Saf has had a fairly easy time of it really. Well, an easy time for a Saffy anyway! She's been having quite a few days off because of work etc so she's been quite lively to work. I put a triple up on Saturday, starting as just poles on the ground. She was being a bit of a moose at first and having a hissy fit about being made to walk over poles. She soon settled though and began to work properly. We built it up to 1 jump, then 2, then the triple. I was quite nervous because I had jumped a triple the week before and managed to fall off. Although I wasn't hurt and I got straight back on, my stupid mind had been mulling over it and of course I'd decided that was going to happen every time I tried to jump a combination. Grrr. Good thing was though I had my friend with me who was shouting at me that Saf was more than capable etc. The daft thing is, I don't let my worries stop me from doing stuff, I just argue with the voices in my head! So it's good to have someone shouting louder than those voices. Needless to say, with more confident riding Saffy flew through the combination and we didn't have a single refusal.
After a couple of days off and some flatwork (to which she was completely disinterested...she was powering around the school in a lovely jumping canter..shame we were aiming for steady and dressage-y) I decided to put some canter poles out with one set of wings today. She was a star :) The canter poles took a couple of tries but she managed it perfectly once she remembered she had 4 legs. I put a piddly little cross up at the end of the line of poles and she wobbled her way upto it but, and it's a big but, didn't stop! We came round a few more times and it was much more stylish. I put it up to a straight and suddenly got nervous again. It wasn't big, but my mind was saying 'it's a straight, it looks different, she'll stop'.
About 4 strides out she backed off my leg. Suddenly everything went into slow motion. My mind was saying 'she's going to stop and try and jump it from a standstill...it's too big for her to jump from a standstill without a massive catleap...you'll fall off'. Somehow my body was functioning without my brain and I kicked her on and gave her a tap with the whip. Two strides out and she literally got the bit between her teeth and went 'mother, sod off and let me do it my way' and she flew it like an absolute pro. It felt amazing! My baby pony, sorting us both out. On landing I tried to say 'good girl' but it came out as a bit of a squeak. I was so happy :) We went over it a couple more times and she was foot perfect.
So now we have our transport (Mabel!) and she's showing me *she* can be (and wants to be if her flatwork performance was anything to go by!) a showjumper, even if I'm having confidence issues. I'm quite proud of myself for pushing myself through it though and I'm really looking forward to getting back to the level of confidence I had last summer.
Show season starts Sunday! Better pull the flatwork out of the bag :)
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Lesson Number 3
So today was our 3rd lesson with eventer lady 
It was a lovely day and I was looking forward to it. I always seem to get good results in her lessons.
We started with an exercise on a circle where there was a little jump at 3 o'clock then a pole on the floor at 12, 6 and 9. We then progressed to have the same but with 'half' cross poles at 12 and 6 (as in, one wing one pole) to encourage her to land on the correct leg. We tried it a couple of times and she was really powering round and getting her striding spot on
The next exercise had the beginnings of a grid set up. On the right rein there was a big cross on one long side, coming round to a triple. There were 2 poles one stride apart then 2 strides to a small vertical. She went over that ok both reins but I really needed to focus on the quality of the canter. She flies them fine if I set her up right and push her on, otherwise she loses impulsion and jumps like I imagine a llama would
After a couple of goes over that the grid went up so there were 3 jumps rather than poles. On the right rein it was a straight and then 2 oxers. She went over it fine when I rode her forward. It felt great when she met every jump at the right stride We then changed the rein and changed the combination slightly.
It started with a cross, followed by an oxer then a vertical. As we came to it I felt her back off a few strides out. I sent her on but obviously not enough. She took a massive flyer over the first, sending me skywards. I should've sat up straight away, but my muscles don't respond all that quickly to brain commands I was tipped far too far forward so when she stopped at the 2nd I came off. Didn't do much damage, although I'm aching a bit now. I'll live! I got straight back on (with a bit of effort..legs had been replaced with jelly) and brought her back round to do it again. She stopped at the first 
I brought her back round again and pony club kicked as if my life depended on it She threw herself over the first, plodded to the 2nd and managed the 3rd. We were through it, but it wasn't pretty
So round we came again. Again she slowed and jumped it llama-style. I was pleased she was going down the line without trying to stop or run out, but it definitely wasn't glamorous. My instructor said to wait a few minutes, get our breath back and try again if I wanted. I didn't want to stop until we got it right! We got our breath back and got our quality canter going before popping the big cross on one long side. We carried on to the grid and although she went through it all in canter, it wasn't particularly fluid. I kept her going back over the cross and then to the grid again. I was ready for her this time (had only taken me 100 attempts) and had her charging forward as if we were going into battle! She flew through the whole thing, foot perfect 
I felt like we'd just gone double clear at HOYS
So that was our lesson! I really enjoyed it and once again it's given us plenty to work on. In a way, I'm strangely glad I fell off. It wasn't dramatic and I wasn't particularly hurt (landed on the softest part of me
). I'm hoping it will help with my confidence. What am I scared of? Falling off apparently. But then, actually falling off isn't always too bad.
It was a lovely day and I was looking forward to it. I always seem to get good results in her lessons.We started with an exercise on a circle where there was a little jump at 3 o'clock then a pole on the floor at 12, 6 and 9. We then progressed to have the same but with 'half' cross poles at 12 and 6 (as in, one wing one pole) to encourage her to land on the correct leg. We tried it a couple of times and she was really powering round and getting her striding spot on
The next exercise had the beginnings of a grid set up. On the right rein there was a big cross on one long side, coming round to a triple. There were 2 poles one stride apart then 2 strides to a small vertical. She went over that ok both reins but I really needed to focus on the quality of the canter. She flies them fine if I set her up right and push her on, otherwise she loses impulsion and jumps like I imagine a llama would
After a couple of goes over that the grid went up so there were 3 jumps rather than poles. On the right rein it was a straight and then 2 oxers. She went over it fine when I rode her forward. It felt great when she met every jump at the right stride
We then changed the rein and changed the combination slightly.It started with a cross, followed by an oxer then a vertical. As we came to it I felt her back off a few strides out. I sent her on but obviously not enough. She took a massive flyer over the first, sending me skywards. I should've sat up straight away, but my muscles don't respond all that quickly to brain commands
I was tipped far too far forward so when she stopped at the 2nd I came off. Didn't do much damage, although I'm aching a bit now. I'll live! I got straight back on (with a bit of effort..legs had been replaced with jelly) and brought her back round to do it again. She stopped at the first I brought her back round again and pony club kicked as if my life depended on it She threw herself over the first, plodded to the 2nd and managed the 3rd. We were through it, but it wasn't pretty So round we came again. Again she slowed and jumped it llama-style. I was pleased she was going down the line without trying to stop or run out, but it definitely wasn't glamorous. My instructor said to wait a few minutes, get our breath back and try again if I wanted. I didn't want to stop until we got it right! We got our breath back and got our quality canter going before popping the big cross on one long side. We carried on to the grid and although she went through it all in canter, it wasn't particularly fluid. I kept her going back over the cross and then to the grid again. I was ready for her this time (had only taken me 100 attempts
) and had her charging forward as if we were going into battle! She flew through the whole thing, foot perfect I felt like we'd just gone double clear at HOYS So that was our lesson! I really enjoyed it and once again it's given us plenty to work on. In a way, I'm strangely glad I fell off. It wasn't dramatic and I wasn't particularly hurt (landed on the softest part of me
). I'm hoping it will help with my confidence. What am I scared of? Falling off apparently. But then, actually falling off isn't always too bad.
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Typical Half-Term
Hmph. One day off and it's terrible weather. Luckily it had stopped raining by 5 and so I could have a ride, albeit very dull (the weather not the ride). We did some flatwork on Sunday and tried a few new moves. She's starting to understand shoulder in and is taking to walk pirhouettes and it was nice to experiment a bit. We did some work on medium/extended canter too, which she loves :) I'm really looking forward to doing some WH classes this season. I love feeling her accelerate when I push her on into gallop. Ahh hurry up summer!
Anyway today I put out some canter poles along one side of the school and 2 canter poles with a jump after them. She was getting in a bit of a muddle over the poles. She'd either fall back to trot or get disunited. Didn't help that she was more interested in everything else outside the arena! She managed it in the end though. I took her up to the poles and jump in trot and she stopped about 4 strides out. It wasn't a naughty stop, it was a 'hang on I need to have a look at this first' stop, but I was a bit disappointed because she'd been doing so well with no refusals recently. Not to worry too much though, she popped over it the 2nd time. We kept at it until she got her striding right and ended on a good note. She got all giddy at one point, so cute :)
She'll be having a day off tomorrow (had Monday and Tuesday off too, part-timer!) because I'm in uni til late but I should be able to have a ride during the day on Friday. I think I'll do some flat work again and practice our individual show. Haven't done that since the summer! Will keep working on shoulder-in too. She'll be jumping on Saturday hopefully because she's having a visitor so she'll be wanting to show off :)
Anyway today I put out some canter poles along one side of the school and 2 canter poles with a jump after them. She was getting in a bit of a muddle over the poles. She'd either fall back to trot or get disunited. Didn't help that she was more interested in everything else outside the arena! She managed it in the end though. I took her up to the poles and jump in trot and she stopped about 4 strides out. It wasn't a naughty stop, it was a 'hang on I need to have a look at this first' stop, but I was a bit disappointed because she'd been doing so well with no refusals recently. Not to worry too much though, she popped over it the 2nd time. We kept at it until she got her striding right and ended on a good note. She got all giddy at one point, so cute :)
She'll be having a day off tomorrow (had Monday and Tuesday off too, part-timer!) because I'm in uni til late but I should be able to have a ride during the day on Friday. I think I'll do some flat work again and practice our individual show. Haven't done that since the summer! Will keep working on shoulder-in too. She'll be jumping on Saturday hopefully because she's having a visitor so she'll be wanting to show off :)
Saturday, 19 February 2011
Can we enter Badminton yet?
