Feedback For My Dexter

Dear Dexter,

Please stop staring at the spectators on the side lines at the shows.  It makes people think you don't know how to got straight on a long side.  I promise they aren't there to kill you or give you treats.

And we both know you are having fun, but if you could stop throwing in a little buck every time I ask for a canter depart that would be great.  The judges don't appreciate it as much as you and I do.

Other than that you are doing great!  The things we get dinged for are things we are working on and you don't know yet (other than those mentioned above) so not your fault.  I can tell you are getting the idea and are doing what you can to give me what I ask for... I appreciate that.

And thanks for always trying to fit in one last poo and pee before we enter the ring.  I know you can't officially get marked off for that but its still nice that you are thinking ahead. :)

Keep up the good work!
Kelly

Frankie Says.....

RELAX! 

And that is the consistent feedback I got from the latest show.  The majority of the comments were around getting Dexter "relaxed across the top line," whether it was on the circle during a transition, even at the walk.  And I know, we've been working on it.  But I guess I thought it was better than that.  Its all relative right.  I know he's more relaxed than he was when I got him, but this is the first time the judge has ever seen him, so she doesn't know that, all she knows is he's still tense.  And that's fine, we will continue to work on it.  Other than that, all the comments were expected, he wasn't bent to the right, because he was over bending and we've been trying to correct it, so we are working on it.  He isn't balanced completely at the canter yet, I know, still a work in progress.  And he still needs to stretch more on the stretchy parts.... again, getting better but needs work. 

I like reading the comments because it shows we are working on the right things.  Despite the scores, it lets us know if we are on the right track.  I guess theoretically we wouldn't be showing until all the major components were perfect, but we just don't have that kind of time.  And being that Dexter gets exponentially better every time I take him out I think it's worth it.  He doesn't get a whole lot better on scores, but he does on behavior and concentrating.  I took him out 45 minutes before his first class, thinking we'd have to take some time to ride the buck and silly out of him before he'd settle down.... nope.  He was better there than at home, I was like, ok, what do I do for the next 30 minutes??

Place-wise he got 2 firsts and a second.  While I'm proud of him for doing so well, we only had  2 people in our class, so this time around we focused on the comments and overall scores.  We didn't win the first places by a large margin, and where we got 2nd, the rider (she only rode in that one class) blew us away. I saw her in the warm-up, a very nice horse and nice rider, so no beef here, we were clearly out-matched.

So comparing our scores to the last show, we were about the same.... always somewhere in the 60-62% range.  Our one major improvement was we got higher scores on our medium walks, may be a small victory but its a victory none the less.  And a little better on our stretch circles, which is good, we will get there.  I know we have it at home, I just need him (and I) to relax a little more.

Next stop.... Fort Collins Schooling Show....  I know, I'm sure there are those of you who think I may be going a bit overboard with the shows.  But I really love doing it, I love the experience and seeing all the other horses and riders.  And the way I figure it I'm just condensing my show season in half, trying to get as many shows in before I can't ride anymore.

Dexter's First Show

So I've been talking about it (kinda wish I hadn't made such a big deal about it now), and this weekend we did it.  We went out to our first show, it was just a little schooling show, but still a good learning experience.  It was my first show in 13 years and Dexter and Husband's first show ever, so I wasn't exactly sure of what to expect.

Husband did great.  He helped out where he could and was super supportive despite not knowing a thing about dressage.  I even caught him reading the test I gave him as I rode, trying to follow along.

THE GOOD - Relativly Speaking

Dexter and I didn't do quite as well.  The arena was an indoor with a short wall on one side of the ring where everyone sat.  Dexter wasn't sure about having an audience, especially one that moved. On top of that, due to the snow we have been having, the outdoor wasn't open for warm up so we only had about 15 minutes before our first class to warm up in a small dressage arena with 9 other people also trying to fit everything in in the short time.  Needless to say there was a lot going on and Dexter's last concern was what I was asking him to do.

We cantered about 1/2 a circle in each direction before we had to leave the ring.  He bucked on each depart and felt super rushed when ever I tried to go straight.  I seriously considered just schooling the test and taking the canter work out all together.  But I reminded myself my one goal was to complete the test, so I decided to suck it up and do the whole test as written.  We started with Training Level Test 1.

THE BAD - At least what was caught on camera

He wiggled down the center line, counter bent whenever we went to the right, over bent whenever we went to the left.  He couldn't keep a steady rhythm to save his life and our stretch circle was totally behind the bit.  Its always so disappointing when you know you've practiced the test well (at least better than that) several times at home and in lessons and can't get it together at the show. 

