photos; 4-26 lunge day
lunged because i got off "early" from work and she volunteered. mniimal snacks. ddi ground work frist workng on thoracic lfit. turn on hanches both ways, turn on forehand both ways (trackng rght way harder). swervy poles, ground poles at walk. then put equicore on and lunged. 5 miiniutes trot each way and a lititle canter each way. good pony. nice and soft and relaxed.
love her. followed me to dan too. snuggly
stormy morning. cancelled liz lesson because of storms. moved repeat mammogram to am instaed of afternoon. then did errands. then cancelled liz's postponed lesson because of stress. had a good talk wth her though. opted to ride.
took funny first and she was good. stayed at home and diid some thoracic sling work before startng. sooo good overall. much slower tempo. made sure my saddle was back (though may need a narrower plate??? sittngs slihglty low). not n heat, but no buckng or kckng out. got a lttl quck but settled very ncely. ddi some canter early on and then managed to have a nce respectable riide even after. did more rapiid transitons/changes than just settling nto one movement. played with si and hi and sttng trot. gettng better. also dd the trot walk trot transiton MUCH better today. sttng defntely helps. Did some canter transitons. super good grl. phew.. i needed that!
photos: good girl
Today Mike wanted to take his bike to the mountains so he told me to go ride ponies. Yes Sir! It was a gorgeous day so I ended up taking both Dan and Funny to Ashland. Because why not?!
Funny and I hacked and we had a lovely hack. She was a bloodhound today. Just like her brother. Hee hee. She was headless almost because she was so intent on sniffing. Hee hee.
The hay trailer was coming through the woods and making a racket but she didn't get scared. (Unlike poor Dan earlier today... although his was much closer and louder). We did some trotting in the woods and worked on getting our fancy trot vs our power trot. She was so good. We also went into the cross country field and trotted the ditches and into the water complex with no hesitations! She even jumped the down bank into the water on the first try. Good girl. We did a few laps in the "water treadmill" too.
Then we headed to the arena for a little dressage. She was a good pony. She got a little quick but she settled pretty quickly into a nice tempo. We played with the sitting trot and some shoulder in and she was quite good. The sitting trot is definitely helping improve her trot. Good girl!
Fun lesson with Liz! Of course they usually are.
Today we worked on sitting trot. We started with the walk and walk poles. Liz set them slightly closer so (I need to go measure!) and Funny was really lifting her limbs and really engaging her joints. The tighter distance helped her do that. We talked about how I needed to pay attention to what my pelvis was doing. Because that lateral swing both ways is how my pelvis should move in the sitting trot. Which... was kind of odd, because in the posting trot Liz wants me to post more up and down (not front to back) but in the sitting trot, she wants me more side to side swinging. Which, seems to be the opposite of everyone else, but..it seems to be working! So to get us into the sitting trot politely Liz just told me to allow her to trot after the poles (but not every time cause she's too smart)! I was able to get a few good steps in of sitting trot before I had to post some. And some of my sitting trot was more of a hovering with my bum. But we managed a few steps here and there. It's hard! And I was still trying to stay upright in my core, which made it a bit harder to absorb the shock at the same time.
Once we played with that a little bit, we went to canter from the trot. But before I could trot, I had to get a good walk. And before I could canter, my trot had to be good. Which is hard. But we did it. Liz said she was proud of me because I didn't get frustrated or angry. I just ignroed the tantrums and kept politely asking for what I wanted. One time I reacted, but it's because she kept escalating despite me not engaging, and finally I was like "That's enough ma'am" and then immediately went back to neutral. Liz said that it was justified and that Funny agreed because she admitted she was pushing it and stopped trying to be quite so naughty. It's one thing to ignore her when she's naughty, then good, then naughty, then good, but when she goes from naughty, to naughtier, to even naughtier... okay, at some point I have to break the escalation. We did finally get a decent walk and a decent trot and were able to canter! And we even got some nice canter. I tried to sit the canter too, like how I sat the trot. But instead of a bilateral lateral swing, it was a unilateral swing. Like in the trot, I would swing right then left then right, etc. In the canter, on the right lead, it was swing right, swing right, swing right, unless I needed a left swing here and there to rebalance her. Cool! And I have to quiet my asks. Even quieter. Just when I think I'm being quiet, I have to go quieter. Like, don't even ask.. just think Canter.. and she canters! And sometimes, I have to be quieter with my positioning too. I don't always have to move her right shoulder around... sometimes I just have to open my left thigh to allow her left shoulder to move over, which allows her right shoulder to then follow. Ohhhh... She's a mare.. it's not always telling her what to do and where to put things.. it's inviting her to bring things over... opening up space for her to fill in to.
