My favorite dressage exercises for a small arena

Having an indoor arena in which to ride is awesome. When it's 20 degrees outside and the wind is blowing 15 miles an hour, it's miserable. While it isn't much warmer in the arena, it's a lot less windy, which counts for a lot! 

Gina appreciates the indoor!

However, the indoor isn't very big. It's smaller than a small-sized dressage arena. It gets uncomfortable when you have more than one horse in there- especially so when the other horse and rider are beginners with questionable steering skills! (It isn't quite so bad when the other horse and rider are capable of avoiding you!) 

Since I ride early in the morning before anyone else is at the barn, I have free rein in the indoor. I typically work on my dressage skillz. I don't have a lot of space, so I don't do a lot of work on things like extended trot, or even much leg yielding along straight lines (like on/off the rail or on the diagonal) since it's such a small space.

Here's what I do instead;

Spiral in/spiral out at all gaits: I particularly love this exercise. It's very effective for getting Gina supple and bending. It also helps engage her hindquarters, which is something we sometimes struggle with!

Transitions: I feel like half of my ride is spent doing transitions. I do them on the rail- sometimes every 15 strides, sometimes in each corner, sometimes at E and B. Having a small arena really prevents us from getting strung out or stressed out. 

Square corners: I'll ride very, very deep into the corner, halt, and do a turn on the haunches, then proceed at a walk or trot. I find this to be helpful in getting Gina focused if she gets mentally zoned out with circles and figure-eights! 

No reins/no stirrups: When warming up, I frequently knot my reins and drop them. I stretch my arms up, make big circles with them to loosen up my shoulders, and twist back and forth with my arms out. I'll also ride with them clasped behind my back for a bit. The arena is small enough that Gina sort of putzes around at an ambling walk or trot and I never feel like she'll get away from me. (It's a lot like being on a longe line!) When we're both warmed up and working, I drop my stirrups and work on sitting trot and canter. I sometimes feel like a sack of potatoes, but I can tell it makes a difference in my riding! When I really feel like torturing myself, I drop both at the same time.

Anyone else stuck in a tiny arena? What kind of things do you like to do?

Watching grass grow

Dressage isn't my favorite phase of three-day eventing, but I've sort of grudgingly accepted it as a thing over the last couple of years. This is entirely due to the influence of my dressage-minded friends. My sometimes-trainer Anne (who I wish was my all-the-time-trainer) is a dressage guru who has pushed me to do more and to appreciate what dressaging does for my jumping. (Hint: it makes it better!) My friend Richal, along with her gaggle of minions/students, has peer-pressured me into joining the local GMO and showing on the schooling show circuit. It's a vicious cycle. At the rate I'm going, I'll forget how to jump by the time spring rolls around.

"Only one of us needs work on dressage, lady, and it isn't me."

Something I saw more than once in the judge's comments on last year's tests was the mention of the need to better prepare the horse for transitions. For some reason, alerting Gina to an upcoming change didn't really occur to me; I mean, I figured if I, like...gave the appropriate cue at the appropriate time, Gina would canter. Or halt. Or walk. Whatever. I don't know. But in the spirit of improving ourselves (and our scores), I've been diligently giving tiny little half-halts before every transition. At first, Gina seemed a little confused about what I wanted her to do; she's a smart horse, though, and quickly figured out that the tiny half-halt was simply my way of getting her attention before asking her to do something different. This morning, in the freezing cold, under the glare of the indoor arena lights, we had our best upward canter transitions since I can remember. 

"Puh-leeze, I can dressage in my sleep."

I'm reading through How Good Riders Get Good, Denny Emerson's riding manifesto. In it, he retells the story of a rider participating in a dressage clinic who became frustrated and impatient. The clinician said, "You go out and mow your lawn, correct? Then what do you do? Do you sit and watch it grow? No, of course not. But in two weeks, you have to go out and mow it again, no?"

That story was a good reminder for me: riding and training horses (and yourself!) is a long game. But with enough time, the grass will grow.

"I'm going to eat any grass that grows."

We are the champions!

Of Introductory Level Test C!

On Saturday, Gina and I competed at the Green Country Chapter of the Oklahoma Dressage Society's schooling show championships.

All things considered, it was a pretty uneventful day. The show was about 5 minutes from my house, so I met Richal & co. at the show grounds around 7:30 AM. I had plenty of time to scrub Gina's nasty, manure and dirt crusted socks clean, assist various children in being at the right place at the right time, and watch a couple of my friends ride.

We are winners!

We did a qualifying test in the morning and scored a 66.25%, which is higher than we scored at our last show! (Last show, we scored at 63.5%.) The judge remarked that Gina and I were a nice pair who needed to work on loosening up Gina's back and crisper canter transitions. We again scored a couple of 8s on our 20 meter circles at the trot, which never ceases to tickle me.

I somehow grossly misjudged my ability to get dressed and tack up the horse before the championship round, so I had around 10 minutes to warm Gina up. Gina was kind of cranky about having to leave her stall and get ridden again, but did the equine equivalent of rolling her eyes and sighing and behaved herself for the whole 5 minutes it took to get through Intro C.

