So I probably pushed things too hard on Friday night and when I woke up on Saturday for my early morning lesson, breathing was a bit laborious, which is not conducive to anything that would require me to breath! So I promptly texted Shelley and asked if she could ride J for the lesson instead of me, which she agreed. I still went to the barn, got J tacked up and although he was quite mellow, gave him a quick spin on the lunge to get his muscles warmed so he could get straight to work when Shelley arrived.
Shelley was prompt at 8am and hopped right on. She wanted to really address his suppleness and swing, so she took our previous exercise and bit further, asking him for quit a bit of bend in the neck/poll area while being very diligent about keeping his body really straight on "on the line", no letting him throw his shoulders here or throw his hind out there. Then she would gradually straighten him and ask him to really move on, without barging over the reins or getting heavy in the forehand. Now people who were watching may consider this to be a little bit of "deep" work, but it was by no means rolkur <gasp!>. By asking for a lot of bend through the neck, it would purposely throw his body off balance, asking for him to work even harder over his topline, then when he was straightened, he would move with much more swing. I noticed an immediate difference and Shelley had J looking like a million bucks! Really pushing off his hind end, swinging through his entire body and working over his back. He looked like he was truly dancing! She did a bunch of leg yields and then some half passes with him... they looked beautiful! Shelley even gave me the "green light" to do some shallow half passes on my own if he felt like he was ready.
But the question will be whether or not I am skilled to handle such a tricky endeavor. Shelley made sure to warn me not to keep him in the bend for too long (not as long as she did) and not as severe of a bend, as that will keep me "safe" from overdoing it and missing the point of the exercise. Our next lesson is not until Friday, so I have plenty of time... to either screw it up or solidify it! Only time will tell!
Unfortunately I did not ride on Sunday, we were busy in the morning and then had a barn party in the afternoon. I was thinking about riding after the party, but after consuming a good bit of wine and eating a good bit of food, riding wasn't high on my list of priorities. According to the (always wrong) weatherman, we are due for a horrendous snow storm starting tomorrow night. So I am hoping to get out to the barn tonight and tomorrow morning (as I work late tomorrow, at least as of right now) in case I cannot make it on Wednesday. So hopefully I'll get to work on this new exercise a few times before our next lesson, as I am really excited about the quality of movement if produced!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Amazing what a little (okay, maybe not so little) bit of money can do!
So J has had two more days off, much to my dismay. Unfortunately I caught the nasty flu bug that is going around and have been carrying a 20 pound brick on my shoulders for the past two days. But I was able to lift my head off the pillow today (and not feel like my neck would break) and me and my mucous factory made it to work (thank god for sick time) and then the barn.
J was much better then I anticipated- not very "full of himself" and not as stiff as I thought he might be. It was a bit of a heat wave- reaching a whole 32 degrees, so definitely tolerable and J warmed up nicely. We worked on much of the same things we've done all week; straightness, quickness off the leg, turning off the seat, flexion and moving his inside hind underneath. J did some good grunting and groaning, so I knew I was hitting the right "spots". I have a lesson tomorrow, so hopefully we have done some improvement since last week that we will be able to build on.
But I really want to comment on the acupuncture, laser treatment and chiropractic work that J had done a couple weeks ago. My wonderful barn owner, Tawney, is a reiner and got a referral from other reiners for Interlaken Centre (http://www.interlakencentre.com/) out of Waconia, Minnesota for acupuncture and chiropractor work done by actual veternarians. I soon found out that not only do they work on reiners, but dressage horses, saddlebreds and many other disciplines. She first had them out in December, but with the holidays coming around, I had to wait until they came back in January.
