe. But hey, it's may birthday on tuesday so I'm going to concentrate on the positiveness of the tests. Here goes...

- Tessie is going really nicely.
- Smarts will be a new oppurtunity and will be a good challenge. :P
- I'm competing with all of my rider friends :)
- It's my birthday!
- If I can get fair canter out of Tess, I can get it out of Smarts.
- Tess and I have managed to do great 20 metre circles!

Yep, that's about it. Oh, I forgot -

- There will be Brownies

Yum yum yum. With edible stars.

TLC x

The best lesson...

I don't know why but yesterday I had the best lesson I've had for ages. We were practising for the Dressage Tests, and I was on Tess. She's kind of slow, and super unbalanced but I love her and she's my fave pony. I don't know, maybe it's because I practised with Ada on Sunday, but the end test I did was really good.
With Tess, I find it's a matter of establishing the lead in the first minute and a half once you enter the arena. Get her on the track and forward going, and if there are puddles... do your best. She's got lovely paces if they're controlled :)


My gorgeous girl!!!

Once we start trotting I'm always a bit behind the movement. Tessie can go really fast and be unbalanced, so you can get jerked around. But I love the fact that if you break that barrier and balance in time with her, it just feels so natural. She's stopped spooking with me too - I think it's because I don't climb up the reins like I used to. However, this does lead to me letting the reins hang to loosely in my hands, not holding them at the back of my palms (thanks wiola :P).
First, the class tried some of the individual movements in the test, such as trot to walk for four steps, then back to trot. Tess was brilliant at this because I find her so responsive - just a few nudges and she's off. But then we tried the change of rein with two half 10 metre circles going EXB. I thought we could do it, as I know she can, but I left it up to her a lot and didn't show her the right path. Mistake! She drifted off course and ended up off the track after B, which meant that the next movement didn't work. After that I used more rein and more inside leg to push her out and stop her drifting, and she responded really well.
At one point in the lesson we were all on a 20 metre circle left from E to B, trying to get perfect circles. It took about...50 for us all to be perfect. Not great. But I have to say, Tess was amazing. Usually her curve isn't fab, but with just a little leg and rein movement, she was bending perfectly on the 20 metre curve. Her only fault was drifting in slightly, but this could easily be corrected with inside leg.

The end result was great. I really felt like I had learnt a lot and Tess was going forward, but not unbalanced. The greatest achievment was her free walk on the long rein, which she NEVER does well, but this time she lowered her neck much more than she usually does. Thanks again to Wiola, who told me to take a huge breath in right before free walk and then let it all out as I let the reins slip through my fingers. Thanks to Charlie too, as taking a itny bit of contact if she doesn't stretch works too.
And thanks Tessie, of course, for a great lesson. We got the red rosette last time, and I hope we can do it again this time!

TLC Riding Diary - Purposes in riding and life

So, here's another brand new blog, but this one is going to be way more personal. As the title suggests, this will be my riding diary. Not sure why I'm starting one, I just suddenly have the desire to write about my riding.
But lets get one thing straight.
I'm not one of those people who excels in whatever she does. When a new pony arrives, I won't be the first person to be put on him. Overall, I'm pretty average at riding (or so I like to believe), but I do like to stretch. However, at my stables there is little jumping and no cross country, which I would like to do as I love jumping!
A Brief Overview of my Capability:
- Walk, trot, canter. No gallop so far. Not enough room and not enough muscle.
- Jump 2ft 9. Would love to make 1 metre but where can I do it?!
- Turn on the forehand, serpentines, shallow loops etc. Failing after two years of leg yield. Can anything be this challenging?
- Have done dressage, drill rides, small cross country, showjumping and hacks.
- Basically capable of caring for a horse, but would struggle with deciding feed and fitting tack, stuff like that.

So here we go.

Enough on this post. Let's start another one and write about the best lesson I've had for ages...

TLCx