Gina's braids.

We scored a 65%, which I felt was totally fair. Gina had less impulsion and was definitely counter-bent for about three strides between H and C.

However, our scores were good enough to earn us accolades as champions of Intro C- Amateur!

"Where is my stall? I want to go back to my stall."

I was pretty jazzed to win a neck ribbon- I've never won one before! I also won a medal (which I've also never won before), a bucket, and a rubber jelly curry. It was very exciting. 

Gina's post-braid 'fro

For her part, Gina was a total star. She hauled well, stalled well, drank 3 buckets of water, ate lots of hay, was unfazed when her stablemates left for warm-up, didn't spook at flapping trash bags or crazy wind noises, and put in very nice tests. 

I'm so pleased with Gina; I feel like we've had a great year. There's still the hunter pace in a couple of weeks, plus an event derby in December, but the dressage season is over. Next year we'll compete Training for sure- who knows, maybe we'll get up to First Level if we can wrangle trainer Anne for some lessons! 

The hunter pace is in a couple of weeks, so I'm really looking forward to getting out of the sandbox and schooling some XC! 

Engagement saddle

I'm not a big jewelry person. I like it in theory, but always feel so ridiculous wearing it that I take most of it off before leaving the house. Day to day, I wear a pair of pearl stud earrings and a stainless steel Victorinox Swiss Army watch. (I cannot say enough good things about the watch.) Every now and then, I'll swap the watch for a simple leather or cord bracelet or add a necklace, but I am really, really not a jewelry person. For a long time, I've known that an engagement ring is just not for me.

Because I am a practical person, I asked Johnny for an engagement saddle instead of a ring. He was happy to comply and told me to pick one out. I'd originally thought I'd get a Passier similar to the one my dressage trainer Anne has; I love hers and it always fit my narrow, high-withered horses well. 

...Then I started working at a tack store. With lots and lots of dressage saddles on consignment.

And I found a slightly scruffy King's Sandringham.

The saddle fits me and the horses very well; it's in good condition with only some fading. 

Of course, I had to have some accouterments to go with my new saddle! I ended up with a saddle pad. stirrup leathers and irons, a girth, and a set of black rubber reins to replace the hideous web reins my dressage bridle came with. (I also got some Kool Lube and clipper wash, but that's not as fun as new tack.)

The whole lot was cheaper than a new Passier. Everyone wins! I'm very excited to spend the winter working on my dressage skillz with my shiny new engagement saddle. 

Moe and Gina go to camp

Last week, Moe and Gina attended Green Country Dressage's annual junior rider camp. I was happy to let them go; their teenage riders regularly have lessons on them, and I figure that the more dressage training the horses get, the better! (Even if it's teenagers doing the training.)

The camp was held at gorgeous Prairie Lane Farm. There were indoor arenas, outdoor arenas, deluxe stalls with runs attached in a big, airy barn, a covered viewing area with lawn chairs! Camp started on Thursday and I stopped by on Friday to say hello to the ponies and make sure they were behaving themselves.

Gina feeling luxurious

How Moe REALLY feels about dressage.

Moe was hamming it up and reliving his Pony Club days, mugging every possible person for every possible treat, head hanging out of his stall, sticking his tongue out, tossing his head, curling his upper lip back. Gina, however, is too dignified for such behavior and promptly went back to eating her hay after accepting one treat.

The horses also did some work while they were at camp.

Their riders (and Richal) reported that Moe and Gina were extremely well behaved and that both instructors at the camp really liked them. It always makes me feel good when my horses can be useful, especially when they can help young riders learn! 

Moe loves learning! Or treats.

Dressage test video

Thanks to No Hour Wasted's mad video skillz, I have a video of Gina's lovely dressage test. What is my right hand doing? How can I make it look like I don't have T-Rex arms? Do you think the judge liked my neon orange fleece jacket??

And now on to schooling show championships in November!

Gallery Farm combined test recap

I know, I know, show recap posts are really only exciting for the person who's writing them. But I wanted to let y'all know that a) Gina didn't kill me and b) it went pretty well.

My ride times were pretty reasonable, with dressage at 11:20 AM and XC at 2:02 PM. This meant that while I did get up at 5 AM and get to the barn by 7 AM, it could have been much, much worse. Gallery Farm is near Oklahoma City, so it's about a 2.5 hour drive from where the ponies live. We pulled out with Gina (who kept her socks super-white overnight) and Freddie (for company and experience) around 8 AM, and after many turns (and a couple of turn arounds), we arrived and parked next to our friends Rachael and Sarah.

Freddie about fell down getting out of the trailer, but recovered gamely and spent the next six hours standing tied to the trailer, eating hay and drinking/playing in the water buckets we had tied up for them.

Freddie's happy place.

Gina (left) and Freddie (right) are unimpressed by shows.