Had another lesson with Andrea on Monday. I had a very slow day at work today so spent a lot of time thinking of all the things that could go wrong in the lesson. Basically it boiled down to her refusing and me going over her head. As if that would signify the end of the world as we know it By the time I got to the yard I was nervous but very excited.
We started off with some canter poles in a line and a little cross pole. My main issue with Saffy jumping is that she has been stopping at 'new' jumps. Doesn't matter what they look like, if she hasn't been over it in that session she has generally been stopping. She doesn't do dirty stops as such, just stops and gawps at it waiting for the monster to pop out. Anyway today I trotted her up to the first jump and she went straight over it! Excellent!
RI then put the canter poles into a fan so I could stay on a circle, go over them (at 3 o'clock on a clock face) and then pop over the jump (at 9 o'clock..make sense?). We did that a few times and it felt great when I got the lines right. Saf has never done canter poles on a circle before but she handled them brilliantly.
I have been working on keeping my lower leg really far forward (I tend to bring it back) to work as an anchor and keep me upright. RI said it was a lot better than 2 weeks ago but still needed to be kept still. Will keep working on it! I did find having my ridiculously short stirrups helped a lot in terms of getting into a good jump position.
We did the canter poles (by now there was a jump at the end of the poles), round the cone to jump 1, back over 2 and then changed the rein over 3. We did that a few times on either rein, focussing on trying to get her to land on the correct lead. We managed fine over jump 1 but it all went a bit to pot over the poles She was still going over them and keeping the rhythm, which RI says is the most important thing at this stage.
To finish (it was an hour long lesson so we were both pretty tired by this point) we did a mini course, starting on the left rein. Saf was fantastic. I could tell she was tired, an hour jumping and cantering about is a lot for any horse, but she really went for it. She was stretching over jumps instead of the usual thing of chipping an extra stride in. It felt brilliant RI was really pleased with us and said we'd improved loads since our last lesson.
I was so chuffed I know we kept the jumps very small throughout but it really let us focus on getting the fundamentals down, which is only going to help us as the height builds. Perhaps most importantly, it's done my confidence the world of good. No refusals, no near falls, just a hell of a lot of fun
So, stuff to work on for the next fortnight:
- Keep lower legs forward and still, making sure knees are off saddle
- Introduce as wide a variety of jumps as possible - tyres, traffic cones, branches, water tray etc. Focus on keeping the rhythm and don't let her turn away from the jump if she stops.
Today (Saturday)
Saffy has had 3 days off this week so she was ready for a good ride this morning. I set up a course of 4 jumps in the outdoor, scattered about so I could ride some good combinations. It was raining so I had the massive arena to myself :) I had put some tyres under one of the jumps too, one of my aims for this fortnight.
We started off with a few nice playful spooks at...well nothing really. It's so nice to see her that lively. She wasn't being stupid, just kind of showing she feels well! I went over some canter poles I'd set out and she was great so I popped her over the first jump. This is where she usually either refuses or slows right down so she can check for lurking monsters. That didn't happen today, she just popped it! I took this as a good sign and turned her towards another. Pop! We managed the whole session without a single refusal. The did have a little look at the tyres but didn't stop.
She was just fantastic. I got off and put the jumps up so most were about 2ft-2ft6 and she bounded over them all. One big change today was that I didn't put any placing poles out, which is something I've been doing for a while to get her used to correct striding. The difference from a few weeks ago was amazing. She met more jumps on a good stride and those that she didn't she either stretched for it or put another small stride in. The thing I was most pleased with was that she altered her striding instead of coming back to trot, which is what she's always done until now. I've found counting her strides out loud really helps to drive her forward because I seem to ride more forward when I do that.
Next time I jump I'm going to try and get some bits and pieces to use as fillers etc. Now she's getting the rhythm under her belt I think it's time she got a bit braver and then we shouldn't have any problems in jumping classes this season. So excited :D
By the time I got to the yard I was nervous but very excited.We started off with some canter poles in a line and a little cross pole. My main issue with Saffy jumping is that she has been stopping at 'new' jumps. Doesn't matter what they look like, if she hasn't been over it in that session she has generally been stopping. She doesn't do dirty stops as such, just stops and gawps at it waiting for the monster to pop out. Anyway today I trotted her up to the first jump and she went straight over it! Excellent!
RI then put the canter poles into a fan so I could stay on a circle, go over them (at 3 o'clock on a clock face) and then pop over the jump (at 9 o'clock..make sense?). We did that a few times and it felt great when I got the lines right. Saf has never done canter poles on a circle before but she handled them brilliantly.
I have been working on keeping my lower leg really far forward (I tend to bring it back) to work as an anchor and keep me upright. RI said it was a lot better than 2 weeks ago but still needed to be kept still. Will keep working on it! I did find having my ridiculously short stirrups helped a lot in terms of getting into a good jump position.
We did the canter poles (by now there was a jump at the end of the poles), round the cone to jump 1, back over 2 and then changed the rein over 3. We did that a few times on either rein, focussing on trying to get her to land on the correct lead. We managed fine over jump 1 but it all went a bit to pot over the poles
She was still going over them and keeping the rhythm, which RI says is the most important thing at this stage.To finish (it was an hour long lesson so we were both pretty tired by this point) we did a mini course, starting on the left rein. Saf was fantastic. I could tell she was tired, an hour jumping and cantering about is a lot for any horse, but she really went for it. She was stretching over jumps instead of the usual thing of chipping an extra stride in. It felt brilliant
RI was really pleased with us and said we'd improved loads since our last lesson. I was so chuffed
I know we kept the jumps very small throughout but it really let us focus on getting the fundamentals down, which is only going to help us as the height builds. Perhaps most importantly, it's done my confidence the world of good. No refusals, no near falls, just a hell of a lot of fun So, stuff to work on for the next fortnight:
- Keep lower legs forward and still, making sure knees are off saddle
- Introduce as wide a variety of jumps as possible - tyres, traffic cones, branches, water tray etc. Focus on keeping the rhythm and don't let her turn away from the jump if she stops.
Today (Saturday)
Saffy has had 3 days off this week so she was ready for a good ride this morning. I set up a course of 4 jumps in the outdoor, scattered about so I could ride some good combinations. It was raining so I had the massive arena to myself :) I had put some tyres under one of the jumps too, one of my aims for this fortnight.
We started off with a few nice playful spooks at...well nothing really. It's so nice to see her that lively. She wasn't being stupid, just kind of showing she feels well! I went over some canter poles I'd set out and she was great so I popped her over the first jump. This is where she usually either refuses or slows right down so she can check for lurking monsters. That didn't happen today, she just popped it! I took this as a good sign and turned her towards another. Pop! We managed the whole session without a single refusal. The did have a little look at the tyres but didn't stop.
She was just fantastic. I got off and put the jumps up so most were about 2ft-2ft6 and she bounded over them all. One big change today was that I didn't put any placing poles out, which is something I've been doing for a while to get her used to correct striding. The difference from a few weeks ago was amazing. She met more jumps on a good stride and those that she didn't she either stretched for it or put another small stride in. The thing I was most pleased with was that she altered her striding instead of coming back to trot, which is what she's always done until now. I've found counting her strides out loud really helps to drive her forward because I seem to ride more forward when I do that.
Next time I jump I'm going to try and get some bits and pieces to use as fillers etc. Now she's getting the rhythm under her belt I think it's time she got a bit braver and then we shouldn't have any problems in jumping classes this season. So excited :D
Saturday, 5 February 2011
We've been hibernating...
Or at least that's my excuse for not updating this since the summer :) A lot has happened since then! We finished our showing season winning both the novice working hunter and the upto 15.2hh WH. I was thrilled! We did some dressage the week after but it was a bit of a washout, literally! We tried our first novice but because of the abysmal weather and the fact her shoe was hanging off (only discovered this on leaving the arena!), we didn't do so well. Still, onwards and upwards!
