The videos kind of speak for themselves...trainer gives a comprehensive description of what we 'should' be doing, the results are hilarious!
He is an incredible horse...the owner pootles around on him and he is the most wonderful gentleman...but OH.MY.GOODNESS, when you pick him up and ask him to work the power is INCREDIBLE
Have to say I feel like the luckiest girl alive to get the opportunity to have lessons on him (she has agreed to me having more...I didn't need to be asked twice!) If this is what real dressage horses feel like, then I am in....and quite frankly the next 3 years need to hurry up so we can see what Big Brown is going to be like!
Think I will just post links and you can watch and laugh along if you like...huge movement, lots to think about, definitely helped me, without a shadow of a doubt as he is a true schoolmaster, in the sense that if you ask the wrong question he will give you what you have asked for...bless him
This is me trying to get to grips with his sensitivity
Walk work
Working on lateral stuff and moving on up to trot:
Walk and trot
I have to really focus on those forward hands...he doesn't take kindly to death grip
Up into canter, there was so much power I felt almost scared to ride him forward...but I had to!! And remember to use my seat!! Oh and I didn't need my whip
Cantering
Apparently I have an electric bottom!!
Small lady on big horse!
Cantering around and making a better job of it at times than others:
Canter work
And then the MOST exciting moment in my riding life!!! Truly!!!
Changes
I was the MOST excited middle aged lady in Surrey....what a feeling, and what a joy!!!
Was great to feel what Small Brown might become, although he will never have the big paces
It was very interesting that the same mistakes I make with SB I carried over to MrT...but learning to unravel them made all the difference as with an educated horse he suddenly went 'Oh, ok, you want THAT...let's do it'
An air of calm descended on Small Brown towers after that....I can't explain how or why...but our next session was so relaxed, and lo and behold the canter half pass came much better
We trundled off to Oldencraig on Friday (an unexpected day off work meant we got to play with big boys
)We had entered Elementary and Medium tests, but venue had lost my Medium entry even though I had done it on line and refused to be helpful in any way despite me sending through copies of confirmation etc
refused to enter me unless she had sorted it out with her website provider...I pointed out that was daft as I had provided all the evidence she needed....apparently no, have to wait until next week, so I am at present an entry fee down with no end in sight!!!Elementary it was then...with our new sense of calm. OH came with his paper and flask
was roasting hot and the warm up was the worst I have seen it there...all that money, and they can't harrow it before a day of competition 
We did minimal warm up, plenty of MAHOOSIVE prancing, bucking, rearing, plunging wild eyed beasts to squish the boy, but bar the odd spook at the flags he was good as gold (think it was so deep he could barely move!!
)Felt calm and ready, thought slow and steady and enjoy rather than get it all over with as fast as possible
Yet to get sheet back so not sure of exact comments, couple of spooks at judges end with flappy flags and overhanging bushes at the A end with monsters in them
but it felt ok, calm, organised, maybe a little flat towards the end...but for once wasn't berating myself forsomething obvious...until we got out and OH pointed out I had missed the final 10m circle 
Idiot...oh, well I thought....such is life, should really listen to the reader if you are going to drag one along!!!Shocked and delighted to have ended up with 67.9% (our highest Elementary straight dressage score to date) and a little win for the boy in the restricted....amazingly, we were even 5th out of 10 in the whole class, so really held our own with all the huge Oldencraig residents!!
Chuffed to bits with him...the hard work and mental torture is beginning to pay off with those scores creeping up little by little..
We are off to do more FSM this afternoon in the rain, so fingers crossed he isn't toooooooooo pooped
Onwards little man
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