Both mares seemed to get along reasonably well. Fred made a couple of ugly faces at Gina and also drank all of her water (while ignoring her own bucket), but was otherwise fine. No calling, no squealing, no kicking. Freddie is a champion at standing around. Maybe she's missed her calling as a halter horse.

Anyway, dressage warm up went well- I kept Gina to a trot since it was a walk-trot test. Her gaits are plenty energetic, so I figured there was no need to canter. We stuck to figure-8s, circles, and serpentines and Princess Pony put on her best dressage face and we had a nice test. Our walk work was a little weird, as it seemed like Gina was less focused on me and more focused on what was happening outside the covered arena where the test was. All the trot work was very good and the judge was impressed by her "bold" and "forward" gaits. 

We scored a 29.3 on our test, which is something like the best score I have ever had in my adult life. (I think my best test was a 26 something when I was 12 doing walk-trot dressage.) We were in second to our friend Rachael, who scored a 25.3 on her super cute Percheron mare Venus, so I was definitely happy.

Walking the course made me feel good about my chances of getting Gina around. If you aren't a long time reader, a little history: Gina has been a problematic jumper in the past. Occasionally, she's excellent. Most of the time, she's awful. Past antics have included rearing up and backing at ground poles, dirty refusals at a crossrails, and jumping 2'6 oxers fine for five minutes, then inexplicably pitching a fit.

The only jump I was mildly concerned about was a tire jump. The tires were tiny- lawnmower sized. But they were black, I'm almost certain Gina's never jumped any tires before, and I immediately planned to keep my leg on and ride defensively.

I shouldn't have worried. After an extremely short warm up (by which I mean we cantered both directions and jumped a crossrail twice), we headed out on course. I got Gina into a nice, forward canter; even though the jumps were tiny, I feel more comfortable jumping out of the canter and Gina's canter is much more comfortable to 2-point than her trot. 

Rio 2016, amiright?

Gina was apparently gearing up for next year's Rolex, because she attacked those tiny jumps. Like, rolling along at a good clip, taking good distances, not backing off anything. I could feel her lock on to each jump, which is certainly not something I'm used to feeling from her! She jumped like a champion over every single fence and cross the finish line prancing and snorting as if she'd just bounced around a 4-star.

What a fruitcake.

Draft power!

Rachael and Venus went clear too, maintaining first place, which meant Gina and I stayed in second.

Bonus pic of super cute Rambler & Sarah, who were 3rd in the Starter division.

I'm really pleased with how Gina behaved. I think she had a good time- I know I did. There's an eventing derby in a couple of weeks- Fred is getting some time off, so maybe I'll enter Gina. And maybe we'll even move up a division (or two)!

Freddie goes to a show

On Saturday, Freddie and I hitched a ride to a local dressage schooling show. We didn't compete, but I felt like I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get her out and about away from home.  It was cold over the weekend- Saturday morning was 52, overcast, and windy- and I was a little apprehensive that Freddie would be feeling exuberant and try to murder me once I climbed on.

So chilly that barn dogs needed blankets! (Deets, Joey [green], Maisy [purple])

She loaded and unloaded from the trailer like a pro, but seemed totally bewildered by her surroundings at the farm where the show was held. (Trailer parking was in the middle of a tree-filled field.) But she stood tied to the trailer pretty calmly. The stuffed hay bag in front of her probably helped.

"This isn't the race track or home!"

Five of Richal's students were competing on three of Richal's horses, so we spent the morning hustling around, grooming and tacking horses.

Adorable tiny child grooming adorable pony Max.

We all headed to the warm up ring once the ponies and kids were ready; I was on foot leading Freddie, and we were accompanied by one of the students riding Training level later on Sundance. The four of us stood outside the warm up area; Sundance grazed and Freddie circled around me nervously. When the warm up ring cleared out, I walked Fred around in it. She was unimpressed for the most part, although some drainage pipes gave her a start. After her very minor spook, she settled down and took advantage of the grass.

"These Intro tests are a snooze fest; I'm hungry."

We watched some of the kids' tests. Freddie paid very close attention.

"So that's what walking looks like..."

After lunch, we headed back to the trailer for some food. We tied the horses up in front of their hay bags, offered them some water, and settled down to enjoy horse show staples like granola bars and goldfish crackers. All of a sudden, there was some commotion on the other side of the trailer: a squeal, some clattering, and some thudding. Richal and I dashed over to see what caused the ruckus. Freddie was nonchalantly eating her hay, while adorable gray pony Max was staring at her, bug eyed and holding up his right hind leg a little. Freddie had nailed him right in the stifle!

Thankfully, Max walked it off just fine and went on to put in two nice Training tests for his young rider. I saddled up Freddie shortly after that; she was totally bonkers for a few minutes, bouncing and jigging and generally trying to zoom off with me. Once she got in the warm up ring, she was a good bit better. She doesn't mind being close to other horses, or other horses getting close to her. She wasn't frightened by any noises or sights. She walked and trotted very quietly in the ring- Richal joked that Freddie looked like she was impersonating a western pleasure horse as she shuffled along. The only bit of ugliness was when I asked Fred to canter- she let out two or three mighty bucks, but since she occasionally does that at home, I wasn't overly concerned. (She is also a ridiculously easy bucker to sit.)