It was a fun ride. That was probably the bounciest and most up her back has felt! Like she almost felt like she was bucking (and sometimes she was! Ha) but it was because her back was so up and round! And that trot didn't feel small either. It felt powerful. So fancy and powerful!! She's really going to teach me how to be soft and kind and to stay in the moment. I can't get ahead of her. If I'm at A and thinking that I need to canter at F, she's going to canter at A! She can read my brain! ;) And then Liz and I talked about how she doesn't like the phrase "Get behind the motion" because that's not exactly it... she likes "Let her energy lead" better. But ultimately, I can't get ahead of the energy because then Funny tries to catch up. But if I hold back just a hair, then I allow Funny's energy to lead and it becomes much smoother and softer.
Whoops!! I signed up for the Big Cheese Show with both Funny and Dan. Caroline was sweet and able to get my ride times far enough apart that I could do both. So, I signed Funny up for the Novice 3 day test.
(Disclaimer... we were the only ones in our class)
And just like with Dan... I learned the wrong darn test! Well, the correct test.. the wrong year. Sigh... Why can't they use "23-26 USEA NOVICE 3 Day Test" instead of "22 USEA NOVICE 3 Day Test".? Because it apparently is confusing to me. I don't know what year is the year they change it. Sigh. Of course I didn't know I was doing the wrong test until we were in it...
Back to the beginning though.. We got to the show and were clean and on time! We went to warm up and there was only one arena so we were able to ride in the other arena. Funny actually warmed up pretty nicely and she was definitley more chill than in the past. We didn't scare any children (or adults) and I didn't feel like I was going to get bucked off. She was her usual self in that she was a bit quick and very against my left leg. But she was also in heat again, so.. maybe that's part of it. And she probably needs an adjustment too. Or maybe it's just where we're at. Regardless, it was still an improvement.
It was our turn so we headed up and were feeling pretty good about things. We went down center line and tracked left. And Emily (the judge) rang the bell and was like "Holly.......". I was like "darn, really? I'm supposed to salute? I could have sworn that was only in Dan's tests"... So I apologized and started again. I saluted.. then tracked left and she rang the bell again and said "I don't think we're doing the same test". And it was just like deja vu... The USEA Novice 3 day test right? Yes.... 2026 right? Oh! Ooohhhhhhhh... I had learned 2022. Because when I looked at the weird secret code thing for the 3 day, it had last years info which was the 2022 test. Well dang... So Emily said she only had a score sheet for 2026, so... I could learn it real quick and let another rider go in my place and come back after and ride it. Or I could ride the 2022 test and she could score it on a scrap piece of paper... or ??? I laughed and said the whole point was to practice the test I was going to show at in November, so I'd learn it real quick. Besides, I hadn't really ridden this test through yet either. Doh! I'm so unprepared. To my credit though.. I had learned the test correctly... and I did tell Caroline 2022 novice test, but.. oh well. So I went out with the score sheet she had and learned the test as quick as I could. Sadly Funny had to just stand there. And then I basically got to walk back to the judges booth, hand her the score sheet, and then trot back to the front of the arena and start my test. Which, I DID memorize and ran without any errors. Go me. But, Funny had sat and gotten mad and was fussy. Well, fussier than she might have been. So it wasn't a great test. But it might not have been a great test anyways. The issues we had in it were not new issues or issues only because of our having to do it impromptu. Our stretchy trot wasn't great and there is that awful trot, then walk 4 steps, then trot again transition. And that sucked! We'll definitely have to work on that before November. But it was nice to get some feedback and be able to run through it. And the fact that we managed to pull it off with minimal prep and get a somewhat decent score is a win.
She got a nice rinse and then we headed home so I could make sure I had time to bathe Dan and get back with him in time. Good pony!
I have the best team!!
Funny and I went back to Barbara's for a lesson with Jacel. And Laura got to come!! She took videos while Jacel rode Smarty. It was so good to be reunited! And Funny likes Smarty again. Although Smarty took a cheap shot snarking at her today while they were standing together. Funny was quick on her toes though and snarled right back at him! Sillies.
Anyways... I warmed her up briefly because I wasn't as early as I had wanted but she was quite good and settled into a nice soft trot fairly quickly! Yay! Then we jumped.