Luckily we were ahead of schedule so instead of another 15 minute warm-up before test 2 we had closer to 30 minutes.  And due to some scratches we only had 4 people in the ring.  Dexter was still full of energy so we decided to push him the whole 30 minutes, I certainly wasn't worried about tiring him out at this point.  And we started to get some good work in.  He was steady, when I remembered to relax he fell into my contact.  And we even got some nice canter circles in.  The one awesome thing was that because he was so full of it he was getting some nice elevation in his trot and canter (in the warm up anyways).  At the end of the warm up he was still bucking at a certain spot on our canter circle and didn't particularly want to canter down the long side... but we were getting there.

THE UGLY - Me not Dexter - Can't you tell I'm having fun.

As we were warming up the judge was watching and she commented as we finished up that he was looking much better and she was looking forward to a better test.  We were the first after the warm up so all the horses left and Dexter wasn't sure about that.  All alone in the scary indoor with just the judges and the husband (even most of the spectators had left).  So we started, wiggling down the center line, backing up during our halt..... at this point I looked at the judge and laughed.  What else can you do?  I knew this test would be just as bad as the first despite our warm-up.  Dexter just wasn't interested in what I had to say.  We did our best and got a slightly better score.  His canter was a wee bit more in control and he didn't buck at the spot he didn't like in warm up.  We still didn't get the best bend and we still couldn't stretch (stretching is for relaxed horses).  But we finished both tests, I didn't fall off, and he didn't take off (although I know he was thinking about it).

The nice thing about this show was you were able to talk to the judge after each test.  She commented on the difference between the warm-up and the last test.  She suggested that I may be getting tense causing him to resist.  I agreed with her, but I think it's him that gets tense first and I follow, either way its something to work on.

The positives:  We started early so hopefully when the real shows come around Dexter will be a pro.  Despite his acting up we got a lot of complements on his movement and how I handled him... maybe they were just being nice.  We did it, we jumped in and got our fist show out of the way.  I now know it's at least possible and am ready for the next.

Overall, because I'm a perfectionist and while we did meet our goals of not dieing, I wouldn't  call this show a success, but I would file it under an excellent learning experience.

Although its a bit embarrassing I promise to post the video of my second test at a later date, once I've come to terms with it.

No going back!

Well, I turned in my entry form for the schooling show this weekend.  Now I only hope my new show clothes get here in time!  I didn't anticipate the blizzard from hell slowing down the shipment... oh well.  Its a schooling show so I can always ride in my schooling breeches, I just prefer to look a little more put together.

The show is this weekend and thanks to the Colorado weather, we've only rode 2-3 times in the last week and may get 2 more in before the show if we are lucky.  So this may not be our best performance, but we will get out there and see how it goes.  I'm used to a little more preparation but I also decided I can't wait anymore. 

Saturday is supposed to get up in the 40's so here is hoping that holds out.  For those of you in Colorado, the show is at Triple Creek Ranch, let me know if you are gonna be there too.  Dexter will be the giant hair bay snorting and whinnying at everybody. 

To Pull or Not to Pull...

I have been out of the show ring for a very long time... about 12 years so I'm a little behind the times on trends.  Luckily I ride dressage which is cemented in tradition so very little changes, especially at the lower levels... or so I assume. 

But I plan on showing this coming season, so as I dust off my hat and breeches I have one question... what are the standards on braiding these days.  I have a Friesian Cross with a long thick black mane, and it kills me to chop it off and thin it out.  Ignore his head position below, we have since fixed his desire to avoid the bit (I promise I don't practice Rollkur).  This was 8 months ago when I first got him, its grown another 4 inches since. 

I have read that with certain breeds like Friesians and Andalusians, a running braid is acceptable.  But to me he looks more like a Thoroughbred/Warmblood than a Friesian.  So if I show up with a running braid it may be perceived as lazy vs paying tribute to his breed and thick mane.



The other option is to go a head and shorten and pull his mane.  But as I look at the pictures of current button braids they seem to be quite thick.  I'm imagining if I only fit 8-10 braids on his neck they are going to be the size of my fist, without completely thinning it out.  That is something else that seems to have changed.  When I was showing years ago, we had 15-20 individual braids, maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time.  And where is the white tape?  That seems to have gone away too.  Geez I wonder what else has changed.  Are we still wearing white pants?  I hope so because they are the only ones that still fit :).

So I guess I have some decisions to make:  Do I keep Dexter's mane long even though he doesn't have the Friesian build?  If not how thin do I go?  Is it OK to have more braids?  And do I need more white tape?

Help!? :)

Thanks Carol!

I’ve only had a handful of riding instructors in my riding career so I’m not an expert, but there was one who truly left an impression.  She was a true teacher at heart (whether she realized it or not), and proved you don’t have to be the highest ranking certified rider/instructor to train quality riders.