So when they came out a couple of weeks ago, I promptly met Dr. Johnson at the barn to have J checked and worked on, if needed. Now J has had chiropractic and massage therapy done before, and has shown definite improvement with both, but never acupuncture before. Dr. Johnson was extremely friendly, professional and knowledgeable. He completed an overall body check on J, promptly finding that he was very sore behind his shoulders, what might be considered a person's "armpit" area. Then found that J was sore in his hind end/pelvis area. He felt that J was primarily sore in his hind end, which caused him to pull himself around with his front end instead of pushing himself with his hind end, so he was sore in the girth area as a secondary issue. He adjusted J's shoulders and even showed me how to do it, using J's own body weight to do the adjustment and advised me to do it before every ride. He then injected B-12 and almond oil into various acupuncture points in J's hind end, up both sides of his spine and into his chest. I wasn't sure how J would handle being a pin cushion, but he didn't even twitch a muscle! I was so proud of my little man! Dr. Johnson explained that while regular needles in the points are good, injecting the B-12 and almond oil was even better because it stimulated the point for longer and had quicker and longer-lasting effects. Dr. Johnson hoped that J would be able to hold this treatment for a very long time, as he was not terribly bad. He then had a laser, which he applied to acupuncture points that are located on the bonier points of his body, likes joints, fetlocks, etc. His belief is that the heat stimulates the point that might be otherwise sensitive to a needle.
He advised me to ride J that night and the more he can move, the better off the treatment will be. I tried to be very open-minded about this treatment, trying to not "imagine" results when none were really there- a placebo effect, per say. That first ride seemed much better, like he was initially less reluctant to go forward, softer in the bridle and pushing more off the hind end. But I stayed very cautious about claiming this a success.
But now that it has been a couple weeks, I feel that I can definitely state that it has helped him greatly. He is offering to lift his shoulders and drop his hindquarters, especially in his transitions. He is more agreeable in the bridle. He swings much more reliably, truly come from his hind. He is easier to bend through the ribcage. I am so pleased that I decided to do this treatment and feel that was the "missing piece" that we had in our training. Granted it was not exactly cheap (at least according to MY budget), but the hope is that it will last and as long as my horse is happier and healthier, that is what matters. Fortunately Interlaken Centre has agreed to put us on their regular rotation and will be visiting our barn every 6-8 weeks, no matter how many horses we have signed up. After seeing it for myself, I absolutely believe in this treatment practice and would recommend Interlaken Centre always! Thank you to Dr. Johnson!
J was much better then I anticipated- not very "full of himself" and not as stiff as I thought he might be. It was a bit of a heat wave- reaching a whole 32 degrees, so definitely tolerable and J warmed up nicely. We worked on much of the same things we've done all week; straightness, quickness off the leg, turning off the seat, flexion and moving his inside hind underneath. J did some good grunting and groaning, so I knew I was hitting the right "spots". I have a lesson tomorrow, so hopefully we have done some improvement since last week that we will be able to build on.
But I really want to comment on the acupuncture, laser treatment and chiropractic work that J had done a couple weeks ago. My wonderful barn owner, Tawney, is a reiner and got a referral from other reiners for Interlaken Centre (http://www.interlakencentre.com/) out of Waconia, Minnesota for acupuncture and chiropractor work done by actual veternarians. I soon found out that not only do they work on reiners, but dressage horses, saddlebreds and many other disciplines. She first had them out in December, but with the holidays coming around, I had to wait until they came back in January.
So when they came out a couple of weeks ago, I promptly met Dr. Johnson at the barn to have J checked and worked on, if needed. Now J has had chiropractic and massage therapy done before, and has shown definite improvement with both, but never acupuncture before. Dr. Johnson was extremely friendly, professional and knowledgeable. He completed an overall body check on J, promptly finding that he was very sore behind his shoulders, what might be considered a person's "armpit" area. Then found that J was sore in his hind end/pelvis area. He felt that J was primarily sore in his hind end, which caused him to pull himself around with his front end instead of pushing himself with his hind end, so he was sore in the girth area as a secondary issue. He adjusted J's shoulders and even showed me how to do it, using J's own body weight to do the adjustment and advised me to do it before every ride. He then injected B-12 and almond oil into various acupuncture points in J's hind end, up both sides of his spine and into his chest. I wasn't sure how J would handle being a pin cushion, but he didn't even twitch a muscle! I was so proud of my little man! Dr. Johnson explained that while regular needles in the points are good, injecting the B-12 and almond oil was even better because it stimulated the point for longer and had quicker and longer-lasting effects. Dr. Johnson hoped that J would be able to hold this treatment for a very long time, as he was not terribly bad. He then had a laser, which he applied to acupuncture points that are located on the bonier points of his body, likes joints, fetlocks, etc. His belief is that the heat stimulates the point that might be otherwise sensitive to a needle.