A few people complimented Richal and me on how well behaved Freddie seemed for her first time off her home property, so at least we didn't embarrass ourselves. I was very proud of her; I guess all that hard work on walking is paying off!

Fat Paint horse Paige is a cute mover; even cuter with a tiny kid aboard.

 I'm also proud of all the kids; they rode well and one of them even brought home the high point award! 

The next schooling show is in early October- I'm hoping Freddie will be ready to do an Intro test, but if not, she'll at least be along for the ride.

Great Plains Dressage Show

On Saturday, I accompanied Richal, her sister H., and Audrey to a recognized dressage show hosted by the Great Plains Chapter of the Oklahoma Dressage Society. Richal and her sister were competed; Audrey and I were acting as grooms.

It was a fun time, especially since they had late ride times- that meant we got to leave the barn at 10 AM. That's way better than the crack of dawn! The drive to the show grounds in Stillwater took about two hours; it was an uneventful trip except for H.'s horse Woody inexplicably falling down in the trailer. (How he did this, we don't know, as he was tied up in a slant load.)

We unloaded at the show grounds and set up our area and got to work. Audrey's an amazing braider and quickly started on Woody, who was throwing his head around like a total doofus.

Woody getting his hair did.

MOAR COOKIEZ PLZ

After braiding, it was off to warm up. It had rained most of the previous night and morning; the warm up was in a big outdoor arena that was absolutely flooded. Richal and H. warmed up in schooling pads and schooling breeches (in H.'s case, sweatpants over her white breeches). 

Woody and H. in the slop.

Richal and Diamante working that trot. 

Audrey and I spent half an hour scrubbing the horses' legs, girths, and bridles clean while Richal and H. changed in to show gear. Then it was off for their First Level tests.

Woody knows how to halt at X. Good job, Woody!

Both horses (and riders) put in lovely tests with quiet transitions, soft acceptance of contact, and good lateral work. H. scored a very respectable 67% for a first place in the amateur division. I can't recall Richal's score, but it was good enough to merit a second place in the open division. 

We had a bit of a break until their Training Level tests, so we sat around and ate snacks and gossiped about who's riding what and how that's going. The show was running a little ahead of schedule (thank god for small mercies), so both Richal and H. were off their horses by 6 PM. 

Good trotting, Diamonte! 

On the Training Level test, Woody didn't have much gas left in the tank (I guess it was falling down in the trailer, spazzing out while being braiding, and doing First Level) and didn't score particularly well, but Diamante was excellent, scoring a 66% and winning the open division. 

We loaded up the horses, grabbed some Taco Bueno, and got back to the barn around 10 PM. I was exhausted (even though I didn't feel like I'd done anything) and slept like the dead once I got home.

 Richal, H., and Audrey aren't bad for a bunch of dressage queens, but I gotta say that dressage shows are way less exciting than the dressage phase of an event. I mean, I didn't even see a horse jump out of the warm up ring once! Disappointing.

Dressage lesson

I was so pleased to have an dressage lesson this morning with my friend (and trainer) Anne. Anne is very modest about her dressage skills and ability to instruct effectively, but trust me when I say she is phenomenal. Plus, Anne and I are like...totally BFFs, which makes it even more fun when I can snag her for a lesson.

It's been months since my last lesson, and I knew that I needed one. Ideally, I'd love to ride with Anne every freaking day (which I did, just about, when our horses were boarded at the same place), but between our schedules, we just hadn't been able to make a regular lesson time work.

So Anne came out this morning and I hopped on Princess Pony and went to work. Now, I've been working very hard with Gina on our flatwork; I think Gina has improved immensely, and I feel like my riding is better. Riding a variety of horses has helped; becoming fitter has helped. But I was struggling with dreadful canter transitions and felt tense and stiff, but couldn't really figure out how to correct myself.

It's so helpful to have someone on the ground: Anne was immediately able to spot the problem. My right shoulder rolls forward, which puts me off balance. I have a difficult time tucking my seat underneath me in my jumping saddle, which makes it harder to apply my leg aids effectively. And at the canter, I become very tense, stiffen my hands and wrists, and don't give Gina an opportunity to relax.

Anne's solution to the seat problem was sitting trot, which on Gina is close to torturous. Gina's trot is big, floaty, and bouncy. I felt like I was slithering all over the saddle, killing my horse's back, and looking truly hideous. Anne insisted it was an improvement. Canter departures from the sitting trot were much better than from posting. Gina really stepped up into the canter and didn't fly around off balance with her head in the air. Success!

My most important takeaway from today's lesson was this: don't push too hard. Everything doesn't have to be perfect, all the time, immediately. If Gina and I do half a 20-meter circle of quality canter, take it. Don't let it fall apart, and canter around and around until perfection is regained. Take the half circle of good work, and try to make a whole circle next time. I sometimes get so hung up on having everything just so that Gina and I end up tense, frustrated, and unproductive.

