Equine Laundry

Our school master doesn’t have his own dedicated tack so I’m on a mission. In the boarder’s tack room I retrieve my instructor’s girth and saddle. At another locker I grab a bridle. Wait. I still need a saddle pad. Hmmm, R–’s locker is right here. She won’t mind. I’ve used her tack before. I grab the saddle pad and without another thought tacked up for my lesson.

“Where’d you get the pad?” My instructor’s checking my tack as I mount.

Uh-oh. Why’d I take the saddle pad? That’s all I can think about. The nice white saddle pad. The one I borrowed from a boarder’s locker. Without asking. Have I lost my mind? A mere lesson student helping herself to a boarder’s belongings? I can only pray that I haven’t launched the next world war.

“It’s R–’s. I didn’t think she’d mind. I’ll wash it and bring it back on Tuesday.”

Darn! I knew I shouldn’t have taken it. Guilt. Guilt. Can we say GUILT?

“Uh-huh. She’s on vacation so she won’t be back until later in the week”

Oh, good! I can wash the pad, put it away and no one will know. Wait. I know. And my instructor. Darn! Guilt. I hate this!

Lesson? What lesson? I’m feeling so guilty I can’t even think about my lesson. It passes in a blur. I think we did serpentines. Hey! Did I graduate from circles?

Back home I atone for my sins by washing and bleaching the saddle pad. It looks great! I even admit my guilt and attached the following note to the saddle pad with a safety pin.

The following Saturday as I entered the barn I hear “Lee!” R–’s spotted me. “You’re too funny!” I am?

“Hi R–! Did you get my love note?”

“Yes. I don’t mind if you borrow my things! It was sooo clean too!”

“My washer and dryer are pretty new.” Another boarder trots past us.

“Hey, Lee! Can you wash mine?”

It seems that I’ve atoned for my sins and possibly found myself a new profession. What a relief!

Clinic Report: Mary Wanless

Yesterday, I audited the Mary Wanless clinic at Larkspur Farm in Littleton, Massachusetts.

So…what did I think? I enjoyed it but I thought it was more beneficial for the riders then for the auditors. Don’t get me wrong. I took things away from it that I can pull out of my trunk and reference in the future such as bearing down and plugging in. Riders share a trunk load of common faults but I felt that the clinic was very rider specific. As it should be for the kind of money they’re paying to ride in it.

Many of the riders were hollow backed and sitting too hard on the down portion of the posting trot. To solve this Mary would pull back on their waistbands. They were to think about flattening their backs. I prefer thinking “Belly button to spine.” Almost all of the women needed to tuck their bums under them…ahem, that would be me. A little junk in the trunk you know. Oops. Sorry, I digress. In the posting trot they tended to sit down far too hard…again that used to be me. Mary had the riders thinking that the saddle was very hot and they’d get burned if they sat on it. I liked that. I was taught “Touch, you’re up.” Remember if your horse is rounding and offering you his back, that’s an incredible gift and we don’t want to squash it like a bug beneath our bums!

I also liked the idea of an arrow protruding out from the center of your chest. This particular rider was really twisted to the right on a circle. (Ah, how well I know this particular nemesis.) Mary said that the arrow should be pointing in the direction of travel. This particular rider was NOT allowed to look to the right and needed to really exaggerate bringing her left shoulder and hip back. Basically closing the left outside rein to control the withers and contain the haunches. I have to admit that reading about circles in Ride with Your Mind Essentials really helped me. I think that I’d rather use that arrow to shoot the scary monster lurking near E.

Another analogy I loved was to imagine laser beams shooting out of your knees down toward the ground. Correct rider position is kneeling in the saddle. By thinking about this we’ll open the angle at the back of our knees. Okay. Once again I’d rather use the laser beams to blaze a path in front of my horse past scary letter E. I really have to stop watching the Sci Fi channel.