Jacel had a 4 stride down the middle, then two outside sinigles, and then two singles on the diagonal. So she had me ride some serpentines to start and the goal was to ride the barrel around the turns and make long approaches but keep it soft. By riding her barrel, I softened her body. It took us most of the lesson to grasp the whole concept of what she meant but I finally put it all together! And it helped to add in some other parts. I was stepping into my outside stirrup, like Liz had me do, but forgetting to use my inside leg for bend. Then I managed to get that. Then I was still ahead of her energy. Jacel told me to slow her down with my thighs, not my hands. And aha! Yes.. my thighs, but also my balance. So I was able to sit a little deeper, close my thighs, and get the tiniest bit behind the motion and then she was so soft and ridable. Except then I panicked because we got to the fences on a small balanced canter that felt way too small compared to the big flying gallop and so I kept throwwing her at flyers. Ugh. So then Jacel made me just sit and wait. She gave me some tough love and told me that I couldn't micromanage her. If I wanted to take her 2, 3, 4star... then I had to let her figure it out and do it on her own. I just had to stay out of her way. Well, I had to get the canter first, but then stay out of her way. And then Barbara's husband, bless him, he commented that when I got her settled, the second I "panicked" and tipped my body, she got fast again. So Jacel told me to just slighty rock my pelvis forward to keep myself from getting behind the motion and feeling the need to then throw myself at her. And that helped. But not to think of perching, because that was way too extreme. Just a slight rock of my pelvis. And then Jesse redeemed himself because he said he "quite liked my handsome cowboy horse". Ha ha... Barbara was like "he meant that as a compliment"! I know! It's a funny way of saying it, but he's not wrong. And she always gets called handsome. ha ha.
So anyways.. I had done a few tries in a row and finally finished with two good jumps so then Jacel went. And then she told me to go once more and I managed to put it all together and we had a most lovely soft round!! She even added to a few and didn't pull any rails and was soft and quiet and ridable! I was like "I think I need to quit with that!!!" and they all agreed! So yep... it's a combination of slowing my roll.. ha ha.. don't let my brain get frantic, keep my shoulders and seat just behind her energy (not the motion but her energy), close my thighs as needed, keep my hands soft but present and ride her barrel with my inside leg and.. viola! She was lovely!
Jacel did a lovely beautiful round right after too so we all quit! We hacked the ponies out to the XC field and Laura walked with us and we got to chat briefly. It was so nice! Then a quick rinse and home so I could take Lyric to the vet.
Allisa invited me to go to Stableview for a XC lesson with Waylon with her. It's been so long since Funny and I got to play that I jumped on the chance! So off we went! Liz happened to be in Aiken that weekend, so she came by to watch. Awww.. .she's so nice!
We got there and Waylon wasn't ready for us... so we walked around a good bit. Then we started to warm up so we would be ready when he was. Funny was a bit feral at first and was bucking and being silly when Allisa trotted and cantered off. She asked if I was fine and if she needed to stop. I told her no.. it was fine. And it was. I just kept asking Funny to trot and doing figure 8's and she eventually settled. We trotted around a bit but I didn't bother cantering. We'll save that so we can trot if we need to. ;)
Finally Waylon was ready for us. We were in the "big kid" field so there wasn't a ton for us to play on. There were a few novice tables and some novice questions but it was more training and up. We warmed up with the bank in the water. He had us trot through the water and then canter up out of the water and then canter down via the bank into the water. I debated asking if I could trot it, but... figured I'd just see what happens... I didn't want to look like a wimp or feel like I was in over my head. And Funny cantered happily up and happily down. Yay! And by happily I mean she rocketed up and over and down. Jeepers child!So we came again a bit more controlled and it was better. Then we did a few jumps in a row... all tables. Allisa went first and he told her that she was too strung out and fast and to collect his stride more. So then when I went, I tried to keep her from being too feral. It didn't work. She was absolutely feral and was bucking and rearing in place practically and then launched it. So we tried again and it didn't get much better. Waylon told me to ride with more connection. Um... okay, that's what I thought I was doing. So I did. And Funny said "absolutely not!" since I closed all the doors. So, then Waylon told me to ride a little softer. So I went back to riding how I normally ride and he said "Good, that's better!". Okay... I'll just keep riding how I have been then... But, I do think he did point out that I needed to be elastic in my connection and not just hanging. Or at least that's what I thought he was trying to say.
We jumped a few jumps in a row and he did make me ride straighter. She got a little squirrely and threw a shoulder and drifted and then we were all wonky. And then Liz showed up, with Grace. And Funny seemed genuinely happy to see her. We chatted briefly while Allisa did a few jumps and then it was our turn again. I think Liz being there helped. Or I just started riding better. Because it got better. We managed to get smoother jumps and less feral and more connected without the tantrums. Except at the ditch. I picked the bigger one first on accident and she said NOPE. I stayed on and we managed to get over it once she looked at it. Whoops!