He advised me to ride J that night and the more he can move, the better off the treatment will be. I tried to be very open-minded about this treatment, trying to not "imagine" results when none were really there- a placebo effect, per say. That first ride seemed much better, like he was initially less reluctant to go forward, softer in the bridle and pushing more off the hind end. But I stayed very cautious about claiming this a success.
But now that it has been a couple weeks, I feel that I can definitely state that it has helped him greatly. He is offering to lift his shoulders and drop his hindquarters, especially in his transitions. He is more agreeable in the bridle. He swings much more reliably, truly come from his hind. He is easier to bend through the ribcage. I am so pleased that I decided to do this treatment and feel that was the "missing piece" that we had in our training. Granted it was not exactly cheap (at least according to MY budget), but the hope is that it will last and as long as my horse is happier and healthier, that is what matters. Fortunately Interlaken Centre has agreed to put us on their regular rotation and will be visiting our barn every 6-8 weeks, no matter how many horses we have signed up. After seeing it for myself, I absolutely believe in this treatment practice and would recommend Interlaken Centre always! Thank you to Dr. Johnson!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Back in the swing of things!
So I rode this morning, despite wanting to stay in my warm comfy bed! J had been kept inside this morning, as I had requested, and he seemed happy to see me by giving me "kisses" and nuzzling my hair. I didn't have a ton of time, so I quickly ran a brush over him, stretched his shoulders and got a couple good "pops" and tacked him up. No lunging today as he was very quiet and content while tacking him up. I ran through my usual warm-up routine except this time I did lots of big figures and turns on a long rein in one hand, just using my seat to steer him. He was going really nice off my seat and seemed very happy to go forward.
I picked up my reins and started working on the exercises we did in the lesson on Thursday- doing lots of 15 meter circles around the arena, asking him to bend to the inside, then use my inside leg to move to the outside rein and take bigger steps underneath himself. I was so happy with how quickly he got with the program and with hardly an attitude about it! He was quicker off my leg, much more flexible and supple in the bridle. I kept out of my hole and that definitely contributed to our success today. We worked in the trot and canter, doing our consecutive circles all around the arena. Both gaits were pretty good, although I had to be very careful in the canter as it is really easy to overbend him, which then forces his outside shoulder to pop out when I apply the inside leg. So I had to play around with that and figure out the right amount of bend to complete the exercise correctly. We did a couple leg yields each direction and a couple trot/halt/trot transitions. I ended with some freewalk work, which is getting noticeably better as his contact is getting more and more honest. He is getting much better going from freewalk to medium walk too, since I am not restricting him so much and trusting him to be more honest with the contact.
So it was a very successful day and I was happy with his work today. He was much more focused, content in his work and agreeable about everything. I was definitely happy that I had drug my butt out of bed and into the cold for a ride like that!
I picked up my reins and started working on the exercises we did in the lesson on Thursday- doing lots of 15 meter circles around the arena, asking him to bend to the inside, then use my inside leg to move to the outside rein and take bigger steps underneath himself. I was so happy with how quickly he got with the program and with hardly an attitude about it! He was quicker off my leg, much more flexible and supple in the bridle. I kept out of my hole and that definitely contributed to our success today. We worked in the trot and canter, doing our consecutive circles all around the arena. Both gaits were pretty good, although I had to be very careful in the canter as it is really easy to overbend him, which then forces his outside shoulder to pop out when I apply the inside leg. So I had to play around with that and figure out the right amount of bend to complete the exercise correctly. We did a couple leg yields each direction and a couple trot/halt/trot transitions. I ended with some freewalk work, which is getting noticeably better as his contact is getting more and more honest. He is getting much better going from freewalk to medium walk too, since I am not restricting him so much and trusting him to be more honest with the contact.
So it was a very successful day and I was happy with his work today. He was much more focused, content in his work and agreeable about everything. I was definitely happy that I had drug my butt out of bed and into the cold for a ride like that!
Too many days off!!