During the lunch break I bought a new book for my collection and had it autographed! Mary will be returning to Larkspur Farm in May 2010 if you’re interested in riding or auditing.

————————————-

I edited this post to add a link to EQUINE Ink. She audited the clinic on Friday. Please read her post Forget heels down. Think knees down! to get another perspective.

Broadening My Horizons: Fear of the Unknown

I’m going to throw up.

I’ve been dawdling this morning. Delaying the inevitable departure for my lesson. There’s a substitute instructor and I’m not sure how I feel about her. Wait. Yes, I do…I’m going to throw up.

Deep breath. You can do this! Oh, God.

A glance into the indoor confirms my suspicions. It is HER! (gulp)

I’ve watched this instructor and she pushes her students. Enika’s loud and comes off as slightly abrasive. If she asks you to do something, she wants you to do it. NOW! (Okay, so does my instructor but she’s, I don’t know…nicer.) The problem is that she knows her stuff. I mean really knows her stuff. She studied at Meredith Manor and rode with the Wonderful World of Horses performing airs above the ground with the Royal Lippizan Stallions. Our interaction has been pretty much limited to my practice rides. On those nights she’s usually teaching while I “practice”. I’ve watched her and then been thankful that she’s not my instructor as yet another student eats dirt.

That changes today.

I get Enika’s attention and announce that I’m her 10 o’clock lesson.
“Great! I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you!” Oh, God. “I’ve wanted to help you and it’s been so hard not to. I’ve seen improvements in your riding too.” Really?

I’m asked to get the horse that’s hardest for me to pull together. Okay, that would be Buttons. She’s stiff and being her marish self fights me for about 20 minutes before deciding it’s easier to come down into my hands.

Let the torture session begin.

I really need to get her forward. Without the forward I can’t get rhythm and contact. Then we worked on straightness and suppling. All horses are naturally crooked and to ride in balance we need to straighten them. Today Buttons was stiff on the left. Especially the left hind. I utilized the whole ring to work on suppling her by counter flexing her to the right. Of course this made her look at the scary stall cleaner and spook. Again. And again. Finally the door was closed. As part of this exercise I had to tell her where I was feeling resistance and make adjustments. One moment it was the front right shoulder, then the hind. Buttons tried some evasive maneuvers like cantering but we rode through it. Eventually, Buttons was on the bit. Then I had to keep her from falling behind it.

Not bad so far.

Enika said I had the trot nailed so it was time to canter. (gulp)

The commands are flying out of Enika’s mouth faster then I can process them. I asked for a canter around the ring. Not what I usually do. I usually canter on a 20 meter torture circle. The canter was flat. She was hollowed backed. That’s okay though. I’m warming up. Next attempt kinda the same but worse. Clinging leg. I have to slap her with my leg and not cling! (I know. I know. Breathing legs.) Flying down the long side. Wait. Is this a canter? Feels like a gallop. Not that I’ve ever galloped. Have I?

Now to apply the same stuff I did at trot to the canter. I need to flex her head to the right. Give with the inside left rein and make her stand up on the left shoulder to straighten her. Forward! Almost had it.

I feel pretty good. I overcame a number of things. My fear of Enika and cantering out of control. If my instructor goes to Florida this winter maybe I’ll ride with Enika.

Oh, God! I am a glutton for punishment.

Debut of Outside Rein: Guide Your Ride

I read everything in my quest to become a Dressage Diva including horse forums. It was on one of these that I discovered Outside Rein: Guide Your Ride. It’s a newly debuted digital magazine for equestrians of all disciplines. It’s the brain child of Phillip Dutton, Mark Baus and Lendon Gray.

Overall, I like the idea of an online magazine. I’ve spent most of my art career working in both magazine and text book publishing and saw this coming for a long time. I think that this particular magazine is still a work in progress. The photographs are beautiful but the layouts need work. They’ve forgotten about the use of a grid to layout their articles. Some articles run long and the text nearly over flows the page. Type size is rather larger and clunky, perhaps a zoom feature? I had trouble finding author information for the departments and there wasn’t any navigation except for the previous/next page buttons.