We moved to the other side of Manchester and had a couple of lessons with a dressage rider. Unfortunately Saf didn't settle at the first yard as it was very small so we moved to a much bigger place. We both love it there so all is good! We've been doing some dressage competitions and getting lots of 2nd place rosettes. Would be great to finish the winter dressage series next weekend with a first place! We'll see. Our best score so far has been 68% so it would also be great to beat our personal best.
We've started having lessons with a brilliant eventer. We've only had one so far but it was great. I've got a couple of points to focus on:
- Do not let her refuse. Keep jumps small so if she stops she can do it from a standstill.
- Look up. Pick a point in the distance and focus on it instead of gawping at the jump.
- Shorten stirrups by 2 holes.
- Keep lower leg forward and heels down as an anchor.
- Keep arms loose at all times. Flap like a chicken if necessary :)
I had a jumping session on Saffy today in the rain. She was brilliant! I was trying to keep all those points in my mind. I was definitely looking up more and she jumped loads better when I did. I started off with them very small and the dozy pony stopped. I made her do it from a standstill and she did it but after a couple of goes we had demolished 2 of the 3 jumps :) I got off and told her she was taking the piss, put them back up and got back on again. We came around again and she went over them perfectly from trot :) We did the 'course' (only 3 jumps) in canter a couple of times then I got off and put them up. She was fine until we got to the jump on the diagonal when she stopped. It was too big to jump from a standstill (I think anyway..) so I turned her the opposite way to the way she wanted to go, gave her a sharp smack with my whip and turned her on quite a quick turn. She popped over it and got lots of praise :) She backed off coming upto the biggest jump but I kept my lower leg forward, sat back and wrapped my legs around her which resulted in a nice little pop. We did the mini course a couple of times, making it up to 6 jumps by repeating a couple. She was fantastic! A couple of times we even got all the striding right! Bless her she doesn't stop if she's on the wrong stride, just tends to chip one in, but she was really working hard today.
So overall, good session! Looking forward to our next lesson in a week's time. Possibly hacking out tomorrow if the weather's not too bad and then going to focus on dressage on Monday. She's having the back lady out on Tuesday so will probably need a couple of days off afterwards so will probably leave her until Friday and so a bit of dressage and pole work before the dressage competition on Saturday.
Roll on spring!
We moved to the other side of Manchester and had a couple of lessons with a dressage rider. Unfortunately Saf didn't settle at the first yard as it was very small so we moved to a much bigger place. We both love it there so all is good! We've been doing some dressage competitions and getting lots of 2nd place rosettes. Would be great to finish the winter dressage series next weekend with a first place! We'll see. Our best score so far has been 68% so it would also be great to beat our personal best.
We've started having lessons with a brilliant eventer. We've only had one so far but it was great. I've got a couple of points to focus on:
- Do not let her refuse. Keep jumps small so if she stops she can do it from a standstill.
- Look up. Pick a point in the distance and focus on it instead of gawping at the jump.
- Shorten stirrups by 2 holes.
- Keep lower leg forward and heels down as an anchor.
- Keep arms loose at all times. Flap like a chicken if necessary :)
I had a jumping session on Saffy today in the rain. She was brilliant! I was trying to keep all those points in my mind. I was definitely looking up more and she jumped loads better when I did. I started off with them very small and the dozy pony stopped. I made her do it from a standstill and she did it but after a couple of goes we had demolished 2 of the 3 jumps :) I got off and told her she was taking the piss, put them back up and got back on again. We came around again and she went over them perfectly from trot :) We did the 'course' (only 3 jumps) in canter a couple of times then I got off and put them up. She was fine until we got to the jump on the diagonal when she stopped. It was too big to jump from a standstill (I think anyway..) so I turned her the opposite way to the way she wanted to go, gave her a sharp smack with my whip and turned her on quite a quick turn. She popped over it and got lots of praise :) She backed off coming upto the biggest jump but I kept my lower leg forward, sat back and wrapped my legs around her which resulted in a nice little pop. We did the mini course a couple of times, making it up to 6 jumps by repeating a couple. She was fantastic! A couple of times we even got all the striding right! Bless her she doesn't stop if she's on the wrong stride, just tends to chip one in, but she was really working hard today.
So overall, good session! Looking forward to our next lesson in a week's time. Possibly hacking out tomorrow if the weather's not too bad and then going to focus on dressage on Monday. She's having the back lady out on Tuesday so will probably need a couple of days off afterwards so will probably leave her until Friday and so a bit of dressage and pole work before the dressage competition on Saturday.
Roll on spring!
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Solid Fences and Red Ribbons
I really should update this thing more. Aaaanyway, what have we done since the last update? August 1st was Urmston show again. I took her in the WH clear round (it took about half an hour to get her round last time!) and my god she was on form! She flew round the whole course, only slowing to look at the water tray, never once feeling like she might stop. I then had quite a wait until the novice WH class. I eventually went in and she flew round again like a pro :) We went in and did our individual show and she behaved very well. We haven't ever been able to practice our gallop because of lack of space but she still picked up quite well.
It was all I could do to stop myself from crying when we got pulled in 1st!!! Our first ridden first at a show! I knew WH would be a good class for her :) Going to do it again at the next show (22nd) and even going to attempt the 14hh-15hh class. The height shouldn't be an issue, she's definitely got a pop in her!
The 8th August brought a clear round competition at the Etherow centre. It was very low-key but thought I'd take her anyway to give her more exposure. She was fine in the weird indoor arena they have (very dark with whacking great columns everywhere, right next to a train track) but was a naughty madam refusing the mini warmup jump. To be fair to her I think it was all just a bit confusing. Hacking down, being indoors, then suddenly a jump appears infront of her. Once we got in the outdoor with the course we were fine. Very tight turns were in order because of the size of the arena but she coped very well. We got a clear in the 2ft3 and 2ft6 :) The 2ft6 felt very easy which was great. Once she's used to scarier fillers etc we'll be able to start entering some decent size SJ competitions hopefully. I've been trying her with a new water tray, just getting her walking over it. She has jumped over it (after a long time working up to it) but I just want her to be 100% comfortable with it.
This week's lesson involved me and Donna hacking over to Happy Hooves to have a XC lesson. I was nervous but very excited. Saf has been jumping brilliantly recently and I wanted to see how she'd be over xc fences so hopefully we'll be able to start eventing next year. Well, I think I've found her forte!! We started with a small pile of tyres which she dragged me to and flew over with about 2ft to spare. We ended up doing a tyre jump (2ft3ish), the bank, the jump on top of the bank, a house type thing, a keg jump and a red plastic wall. I'm really pleased we did the wall because we had a bit of a daft time at Urmston the first time with their wall. I do need to try her with my bale covers, the weirder the better!
So Saffy is just being amazing at the moment! I couldn't find a better horse if I scoured the country! This Sunday we're doing beginners WH at Mottram show. Would be great to get round clear. Next Sunday is the last Urmston show I'll be able to make it to this year, sad :( But will hopefully go out with a bang!!
It was all I could do to stop myself from crying when we got pulled in 1st!!! Our first ridden first at a show! I knew WH would be a good class for her :) Going to do it again at the next show (22nd) and even going to attempt the 14hh-15hh class. The height shouldn't be an issue, she's definitely got a pop in her!
The 8th August brought a clear round competition at the Etherow centre. It was very low-key but thought I'd take her anyway to give her more exposure. She was fine in the weird indoor arena they have (very dark with whacking great columns everywhere, right next to a train track) but was a naughty madam refusing the mini warmup jump. To be fair to her I think it was all just a bit confusing. Hacking down, being indoors, then suddenly a jump appears infront of her. Once we got in the outdoor with the course we were fine. Very tight turns were in order because of the size of the arena but she coped very well. We got a clear in the 2ft3 and 2ft6 :) The 2ft6 felt very easy which was great. Once she's used to scarier fillers etc we'll be able to start entering some decent size SJ competitions hopefully. I've been trying her with a new water tray, just getting her walking over it. She has jumped over it (after a long time working up to it) but I just want her to be 100% comfortable with it.
This week's lesson involved me and Donna hacking over to Happy Hooves to have a XC lesson. I was nervous but very excited. Saf has been jumping brilliantly recently and I wanted to see how she'd be over xc fences so hopefully we'll be able to start eventing next year. Well, I think I've found her forte!! We started with a small pile of tyres which she dragged me to and flew over with about 2ft to spare. We ended up doing a tyre jump (2ft3ish), the bank, the jump on top of the bank, a house type thing, a keg jump and a red plastic wall. I'm really pleased we did the wall because we had a bit of a daft time at Urmston the first time with their wall. I do need to try her with my bale covers, the weirder the better!
So Saffy is just being amazing at the moment! I couldn't find a better horse if I scoured the country! This Sunday we're doing beginners WH at Mottram show. Would be great to get round clear. Next Sunday is the last Urmston show I'll be able to make it to this year, sad :( But will hopefully go out with a bang!!
Monday, 26 July 2010
Dressage and Schooling
We entered a dressage competition on Saturday, Prelim 1 and 7. Did prelim 7 first (I'd wanted prelim 1 as a warmup..grrr) and she went beautifully. Got a lot to work on in canter but the rest seemed to go quite smoothly. We ended up with 64.5%!! Our best mark yet and we came 3rd :) Very pleased as it was a strong class.
