KDA

I guess you could say KDA was a success! I could see the improvement throughout the weekend as Kristin and I set goals for each ride and achieved them. However, there are still many things I need to improve on, I am amazed at how Cody and I are taking huge strides towards our long term goals.

Thursday started out with a great ride in my First 1. Cody's lengthenings have improved so much as he is now reaching for longer and sitting more to reach over his topline. Even though my score did not show our improvement, I felt great about my ride and I feel like that is the most important part. 

Friday, Kristin and I set goals for both my First 1 and my EQ ride. The improvement kept showing when Cody put in a fantastic ride and came out with a 67%! I was super pleased coming from Thursday's ride and the score improvent. Our goal for the EQ ride was to work on my right leg, which Kristin has named my Tourettes Leg. However, Cody was very tense and I didn't ride him as well as I would have liked. But, we did score a 79% and I recived some very helpful comments from the judge. 

Saturday was the best day, in my opinion. We kicked off the morning with an awesome ride to show all of the improvement throughout the weekend. I applied what the judges had said and focused on the goal of accuracy to put in a wonderful 72.6%! This being Cody and I's highest score ever received, I was ecstatic. 

Sunday was a relaxed day as I just had one ride and Cody was super tired. He had put in a great weekend so I took it easy. It was a decent ride with a 65%, but I was proud of the overall improvement. 

 

On Sunday, Cody and I received the JR/YR Highpoint of the show with our 72.6%. We also received Reserve Highpoint for Training Level on Saturday. I can't wait for whatever else is in our future. I am so pleased with our improvement throughout the weekend!
 

            He was too tired to smile

Stressing the Basics

With Cody up in Lexington, I have been riding very beginner/ low level horses. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to ride other people's horses while Cody is away but sometimes it can be discouraging to only be able to do very basic things. We take for granted how lucky we are to even be riding First level! I've never realized how great of a horse Cody is and how far he has come. It has really opened my eyes to see that Cody is so much more advanced than I thought. Not only so, but how far I have come. 

Although it is not as exciting as riding a half pass or shoulder-in, the basics are very important to our riding structure. The more we ride the lower level horses, the stronger our seat becomes and the more understanding we have for training horses up the levels. 

Tori, for example, is not a very advanced horse. She only been ridden a hand full of times, so I take things very slow with her. I make sure she completely understands something before I move on. However, I can't drill her or else she'll get bored and not focus. She's also very soft to my leg, so that forces me to ride with a quiet leg and seat. 

The basics aren't just focused on the horse, riders have basics, too, that we must master before venturing on up the levels. Basics, for example, of having a quiet leg leads to soft, quiet flying lead change aids. Too many riders ask for their lead changes with big, loud aids because the horse has become dead to the leg that they must make a big deal to get a response. This leads to so many other problems because the rider never learned to have a quiet leg. There are many other examples of this and, unfortunately, it happens more often than we think. 

A great way to work on improving your basics is jus signing up for a Dressage Seat Equitation class. They only ask for basic First Level movements and it's a great way to get feedback from the judge on how your seat is coming along. I've learned so much from just the several tips and suggestions they've given me from doing the DSE classes.

I can't stress enough how important the basics are. Judges see when a rider has a correct seat and an understanding of riding- even at Training Level. And it's not just a comment on the back of your test, it's an important factor in riding and training horses. Next time you ride, pull your stirrups off and just go back to the basics and focus on your seat. You will be amazed at how big of a difference a correct, basic seat will have on your horse- and your scores, too!

Mother's Day

Ever since I said the word "ponies", my mom was always taking me to riding lessons. I remember her running beside my first pony, Merrylegs, to make her trot, and I would always be there chanting "faster, mommy, faster". Even then, I think she saw something in me that kept her out at the barn from 5-8, every night, seven days a week.

I remember when I used to jump, she would haul out the big, heavy standards and poles, just to drag them back an hour later. I remember her putting up with my "No, not there," constantly moving them until the jumps were placed perfectly. She would stand out in the pouring rain just to get videos of me riding. In a way, in sure she's glad I'm not jumping anymore, I think the long cross country walks several times a day were getting old, but she always wore a smile. 

 She has always been there for 4 a.m. drives to Lexington. Where we chat about everything from show nerves, how we hope the classes would go, even about what food we hope would be catering the show. She always has something encouraging to say about any of the subjects. She's put up with my almost-constant sleeping on the drive, forcing her to call her friends- even at the earliest hours- just to stay awake. But, no matter how frustrating getting lost on the road could be, there was the hilarious moments of "Mom, your going to have to back up". (She hated backing up with a horse trailer). But, she always does.

It's like being a show mom is instinct. That polishing boots and wiping runny horse noses was just the easy part of the job. She's gone to the ends of the earth to make sure I have the right opportunities to get me where I need to be. Her dedication has made me the rider I am today. She's never limited me to just local shows or once-a-week rides. She's always gone the extra mile to help me go the farthest possible in my riding career, just so she can have to chance to watch me compete from her Olympic seats. 

Happy Mother's Day! 

New Opportunities!

Since Cody is in Lexington, and will be for a while, I have been on the hunt for a horse to ride in the meantime so I can continue to move forward. Finally, my prayers were answered when an opportunity to train a horse for someone came up. The owner has been wanting to start riding more often, but can only ride on the weekends and her horse needs to be ridden and brought up through the levels. So, I immediately took the offer and finally got on her today.

The mare is a 16.2 hand Friesian/Paint cross named Tori. Tori hadn't been ridden in a year so it will be an awesome opportunity for the both of us to learn. Today, being the first time I have ridden her, we did a lot of long and low, getting her to engage her back, reach over her topline and stretch into the contact. It took several transitions within the gait before she started stepping under herself. She is super soft off the leg, so I had to be careful not to give her too much. Once we figured out the "go" and "come back" buttons, I started playing around with getting a bigger trot, almost a lengthening. Her "go" button only came from the seat, once I posted bigger or smaller, she immediately responded. She started opening her stride, sitting and pushing herself forward. She is also super responsive off the leg, so she will have really nice lateral work in the future. I ended on a good note, today, with the stretch lengthening's. The plan is to start gradually picking her up throughout the next two weeks. 

 

However, her canter transitions are far from rideable, so, I pan to work on them Wednesday. I tried to do some today, but she would get very worked up and tense, running away from the contact and throwing her haunches to the inside. So, with today being the first day, I wasn't going to ask too much and just have a good ride. However, with this being her first ride back in a year, I am extremely pleased.

 

I can't wait to see how she goes. Since she is very steady, I can work on me and my seat. I have a problem of leaning too far forward and not sinking down into my back. Tori will be super helpful to not only improve my knowledge for bringing a horse up, but also strengthen my seat. Her trot is super soft and smooth, so my sitting trot will really benefit. I can also work on keeping my hands down, and keeping a straight line from the bit to my hand, as I have a habit of lifting my hands too far up. She also surprised me with lips covered in white foam from the ride! 

However, I do miss my Cody and I can't wait to see him and compete with him at KDA. Kristin said that he's picked up very quickly and is doing great! I hope that my improvement will show when I ride him.

     Tori just hanging out after her ride!