When we finished Liz told me that she definitely thought Funny was fit enough. And that she thought that the instructor wasn't very helpful. ha ha. So she gave me some pointers. She told me that I let Funny get too long of an approach. I don't need to spend as much time getting to the fence.. just pick her up and go. She gets too strung out and then fights me when I give her too much time. Ok. She also said something else that kind of made me defensive... but now I can't remember. But she wasn't wrong. Maybe just along the lines that I was too ahead of myself. I was too focused on getting to the jump, and then the next one, and then the next one, instead of focusing on what was happening at that particular moment... how is the canter... how is my turn to the fence.. how is my line... I need to focus on every step instead of getting ahead of myself and jumping the next fence in my brain before I've even gotten to the first.
So... definitely rusty... definitely not our best ride... nor the most fun... but still a worthy outing. We got to get out and play. We stayed safe. We learned something. And we got to see our friends!
Ahhh, I tempted fate today, but it worked out in my favor. :)
This morning we had the saddle fitter come to check the saddle for Lyric and then she ended up doing some osteopathic work on her and Dan. Poor Funny, yet again, gets the short end of the stick! She didn't even get adjusted this week. But she did get her stifles shockwaved yesterday. And maybe I'll adjust her tomorrow. Anyways... after that Mike and I took the mustang out for lunch and then a little drive. And then I had time to take Funny to Ashland and meet Sharon and Baylor. Yay!
We met up and went for about an hour and fifteen minute hack. We did a little bit of trotting but mostly walked and chatted. It was fun! Funny was pretty good with Baylor. She only pinned her ears at him once when he got a little close. And then when we let Sharon lead in the trot, she was inverted and hollow and charging after him, but we didn't trot for very long. The next path Sharon let me lead and it was much more relaxed. For me anyways.. not sure how Baylor felt about it. :) Then we did a third path that was more wide open so Sharon could have come beside us if they wanted. Except Funny kept weaving to cut them off. Ha ha. It was a nice hack. And an absolutely beautiful day. It was hot in the sun but there was a great breeze and it was lovely in the woods. Not humid at all and not quite hot enough overnight for the bugs to have come out yet. Glorious! I think today was probably the last of the non-humidity or not quite hot days sadly though.
After our hack I decided to take Funny into the arena so Sharon and I chatted a bit and then split ways. I walked a little bit and she was slightly anxious but then settled quickly. We picked up the trot and she was actually quite pleasant at first. Then she got a little quick but I did my checklist and she settled. She still wants to lean into my left leg and fall in, and we started to fight a bit but I remembered, so we just did some smaller circles. Which drives me bananas because... we're sort of cheating, but... I guess it's creating better body muscle memory and eventually she'll get strong enough to not have to make smaller circles and hold herself upright on her own without having to cheat and use the circle. We played with the shallow serpentine loop and it's way easier in a proper arena. So then we did some leg yielding. And she was quite good! We had to do some circles to rebalance but overall a MUCH more pleasant ride for us both. She did toss her hind leg at my left/inside leg a few times but I just ignored it and rode through and made sure I had given her an out and went back to riding her outside shoulder around instead and it got better.
Then we just ran through the western dressage test 1-1. I had to make a few extra circles here and there but overall she did it quite nicely! COOL!!That's actually a fun test for her too. We stopped and I let her process (again, I had been doing it earliier too) and then we went back to work. I played with some more canter and she settled quite nicely and we had some really nice canter work and even some nice canter to trot to canter transitions. Those were way better than the walk to trot transitions. She's still so explosive into those. I can't quite figure out my aids for that yet still. We even did some more leg yielding and some trot lengthens that felt like actual lengthens. Tiny ones, but still.. actual lengthens vs just speed. Which is HUGE for Funny! And then we did some stretchy circles (properly by slowly letting her out vs dropping her) and she felt great. We even added a tiny bit of reinback. Which, she fights at first, but then once her feet get moving, she's good. And we finished with a few steps of shoulder in sitting trot left. And she was lovely!
So then we got a cookie and took a cool down hack around ptyeradactyl lake. Good pony! After she got a rinse and she was thirsty... she was lapping the hose water like a dog. Hee hee. Sadly I had left my phone at the trailer so I didn't get a funny video. Girl, if you would just drink from a bucket it would be so much easier!
So yay! I'm glad that we're back to our normal. Still feral, but not combative. And I'm definitely not as hormonal today so I'm sure that played a huge role!