So J was off for three days as I was visiting my in-laws for the weekend. And unfortunately he had scraped his leg last week and would get stocked up in it if he sat for too long. And of course, the weather was miserable on Friday, Sunday and Monday, so turnout did not happen. Tawney was great and lunged him Sunday, which brought the swelling down and then I rode him on Monday night.
So Monday night he had some swelling, but it wasn't really bad considering that he had been inside on Sunday and Monday. I lunged him in side reins first and he was a little short in the beginning, but worked out of it within the first few minutes. He wasn't as silly as I expected him to be, so that was a nice surprise! Then I got on, hoping to remember everything we had worked on in the lesson on Thursday and trying to get my body moving after a 5+ hour car ride from my in-laws. J is very particular about our warm up and I have learned that if I rush him, it will take double the time to get him where I want him to be, so we walk on a long rein for about ten minutes, going both ways. Then I take up a little contact and we do transitions within the walk, focusing on positioning and correct flexion. Then we move to trot, first transitions within the gait and then doing walk/trot transitions going both directions. If he is slow to my leg, we will move straight to canter and I get him into a decent in-hand gallop and warm him up that way.
So we went through our warm-up routine, I was really trying to focus on keeping my position and not getting into my "hole". You see, I like this "hole", it is very comfortable to me and J loves it as well, as he doesn't really have to work as hard when I get in my hole. My hole can be pictured like this: hunched shoulders, wide hands, straight elbows, bend at the waist and looking down. Now I've been told that it is not a terrible hole, but it is enough to interfere. I mainly had to focus on his responsivity and mental focus, as he was distracted since he had not been worked or turned out in a couple of days. Everything was okay; nothing great, nothing terrible. I think we were both stiff and had to take a day to get back into the routine. During my self-reflection on my drive home, I realized that I was too preoccupied with his head position and wasn't happy with myself because of that. Because of my work schedule on Tuesday, I planned to ride him Tuesday morning and not let myself fall into that same routine.
So Monday night he had some swelling, but it wasn't really bad considering that he had been inside on Sunday and Monday. I lunged him in side reins first and he was a little short in the beginning, but worked out of it within the first few minutes. He wasn't as silly as I expected him to be, so that was a nice surprise! Then I got on, hoping to remember everything we had worked on in the lesson on Thursday and trying to get my body moving after a 5+ hour car ride from my in-laws. J is very particular about our warm up and I have learned that if I rush him, it will take double the time to get him where I want him to be, so we walk on a long rein for about ten minutes, going both ways. Then I take up a little contact and we do transitions within the walk, focusing on positioning and correct flexion. Then we move to trot, first transitions within the gait and then doing walk/trot transitions going both directions. If he is slow to my leg, we will move straight to canter and I get him into a decent in-hand gallop and warm him up that way.
So we went through our warm-up routine, I was really trying to focus on keeping my position and not getting into my "hole". You see, I like this "hole", it is very comfortable to me and J loves it as well, as he doesn't really have to work as hard when I get in my hole. My hole can be pictured like this: hunched shoulders, wide hands, straight elbows, bend at the waist and looking down. Now I've been told that it is not a terrible hole, but it is enough to interfere. I mainly had to focus on his responsivity and mental focus, as he was distracted since he had not been worked or turned out in a couple of days. Everything was okay; nothing great, nothing terrible. I think we were both stiff and had to take a day to get back into the routine. During my self-reflection on my drive home, I realized that I was too preoccupied with his head position and wasn't happy with myself because of that. Because of my work schedule on Tuesday, I planned to ride him Tuesday morning and not let myself fall into that same routine.
Friday, January 21, 2011
North Pole cont'd...
On Wednesday's ride, I had plans of working more intensely on our previous lesson homework, which consists of working on the quarter line with an absolute straight shoulder/neck position, making sure he is hot off my aids. Then turn him slightly (meaning basically invisible to the untrained eye) to the inside with my seat position and the outside rein and then push him back to the outside with my inside leg, creating a better connection from the inside leg to the outside rein, with his inside leg (hopefully) swinging through and up to the middle of his body. All the while NOT using any inside rein, as this will give him opportunity to bulge through his outside shoulder, creating the biggest fake shoulder fore you have ever seen! If done correctly, this could be interpreted as a few steps of correct shoulder-fore. However that all went out the window with the upcoming sub-zero temperatures in our forecast.