To compare we will go through some of my other “trainers”.  The first was when I was 7, I wanted to ride horses and my mom found a woman willing to teach me.  She didn’t have a training stable, she just had some old horses and patience.  Doe taught me to ride, not necessarily how to ride.  To clarify, I was put on a horse and taught to steer, taught to kick, whoa and stay on.  I did not learn heals down/toes in, left lead, right lead etc.  I basically spent an hour each week on a horse, and for me that was ok.

 

As I continued to ride, my parents realized this may not be the woman to stay with forever.  Eventually I would get bored.  Plus they had promise me a horse when I turned 12 and I started getting interested in jumping and other things my riding friends were doing at another barn.  So we moved to a hunter/jumper facility, this was the exact opposite of the backyard barn I had come from… this was a show barn.  And the trainer had been trained by the best and brightest in the industry, she was a “professional”.  And, honestly I had fun most of the time, I was learning 2-point and getting to jump and there were more kids around to play with.  But the trainer was a little stricter than I was used to.   I was not used to being yelled at and forced to work hard.  For 5 years I kind of rode when I wanted to and took breaks when I wanted to.  This was a real lesson and it took some getting used to.  And to be honest I did learn a lot, I learned to jump, I learned proper posture and even won my very first class at my very first show.  But like I said, my trainer wasn’t always nice, if you slacked you got yelled at.  And she was good at talking you into “needing” a new saddle or trunk or horse for that matter.  My parents weren’t happy with her training and managing style so we move on… again.

 

My mom knew a guy whose wife trained and raised quarter horses who was looking to start giving lessons.  Sounded like another backyard set up to me.  It was and it wasn’t.  Carol’s backyard was 4 acres, and granted since she was just starting to give lessons the “arena” was a field, and I was learning to ride english on a reining horse.  But Carol was very dedicated to teaching and we built and arena and jumps and whatever else we needed at I progressed…. including a cross-country course on the back 20 acres.  Carol had training in dressage and jumping as well as the quarter horse world but she wasn’t world-renowned and this was by no means a “show barn.”  I think for the first several months I was her only student.  Still I had tons of fun.  Carol knew how to explain things to kids in a way that made sense to them.  And she was always positive.  If a horse threw in a little hop she laughed, no use in getting stressed over something that already happened.  Carol was patient with both horse and rider, but knew how to keep you challenged and interested.

 

I still use a lot of the imagery Carol taught me as I was learning dressage and collection.  Here are just a few examples:

 

When I was working on a good seat she said to imagine that the my rear is a plug and the saddle is the outlet.  If I lean forward the plug won’t go in.  And in order to power the horse properly, the plug must be in.

 

When I was working on collection she said to imagine the horse as a giant toothpaste tube.  You squeeze the toothpaste with your legs, but if you don’t hold the cap on, all the toothpaste with squirt out.  The cap holds the toothpaste just like your hands and seat hold the energy.

 

And half halts were a matter of dropping anchor.  When you half halt feel like you have just dropped an anchor from you legs and a bowling ball from your seat to help you get that grounded deep feeling.

 

 

Now obviously those images worked being that I’ve remembered them over the last decade, but we went through a few before those stuck.  And that was what Carol was good at.  She didn’t teach from a book, she used common sense and imagination to find what worked for each horse and rider.  And she made it fun.  You can’t get too serious or frustrated when you are riding a tube of tooth paste.

 

Carol taught me to be an independent rider, she didn’t come to every show and coddle me and yell at me from the rails, like you see at so many shows.  She gave me a few key points before I left, mantras to keep in my head.  And I think that is one reason I did so well, I was concentrating the whole way around the ring, knowing I only had myself  to fall back on and couldn’t wait till I got to the trainer to hear what I was forgetting.

 

Carol taught me not just how to ride but how to train.  All my previous lessons were focused on what I was doing and the horse would take care of the rest.  But since most of the horses at the barn had little jumping/english training when I rode I had to focus on both me and the horse.  And when it came time to buy my second horse, Carol found one that had the basics of english but needed training in jumping and dressage, so I could develop the horse from beginning to end.  I learned how to be patient and consistent and all sorts of life lessons that go beyond the arena.

 

She taught me how to listen to my horse, to know when to push a little harder and when to back off.  And she kept me well-rounded, to learn the subtleties of seat and rein we mixed our regular drills with some western pleasure and reining.  And even though, like I said, she wasn’t well-known in the dressage show circle, with her dedication to teaching and imaginative ways she trained me well enough to win 2 USDF regional championships (on a quarterhorse no less).  And I was always proud at shows knowing I may be working with the best kept secret in the Region.

Carol has since gotten out of training and horses all together, but I still call her when I’m in a training rut or am looking for a new horse.   And she still keeps me grounded and reminds me that it doesn’t take a fancy horse or fancy barn to be a champion.