Aiken 2025: Keep it Light

Lessons:

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were spent soaking up all the dressage knowledge we could. We lessoned with KE, her instructor and S judge Alison Head, as well as the one and only JS. All of the lessons really complimented each other and I started to have some real breakthroughs in my own riding.

Katie's farm is adorable

Some notes:

Horse can be in front of the leg, but not hot to the rein aids. Has to be on ALL aids. Leg, rein, seat

Live in shoulder in with Hampton. 

Plie in canter on the circle

Ranvers turns on the square. Right back to shoulder in

Keep your left leg forward you idiot

Straight With Bend

Bounce him back by sinking into stirrups

"Hot potato" exercise. Jog, walk and hurry him before hind legs shut down 

Canter - Walk - Canter with only seat/shoulder aids. 

There's always a transition in there somewhere

By Thursday I was getting some dramatic
results after such awesome instruction!

Surprise transitions

Turn on the forehand - not just a trick, but look for the results

Drive forward in the walk

A sleepy Porkchop

Balance, balance, balance

LET HIM

Chill out (sometimes I ride too dynamic)

If horse is not forward, you have nothing to half halt

Lessons from an S judge.

Taking four lessons over this trip was absolutely amazing and the results were really phenomenal. Even for a horse pushing 18 years old, you CAN still develop them, improve their gaits and adjust their balance. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I did receive one good nugget from the S judge and it made me giggle because it just made me reflect on the past 15 years with Hampton and how "unimpressed" some people can be with him and yet here he is accomplishing what many much more talented horses never do.

Transitioned from the canter to the trot ...

Judge: "Is that his normal trot?"

Me: "Yes"

Judge: "Oh."

Now to take our new tools into the show ring at Stable View ...

Aiken 2025: The start

 *Sheepishly opens up Blogger and realizes I have not updated it DESPITE promising to. *COUGH* looking at you RACHAEL *

My dad kept his car so beautifully clean and neat.
And then he gave the car to me and ....

On Wednesday, February 19, we were packed and ready escape the arctic tundra of Kentucky and flee to Aiken.

It snowed. And snowed.

We watched the radar. We plotted our own demise. We monitored routes. 

In true insane horsewomen fashion, we decided to hit the road anyway although smartly we waited until about 8:30 a.m. By the time we were on the road, the snow was melted and we honestly had a very smooth trip down through Atlanta and over to Aiken. 

Hampton had the penthouse for the first couple of days

The first few days in Aiken consisted of supporting friends at Pine Top eventing. That place is .. a curious environment ...and the cross country was SHIT YOUR PANTS level. I don't think people tell eventers how much of a badass they are often enough. I walked the Prelim course and was like what in the actual. 

We also did the following:

• Body clipped/manscaped Hampton
• Let a friend take a ride on Hampton - loved watching this!
• Hacked around in the fields at Jumping Branch
• Shopped (didn't do too much damage thankfully)
• Ate delicious food

The "We Made It Here" Selfie haha

It was really nice to have 2-3 days to let Hampton just loosen up without any pressure of a show or lesson. He came out of winter pretty tight, and a bit thin. So we took it really easy. It's really cool to feel your horse relax and loosen up after just a couple of days in warmer weather, and soft ground.

But on Sunday it was time to go to work!