It felt good to have a pleasant, productive lesson- but more importantly, I was ecstatic to spend time with my friend!

Dressage happens, fat leg returns

Are those neck muscles I see?

Both horses were in stalls yesterday when I got to the barn; they'd finished their breakfasts and had yet to be turned out. I opted to ride Moe first, because I love him more. I always forget what a huge mistake that is; I have a lot of trouble going from Moe to Gina (but very little trouble going from Gina to Moe). I chalk it up to the major differences in their movement styles: Gina is a larger horse with longer strides and more extravagant (read: bouncy) movement. Moe is a flatter, quieter mover with smooth gaits.

Moe put in some excellent canter work; I dropped my stirrups for a grand total of six minutes of canter work and I think that made all the difference. You see, I don't own a dressage saddle. My only saddle is an Ainsley ProNational XC saddle. It puts me in a very forward position and is superb for jumping. It fits every horse I've ever put it on. It's comfortable. It's in wonderful condition. However, its list of virtues does not include being very good for dressage work.

I used to borrow my friend and trainer Anne's Passier dressage saddle when we were at the same barn; unfortunately, we aren't at the same barn any more and Anne needs her saddle to ride in. I'm saving up to buy a dressage saddle, but at the moment, I'm stuck in the Ainsley and making the best of it.

I digress.

Dropping my stirrups forced me to sit up straighter and allowed my leg to hang down underneath me. Moe really rounded through his back and stayed soft and light in the bridle. I could have jumped for joy. Our transitions still need work, and I think I'm going to have to get my nubby little spurs out; Mr. 800-meters-per-minute-over-fences is very sluggish in the dressage ring.

After hosing Moe off, I took Gina out of her stall and was not pleased to see that fat leg had returned. It's still the left hind, still cool to the touch, and Gina still isn't lame. I went ahead and rode her- she felt totally fine. Fine enough, in fact, to pitch a conniption fit over three ground poles I had in the middle of our dressage area. While we were warming up by walking on a loose rein, I steered her to the poles. She stopped, snorted, backed up, tried to spin away, and generally acted like a brat. What the hell, Gina? You were jumping these a week ago!

Gina got over her ground pole phobia eventually and we went on to have a decent 45 minutes of walk-trot-canter work. I cooled her out and reexamined fat leg. It was still fat, still cool, and she didn't seem to mind me touching it. I sprayed her off, hosed the stupid leg for ten minutes, and turned her out.

I'm still stumped about what's causing the leg to blow up. The internet isn't being particularly helpful on this. Any suggestions?

Dressage with a dog

After ignoring me for a week and a half, Gina was sure happy to see me this afternoon. I loaded my pockets down with granola bars, shouted "MOE! GINA!" into the pasture, and was rewarded with the sight of my two ponies (and their elderly Arabian friend) galloping toward me. While Moe's always come ambling up at the sound of his name, this is new for Gina. Whatever, I like it!

I settled Princess Pony in the cross ties and proceeded to talk for what felt like an hour with the barn manager; we were mostly talking feed regimes and adjusting my horses' to better reflect their workload and age. Gina stood quietly, for the most part, until I ducked in the tack room to grab her bridle. I heard an awful racket and heard the barn manager saying "Easy, easy!"

Apparently, Gina had taken it upon herself to rear up in the cross ties totally unprompted. She miraculously managed to not smash into a light bulb or otherwise electrocute/injure herself. She stood totally still after that, as if she'd frightened herself. What a freak.

We were having the loveliest, softest, best dressage school when a dog appeared out of nowhere. It ran up to Gina, weaving between her legs and under her belly, dropping behind to nip at her heels, and at one point, jumped up her side to try and sniff my foot. Gina took it like a champ, albeit an irritated one. She shimmied away from the dog, gave a half-hearted kick at it, and otherwise ignored it as best she could. We tried to continue on, but the dog was too disruptive. (I mean, have you ever tried to trot with a dog leaping up your horse's side? Yikes.) I dismounted, walked Gina and the dog back to the barn, and locked it in a stall with a full water bucket on the ground. The dog was not thrilled and spent the next half-hour whining pitifully.

HERRO, Y U LOCK ME IN STALL??

Gina continued to be a freaking dressage boss, and when we were finished, we headed back to the barn to see our new dog friend. Gina was not putting up with the dog's shenanigans; as soon as I'd unbridled her, she promptly escorted herself into an empty stall and waited for me to finish untacking her. She laid her ears back and bared her teeth at the dog, who totally did not get the message and ran around underneath her anyway.

"Are you going to do something about this?"

The dog had a collar on, but no ID tags anywhere. She was super friendly, totally ignorant of how to behave around horses, and was obviously well fed and cared for. Except, you know, for the whole no ID thing. 

I checked with the barn manager, who said he'd run the dog off the property yesterday. Our best guess is that she escaped from the apartment complex across the street- barn manager was planning to check with the office manager of the complex to see if anyone had reported a dog missing. I hope she finds her people! 

