Parting ways? Not if I can help it!

I decided to warm up last night by trotting the perimeter. Both directions. The goal is to work up to cantering the perimeter both directions, but I want a quiet horse that stays under me, so I don’t want to rush things. You see, there is a huge horse-eating crevasse down one side that hides behind some seriously thick growth. The path varies in width from 4 to 8 feet, obstructed on the other side by a fence. There is no cause for alarm here!


So, we had a nice steady, comfortable trot going on, and we had no concerns when we trotted along with the horse-eating creek on our right and the fence on our left. Fancy Pony looked at a gravel spot before moving right along, but she never broke gait or slowed her pace. We finished the first trek and took a brief walk break while we turned around. OK, Fancy Pony, let us trot the perimeter the other direction, now!

My trusty steed trots off again with the creek and crevasse on our left, and the fence on our right! With barely a glance at the gravel spot, we’re moving right along until…

SPIN! – IT’S COMING FOR ME!

Have you ever stayed on your horse by sheer force of will? Seriously. I’m hanging off the right side by my left elbow and thigh. I can see the ground coming for me…

I get back in the middle, turn her back around, and we go trotting down the line again. Guess what happens in 20 feet??

Are we really here again? Force of will. Has to be. Physics does not explain my ability to stay on top of the horse!

My trusty steed now has no confidence that the crevasse won’t eat her. Psycho Mare has returned and doesn’t even want to WALK down the path. I’m not sure how much more my elbow and thigh can do to keep me in the saddle. Besides, this was supposed to be a POSITIVE BREAK FROM THE ARENA and it was quickly turning into “not positive”. On the other hand, I WILL NOT reward such behavior by heading back in, either. So, we walked. She jumped several more times, but at least the spinning ceased. She balked. I sent her forward. She sat and swished her tail. I sent her forward. She jigged. We halted and enjoyed the scenery. We walked on, and I breathed for her. She relaxed a little.

Upon our return to the main drag, we headed into the arena. I established a nice trot and got my 2-point assessment out of the way. She trotted. I 2-pointed. She relaxed a stretched her topline! I continued to 2-point. She got bored. I continued to 2-point. She thought about walking. I put my leg on her and continued to 2-point. She stretched further! I continued to 2-point. I felt my core start to wobble a little. I continued to 2-point. She ignored my leg and decided this time, she was going to walk anyway. I continued to 2-point! She decided I was just dumb for not sitting down, so she halted. I continued to 2-point. I kicked her back up into a walk, and I MAINTAINED MY 2-POINT! She walked about 6 steps, and my core gave out.

This is a huge improvement from last week, where I lost it when she changed gaits! Maybe one day I can 2-point through all of my transitions…

We went on to practice nice, quiet canter work. I tried to make her look like a hunter pony by cantering on a long, loose rein. She would lose her balance, and we would circle. She let me move her shoulders around some, and I was able to lift the inside a little. Then we popped over some cross-rails before calling it quits. She had already showed some interested in jumping the 3’6” oxer, but I didn’t think we were actually ready for that, yet. There is no doubt in my mind that she can clear it, but we’re still focusing on other things. Like, where to take off!

The first approach to the cross-rail was quiet and relaxed. I 2-pointed and breathed. I waited. As calm as can be, she took the long spot! I wasn’t ready for that, so I tried to follow with my hands so I didn’t punish her for jumping, and she landed without the head dive, and cantered right off. That’s something else we’ve been working on – cantering away on the far side.


I'm too sexy for my canter...

You see, I started over with the jumping training after the first massage. She has been jumping on the lunge, and we’ve been riding poles under saddle. We started over cross-rails again by trotting them. She has been so wonderful about trotting in and trotting out while I focus on steady position and waiting for her to fold me up in the take-off. She is so relaxed about these cross-rails that when we canter into them, she trots out the far side! This doesn’t actually seem like a bad problem to have. However, we will canter courses again, so the game has become “exit as you enter”.
I knew I wanted to circle left and take the cross-rail again, and she had landed on the left lead, so we were set! I sat, rode my circle, lined up the jump, and rode the same line, this time, I just closed my hand 2 strides out to say “wait for one more, don’t take the long spot.” She waited. I looked right to prepare for my circle right to the same jump. She landed on the right lead, and I sat and circled. Again, I lined up the jump, and she took the long spot! *sigh* I didn’t want to pick a fight, as I knew I didn’t have enough core left to back it up. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, and we can always come back with gymnastic lines to fix it. I just took one more right circle, asked 2 strides out for the “wait”, and we got our jump from a more comfortable spot. We rode out the far side on a relatively straight line and halted about 4 strides away. She was somewhat supple! Once halted, she was mostly square, and she was alive with attentiveness and ready to do whatever I asked next! I was so happy with her willingness to listen, I just hopped off right then and there! We were done. I loosened all buckles and we walked back to the barn. She seemed pleased with herself, and I felt it was as good an ending as any after the way our ride started.

The Great Jumping Saddle Search - considerations

The Fancy Pony (previously known as the Psycho Mare) is an Arabian, so she still has the well-sprung ribs, but she is a true medium in saddle fit, it seems. **note: some of this may sound familiar – I risked redundancy to cover all the bases** She has a short back, but the real concern is that if the saddle slides forward AT ALL, it really looks like it slides over the top of her shoulder!! The slope of her shoulders in the frontal plane corresponds to a typical medium width saddle. However, the width she needs between the panels is almost closer to a medium-narrow. My old, *OLD* Crosby Prix de Nations Close Contact saddle fits her pretty well with a small riser pad. You might recall that we do eventing… Many eventing saddles offer knee rolls, padded flaps, calf blocks, and a deep seat. My PDN offers none of these things. Perhaps I should be looking for something a little more secure for the Cross Country phase…


I have been told that I have a long thigh. My knee is right at the front of the flap on my PDN. Does that indicate that I really need a forward-flap jumping saddle? And how do you work a forward-flap saddle on a small-framed horse?

