In the words of Ronan Keating...Life is a rollercoaster!!!

I am definitely greyer tonight  

and it's a bloody good job my OH was with me toady or I might have gone home in tears and never competed again!!!  

Serves me right...complacency is a baaaaad thing  
Boy has been going so well at home in snaffle and drop, I decided to take him out for our second competition in 6 months in it...to a venue he is notoriously spooky at, when he is fit as a fiddle and sharp as a needle, I didn't check what trainer thought, extra fail...I am a prize knob!!!  

E45...a bitty, weird test....started well halt 7, serpentine 7 (good rhythm) even a 6 for medium trot  7's for 10m circles, medium walk, extended walk...oh yes, all very active because the little shit was about to royally embarrass me  
Working canter left  explode and leap, fabulous flying change, stop...get correct lead, sets off like the entire inhabitants of hades are up his arse...3...circle left, ummmmmm well we can have a go at steering....5.....  Medium canter...oh, I think you mean, bolt with my head upyour nose, changing twice along the way surely mother...3....  
at this point I am thinking retiring is the onlyoption, then I got really cross and thought no, you little bugger...man up!!! 10m circle in canter , 6, by some miracle...change of rein 6, some tension..SOME!!!!  God bless the judge...medium canter 5...that will be barely staying in the arena then....stretch in canter....hahahahahaha...4, daren't let him stretch, I would ave probably been in Leatherhead!!!  Trotting to finish 7...guess at least she got to use all her marks  

To be fair I left the arena and apologised to judge...was utterly horrific even by our standards!!  

Shouted at my husband a lot, as clearly it was his fault  and told him we were going home!!
Bless him, he said absolutely not, and made me change bridleto the double and get back in the warm up and get on with it!!!
Thank the lord...have to say, I thought it was pretty poop...I was so cross with myself, I rode him far too hard, but he was going to do what he was told under any circumstances and if that meant another shit score so be it  
Freestyling


So here it is....70%, and 1st, with the highest score of the day for Music classes...to say I was shocked and surprised is an understatement  
I think judge was relieved we didn't repeat earlier shenanigans  
So, we are off to regionals at our first attempt...she loved the music, and I know we can do better, so delighted with something to aim for for 2016
FP! was a great calming influence as I was beside myself with embarrassment...but the boy pulled it out of the bag and we have something to aim for...just got to double and triple check rules as would like to aim for Medium areas in October without jeopardising FSM qualification   
Onwards Small brown...but sightly idiotic wonder pony!!! 

Back to basics...

Will amalgamate two lessons into one as in the chaos of last week, totally forgot to write session up, which means I will get in a muddle and forget important bits and bobs  

So getting ready for the *cough* medium outing  we have been working on the lateral work a lot, mainly as the rider needs to get the right aids in the right order at the right time to get the very clever poy to do the fancy stuff....harder than it might sound. Trainer has the patience of an absolute saint!!  

We recapped on the straightness aids (to be fair he is bloody good at being straight) which has improved medium trots and direct transitions, especially trot to halt no end. In the main we now have a square, balanced halt and the move off is coming from the back end and lifting up the shoulders, which is definitely all going in the right direction  

We did lots of transitions through the long stretchy outline, walk, trot, canter, halt, maintaining the softness through the neck before picking him up to a working frame. Weather has not been terribly kind last 2 weeks, but it has done him the world of good to work through the wind and the rain  

We went straight to canter as he is better when a bit fresher and I can get more out of him, trot he finds easy and can motor along for an entire 45 minutes if needs be. We have had to really focus on the roundness in the left canter particularly as I am very strong through my right side and always seem to block the 'forwards' with my lovely grip of death  What we have now is a much more grown up canter, with a good length of stride. We checked the self carriage periodically and as long as rider sits up, looks up and is strong through her core the rest looks really so much better.  We worked on control of the medium canter to collected canter, using the 10m circles if necesssary, but actually riding further than a long side or a long diagonal in the medium pace, to take away the anticipation of using a corner to come back to a working or collected pace.
Then we worked on lateral work in trot. Nice little exercise, if I can remember it right. Trot on left rein, down centre line, shoulder in left, change the bend, set, leg and rein then traver right...lovely for maoeverability, really got us both thinking and actually pretty good at it once I got my brain in gear  Repeated on other rein, always useful to test if one rein better than the other, but generally we are getting a good response on both  
Ran through bit and pieces of 61....shoulder in to half circles, half passes...which I am to remember that he is not a GRand Prix horse (yet) and not to ask for/expect/look to achieve a steep angle and bend. Once I got my head round what a good, acceptab;e half pass felt like for both of us, we were motoring. Remember, control the shoulders first, guide and lead with the shoulders, the quarters should never, ever lead  Marker between his ears and forwards, sideways, forwards, sideways....we shall see if it sticks  