Gina had a well-deserved roll after I rinsed her off, totally undoing all the hard work I'd put into removing the clods of mud she'd coated herself in.

Ungrateful creature.

Cloudy Day Capers

Since it was above freezing and not precipitating, I rode yesterday. I caught Moe and decided there's no time like the present to find out if he crossties.

Moe is such a good sport. I can't ever recall putting him in crossties at any point in the last 11 years, but he was totally fine with them. (Unlike Gina, who once flipped over backwards.)

I saddled him up and set out for the front riding area; since our last two rides in the field have been full of distractions, I opted for a quiet dressage school.

He was super. The hitch in his hind end that I noticed last year is totally gone. He's moving fluidly without any hesitation or stiffness. I'm glad, because I'm too cheap to put him on supplements again and I am definitely not injecting an elderly, semi-retired-mostly-pasture-pet.

Dressage has never been a strength, but after a solid 18 months of dressage-only work with Anne on Gina, Colt, and occasionally Atut, my riding has vastly improved. It's led to better results from Moe. Yesterday, he was round, soft, and supple. He had a few llama moments where he flailed around with his head up at the trot, but once I reminded myself to sit up, put my shoulders back, and lift my hands, he came right back to looking like a horse.

Years ago at a Pony Club camp, I was in a dressage lesson frantically trying to slow my horse down as we were schooling our test for an upcoming event. I was convinced we wouldn't score well because we were going so damn fast. The instructor (whose name I can't remember) told me something I've never forgotten: dressage isn't about slow. This made zero sense to my teenage brain, but as I've committed more time to learning how to ride dressage and viewed it as its own thing (instead of something to get through before the fun parts of eventing), I think I understand what she meant. It was pretty much my mantra for yesterday, as Moe was really putting some effort into his working trot! 

He tired pretty quickly (because he is old and fat), so I quit while we were ahead and walked him around the front part of the property for a while.

What up 51st Street!

And then I saw a branch.

It doesn't look like much, especially from a horse's back, but the high part of that thing was a legit 18". So I did what any sensible person would do and pointed my horse at it. 

He did what a sensible horse would do: cantered up to it, jumped as if it were a solid 3' wall, and galloped merrily away.

After a brief discussion of what "WHOA" truly means, I cooled him out, and we headed back to the barn. I left him in the aisle while I grabbed some treats.

I think that might be my favorite thing about Moe. He's totally trustworthy. He'll stand and wait patiently, untied, while I rummage around in a tack box for the better part of five minutes.

It looks like we may finally be over the winter weather, so I'm heading out tomorrow for some conditioning work. Which means walk and trot sets. Which means I'd better bring headphones.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 7- Five of Your Favorite Flatwork Exercises

Day 7- Five of Your Favorite Flatwork Exercises

Since meeting my friend and trainer Anne a little over two years ago, I've grown to appreciate flatwork. I used to do it grudgingly and quickly, as a necessary evil to be performed before jumping. These days, I spend most days riding doing some type of flatwork. That's not really a tribute to my maturity- it's more a tribute to Anne's ability to make flatwork interesting and fun.

Here are my very favorite flatwork exercises:

1. Spiral in/spiral out- I'm pretty sure I do this on every horse I ride, even the old, sometimes cranky horses at work. I start in a 25 or 20-meter circle and slowly make the circle smaller by asking the horse to move laterally off my leg. When the circle is about 10-meters, I begin to expand the circle outward until it's back to its original size. I find this exercise useful at any gate to get a horse bending and supple (and to help teach greenies lateral movement). 
2. Follow the leader- When you're riding with a friend, it's easy to get caught up doing one of two things: chatting while walking around the arena on a loose rein, or focusing solely on your horse and ignoring your friend. Anne and I play follow the leader (especially with Colter) often- she and Atut will lead me and my mount around the arena, through circles and serpentines and changes of direction. Then we switch. We still get to talk to one another, but it keeps our horses doing something useful.
3. Down the centerline- I'm not sure if this counts as a flatwork exercise, really, but I like to practice straight lines away from the rail (center line, quarter line, I'm not picky). With very green horses, I like it because you can ask them to canter without worrying about what lead they pick up and simply reward the forward movement (and turn in the appropriate direction). With more advanced horses, I like to use it to work on straightness without the visual aid of a rail.
4. Simon says- I promise I haven't gotten this post mixed up with one on therapeutic riding! If you're riding with a friend (can you tell Anne and I ride together a lot?), try playing Simon Says. Have them call out a movement or transition to you. Typically, Anne is perched on Atut in the center of the arena, calling things like "...And turn left! ...And canter! ...And walk! ...And turn right!" I love this exercise because it keeps me on my toes and prevents me from doing the same old thing every time I ride.
5. Cloverleaf (with or without ground poles)- Think of this exercise as two capital letter Bs, back to back. This is a great exercise to work on bending, quick changes of direction, and flying lead changes.Ground poles can be added toward the center of the exercise (especially when practicing flying lead changes.)
   