I was supposed to have a lesson on Friday, but with arctic temps moving through starting Thursday night, Shelley asked if we could move the lesson up to Thursday. I felt a little unprepared as I wanted to work some more on the homework from the past lesson, but that was not meant to be. Shelley got to the barn early to get him started and when I arrived he was looking really nice! Shelley had him stretched beautifully to the outside rein, accessing that place between the withers and mid-neck that is so difficult to get him to use correctly. He was having definite moments of true inside leg to outside rein contact. So Shelley quickly explained a new tool that we were going to add to our "toolbox", but was very careful in explaining that it was only to be used at certain times and when other things were in place. He had to be moving forward and turning off my seat with much certainty in an acceptable tempo. Once that was established, I would turn him to the inside off my seat, keeping an elastic feel on the outside rein and then take a very slow feel on the inside rein- no jerking or gaps in my reins- then I would slowly give the inside rein back, returning him to straight, asking him to move forward with my inside leg. It was very similar to the previous exercise, but added the inside rein to help soften him at the poll to then move his shoulder back to the outside and access that difficult area at the base of his neck in order to have correct contact in the reins. Now the reason that Shelley was so cautious is that I have a real tendency to over bend J in the wither area- which I quickly pointed out to Shelley! She agreed and felt that I was responsible enough to keep it under control and not bend him to that degree. Now that is trusting me A LOT! So off we went to practice this new exercise and it was tough in the beginning to get the feel, time my aids quick enough and get the order down. But by the end of the lesson we had done it both ways in the walk and trot, Shelley advised me to practice on my own in the canter, as that was the easiest gait to do this exercise. I was very nervous about over bending J's neck and getting back into that bad habit, but in the end I learned exactly how much I was allowed to use my inside rein without creating the bend. It is so much about feeling- which unfortunately cannot be taught by someone else, I just have to figure that part out on my own. But this exercise allowed me more access into J's neck- the place around the base of his neck- and he stretched out to he bit and "towed" me much better without pulling. This allowed me to have more effective half halts and leg aids. So our homework is to continue with this exercise and once it is reliable, use more half halts and "go forwards" within the steps to create even more swing and bringing his hind end underneath him. Lots of gait transitions in the middle of all of this also.
Fortunately all the swelling was gone in his leg, so I was happy to see that, especially since we are going to be out of town for the weekend. With the cold setting in tonight and then going to the in-laws for the weekend, I won't be able to ride again until Monday. So hopefully this post will help me remember everything I have to do for Monday's ride! My next lesson isn't until Friday, so I have plenty of time to try to master it... or screw it up royally!! ;)
I was supposed to have a lesson on Friday, but with arctic temps moving through starting Thursday night, Shelley asked if we could move the lesson up to Thursday. I felt a little unprepared as I wanted to work some more on the homework from the past lesson, but that was not meant to be. Shelley got to the barn early to get him started and when I arrived he was looking really nice! Shelley had him stretched beautifully to the outside rein, accessing that place between the withers and mid-neck that is so difficult to get him to use correctly. He was having definite moments of true inside leg to outside rein contact. So Shelley quickly explained a new tool that we were going to add to our "toolbox", but was very careful in explaining that it was only to be used at certain times and when other things were in place. He had to be moving forward and turning off my seat with much certainty in an acceptable tempo. Once that was established, I would turn him to the inside off my seat, keeping an elastic feel on the outside rein and then take a very slow feel on the inside rein- no jerking or gaps in my reins- then I would slowly give the inside rein back, returning him to straight, asking him to move forward with my inside leg. It was very similar to the previous exercise, but added the inside rein to help soften him at the poll to then move his shoulder back to the outside and access that difficult area at the base of his neck in order to have correct contact in the reins. Now the reason that Shelley was so cautious is that I have a real tendency to over bend J in the wither area- which I quickly pointed out to Shelley! She agreed and felt that I was responsible enough to keep it under control and not bend him to that degree. Now that is trusting me A LOT! So off we went to practice this new exercise and it was tough in the beginning to get the feel, time my aids quick enough and get the order down. But by the end of the lesson we had done it both ways in the walk and trot, Shelley advised me to practice on my own in the canter, as that was the easiest gait to do this exercise. I was very nervous about over bending J's neck and getting back into that bad habit, but in the end I learned exactly how much I was allowed to use my inside rein without creating the bend. It is so much about feeling- which unfortunately cannot be taught by someone else, I just have to figure that part out on my own. But this exercise allowed me more access into J's neck- the place around the base of his neck- and he stretched out to he bit and "towed" me much better without pulling. This allowed me to have more effective half halts and leg aids. So our homework is to continue with this exercise and once it is reliable, use more half halts and "go forwards" within the steps to create even more swing and bringing his hind end underneath him. Lots of gait transitions in the middle of all of this also.