Prelim 1 didn't feel as good. She wasn't as in front of the leg as I'd have liked but she still went fairly nicely. We got 60% for that (no improvement on our mark from March but she's completely different now so just shows different judges!) and won!! Very pleased with my little dressage pone :) I think once our canter improves and she's moving forward properly we should be getting much better marks, maybe even 70%! We'll see :)
I started her on Allen & Page Hacking Mix on Friday night to give her a bit more oomph. I've worked up gradually and she's now on a scoop a day so I'll see if that helps. I was schooling her today in a Derby House Samber saddle (want!) and she went beautifully. Much more forward going and was working in an outline for the vast majority of the time. I loved it :) Jumping lesson tomorrow! I'm going to ask if we can do some scary fences in preparation for working hunter on Sunday :)
Prelim 1 didn't feel as good. She wasn't as in front of the leg as I'd have liked but she still went fairly nicely. We got 60% for that (no improvement on our mark from March but she's completely different now so just shows different judges!) and won!! Very pleased with my little dressage pone :) I think once our canter improves and she's moving forward properly we should be getting much better marks, maybe even 70%! We'll see :)
I started her on Allen & Page Hacking Mix on Friday night to give her a bit more oomph. I've worked up gradually and she's now on a scoop a day so I'll see if that helps. I was schooling her today in a Derby House Samber saddle (want!) and she went beautifully. Much more forward going and was working in an outline for the vast majority of the time. I loved it :) Jumping lesson tomorrow! I'm going to ask if we can do some scary fences in preparation for working hunter on Sunday :)
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Jumpy jumpy
Had another amazing jumping lesson today! I started with a 2ft warmup which, although small, makes me pleased we're now jumping bigger warm up jumps. Cara then put up a triple bounce, one stride then another jump. We bounced through them multiple times trying to get it right but she wasn't using her back legs enough and so was brushing the jumps and knocking them. She made me get a really bouncey canter instead of letting her go fast and flat. The best we did was a triple bounce (all about 2ft) then a straight of just under 3ft one stride after. It felt brilliant and she flew it!
Cara then made it into a double but put 2 poles meeting at the middle of each jump in a V shape to make her jump higher rather than flatter. She told me to be ready for her to stop because it was something new but I was determined to ride her through it and she popped through no problem! She really snapped her little legs up and again it felt great :) We were both melting by the end of it but she really seemed to be enjoying it bless her.
I've bought a new saddle off ebay this evening so hopefully it will arrive soon. It's the poshest saddle I'll have ever had, really hope it fits well!!
Cara then made it into a double but put 2 poles meeting at the middle of each jump in a V shape to make her jump higher rather than flatter. She told me to be ready for her to stop because it was something new but I was determined to ride her through it and she popped through no problem! She really snapped her little legs up and again it felt great :) We were both melting by the end of it but she really seemed to be enjoying it bless her.
I've bought a new saddle off ebay this evening so hopefully it will arrive soon. It's the poshest saddle I'll have ever had, really hope it fits well!!
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Out and about
I had such a good hack yesterday :) Unfortunately there's nowhere nearby to go offroad so we always have to do lots of road work on our hacks. She's fine with traffic and the drivers are generally very good so it's not much of an issue. She does like to gawp at peoples' gardens etc though which is quite embarrassing :)
We've hacked out about 4 times on our own and so far she's been pretty great. No unnecessary spooking (the crunchy leaf spook was entirely necessary). We went a different way to normal and went to a little park thing with a bridle path in it. It's tiny, takes about 5mins to walk around the whole thing. Anyway it was completely empty so we had a couple of good fast canters across the grass and she was loving it! It's the first time I've opened her up in ages and she really seemed to enjoy it. It made me realise how great her brakes are too. I didn't struggle to pull her up one bit.
We then went down a bit of the road we've never been down before and she was great aside from oggling a poor defenseless gardener. Got home and I was buzzing from how good she had been and the fact that I now have a pony who hacks alone! It means we can spend a bit less time in the school now so she doesn't go stale.
I got home and got an email off someone about a hound exercise run with the north east cheshire drag hunt this saturday. The kennels are a 45min hack away on a route we've been multiple times (never alone but it can't be too different..right?). I called the hunt master's wife and she was really nice. Apparently it's a fairly slow-paced hack out for a couple of hours followed by lunch at the kennels. It should be good to get her used to riding in such a big group and with the hounds etc without having to worry about charging through the countryside :) Sooo excited!! Will hopefully refresh her in time for the show on sunday too. Eeeeee :D
We've hacked out about 4 times on our own and so far she's been pretty great. No unnecessary spooking (the crunchy leaf spook was entirely necessary). We went a different way to normal and went to a little park thing with a bridle path in it. It's tiny, takes about 5mins to walk around the whole thing. Anyway it was completely empty so we had a couple of good fast canters across the grass and she was loving it! It's the first time I've opened her up in ages and she really seemed to enjoy it. It made me realise how great her brakes are too. I didn't struggle to pull her up one bit.
We then went down a bit of the road we've never been down before and she was great aside from oggling a poor defenseless gardener. Got home and I was buzzing from how good she had been and the fact that I now have a pony who hacks alone! It means we can spend a bit less time in the school now so she doesn't go stale.
I got home and got an email off someone about a hound exercise run with the north east cheshire drag hunt this saturday. The kennels are a 45min hack away on a route we've been multiple times (never alone but it can't be too different..right?). I called the hunt master's wife and she was really nice. Apparently it's a fairly slow-paced hack out for a couple of hours followed by lunch at the kennels. It should be good to get her used to riding in such a big group and with the hounds etc without having to worry about charging through the countryside :) Sooo excited!! Will hopefully refresh her in time for the show on sunday too. Eeeeee :D
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
May, June, part of July
Once again it's been far too long since I updated this but we've been having a brilliant time :) After my last update she went lame for about 10 days due to the hard ground. I bit the bullet and had shoes put on her and it's done her the world of good. She really steps out more now and she's a lot less on the forehand which feels great.
June 13th Urmston
Not bad but not great. I was knackered and she needs me to be excited and lively to pass it on to her. I didn't agree with a few of the placings but she behaved, was a real credit.
June 20th Hargate Charity Show
Was a very hot day and the ground was rock solid. She was good, got some ok placings.
June 27th Dressage Regional Finals
She was a star to hack over there. It was her first time leading a hack that far and she didn't put a foot wrong. She worked in well and rode a really nice test for the intro. I was really pleased. We then did the prelim and she did very well but the other horses were all old-hands and the majority were also entering the novice. Got my result for the intro - we won!!! I was over the moon. Our first ridden red rosette :D It definitely suited her!
July 4th Hargate Show
Really crappy day out. She was great to hack there but just wasn't playing ball for the showing. We had our worst ever show and disgraced ourselves in the riding club horse class by jumping the tiny jump 4 feet at once and losing all stirrups/sense of pride. I decided then that we'd have a break from showing classes and do some working hunter to spice things up a bit.
July 11th Urmston
Brilliant day out :) We both felt recharged and under less pressure because we didn't have to rush around fitting into loads of classes. Did the WH clear round first and it took ages :) It was a really challenging course with a couple of solid jumps. We then went into the novice class and had 3 refusals but I was so pleased with her for trying her hardest. Plenty to improve on for next time! We had time to go in the riding club horse class then too which went brilliantly. She did a gorgeous gallop and popped the jump beautifully. I knew who'd win but we got 2nd!! AND, the best bit, the judge said it was extremely close!!! I was so pleased I almost cried :)
In between those shows we did 2 clear round evenings which were great. A short hack over to the farm then a really relaxed atmosphere to practise our jumping. She loved both times and did the 2ft6 course brilliantly :)
We've started having proper jumping lessons and she's really improving. I'm absolutely loving jumping her, it's so exhilerating. She really gets into it too which is great to feel. She jumped 3ft the other day! The kids kept putting the jump higher and higher to see what she could do :) I used to idolise people with their own horses when I was a kid, especially ones that could jump. Feels very weird to be that person now (not that they idolise me!!), although I absolutely love my situation.
Today in my lesson she did her first triple and then her first bounce, ending on a triple bounce, stride, 2ft 6 fence :D She was great once she realised what she had to do. I just need to remember to stay sat up so I don't unbalance her. My instructor also said it would be worth trying eventing with her!! I never thought she'd say that but I'm so excited to try. There's a small xc course nearby that I'm going to have a lesson on. All very exciting!
That's all for now. Got another show this Sunday, more working hunter classes!!
June 13th Urmston
Not bad but not great. I was knackered and she needs me to be excited and lively to pass it on to her. I didn't agree with a few of the placings but she behaved, was a real credit.
June 20th Hargate Charity Show
Was a very hot day and the ground was rock solid. She was good, got some ok placings.