Like I said, it’s a brain child not an adult. Given time and some maturity I could see this developing into something great.

Submissions are being accepted for articles, photography and videos. They also have a blog that I haven’t had a chance to really look at. I have to say that it’s tempting…they’re looking for new voices and perspectives.

What do you say?

Road Trip: Mary Wanless Clinic

I’m so excited! I just found out that Mary Wanless will be in my area for a clinic next week. I have to go!

Mary Wanless Clinic
Larkspur Farm, Littleton MA
November 13-15, 2009

Auditors are welcome. Cost for auditors: 3 days @ $75 or $30/day

Mary does an unmounted workshop in the middle of the day to introduce body awareness and answer questions. To learn more about Mary Wanless please visit her website.

Wanted: Independent Seat

As any rider will tell you the quest for an independent seat is the ultimate goal. The ability to ride in harmony could take many hours and quite possibly years to achieve (think Spanish Riding School). Both of which I have in limited amounts! I’m a once a week lesson student that just stopped hourly practice rides. That means one hour of mounted riding time a week. And years? I’m 42! I’m running out of years! I need to fast track my independent seat.

Hmmm, what skills do I need to get this job done?

Wanted: Independent Seat

Skills Required: Relaxation (both physical and mental), balance, ability to follow the horse’s motion
Communication Skills: Clear use of aids (legs, reins and seat)
Benefits: Harmony with the horse
Experience: No prior experience needed. All may apply.
Salary: Based on experience. Blood, sweat and tears, sore muscles and finally after many hours and possibly years an independent seat.

I also understand that riders that take lungeing lessons progress very quickly. So, I agreed to be a lunge line guinea pig. We weren’t sure how the school master would react but he was a…well, school master. I on the other hand? Yeah. Well, I guess I need these lessons.

I knotted the reins and placed them on the horse’s neck. That way they were out of my way but within reach if I needed them. Then I attached a grab strap to the front of the saddle. I just might need that during sitting trot to prevent myself from being catapulted across the indoor. Okay, I’ve official surrendered all control to my instructor. She’s responsible for controlling my horse’s speed and the size of our circle. I’ve been told to do nothing with my legs. Absolutely nothing.

We started at a walk without reins. I held my invisible reins and concentrated on following the horse’s movement.

Side to side, hip to hand. Not bad.
Let’s pick up a posting trot. Yeah, let’s! Piece of cake.
Now a sitting trot. BIG. TROT.  I’m okay. Relax.
Wait? Was that a canter stride?
What was that? A buck?!
Stop messing around. TROT!
Hmmm, shift back a little. Better.
Now walk. Okay, walk. Ack! Pitching forward.
Grow tall and sit into it. Okay, slower trot, slower, taller, walk.
Darn. Brakes are sticky.
Now without your stirrups. Deep breath, let’s go!
BIG. TROT. Where’s that strap?
Breathe. Relax. Side to side.
Look no hands!

Things were far from perfect. Especially those downward transitions. I’m learning to rely less on the reins and more on my body. I trust myself and my balance even more.

Independent seat here I come!

Riding the Ocean Wave

I don’t like water. Probably because I nearly drowned. Twice. So, imagine my surprise when I took to it like a fish to…well, water. I found myself relaxed as the waves gently lifted me up from behind. Up, up, up until I reached the crest. Then I followed it back down, down, down. No fear. Just relaxation as I allowed the waves to move me.

The dreamscape melts away and a new reality takes shape around me.

I’m cantering on a dreaded 20-meter circle. Moving as one with the horse. Each powerful surge from behind gently lifts me up, up, up and I ride it back down, down, down. Total relaxation as I ride the canter waves. I relax even more and the horse does too. Her back comes up as she rounds more and more. There’s nothing like feeling this harmony between us. Riding the waves in lightness and rhythm like a real dressage rider. At least for the moment.