Today we really went back to basics  
A well needed session on relaxation and softness in the neck...through the whole session  
So, are we forward, straight, responsive, equal weight in legs, seat bones, can I feel his hind legs coming through into the hoof prints of his front legs, are shoulders back and down, do I have a smile through my collar bone, are my elbows weighted, by my hips, hands forward, allowing, whip lying across my thigh????
Took time to get energy and relaxation in the walk, bigger strides not faster. How low could I get his neck in the relaxed stretch while still having activity, roundness and not diving on his shoulders? Can I keep that exact feeling in the transitions and changes of rein....my bad habit is to pull back as he looses balance sometimes through a change of rein...I must learn to keep those hands forward and drive him into the contact, not quicker, just actively. Transfered this to the canter work also....wow! So much better, balanced and taking the contact forward and down . Here my seat aids were vital....strong upper body, still hands, active leg aids:clap: 
In the trot we worked on a bigger more powerful stride, not a faster one....a quick reminder with a tap of the whip when he began to find it hard/die a little in the energy and trainer declared some of the best work she has seen from him in a long while  
He is feeling great at the moment...just really happy and powerful, so couldn't ask for more. Quick run through of test tomorrow, dy off Thursday and then final preps for a weekend of pony dancing.... Looking forward to it for the first time in a while...exam fever has been VERY stressful this year for some reason....7 day weeks are not fun over 3 month period  
Onwards little man 

Fairfax Performance Bridle clinic

Wow! What a fabulous, interesting afternoon  

I have a Fairfax girth, works for us, fitted by saddler, I tried it a few times before I bought one, so was happy it suited us. Was based on Daniel's yard when the research began for the new bridle, so it has intrigued me to see how it finally turned out...very, very interesting it all is that is for sure.

Wanted to try partly out of curiosity, partly because the boy can be VERY sensitive around the ears (as FP! witnessed at Frensham a couple of weeks ago) They are certainly a top end product, but for that you have a 'top end' service, attention to detail and a real desire, I believe, to improve an individual horse's performance in an empathetic, comfortable way.

Some very fancy ponies there today, we were definitely the smallest and least flashy, so felt a bit   , however Vanessa Fairfax is very quick to put you at your ease. Quick introductions and they began to measure our own regular double bridle and select corresponding pieces to make up a bespoke bridle for your horse. When I say bespoke, genuinely, every part is just that, a bewildering world of possibilities in fact, that would probably ensure no two bridles would necessarily be the same. We had a close look at the headpiece, with cushioned pads just above the browband. It looked odd off the horse, but on, made complete sense and followed the contours of his skull nicely and lifting the headpiece way from his most sensitive part at the base of his ears. Every part is lined with prolite and was wide over the top of his head, dispersing pressure over the poll. They took ages to make sure the fir of cheek pieces was correct and then the noseband.
Now, this WAS extremely interesting as the padding is in 3 parts, it makes it bulkier than you might be used to, but not ugly. The central padding lifts the noseband and keeps the areas on either side of the nasal bone,clear of pressure. It also has two large rings and two smaller rings which mean it is pliable and moves softly, fitting nicely but not tightly. 

The browband is NOT changeable, everything is neatly stitched and clearly very carefully considered and researched. They asked me to ride in my old bridle first, took video and watched his way of going. We spent at least 20 minutes getting the fit right and then off we went again, under the watchful eye of 3 experts   

I will preface this with the statement that I am no great shakes, you know that, and this is only my opinion...an ordinary rider with an ordinary horse with some 'special ' needs including dislike of change  
To begin with he felt heavy in the hand, almost leaning into the bridle more than normal, but once he settled into it and readjusted his balance, he went well, very well.Now, the cynics (me included) will think, ah well, you wanted to feel a difference...believe me, I really didn't, I REALLY didn't...it is one expensive dilemma to have.However, quickly it became clear his transitions were better, more responsive and through I guess and he was definitely taking me forward in the medium trot. There was also a definite 'engagement'in the canter which felt great  Some of that will be the better surface I know, but when I dropped the reins and walked over to 3 ladies, the feedback was a definite improvement in the engagement/activity of the back end and a big difference in his stride length. He certainly felt powerful and happy in it, he certainly didn't dislike it!!!  

So, the plan is to try it at home under the watchful eye of trainer in 3 weeks. We can therefore eliminate the better surface possibility, and the riding under pressure scenario and see what it looks like filmed and photographed and analysed with different critical eyes  
Part of me feels it is pointless unless we are going to make it past medium, part of me thinks we need all the help we can get  
So nice to be back at the farm, you forget how much of a luxury mirrors and an indoor school are  
I will make sure I take photographs next time as I realise this is a largely dull blog entry without them, but well worth a look/try if one of the clinics are near you. It does need to be professionally fitted, especially with all the different options.
Worth bearing in mind there is no flash noseband option and the drop is not FEI approved as yet so would not be usable in competition until it is approved, so cavesson snaffle or double are really the only competition options  
Any questions, ask away, I am not an expert but rapidly becoming a convert... 

Freestylin'

Finally the star were aligned and I had the music, floorplan, school free, video-er primed (but on a limited time slot  ) ready to have our first go at putting it all together.

Disclaimer for the dressage police  :
Time was short, so I had to crack on with a bare minimum warm up in walk 
Some of it was winging it a little to fit the final cut of the music, especially the final trot bit
Rider's position and horse's frame are both under close enough critical scrutiny, so I am more than aware heels need to be down in the trot work and positioning for the leg yields need to be clearer/better  Free walk needs to be 'free-er' tansitions need to be clearer, mediums better prepared, infact the whole thing will need to be more uphill and energetic, probably also need to find a way to get rid of the bag of cats hibernating inside my jumper!!!  


Having said all that, I am chuffed to bits with how it is taking shape.
Sure the music will divide the judges, but it make me smile...a LOT,so that is the main thing 
Really looking forward to giving it a go in public and seeing how it is received  
We qualified for regionals first time out with our novice and I think this is hugely better than that attempt!!! So fingers crossed someone else thinks it is good enough 

Elementary Freestyle first run through

Onwards Wonderpony