June 27th Dressage Regional Finals
She was a star to hack over there. It was her first time leading a hack that far and she didn't put a foot wrong. She worked in well and rode a really nice test for the intro. I was really pleased. We then did the prelim and she did very well but the other horses were all old-hands and the majority were also entering the novice. Got my result for the intro - we won!!! I was over the moon. Our first ridden red rosette :D It definitely suited her!
July 4th Hargate Show
Really crappy day out. She was great to hack there but just wasn't playing ball for the showing. We had our worst ever show and disgraced ourselves in the riding club horse class by jumping the tiny jump 4 feet at once and losing all stirrups/sense of pride. I decided then that we'd have a break from showing classes and do some working hunter to spice things up a bit.
July 11th Urmston
Brilliant day out :) We both felt recharged and under less pressure because we didn't have to rush around fitting into loads of classes. Did the WH clear round first and it took ages :) It was a really challenging course with a couple of solid jumps. We then went into the novice class and had 3 refusals but I was so pleased with her for trying her hardest. Plenty to improve on for next time! We had time to go in the riding club horse class then too which went brilliantly. She did a gorgeous gallop and popped the jump beautifully. I knew who'd win but we got 2nd!! AND, the best bit, the judge said it was extremely close!!! I was so pleased I almost cried :)
In between those shows we did 2 clear round evenings which were great. A short hack over to the farm then a really relaxed atmosphere to practise our jumping. She loved both times and did the 2ft6 course brilliantly :)
We've started having proper jumping lessons and she's really improving. I'm absolutely loving jumping her, it's so exhilerating. She really gets into it too which is great to feel. She jumped 3ft the other day! The kids kept putting the jump higher and higher to see what she could do :) I used to idolise people with their own horses when I was a kid, especially ones that could jump. Feels very weird to be that person now (not that they idolise me!!), although I absolutely love my situation.
Today in my lesson she did her first triple and then her first bounce, ending on a triple bounce, stride, 2ft 6 fence :D She was great once she realised what she had to do. I just need to remember to stay sat up so I don't unbalance her. My instructor also said it would be worth trying eventing with her!! I never thought she'd say that but I'm so excited to try. There's a small xc course nearby that I'm going to have a lesson on. All very exciting!
That's all for now. Got another show this Sunday, more working hunter classes!!
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Last month's update
Can't believe it's been a month since I updated this! Time is flying by. Soon my exams will be over and I'll have the whole summer to spend with ponyface :)
Sunday 2nd May - Mottram Show
We did the working hunter class in the morning, our first go! The course was on maaajorly uneven ground and it was quite slippy but she loved it. She was a star. Unfortunately we knocked one and they had 6 clears (was a huge class) so we didn't get through to the individual show bit but I was very pleased with her behaviour. God knows what happened to her but she went mental in the afternoon. I think it was just such a big show and it all got to her a bit much. We were the only ones in the in-hand spotted so we got a red rosette but I was a bit miffed really because I really wanted our first 1st to be deserved. She behaved like a right berk. Leaping into the air and trying to take off. The judge said she was 'really quite naughty'. No shit sherlock. I took her in the ridden coloured but she was still majorly on her toes so I pulled her out. She was really jumpy on the hack on the way back. I think it was all just too much for her. She was great in the morning though so I'm focusing on that :)
Sunday 9th May - Hargate Show
We hacked over in the morning and she was fab. Our first class was ridden coloured and there were 3 in there. We came 2nd and I agreed with the placing. She was a very good girl and was concentrating most of the time. Good start to the day.
2nd class was senior novice equitation. We came 2nd! I was soo pleased because there were about 8 in the class. She went really nicely, nicer than the one that came 1st in my opinion, so it must have been my riding that let us down. Still, very chuffed with her!
3rd class was in-hand spotted/pally/roan etc. She seems to get really excited in in-hand classes. Quite good though as long as she doesn't flip out. She stood up nicely for the judge and I ran as fast as I could. We won!! There were 4 in the class and I was expecting another one to win as it looked like a fancy little show pony. Yey for Saffy!
Final class was riding club pony. She did an amaaaazing show. Absolutely brilliant. She was really energetic so was lovely and forward going. I was so pleased :) We turned towards the jump, all ok, got to the jump (1ft 6 maximum) and she comes to a grinding halt. Grrrrr! She stepped over it and then jumped it fine from the other direction. There were about 7 in the class and nobody else refused it so I was expecting to come last but we ended up with 4th. The judge said we would have come first if she'd have jumped it properly. We'd have gotten a trophy too!! Never mind. At least I know what we need to work on!
Sunday 16th May - Urmston Show
First class was novice/green horse. She went quite well but I think in future I really need to warm up properly before doing any classes. We came 3rd. We were originally pulled in 5th because idiot here got the wrong leg and didn't notice but our individual show bumped us up. To be honest the winner didn't particularly seem novice or green but meh.
2nd class was senior equitation. It was on pretty uneven ground but she coped well with it. We came 2nd. Again I'm sure her show was better than the winner's but my riding probably ruined it. I really need to focus on keeping my heels down.
3rd class was riding club horse. I was determined not to let her refuse the jump again! She did a nice individual show and cleared the jump well. We came 4th, would've come 3rd if I'd have cantered her to the jump. Fair enough, I didn't want to risk it. Definitely something we're working on though.
Final class was ridden coloured. It was a bigger class than last time with some very nice looking coblets. The winner from last time was also there. We came 2nd!! I was probably the most pleased with that result as we beat the person who won last time and came 2nd only to a very well schooled traditional cob. Overall another very good day :)
So this weekend she has a weekend off from showing while I revise for exams. Next weekend we're going showjumping (mini ones!). Really looking forward to it. She really had her jumping head on today and was getting excited bless her :) The weekend after that she'll be having another quiet weekend because of exams then we have Urmston and Hargate charity show the 2 weeks after that. It's going to be a busy summer!
Sunday 2nd May - Mottram Show
We did the working hunter class in the morning, our first go! The course was on maaajorly uneven ground and it was quite slippy but she loved it. She was a star. Unfortunately we knocked one and they had 6 clears (was a huge class) so we didn't get through to the individual show bit but I was very pleased with her behaviour. God knows what happened to her but she went mental in the afternoon. I think it was just such a big show and it all got to her a bit much. We were the only ones in the in-hand spotted so we got a red rosette but I was a bit miffed really because I really wanted our first 1st to be deserved. She behaved like a right berk. Leaping into the air and trying to take off. The judge said she was 'really quite naughty'. No shit sherlock. I took her in the ridden coloured but she was still majorly on her toes so I pulled her out. She was really jumpy on the hack on the way back. I think it was all just too much for her. She was great in the morning though so I'm focusing on that :)
Sunday 9th May - Hargate Show
We hacked over in the morning and she was fab. Our first class was ridden coloured and there were 3 in there. We came 2nd and I agreed with the placing. She was a very good girl and was concentrating most of the time. Good start to the day.
2nd class was senior novice equitation. We came 2nd! I was soo pleased because there were about 8 in the class. She went really nicely, nicer than the one that came 1st in my opinion, so it must have been my riding that let us down. Still, very chuffed with her!
3rd class was in-hand spotted/pally/roan etc. She seems to get really excited in in-hand classes. Quite good though as long as she doesn't flip out. She stood up nicely for the judge and I ran as fast as I could. We won!! There were 4 in the class and I was expecting another one to win as it looked like a fancy little show pony. Yey for Saffy!
Final class was riding club pony. She did an amaaaazing show. Absolutely brilliant. She was really energetic so was lovely and forward going. I was so pleased :) We turned towards the jump, all ok, got to the jump (1ft 6 maximum) and she comes to a grinding halt. Grrrrr! She stepped over it and then jumped it fine from the other direction. There were about 7 in the class and nobody else refused it so I was expecting to come last but we ended up with 4th. The judge said we would have come first if she'd have jumped it properly. We'd have gotten a trophy too!! Never mind. At least I know what we need to work on!
Sunday 16th May - Urmston Show
First class was novice/green horse. She went quite well but I think in future I really need to warm up properly before doing any classes. We came 3rd. We were originally pulled in 5th because idiot here got the wrong leg and didn't notice but our individual show bumped us up. To be honest the winner didn't particularly seem novice or green but meh.
2nd class was senior equitation. It was on pretty uneven ground but she coped well with it. We came 2nd. Again I'm sure her show was better than the winner's but my riding probably ruined it. I really need to focus on keeping my heels down.
3rd class was riding club horse. I was determined not to let her refuse the jump again! She did a nice individual show and cleared the jump well. We came 4th, would've come 3rd if I'd have cantered her to the jump. Fair enough, I didn't want to risk it. Definitely something we're working on though.
Final class was ridden coloured. It was a bigger class than last time with some very nice looking coblets. The winner from last time was also there. We came 2nd!! I was probably the most pleased with that result as we beat the person who won last time and came 2nd only to a very well schooled traditional cob. Overall another very good day :)
So this weekend she has a weekend off from showing while I revise for exams. Next weekend we're going showjumping (mini ones!). Really looking forward to it. She really had her jumping head on today and was getting excited bless her :) The weekend after that she'll be having another quiet weekend because of exams then we have Urmston and Hargate charity show the 2 weeks after that. It's going to be a busy summer!
