Got it Bungo.
Nice work Jazz! He got "the trot" today with that "change of gear" feeling that is so superb to feel. I was thrilled with him.
I realised lately that my riding has gone up a notch since Jazz's work has gone up a notch. Sonia has got me to really sit down on the saddle - not to "drive" just to sit and stay sat. She didn't exactly "teach" me to do it, but she told me to sit and make Jazz carry me, and it became clear to me over a few lessons when I wasn't sat right down and should have been.
So I have learnt to sit deeper than I was, and that makes it much easier to keep Jazz and Zippy genuinely in front of me. Because if they move their centre of gravity backwards under me, I can't sit like it, so I know it's wrong. One of the things I really like about this riding game is that just when you think you have it cracked, you realise that you didn't know what you were doing after all! The other thing that I have realised is that unless you ride a horse that can genuinely carry its rider, you can't sit on it like a Grand Prix rider can sit on their horse. So don't beat yourself up if your own seat is less perfect than you would like. It was key to learning to ride "more perfectly" that I am riding a "more perfect" horse!
The roads aren't safe today so although the sun is shining brightly I can't ride out. Zippy has done enough in the barn lately, so I turned them all out. Butternut Squash turned himself upside down in the snow. Now why is it more amusing to see a furry little creature like him roll in the snow than a bigger horse? I don't know, but it is!
C
posted by cptrayes @ 10:46 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Uhm...OK. I simply can't resist...I seem to remember months ago extolling the virtues of dressage and finding you responding about how boring it all was compared to eventing. (I'll shut up now as I am totally delighted for you.)*S* It actually is a completely absorbing and mentally challenging discipline with so much to learn I don't think I'll ever master even half of it all.
Patrice Edwards is big on getting her riders to sit correctly. The horse, she says, must carry the rider so where you sit and how you sit is really important. It's something I intend to work on diligently whenever I can get back to some serious schooling. I know it makes a big difference with Tucker.
Have to laugh at all the nicknames Button is evoking from you. He is such a dear little fellow he just makes me want to scoop him up in a big hug. Maybe his sole purpose in life is to bring joy? If so he is going to be a wonder as a charity mascot.
Yup this riding lark only endorses the older you get, the more you learn you realise the less you know! You just seem to get one thing cracked and then another hole appears and you start again from another level! I often wonder how I have survived riding horses without killing myself lol
Button aahh he is really making his mark bless
Anne
Anne
"key to learning to ride "more perfectly" that I am riding a "more perfect" horse!"
i like that. and it's so true. even at my level with molly, i find that the better she goes, the better i can ride her, and so on...
caroline, did you know we can't subscribe anymore? used to be able to follow further comments by having them sent to the inbox, but that option isn't available now....
I think you can become a "follower" Claire. I have 4 followers. I assume they get email updates. Can someone tell Claire how to do it?
Jean my problem with dressage is the arbitrary nature of the judging, ie competing, not with riding it. You know that, you're just trying to get me going! And succeeding :-)
Anne the further I get away from it the less I understand how I ever jumped those huge affiliated courses. I keep re-running in my head all my "near misses". I only ever fell off once at 3ft 9, but that one alone could have killed me, the ground was so hard. And some of the other "oops, stayed on by the skin of my teeth" now scare me to death in retrospect. Whatever was I thinking of!!
C
Ah, I speak not of the "showing" of dressage, but rather the "training" of. I just see the show as a place to test my training. (For eexample, I have to ride the whole test through without fixing the mistakes or doing any training) I gave up long ago trying to figure out what would please the judges.
Lockie Richards was a world class event rider--even trained the New Zealand 3 Day Team. Then one day, he "saw the light" as he said and realized how crazy the eventing was. He surrendered and joined the dressage ranks. He was one of the finest teachers/trainers I ever rode with.
I used to be a "jumping fool" with Russell R. until we met that jump neither one of us could figure out how to get over. Fortunately we didn't get hurt, but it made me really think it through. I think there comes a time when you simply realize the potential of getting hurt is just too great and it stops being fun.
But then, there are just some people who have no fear whatsoever...ever. Event riders who have crashed really badly and recover to event again. It boggles my mind. I just wonder if it's the "thrill seeker" mentality or just another alien mindset altogether.
just found what i was looking for, caroline - i think sometimes stuff comes up properly on my laptop and not on the pc - this is also the case for commenting on jean's blog... bizarre!
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