Fortunately all the swelling was gone in his leg, so I was happy to see that, especially since we are going to be out of town for the weekend. With the cold setting in tonight and then going to the in-laws for the weekend, I won't be able to ride again until Monday. So hopefully this post will help me remember everything I have to do for Monday's ride! My next lesson isn't until Friday, so I have plenty of time to try to master it... or screw it up royally!! ;)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Dressage in the north pole...
So needless to say, it is January in upper Illinois and the cold has truly sunk in. Don't get me wrong, I know it's Illinois and I know that every winter is unbearably cold, but that doesn't mean that I like it any more simply because I expect it! The good and bad news is that J is shedding out like he needs Rogaine, good meaning that possibly means an early spring and bad meaning he might be a Popsicle by the time spring comes! But Tawney is keeping him bundled up tight in nearly every blanket I own, the poor guy is lugging around probably 50 pounds of blanket! But I certainly won't complain that he isn't well taken care of!
So I got out to the barn last night after not being able to get out on Tuesday. Tawney had just brought J inside and I pulled him out of the stall to find a few good scrapes up the inside right hind leg and his entire leg- fetlock to hock- stocked up. Now this is the third time that he has done this in the recent months, in the exact same spot, which is not easy to manage in this facility. The fencing and stalls are virtually "horse-proof", so the only thing we can reason is that he is hitting himself with his opposite leg when he is rolling, which he does vigorously every day. I did a quick lunge, both ways, in all three gaits, and he was perfectly fine. I did a quick adjustment on his shoulders (as the chiropractor showed me) and got a decent pop out of his left shoulder, which is the more sore one. So on went the tack and we joined four other riders in the arena, which is like Grand Central Station for our facility!
Now J is a bit of an oddball and has more personality then most people I know and one of his many quirks is that he doesn't like other hoses being near him while he warms up. After he is warmed up and focused he is fine, but until then he is a grouch. It is not something that I am not proud of, so I do try to keep clear of anyone so that his ugly faces and pinned ears are not scaring the bejeezus out of anyone else. Of course, with an arena this busy, J had lots of "F-you" gestures to make, but fortunately got over himself pretty quickly. While I didn't work on a lot of what my last lesson had consisted of, I did work on his responsiveness to the aids through transitions between gaits and within the gaits. I felt that I was still missing a piece though- J is "king" of just holding himself- never quite "towing" the reins as we would like. It's best described as "I won't bother you if you don't bother me" which might be easier to ride, it is not correct and does not create that swing that we need. I tried to get him more honest by keeping his neck absolutely straight and going forward and back in the trot and canter, but he was still holding himself through most of the ride. I didn't want to push him too much as he was stocked up in the leg, so I ended it when I was happy that he was straight (not bulging through either shoulder) and moving well off my leg. I have a lesson on Friday, so I figure that we can address more then.
So I got out to the barn last night after not being able to get out on Tuesday. Tawney had just brought J inside and I pulled him out of the stall to find a few good scrapes up the inside right hind leg and his entire leg- fetlock to hock- stocked up. Now this is the third time that he has done this in the recent months, in the exact same spot, which is not easy to manage in this facility. The fencing and stalls are virtually "horse-proof", so the only thing we can reason is that he is hitting himself with his opposite leg when he is rolling, which he does vigorously every day. I did a quick lunge, both ways, in all three gaits, and he was perfectly fine. I did a quick adjustment on his shoulders (as the chiropractor showed me) and got a decent pop out of his left shoulder, which is the more sore one. So on went the tack and we joined four other riders in the arena, which is like Grand Central Station for our facility!