Sunday, 25 April 2010
April Update
Been quite a while since I posted anything. I've been stupidly busy with uni etc, it's all getting a bit stressful now. Anyway Saffy has been brilliant as usual :) We had Urmston show last Sunday and she excelled herself. I went with the goal of getting a 2nd place, we got 2!! We also got a 3rd. I was thrilled to bits with her and I thought she looked great. Only need a red rosette now and we have a full run!
In my lessons I've been working on my position and keeping my heels down so my legs down ride up. It sounds basic but I've gotten into a really bad habit of bringing my heels up and turning my toes out. I'm also working on getting her moving off my leg much quicker and not constantly nagging her with them. It's quite hard work but she's a pleasure to work with :)
We did our 2nd dressage test on Saturday and hacked over to Hargate. She was great on the hack and I felt pretty relaxed, new for me on hacks!! I just wish we could get to off-road hacking without having to go on so many roads. The drivers are generally great but there are so many things that are potentially scary in gardens etc. Meh, I'll get over it. Anyway she was a very good girl in the dressage, really did what I asked and worked a lot better than last time. We got 62.2% and came 3rd!! That's an improvement of 2.2% on last time so I'm pleased. I didn't see the tests that got 1st and 2nd.
Today I've bought her a 2nd hand western saddle for hacking. She was an angel when I was trying it on her and just stood there while I faffed about with it. It was very comfy so I'm looking forward to taking her out in it soon. I got her some hoof boots too which I'm going to use for hacks to stop her front feet wearing down.
We have Mottram show next Sunday then Hargate show the weekend after that. We then have a weekend off while I stress over exams followed by a jumping competition on my birthday weekend. Busy busy bees!!
In my lessons I've been working on my position and keeping my heels down so my legs down ride up. It sounds basic but I've gotten into a really bad habit of bringing my heels up and turning my toes out. I'm also working on getting her moving off my leg much quicker and not constantly nagging her with them. It's quite hard work but she's a pleasure to work with :)
We did our 2nd dressage test on Saturday and hacked over to Hargate. She was great on the hack and I felt pretty relaxed, new for me on hacks!! I just wish we could get to off-road hacking without having to go on so many roads. The drivers are generally great but there are so many things that are potentially scary in gardens etc. Meh, I'll get over it. Anyway she was a very good girl in the dressage, really did what I asked and worked a lot better than last time. We got 62.2% and came 3rd!! That's an improvement of 2.2% on last time so I'm pleased. I didn't see the tests that got 1st and 2nd.
Today I've bought her a 2nd hand western saddle for hacking. She was an angel when I was trying it on her and just stood there while I faffed about with it. It was very comfy so I'm looking forward to taking her out in it soon. I got her some hoof boots too which I'm going to use for hacks to stop her front feet wearing down.
We have Mottram show next Sunday then Hargate show the weekend after that. We then have a weekend off while I stress over exams followed by a jumping competition on my birthday weekend. Busy busy bees!!
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Saffy's first showjumping
What a brilliant day :D
I didn't sleep very well last night because I was so nervous. I was so sure we'd have a repeat of Thursday. I needn't have worried :) Got to the farm at 8:15 and she'd managed to get poo stains on her even though she was ninja-d up. It must just seep through the rug. I'm going to put her fleece on over the top next time. I need to modify the ninja thing for next weekend too. She hates it going on and off and I get all stressed because she panics. I'm just going to cut it under her neck and sew some velcro on. Should be a lot less traumatic for both of us!
Anyway I digress. Scrubbed the poo stains off her, tacked up and off we went. It was a beautiful day. I was sick with nerves though. She didn't put a foot wrong hacking either way, she was perfect. I was on edge as always but she put up with me :) When we got there I warmed her up a little bit and popped her over the little warm up jump. Once she was jumping it nicely I took her round the the arena for clear round. Went in and walked her around to have a look at the scary jumps. She hesitated slightly at the first (a filler with a ladder) but popped it and was fine from then until we got to the plank. She gawped at it for so long she got far too close and knocked it. She didn't refuse though so I wasn't bothered. I took her in again after a breather and she went round no problems. It was only 1ft6 but I was more bothered about her going around the course without any problems rather than clearing great heights.
The next class came around eventually and I went in 2nd. I kept it steady again and did half in trot and half in canter. It was 1ft9 and she managed it no prob. Went clear and got into the jump off. There was a hell of a lot of waiting around for the jump off and I was supposed to be going in 2nd but the person before me had disappeared so I ended up having to go in first. Having watched the video back I could've cut so much time off but I really wasn't pushing her too hard. I could've probably cut about 4 or 5 seconds off our time if I'd have been really going for it. She jumped clear and did brilliantly :) We came 5th and got a pink rosette and a medal. Dead chuffed :) She was loving the lap of honour too bless her.
I'm going to give the jumping a go at Urmston next weekend. Will start with the clear round (either sj or wh, not sure which yet) and then maybe do the novice if she's ok. If I get into a jump off I'm going to keep her in canter throughout and push her on in between fences. I need to get my turns a bit tighter too, will work on cantering small circles. Overall I'm so pleased with her. She out-performed every expectation and was an angel waiting around between classes. I couldn't have a more perfect horse. Very excited about my dad watching the show next weekend!
I didn't sleep very well last night because I was so nervous. I was so sure we'd have a repeat of Thursday. I needn't have worried :) Got to the farm at 8:15 and she'd managed to get poo stains on her even though she was ninja-d up. It must just seep through the rug. I'm going to put her fleece on over the top next time. I need to modify the ninja thing for next weekend too. She hates it going on and off and I get all stressed because she panics. I'm just going to cut it under her neck and sew some velcro on. Should be a lot less traumatic for both of us!
Anyway I digress. Scrubbed the poo stains off her, tacked up and off we went. It was a beautiful day. I was sick with nerves though. She didn't put a foot wrong hacking either way, she was perfect. I was on edge as always but she put up with me :) When we got there I warmed her up a little bit and popped her over the little warm up jump. Once she was jumping it nicely I took her round the the arena for clear round. Went in and walked her around to have a look at the scary jumps. She hesitated slightly at the first (a filler with a ladder) but popped it and was fine from then until we got to the plank. She gawped at it for so long she got far too close and knocked it. She didn't refuse though so I wasn't bothered. I took her in again after a breather and she went round no problems. It was only 1ft6 but I was more bothered about her going around the course without any problems rather than clearing great heights.
The next class came around eventually and I went in 2nd. I kept it steady again and did half in trot and half in canter. It was 1ft9 and she managed it no prob. Went clear and got into the jump off. There was a hell of a lot of waiting around for the jump off and I was supposed to be going in 2nd but the person before me had disappeared so I ended up having to go in first. Having watched the video back I could've cut so much time off but I really wasn't pushing her too hard. I could've probably cut about 4 or 5 seconds off our time if I'd have been really going for it. She jumped clear and did brilliantly :) We came 5th and got a pink rosette and a medal. Dead chuffed :) She was loving the lap of honour too bless her.
I'm going to give the jumping a go at Urmston next weekend. Will start with the clear round (either sj or wh, not sure which yet) and then maybe do the novice if she's ok. If I get into a jump off I'm going to keep her in canter throughout and push her on in between fences. I need to get my turns a bit tighter too, will work on cantering small circles. Overall I'm so pleased with her. She out-performed every expectation and was an angel waiting around between classes. I couldn't have a more perfect horse. Very excited about my dad watching the show next weekend!
Friday, 9 April 2010
Another one bites the dust
Ahh well it had to happen! I had my second fall off Saffy yesterday. Quite dramatic, ended up in A&E! Just for a check over because I hit my head quite hard. I'm ok though, just all achey this morning!
I had put up a double and a single fence. Warmed up and went over the single fence no problem. I took her upto the double and she refused so I gave her a tap and rode her back to it. She felt like she was going to run out but she was brave and did it. Thing is, she threw herself over it. Must've cleared it by 3ft!! That flung me into the air and as soon as she landed she shot to the left to run out of the 2nd jump, leaving me on the floor. She trotted to the corner of the school and stood there looking scared. I shook myself down, made sure all limbs were still attached, put the jumps down a bit and got back on. She was genuinely scared of the jump. After 2 goes she jumped it from the other direction but was really wary of going over it the way she did when I fell off. I eventually got her over it twice and left it at that. I wasn't angry with her and I don't think she's going to try the cat-leaping and legging it method again!
By the time I was going to bed I was scared. I had been convincing myself I had done the right thing getting back on and trying it again with her, which I know I did. Whenever I thought about the show on Sunday though I started to panic. What happens if we get to the double and she does it again? And I end up falling off in front of loads of people and bash my head again? Arghh.
I woke up this morning feeling a lot more confident. Not sure what changed over night but I want to get back on and try again. Today I'm going to put up a little double and get her lunging over it properly. That way she can figure it out for herself with minimal injury to me!