**she** actually really liked this saddle...

The Great Dressage Saddle Search - considerations

The Fancy Pony (previously known as the Psycho Mare) is an Arabian, so she still has the well-sprung ribs, but she is a true medium in saddle fit, it seems. She has a short back, but the real concern is that if the saddle slides forward AT ALL, it really looks like it slides over the top of her shoulder!! The slope of her shoulders in the frontal plane corresponds to a typical medium width saddle. However, the width she needs between the panels is almost closer to a medium-narrow. My old, *OLD* wintec dressage saddle fits her perfectly, but it is not a great fit for me. The seat could be larger. The seat needs to be more scooped, for sure! The flap could be less straight and a tad more forward-sloping, but if there were some sort of thigh blocks to speak of, it might not be an issue…


I have been told that I have a long thigh. With a saddle that supports me beautifully, it seems that I can really drop my thigh down for that lovely, long, classical dressage leg. Otherwise, I seem to be more comfortable in a slightly forward flap saddle. If the thigh blocks are particularly chucky, I definitely need a larger seat size. The Fancy Pony is delicately built, so many times, I fell as if I need to contract my leg angle in order to put my leg on her. I really need my saddle to feel like I can “close my leg” without closing the angle of my knee. I’m not asking for much, am I?

Stay tuned for considerations for The Great Jumping Saddle Search!

Saddle Up for St. Jude – Can you help me reach my goal?

I am asking for your help. I have set a goal to raise $250 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital this year!


I still have a long way to go…

I am participating in this event to raise money that will help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® find new treatments for cancer, sickle cell and other catastrophic diseases. You too can help St. Jude! You have the option of donating directly to this event, donating to a participant of this event, or you can register to become a participant and do your own fundraising for St. Jude. If you would like to make a donation on behalf of me, please visit my St Jude page here: www.mysaddleupforstjude.org/jacq


Here is some interesting information about St. Jude:
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

- St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.

- Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world.

- St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization.

For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

Pie, I'm going to be missing you on this ride...

October 2013 - 2-point Challenge!

Hosted by Viva Carlos

We did it!  We accepted the challenge!

I set off to establsih my baseline 2-point time after warming up a little.  I allowed Fancy Pony to walk around on the buckle, stretching away, while I set up my stopwatch.

You caught that part about "on the buckle", right?

We were also working in this:

I really do love this saddle!

So, I hit the button to go to the stopwatch, and it went "beep"

Except the Fancy Pony Psycho Mare heard "BEEP!"

She spun like a reining horse 180 degrees, prepared to take off from whatever monster was coming to kill us!!

However, before I could even get the reins gathered up (remember - on the buckle!), she was back to walking on the rail - just the other direction.

I'm not exactly sure why I didn't just slide right out of that saddle...
But, I'm incredibly proud of the mare for regaining her sanity so nicely!  And the next time my watch beeped, she didn't even acknowledge it!

The Great Saddle Search - What do you ride?

I’ve had my eye on a particular dressage saddle for a couple of years now. I may finally have the opportunity to own one. However, before I commit to such a purchase (and until I know I’ll be receiving a regular paycheck again!!), I decided that I should ride in as many saddles as possible to determine what features I love and hate and the like. As it turns out, I am at a barn with lots of other eventers and they all have dressage saddles! And everyone is so generous, many have offered to let me try their saddles!


I’ll try to keep a log of what I have ridden in and my impressions from each saddle. But, for now, I’d like to hear from the “peanut gallery.” What features do you like, not like, whatever? What do you ride in? I’ll be searching for a jumping saddle next, so H/J people, feel free to chime in! Feel free to ramble on about your impressions. I’m really looking for analytical evaluations of your saddles. What are they suitable for, what are they NOT suitable for? Give me details!!

The jumping saddle that I’m riding in right now is my ooooold Crosby Prix de Nations close contact plain flap. There is seriously nothing to this saddle. One of the young riders in my group rode it last night and told me that it revealed all of the shortcomings in her position because she could not keep her leg back. There is no thigh block or knee roll to hold her leg for her, so she slid into a chair-type position.

Crosby: 

would *you* want to ride cross-country in that?

Oh, how I still love that saddle, though!

SHUTDOWN!

As of today, I am considered "essential".

My riding progress feels the same way.
MT worked on the Fancy Pony again and said that she has made great progress and is incredibly improved from 6 weeks ago.  It seems like from here, we just need to make her more comfortable so that she can really excel.

Let the saddle search begin!
I'm now in the market for a saddle that helps me maintain that ideal dressage position and doesn't wiggle at all on her back.  That seems to be the issue.
Just last night, I sat in a $$$$ Anky dressage saddle, and she loved it until it started to wiggle a little and creep forward.  The head tossing and connection dropping began.  On the upside, EVERYONE in attendance said my position looks beautiful and stable.  Go me!

Until something more exciting or ramble-worthy comes along, I leave you with a shot from the National Dressage Pony Cup awards ceremony.  This mare is really amazing!

Champion Arabian - Reserve Champion AA Intro Pony