I'm always up for new exercises- what do y'all like to do?

Riding Atut

Atut, Anne's distinguished gray Trakehner gelding, is a phenomenal dressage horse. He's been shown up to Fourth Level and is just as quiet and pleasant as you could want. Anne and I had discussed me having a longe lesson on him this weekend, and that's exactly what we did yesterday

After warming him up off the line, Anne handed the reins to me. Then she had me knot them up out of the way. We proceeded to do about twenty minutes of work at the walk and trot on the longe. Anne had me working hard! I rode with my hands above my head Anne called "Turn left. Center. Turn right. Center," and so on until she felt like I really had my seat underneath me. I'll admit it was a little scary twisting around in the saddle while bouncing at the trot! Riding without reins made me really focus on my legs and seat, and old Atut is so well trained that those aids alone are enough to get him round and lovely- no reins required. I'm hoping I'll be able to transfer that feeling of total balance and harmony to future rides on my horses.

In other news, me and my basketball drills game is featured on the wonderful Lessons in Therapeutic Riding blog! Go check it out- not only is it fun for my fellow therapeutic instructors, but it's a fun activity for able-bodied kids at summer camp.

Colt Is A Genius

Okay, well, maybe that title is an exaggeration. Colt's not a genius. But he HAS proved to be extremely trainable and has a very good memory, which is good enough for me.

I jumped on him last week for a short lesson with Anne. (In this heat, everything has to be a short lesson.) He was extremely well behaved in the barn, which is still kind of blowing my mind. The same horse that was constantly pulling back, whinnying, and dancing around nervously stood tied quietly while he was groomed and tacked up. He didn't offer any problems taking the bit into his mouth. He picked up all four feet to be picked out and even tolerated a pair of sports medicine boots on his front legs. He was pretty good under saddle, too. Colt's walk work is consistently good. He gets on the bit and into a frame, listens well, and bends nicely. Last week was no exception. We did a bit of trot work, and at one point he rooted downward, let out out a crowhop I was not prepared for, and I flipped right off. (Anne guessed his behavior was due to the nearby miniature horse stallion tearing around his paddock at top speed, bucking.) Colt seemed totally puzzled as to how I got on the ground and was good when I climbed back on. He finished up the lesson well, without any more incidents and with some good work.

Today I met Kyla at the barn. Baby Cal threw a shoe last week and is out of commission until the farrier comes on Tuesday, so I lent her Moe. I rode Colt. Kyla was in love with Moe, who was just as darling as could be- he got on the bit, gave her a lovely, big trot, and a very reasonably paced canter.

Colt was fabulous; he was forward without being out of control, fairly balanced, and very obedient. His trot work today was on the same level as last week's, only better. It's like he remembers the things he did the very, very best, the things I praised and patted him for, then only does those things the next time he's ridden. His new bridle (which I'll post of a picture of and perhaps review at a later date) is a hair big (I don't know how this is possible), but fits pretty well and makes him look handsome.

While Colt might not be the brightest or most motivated horse, I have an entirely new appreciation for what's going on in that big, dopey head of his.

Winning!

Winning on Gina with Anne (hat) and Shari (sunglasses)!

Gina and I traveled to our first show yesterday, Green Country Dressage's Little Show on the Prairie schooling show. I've been an anxious wreck all week, for reasons I don't fully understand. I've been to bigger shows. I've been to more challenging shows. I've been to shows with crazier horses. All the same, I spent the better part of last week quietly freaking out about a schooling show where it was fine to wear half-chaps and a polo shirt.

I had a late ride time, so I was able to sleep in, triple-check everything loaded in the Soob, and get to the barn early. Gina looked stellar- she had a couple of manure spots that were easy to brush out, and once I picked off a couple of bot fly eggs, she was good to go. I dug out her ridiculous shipping boots, fixed up her hay net, and after she carefully stepped into the trailer, we were off! My coworker Shari drove us out to the barn where the show was held. We arrived without incident, even though I was convinced we were lost. After unloading G, I walked her around, then handed her off to Johnny while I went to check in. Almost immediately after I got back, Gina's halter broke. The screw that holds together the breakaway piece had apparently fallen out, which left me with a useless halter. Shari came to the rescue with a neon orange rope halter. Gina, happily grazing on strange grass contaminated with god-knows-what, barely seemed to notice her halter change. She placidly took advantage of Johnny's inexperience and continued to eat. I made the executive decision to let this behavior continue; she was relaxed and I didn't want to get Johnny in the middle of a horsey hissy fit. 

I changed clothes, tacked up G, and started warming up as soon as Anne arrived. We opted to warm up in the trailer parking area (a large field), which might not have been the best idea. While there was plenty of room, there was also a psychotic barking dog in the neighbor's yard. Gina was not a fan. Anne advised me to relax and I repeatedly mumbled to myself "This is not the Olympics. This is a schooling show. Someone is wearing hot pink breeches." 