I had put up a double and a single fence. Warmed up and went over the single fence no problem. I took her upto the double and she refused so I gave her a tap and rode her back to it. She felt like she was going to run out but she was brave and did it. Thing is, she threw herself over it. Must've cleared it by 3ft!! That flung me into the air and as soon as she landed she shot to the left to run out of the 2nd jump, leaving me on the floor. She trotted to the corner of the school and stood there looking scared. I shook myself down, made sure all limbs were still attached, put the jumps down a bit and got back on. She was genuinely scared of the jump. After 2 goes she jumped it from the other direction but was really wary of going over it the way she did when I fell off. I eventually got her over it twice and left it at that. I wasn't angry with her and I don't think she's going to try the cat-leaping and legging it method again!
By the time I was going to bed I was scared. I had been convincing myself I had done the right thing getting back on and trying it again with her, which I know I did. Whenever I thought about the show on Sunday though I started to panic. What happens if we get to the double and she does it again? And I end up falling off in front of loads of people and bash my head again? Arghh.
I woke up this morning feeling a lot more confident. Not sure what changed over night but I want to get back on and try again. Today I'm going to put up a little double and get her lunging over it properly. That way she can figure it out for herself with minimal injury to me!
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Tuesday's lesson
Just a quick update. Had another great lesson on Tuesday. Cara's really impressed with how she's working now. She says we need to focus more on getting her moving forward now, which is quite a job! I need to ride every stride and be lighter but quicker with my leg. She said to do 2 beats to every stride, something I definitely need to work on! We're going to do some no-stirrup work soon so that should help strengthen my core muscles.
She's had the day off today while I focus on my dissertation. Farrier's coming tomorrow to have a look at her feet and see what he thinks about me getting some hoof boots for her because her front feet are wearing down quite a bit. Hopefully I'll be alright getting boots. I'd prefer to keep her without shoes. As long as she's alright after having her feet trimmed I'm going to do some jumping in the afternoon. Will do a double and make a scary looking jump in preparation for Sunday.
She's had the day off today while I focus on my dissertation. Farrier's coming tomorrow to have a look at her feet and see what he thinks about me getting some hoof boots for her because her front feet are wearing down quite a bit. Hopefully I'll be alright getting boots. I'd prefer to keep her without shoes. As long as she's alright after having her feet trimmed I'm going to do some jumping in the afternoon. Will do a double and make a scary looking jump in preparation for Sunday.
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Boing boing boing
Had a jumping lesson on Tuesday which was great. Cara says I need to fizz Saffy up a lot when we're jumping and count the strides loudly. I'm also not to put the jumps over 2ft until she's getting it right and her back end is stronger. That's fine with me, I'm not in a rush! She had the chiropractor out then (who said she looked like a completely different horse!) so she had Wednesday and Thursday off.
On Friday I took her in the school and she was really good. Quite distracted as it was windy and she hasn't been in the big field for quite a while now. She was great though, not spooky or daft. She's working in an outline in walk most of the time now and does it when asked in trot but doesn't hold it. That'll come with time though. I even asked her to lower in canter and she seemed to understand. I didn't ask for more than a couple of strides but bless her she was doing well :) When we finished I took her over to Ben's. She was good but felt a little bit on her toes. Didn't do anything daft but I didn't feel very relaxed, which I'm sure didn't help things. Either way, we made it there and back with no problems :)
Today the weather was quite nice when I set off so I decided to put a couple of jumps up. Nothing fancy, just 2 x-poles and 2 straights. She was on form today! I got her fizzed up and had her in a nice forward going canter. She flew over all of them for about 20mins (with breathers in between!) and then knocked one because she was getting tired. She's SO honest. If we botch the striding up she assesses the situation so quickly and either puts in a little stride or stretches further over it, whichever is best. She's going to make a cracking little jumper :) Can't wait til our first jumping show next weekend.
After that I took her down Gorsey (big hill, 30% gradient in places!) and back up again. The weather was lovely and she was a very good girl. It's a massive workout for her but excellent for getting her fit and building up her bum. I'm going to aim to do that at least twice a week from now on. It's such a quiet road so great for a relaxing ride. When we got back I pulled more of her mane in an attempt to get it thinner. It's getting there but could do with 2 more sessions I think.
Going to do some schooling tomorrow and think I'll put some poles on the ground to work her over to encourage her to stretch down a bit.
On Friday I took her in the school and she was really good. Quite distracted as it was windy and she hasn't been in the big field for quite a while now. She was great though, not spooky or daft. She's working in an outline in walk most of the time now and does it when asked in trot but doesn't hold it. That'll come with time though. I even asked her to lower in canter and she seemed to understand. I didn't ask for more than a couple of strides but bless her she was doing well :) When we finished I took her over to Ben's. She was good but felt a little bit on her toes. Didn't do anything daft but I didn't feel very relaxed, which I'm sure didn't help things. Either way, we made it there and back with no problems :)
Today the weather was quite nice when I set off so I decided to put a couple of jumps up. Nothing fancy, just 2 x-poles and 2 straights. She was on form today! I got her fizzed up and had her in a nice forward going canter. She flew over all of them for about 20mins (with breathers in between!) and then knocked one because she was getting tired. She's SO honest. If we botch the striding up she assesses the situation so quickly and either puts in a little stride or stretches further over it, whichever is best. She's going to make a cracking little jumper :) Can't wait til our first jumping show next weekend.
After that I took her down Gorsey (big hill, 30% gradient in places!) and back up again. The weather was lovely and she was a very good girl. It's a massive workout for her but excellent for getting her fit and building up her bum. I'm going to aim to do that at least twice a week from now on. It's such a quiet road so great for a relaxing ride. When we got back I pulled more of her mane in an attempt to get it thinner. It's getting there but could do with 2 more sessions I think.
Going to do some schooling tomorrow and think I'll put some poles on the ground to work her over to encourage her to stretch down a bit.
Monday, 29 March 2010
Winning weekend!
What a brilliant weekend. I'd absolutely love to spend every weekend like that. I can dream eh?
I spent all of Friday getting her ready. I had a little ride in the morning just working on getting the right canter lead. She was tired and it was a bit shakey but she was a very good girl. God I love that pony. Anyway, after that I gave her a mini bath to get rid of the stains on her bum and neck. The weather wasn't too bad and the sun even came out at times. It took forever though! Once that was done I began the mammoth task of plaiting her. She was a very good girl and very patient. I wrapped her up in her lycra bodysuit and fleece to keep her clean overnight.
Saturday morning I got an early train to the farm and found her with a poo stain on her bum. I now know it was the rug that put it there, seeing as one appeared in exactly the same place on Sunday morning! Anyway, washed it off, got tacked up and set off with Donna and Pam to Hargate. I'm still quite nervous hacking but little Safmonkey was great. It took about 45mins to get there and it was a great looking yard. Very jealous of all the facilities they have there! All the kids milling about would piss me off though. Anyway had a warm-up and she was going nicely. Wasn't bothered about kids flying around jumping or scary looking WH fences in the warm up arena.
We went in for our walk trot test and she went in very nicely. We actually got a 7 for our trot down the centre line! The rest of the test went nicely. She was dropping down into an outline a lot but not consistantly. I mucked up the half 10m circles and she was falling out through her outside shoulder quite a lot but for her first ever dressage test I was very pleased with her. Her walk needs to be more forward going and obviously get her to work consistantly in an outline but she showed definite promise.
We went in for our prelim test and again she behaved very well. She needed to be more forward going and we need to work on our canter transitions to make sure she doesn't hollow and that she canters as soon as I ask rather than running into it.
I was thrilled with our placings! We came 3rd in both!! The first test was out of 12 and the second out of 6 but I was expecting to come 6th because the other tests I saw looked very good. Our placings mean we've qualified for UK Riders Challenge 2010 regional finals!!! We'll definitely be giving those a go! Hopefully by then (June) she'll be working consistantly in an outline and her canter will have improved. Very happy with her on Saturday!
Sunday morning and I was greeted with another poo stain. She hesitated a bit when loading, not helped by bloody kids being stood around the box saying her name. I told them to move and they didn't. I was hoping she'd spack out and kick them but hey ho, no such luck. I got the box man to poke her in the bum with my lunge whip and she walked straight on. She travelled fine and we got there in good time. She was such a good girl in the lead rein class. The kid rode like a prat and didn't remember to salute at the end so came last. Not arsed, Saf was an angel. My first class was straight after that. We came last at the last show! I was determined to do better this time. It was a different judge which I was a bit miffed about because I wanted to show the other judge she was wrong when she said it'd take her ages to learn to soften. Today's judge was very nice though. There was a bit of drama as we were all cantering round as a spooky horse got scared by something and set another one off, sending it one way and its rider the other. She got her arm tangled in her reins and got dragged a couple of metres. Poor thing. The horse then legged it around the arena a couple of times so we all had to stand and wait while that sorted itself out. She went nicely in out individual show. Struck off on the wrong canter lead once but sorted it out. We came 3rd in that so I was very pleased :) We also got a rosette for being the highest placed member in that class. Yey!!