I’m no longer afraid of the water. OK, maybe a little but what a wonderful way to end my series of practice rides!

Come on in! The water’s fine.

Halloween Costumes for the Horse of Course

Here are some of the fabulous entries in our schooling show’s costume class. Enjoy!
Photos are used with Lisa Forman’s permission.

Tinkerbell (too bad she didn't have a helmet)

Candy corn

A bag of MMs

A spider and her prey

Horses

Arabian Princess and her Arabian horse

The circus comes to town

I'm a lion, hear me roar! (my favorite)

Tales from the Girth Side

Ah, the girth. A necessary piece of riding equipment that keeps the saddle and therefore the rider on the horse. That’s right…on the horse. We are after all horseback riders not turf riders. At least not intentionally.

My first loose girth lesson
The summer before I entered second grade we moved to the country. A friend invited me over and after a quick tour of the house we were off to far more exciting things. Like horses. I vaguely remember us wrestling with the saddle and mounting. Then we took off down a paved country road and before long we were trotting. As we trotted I noticed something odd was happening.

bounce  slipping to the right

bounce  slipping more!

bounce  ack!!

In a blink of the eye I was eating dirt.

Did I happen to mention that we were riding double on a shoeless horse? Oh, and helmets? Forget about it. Thankfully, we walked away with only a few scrapes. To this day I can still  remember that friend’s name.

Present day lessons
It seems that I’ve gone back to riding with a loose girth. I’m not doing this intentionally. I swear! It’s just that I’ve been riding a sensitive horse for my dressage lessons and she has girthing issues. Or maybe I do?

Anyway, as I start to attach the girth she pins her ears back. Then I move to the other side and as I bring the girth beneath her belly I’m rewarded by a show of teeth. I don’t think she’s smiling at me. I then very slowly attach the girth to the first hole. More teeth. Slowly, I adjust the girth one hole tighter. More teeth.

Now in my opinion showing teeth is fine. I get it. You don’t like it. Maybe someone pinched you in the past but I’m being very slow and gentle here. However, the last time I tacked her the teeth came a little too close for comfort and I slugged her. Not hard. She immediately turned her head around and faced forward. Still as a statue.

Now for the riding part. As I said earlier I’ve been riding with a loose girth. See? She trained me well. We haven’t noticed until the end of the lessons. After trotting and cantering and maybe a buck for good measure. So, either I have awesome balance or it hasn’t been all that loose. Regardless I’m thankful that I’m no longer a turf rider and I always wear a helmet.

Do you have a girth story to share?

Program Design: Fall Finale Dressage Show

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the Northeast Regional Adult Amateur Dressage Championships (NRADC) show committee. My role was to design their Fall Finale Dressage Show program. This is the second year of the championships that are designed specifically to highlight the achievements of the adult amateur.

Program cover I designed for the Northeast Regional Adult Amateur Dressage Championships, October 2009

This show is unique in that it focuses on a segment of the dressage community which often must juggle work and family schedules, and have time and budgetary constraints on their training schedules. Ann Guptill, volunteer for the show, believes that the NRADC is important to recognize the adult amateurs. Guptill said, “I was excited to see last fall how this championship encouraged participation from the adult
amateurs who are the backbone of our sport. The freestyle element brought in a whole new group of riders who previously wondered how long they would have to wait to be able to ride in a venue like this. Creating the freestyles improved their riding and brought out great creativity that was fun to be a part of.”

Qualifying to compete is designed to be feasible for those on limited time and monetary budgets. Qualifying scores can be achieved either at schooling shows or USDF-recognized competitions. Two scores from any tests at each level are required from USDF-recognized judges. For training level the minimum score is 61%, first level 60%, second level 59%, and third level and above 58%.

I salute all the wonderful hardworking volunteers!