Now J is a bit of an oddball and has more personality then most people I know and one of his many quirks is that he doesn't like other hoses being near him while he warms up. After he is warmed up and focused he is fine, but until then he is a grouch. It is not something that I am not proud of, so I do try to keep clear of anyone so that his ugly faces and pinned ears are not scaring the bejeezus out of anyone else. Of course, with an arena this busy, J had lots of "F-you" gestures to make, but fortunately got over himself pretty quickly. While I didn't work on a lot of what my last lesson had consisted of, I did work on his responsiveness to the aids through transitions between gaits and within the gaits. I felt that I was still missing a piece though- J is "king" of just holding himself- never quite "towing" the reins as we would like. It's best described as "I won't bother you if you don't bother me" which might be easier to ride, it is not correct and does not create that swing that we need. I tried to get him more honest by keeping his neck absolutely straight and going forward and back in the trot and canter, but he was still holding himself through most of the ride. I didn't want to push him too much as he was stocked up in the leg, so I ended it when I was happy that he was straight (not bulging through either shoulder) and moving well off my leg. I have a lesson on Friday, so I figure that we can address more then.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The point of writing a novel...
So, why am I writing this blog? I had intended to do this since the day J was born, although back then it would have included pen and paper, not a keyboard and monitor. I had started a few riding journals over the past eight years, but my lifelong affliction of procrastination, laziness and I've-got-better-things-to-do-ness got in the way. So I'm hoping that, because I can type faster then I write, I will actually commit to this and follow through, but that remains to be seen. It will all hinge on how busy I am at work... ha ha.
So, back to the original question. I hope to write down my mistakes, my triumphs and everything in-between, learning from it all in the process. I seem to suffer from long term memory issues, only remembering the lessons that I have recently learned and forgetting all that I have built on. So maybe this will help link all of these lessons together. I frequently find myself in a lesson, being told to do something by Shelley, and thinking "oh yeah, I remember this from last YEAR!" YIKES!! Dressage is constant building blocks, and sometimes the building blocks at the bottom of the pyramid seem to disappear into the upper building blocks, which does not work! So I am hoping that I can look back on this and another learning tool in my pursuit of this sometimes impossible sport called dressage!
So, if no one reads this, that is okay. I'm not even sure how many people I will tell about it. But I hope that it is a little more successful then my previous attempts!! :)
So, back to the original question. I hope to write down my mistakes, my triumphs and everything in-between, learning from it all in the process. I seem to suffer from long term memory issues, only remembering the lessons that I have recently learned and forgetting all that I have built on. So maybe this will help link all of these lessons together. I frequently find myself in a lesson, being told to do something by Shelley, and thinking "oh yeah, I remember this from last YEAR!" YIKES!! Dressage is constant building blocks, and sometimes the building blocks at the bottom of the pyramid seem to disappear into the upper building blocks, which does not work! So I am hoping that I can look back on this and another learning tool in my pursuit of this sometimes impossible sport called dressage!
So, if no one reads this, that is okay. I'm not even sure how many people I will tell about it. But I hope that it is a little more successful then my previous attempts!! :)
The trials and tribulations of showing...
In the fall of 2007, Shelley took J to his first USDF show at Silverwood in Camp Lake, Wisconsin, his show name being decided upon as "Joeledo". J schooled well on Friday, but on Saturday in the show ring, it did not go as planned. In the first test, he was doing really well until the very end of the test where he was suddenly spooked by the photographer. Shelley did her best and got him back under control and down the centerline for the final salute. He had one more test approximately an hour later and Shelley wanted to warm him up in the indoor arena where there were less distractions. He warmed up beautifully! I had high hopes and he trotted into the show ring, but they were quickly dashed when he started to buck, rear and take off for no apparent reason. I was so grateful that Shelley was riding him because I would have excused myself and left the arena in shame and embarrassment, but Shelley pressed on and made him finish the test despite his terrible behavior. After that test, Shelley had a very honest talk with me and I wondered if J would ever get over his nervousness and become the show horse that I longed for. On Sunday, Shelley had me ride him in one of the show arenas that was not being used and although he was inattentive at times, he didn't act up and it ended up being a pretty decent ride. We went back to Indian Hills very somber, with me wondering what to do. I did not want to force J into being what he couldn't be, I yearned to show, but I had such a palpable bond with the "yellow horse" (as Kim Barteau referred to him). Thankfully I spoke with my friend, Beth Noteman, who is a very successful dressage rider with her Arabian Stallion, Comet. Her experience was very close to mine, having a very strong bond with her horse, showing dressage with a "non-dressage" type horse and Comet had also had "issues" when it came to shows. She helped me decide that I would give J the winter to train and then take him out the next show season and see how he does.