The real warm up arena was small, but with good footing and nice people. The dressage arena was large size, which threw me for a bit of a loop. I've never ridden in one before! I'm actually a big fan- it makes 20 meter circles waaay easier. Gina really got her game face on when she realized we weren't going to hack around in a field all day. She put in a beautiful Training Level 1 and I think I probably looked like an idiot. I had a huge grin on my face as we turned up the centerline for our final halt. I couldn't have been prouder of my girl. She was calm, all business, and didn't bother to spook at the letters or flowers. 

The next two tests (TL 2 & 3) improved on the first and we ended up decimating the competition. Well. We took home a first in TL1 (a gimme- I was the only amateur entered), a third in TL2 (out of 4, but we were 2 points from first!), and a second (of 5!!!) in TL3. Our scores were a 57.5, 60.0, & 60.0, respectively. Most of the judge's comments were about the "connection" or lack thereof (Anne and I are still puzzling over this one) and about Gina's incessant head-wagging. She did note that we were a lovely pair who would have excellent scores once those issues were resolved (mostly the head-wagging). Gina got good marks for her gaits and I got good marks for my riding, so I feel positively about the show. Mostly, though, I am very, very happy Gina didn't freak out and kill anyone. 

Watch out, horse trial. We're coming for you.

Dressage Show

I've been searching for a low-key schooling show to enter The G in for a couple of months; I want to get her some exposure before we try a horse trial. She was allegedly a show horse before I acquired her, but she was also allegedly a jumper and we've all seen how that's worked out.

Green Country Dressage, the local chapter of the Oklahoma Dressage Society, has a fairly busy fall calendar with lots of opportunities for getting The G out of the barn and into the arena. The show that's physically closest to where G is boarded is on Sunday, September 25. Because I'm trying to keep this low-cost, that's where we're headed.

Here's the class (test?) list. I haven't decided if I'll enter her for two tests, or go ahead and try to conquer all three from the Training division. It's something I'll discuss with Anne (and my bank account).

At any rate, I'm super pumped that the big bay mare and I will be competing in a month! If she does well (by which I mean 'has a passable attitude and acts like she knows how to get on the bit'), I will definitely enter us in the Southern Hills Riding Academy Horse Trials in November. If she doesn't, we'll work all winter and be ready to go in the spring. I'm optimistic. :)

Dressage Work

It's been a dressage sort of week for G and me. We met with Anne Wednesday and today to work on transitions. Even though her transitions aren't bad, both Anne and I agree that they could be better. Besides, transition work is fantastic for building strength. So good all around!

Wednesday I rode in the dressage saddle- have I mentioned the dressage saddle? It's Anne's old saddle, a beautiful Passier. Words can't properly describe how amazing it is; it's soft and supple, fits G perfectly, and is quite possibly the most comfortable saddle ever made. And it puts my leg in just the right position for dressage work (which is kind of the point of a dressage saddle, I suppose). Anyway. Riding in the Passier makes dressage work that much better, since I can better utilize my leg and seat. We rode for about a half hour, working mostly on trot to halt and halt to trot transitions. Gina decided she knew what was best and would immediately back three or four steps after halting. I'm guessing this is a habit from being shown hunters for years. We eventually had a very nice collected trot to halt and a decent halt to trot, which made both Anne and me very pleased. The best part of the ride by far was taking her at a walk and trot over the ground poles. She was happy and relaxed and really seemed to enjoy the opportunity to stretch her neck and back out over them. What an improvement over last week!

Today I saddled G in the all-purpose (a Regent on loan from the equestrian center, since a former polo teammate decided to keep my old saddle on permanent loan) and we did a lot of canter work. G's definitely stronger to the left than the right, but she put in excellent work in both directions today. We worked in a figure eight for most of our ride, circling two or three times and then performing a simple lead change in the middle. She had some really beautiful changes and stayed lovely and collected on the rail, too. I'd moved a set of jump standards out next to the last ground pole in our line, so Gina took a good look at it while she was stretching over the poles. She gave them an anxious look, like she was thinking What are THOSE doing here??, but walked very quietly over the poles in both directions while I had my feet out of the stirrups and the reins on the buckle. After one look at the standards she was totally over them.

Today's Gina-quirk-of-the-day was my dog, Buttons. Buttons is a little half Corgi, half miniature Daschund mix puppy who's about 5 months old. I take her to work with me sometimes, but today was the first day she'd be out and about while I rode. She trotted right along with G through our entire ride, until we started cooling out, walking and talking to Anne. Buttons got a little overzealous and nearly got stomped/kicked a couple of times! Gina was surprisingly chill though, even when Buttons jumped up and nipped at my foot! She bounced off G's front leg and G did nothing but snort and stomp her hoof. Totally nonplussed. When I dismounted, I took off my helmet and buckled it onto a stirrup. All of a sudden, G started, spooked, and galloped off in a frantic circle around the arena, apparently put off by the helmet bumping against her side! She was eventually caught and calmed down, but Anne and I couldn't stop snickering. What sort of horse is fine with a dog jumping around it but not with a helmet on its side? Funny mare.