Next was ridden showing. It was a tough class but she did well and came 5th. Ridden coloured was a very tough class too with some beautiful horses. We got 4th in that one so I was all smiles :) All in all, a very good day. She's so easy to take to places. Not stressful at all. She spent her down time sunbathing by the box!
Brilliant weekend!! Six rosettes to show for all her hard work. She's had a well deserved day off today. Jumping lesson tomorrow :)
I spent all of Friday getting her ready. I had a little ride in the morning just working on getting the right canter lead. She was tired and it was a bit shakey but she was a very good girl. God I love that pony. Anyway, after that I gave her a mini bath to get rid of the stains on her bum and neck. The weather wasn't too bad and the sun even came out at times. It took forever though! Once that was done I began the mammoth task of plaiting her. She was a very good girl and very patient. I wrapped her up in her lycra bodysuit and fleece to keep her clean overnight.
Saturday morning I got an early train to the farm and found her with a poo stain on her bum. I now know it was the rug that put it there, seeing as one appeared in exactly the same place on Sunday morning! Anyway, washed it off, got tacked up and set off with Donna and Pam to Hargate. I'm still quite nervous hacking but little Safmonkey was great. It took about 45mins to get there and it was a great looking yard. Very jealous of all the facilities they have there! All the kids milling about would piss me off though. Anyway had a warm-up and she was going nicely. Wasn't bothered about kids flying around jumping or scary looking WH fences in the warm up arena.
We went in for our walk trot test and she went in very nicely. We actually got a 7 for our trot down the centre line! The rest of the test went nicely. She was dropping down into an outline a lot but not consistantly. I mucked up the half 10m circles and she was falling out through her outside shoulder quite a lot but for her first ever dressage test I was very pleased with her. Her walk needs to be more forward going and obviously get her to work consistantly in an outline but she showed definite promise.
We went in for our prelim test and again she behaved very well. She needed to be more forward going and we need to work on our canter transitions to make sure she doesn't hollow and that she canters as soon as I ask rather than running into it.
I was thrilled with our placings! We came 3rd in both!! The first test was out of 12 and the second out of 6 but I was expecting to come 6th because the other tests I saw looked very good. Our placings mean we've qualified for UK Riders Challenge 2010 regional finals!!! We'll definitely be giving those a go! Hopefully by then (June) she'll be working consistantly in an outline and her canter will have improved. Very happy with her on Saturday!
Sunday morning and I was greeted with another poo stain. She hesitated a bit when loading, not helped by bloody kids being stood around the box saying her name. I told them to move and they didn't. I was hoping she'd spack out and kick them but hey ho, no such luck. I got the box man to poke her in the bum with my lunge whip and she walked straight on. She travelled fine and we got there in good time. She was such a good girl in the lead rein class. The kid rode like a prat and didn't remember to salute at the end so came last. Not arsed, Saf was an angel. My first class was straight after that. We came last at the last show! I was determined to do better this time. It was a different judge which I was a bit miffed about because I wanted to show the other judge she was wrong when she said it'd take her ages to learn to soften. Today's judge was very nice though. There was a bit of drama as we were all cantering round as a spooky horse got scared by something and set another one off, sending it one way and its rider the other. She got her arm tangled in her reins and got dragged a couple of metres. Poor thing. The horse then legged it around the arena a couple of times so we all had to stand and wait while that sorted itself out. She went nicely in out individual show. Struck off on the wrong canter lead once but sorted it out. We came 3rd in that so I was very pleased :) We also got a rosette for being the highest placed member in that class. Yey!!
Next was ridden showing. It was a tough class but she did well and came 5th. Ridden coloured was a very tough class too with some beautiful horses. We got 4th in that one so I was all smiles :) All in all, a very good day. She's so easy to take to places. Not stressful at all. She spent her down time sunbathing by the box!
Brilliant weekend!! Six rosettes to show for all her hard work. She's had a well deserved day off today. Jumping lesson tomorrow :)
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Can you say outline?
Eeeeee she's amazing :D I took her in the school today to practice what we did yesterday and I wasn't expecting much really. She was brilliant! She felt tired, not sure what to do about that at the moment, but warmed up properly and did plenty of tight circles etc. Once she was warmed up I asked her to soften in halt. No problem. I asked in walk and she got it after a few strides. I then asked in trot and she did it after half a lap!! I was sooo pleased!! I was using firm but gentle aids so I wasn't getting too tense and she took to it like a duck to water. It's not consistent but she does drop down when I ask so it's just a case of being quick to react to her actions and she'll soon learn she needs to maintain it. She feels so light on my hands when she does it. I really hope I can get her to do it at the show seeing as the judge said it would take ages to get her in an outline because of her neck muscles. Pah. 3 weeks!! I know judges are unlikely to ever take her seriously as a show pony but that doesn't bother me. She's more special than any of the horses at that show and probably has more intelligence in her hoof than the majority! She's wonderful :)
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Great lesson
Cara came to give us our lesson today. Having weekly lessons has been the best thing I've ever done with Saffy. It's helped us no end. I was wondering whether she'd start to drop down into an outline like she was doing yesterday but needn't have worried. After warming up and a little bit of persuasion she dropped down nicely. She doesn't hold it for long at the moment but still the fact that she's dropping her head at all is a huge achievement for us. Cara even got us attempting it in trot! Oh my god I haven't had a work out that hard in years!!! It was such hard work. I need to be firmer with my legs whilst maintaining the contact so I'm constantly working her into the bridle. I managed to get it right a good few times which I was very pleased with but I did feel a bit like I was going to die :) She feels so lovely when she drops down. I can't wait until we're getting it more consistantly. She'll look amazing!
Managed to book Barry to take us to Urmston show too which is a relief. Should save us some money. Excited!
Managed to book Barry to take us to Urmston show too which is a relief. Should save us some money. Excited!
Monday, 22 March 2010
Wonderful pony :)
Yesterday I put up a double, a straight (2ft3) and a *scary* straight which comprised of traffic cones, red and green poles and a roadworks plank. Overall she did very well. She knocked more than last time but she did feel quite tired and it was a warm day. After a couple of run-outs she tackled the double successfully and the straight was no problem at all. She ran out of the scary one a few times but then popped it no problem. The majority of the knocks were down to striding but some were lazy. I'm going to start using harder poles so she doesn't think she can knock them as easily. She tried hard and I was pleased with her progress :)
Today I wasn't feeling great and was angry that she'd been left soaking wet in her stable but I felt better once I'd spend some time with her. I did about 25mins of schooling and she was great!! I warmed up and practised our intro dressage then I had a little canter (still wasn't taking off on the correct lead on the left rein..not sure why she's reverted to that..need to be clearer with my aids). I then started asking her to come down into an outline in walk but it wasn't working. I said to someone at the gate 'she's never going to want to go on the bit'. Cue Saffy dropping down into an outline and holding it for pretty much 4 complete laps of the school!!!! My voice was getting so high only dogs could hear it!! I was SO pleased with her. When she brought her head back up I'd open my hands again and she'd drop right down straight away! She's so so clever. It's like the break from schooling has given her time to mull over what I've been asking of her. She's not holding her head still yet when it's down but given it's only been a week since I started asking her to drop I'm more than happy with her!!
The kids had a practice on her then for the show. I felt sick at the way they ragged her mouth when they rose to her trot. I'm going to make sure they keep a long rein to avoid it as much as possible. Wish I'd never opened my big mouth now. Still, each one will only ride for 10mins at each show so she'll be a good girl and put up with it. After that, nobody else inexperienced is riding her ever. She's been so patient with me letting novices on her. Now she's growing up and schooling properly I'm not having anyone else ruin it. I love my little girl far too much for that.
Today I wasn't feeling great and was angry that she'd been left soaking wet in her stable but I felt better once I'd spend some time with her. I did about 25mins of schooling and she was great!! I warmed up and practised our intro dressage then I had a little canter (still wasn't taking off on the correct lead on the left rein..not sure why she's reverted to that..need to be clearer with my aids). I then started asking her to come down into an outline in walk but it wasn't working. I said to someone at the gate 'she's never going to want to go on the bit'. Cue Saffy dropping down into an outline and holding it for pretty much 4 complete laps of the school!!!! My voice was getting so high only dogs could hear it!! I was SO pleased with her. When she brought her head back up I'd open my hands again and she'd drop right down straight away! She's so so clever. It's like the break from schooling has given her time to mull over what I've been asking of her. She's not holding her head still yet when it's down but given it's only been a week since I started asking her to drop I'm more than happy with her!!
The kids had a practice on her then for the show. I felt sick at the way they ragged her mouth when they rose to her trot. I'm going to make sure they keep a long rein to avoid it as much as possible. Wish I'd never opened my big mouth now. Still, each one will only ride for 10mins at each show so she'll be a good girl and put up with it. After that, nobody else inexperienced is riding her ever. She's been so patient with me letting novices on her. Now she's growing up and schooling properly I'm not having anyone else ruin it. I love my little girl far too much for that.
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