LS clinic: Getting real

this is a novel - sorry!

My Christmas gift to myself was a clinic spot in the LS clinic here in town. Just a couple miles down the road, actually. I have been reading her blog forever, and admire her riding and the horses she produces. Plus, a fellow blogger/friend also rides with her so I knew a little of what to expect and that I would probably like her.

I was wrong.

I LOVED IT.

Hands down one of the best clinicians I have ever ridden with and my list is pretty long.

On Saturday I introduced myself and explained the comments I have been getting from judges especially in the FEI tests. And how I really struggled this summer with those comments and am I delusional for trying to bring this wonderful horse up the levels.

 The movements are not a problem, but his engagement and uphill balance are a BIG problem and I this winter I am really getting after it.

After scolding me a bit for being too down on myself, she sent us to work.
(Then we had a discussion on why people become dressage judges and it was very enlightening. Basically, if you get nasty comments say F-em.)

That'll do, sir.
Now for more engagement.

We spent almost the entire lesson doing 10m circles down the long side. And he was NOT to lean on my hands. I have gotten in the habit (as MANY dressage riders do) of trying to help him and make it "pretty" at all times. GOD FORBID something falls apart. Well, LS told me to let him make a mistake. Let him fail. Let things fall apart. THEN correct it, put him back together, GIVE. Repeat until death. He is simply not allowed to hang on me, or push down on his shoulders. And I am not allowed to try and hold him up. Because I can't. I know I can't, but it hasn't stopped me from trying hahaha! So I have to "work harder at not working so hard."

canter work from Saturday
#buttgoals

Yes, a "simple" exercise but a good workout for Hampton. He did get tired because he had to carry himself, and find his own balance at the times where I would usually give him some help.

There was also some shoulder-in, and half pass and I would chuck my inside rein away. Does he maintain the bend? yes - great! No? Correct and give again. over and over and over.

Can you take your leg off and the horse keeps going? Yes? Great! No? He needs his cage rattled. Some horses need a loud rattle. Some horses need a train dropped on them. You need to make a point, and then sit still as if nothing had happened. Repeat.

Hampton was such a good boy and it was pouring rain and nasty. But LS has many good things to say about him and the dressage journey in general.

She called Hampton "emotionally stable" and "sure of himself." .... Well at least that's one of us. haha

--

Excuse me why am I tacked up at 7:30 am?

Sunday was a much nicer morning and we picked up with the same self carriage basics from Saturday.

After warming up she asked "does he know half steps?" and I said he has the basic idea but I felt like he was "saggy" and needed to be more sharp.

She gave me an excellent exercise to create a whole bunch of energy, then you just allow piaffe to happen. Like opening a coke bottle. If you try to "make" the piaffe, you are screwed, which is what i had been doing. I had been "tap tap tapping" with my ankles which is probably fine for a more sensitive horse, but is not going to work with Hampton.

Hampton needs to learn to piaffe with my legs OFF. A hotter horse you might put your leg on, perhaps. After 10-15 minutes all I had to do was place my leg and he would piaffe. Clever boy! This is exactly the piece of the puzzle I had been missing before I have a show ring ready piaffe.

Passage was a little more difficult. I explained that no one has ever really given me instructions on what aid to apply for passage. So our transitions from trot to passage have been murky.

So, on a 20m circle we were to passage from 12 to 3. In between I am to keep my body loose, almost sloppy. Playful, sloppy elbows. Then at 12 o clock, ankles at the girth, tip slightly back and engage my core to the extreme. After a few rotations, Hampton picked up these aids and went right from trot to passage. It still needs more strength and lift (and be even more precise), but at least now I've got some clarity. And so does Hampton!

"Next year, it is not out of the realm for you to do Grand Prix." Yes those words came out of her mouth. That is not in my plans, but it was encouraging to hear that come from someone who had made MANY GP horses, and numerous FEI horses who win at the regional and national levels. She knows her shit and I take what she says seriously. I am going to cling to those words.

To end the sessions we tried to play with some ones, but they weren't really happening that day. I got a 1-1 a couple of times but never did get 3. Probably because I was now riding him differently and he was trying to figure it out. We did do a nice spontaneous line of 2s though! Something we could not do 6 months ago.

I found her training and teaching to be clear, no-bullshit, and delightfully profain. I was cracking up at times. If you like trainers who pussy foot around, pretend to be some sort of purist, and over analyze how many pounds are needed in your right seatbone to affect the inside hind leg and then if the moon is in retrograde and Snuggle Muffin might go on the bit, she is not for you. She is a rider's teacher. I can tell she has worked with many different types of horses and riders, been there and done that.

I found her to be hilarious, smart, demanding but also patient.

Other tidbits I wrote down from watching other lessons:

-- Sit down like an auction rider in the canter and drive for a couple of strides to encourage the knees to come up. Then sit chilly.

-- Young horse school in Germany is much like public school. No one is special. Sometimes you get your head slammed in the locker. Young horse school in the USA is like Montessori schools. Spoiled and lacking life skills.

-- think of pushing the bit down to his bottom teeth with your forearms

-- (for a combination where the horse would come off the bit in transitions) - think of building up to the transition. Build, build, build - ASK. ie trot to canter

-- Your strength is not in your muscles, it is in your timing

-- Think of tension between the inside hind leg and your outside rein. Like a bow. Pulling on the inside rein breaks the bow.

Overall take aways
Stop pulling on the inside rein
Stop rescuing your horse
take your legs off, put them back on
Hold your horse accountable
Don't be afraid of the ugly.

Sorry this was so long and sloppy and not well edited. It is a lot to process.

This is all a process and I think a lot of us (including myself) get caught up in what the finished product is supposed to look like. We have to remember that it doesn't start out that way (not even Valegro) and if you only get 10 steps of good work, that is 10 steps more than you had yesterday.

So keep going! :)