J trained well that winter and Shelley had planned on showing him for the 2008 season. June rolled around and Shelley encouraged me to enter J in a show at Silverwood for July, but wanted ME to show him! I was ecstatic but nervous! We did intro level, just walk/trot, although we were working on harder stuff at home. But Shelley knew that between mine and J's show jitters, the new atmosphere, etc. it would be best to keep it very easy for us both. Needless to say, J and I had a very successful show and we even won the high point award for Saturday! On our first test, I got a "9" on our final centerline and halt! I was thrilled with my little yellow horse! We showed at a few more shows that season and had a very successful year, building confidence for the both of us. We even earned fourth place for Intro Level with the Illinois Dressage and Combined Training Association!
For the 2009 season, I had set my goal to show at training level and hopefully qualify for Regionals with the United States Dressage Association. I also wanted to place in the All-Breed awards, which is an award given to the highest scoring horses in each breed. With each show, J and I got more and more confident and J even learned that he liked to show off in front of the audiences! We had a great season and we qualified for Regionals, which were being held in Mason City, Iowa. While the show grounds in Iowa were very intimidating and J had a few rough moments, he came through for the championship ride and we placed 7th in the region! We got to participate in the victory gallop, which was the best moment of the entire show season for me! We also earned the USDF All-breed open champion for the American Paint Horse Association at training level! We were also ranked top 40 in the nation. We averaged a 65% for that season. I was so proud of my little man!
That winter we started training J for 1st level tests for the 2010 show season. In December, we moved J to a farm in East Troy, Wisconsin, where Shelley had multiple horses in training and spent a majority of her time. While that made a nearly two hour commute (ONE WAY!!) for me, I knew that it was the best move for J's training. It was a long winter of long drives, but it was worth it for J (and me) to get the consistent training that we needed. Shelley also suggested that we start trailering J down to KYB dressage, in Maple Park, Illinois and start taking lessons with Kim Barteau, who could help us along in the process and be another set of eyes to give us advice. Shelley first took the lessons with Kim, but then I eventually took over the ride. We also hired Yvonne Barteau to choreograph music and movements for his first freestyle routine, which I hoped to show that year. She did an amazing job on it, finding the perfect music for us and making a difficult routine that the judges would like. We showed 1st level at Sorensen (in East Troy, Wisconsin) in June 2010. Although we were not solid in the work (especially the legthenings), we scored low to mid-60's and I was happy with what we were doing. I had hoped to score at least a 60% so I could qualify to show his freestyle, which we accomplished his first show that season.
We showed again the following weekend at Sorensen, all 1st level tests, and the cart came off the tracks, so to speak. J was tired, I was striving for perfection and that combination clearly did not work! J's displeasure was shown in the show ring and we were both miserable. I scored high 50's and the judge was probably giving me sympathy points! We went home that weekend knowing that I had a lot to work on and unfortunately I had already entered and paid for a show at Silverood in two weeks! Shelley gave me two options: either see if the show secretary could enter me in lower level classes or skip the show altogether because we were not ready. Me, being the broke horse owner that I am, refused to lose the money, so I was able to get dropped down to Training level classes. At home we got stripped back down to basics. I had allowed the pressure of showing drive me to be too demanding and ask for movements in the wrong way, which made J very resentful. Off came the spurs and away went the whip, and we retaught J the meaning of forward without having me molest him in the reins. We went to Silverwood with the only expectation to make it a positive experience for J and a confidence builder for me, as we were showing down a level, there really was no pressure as the scores would not count towards any year-end awards. The show went really well and J was back to being a solid citizen. The judges were not to complimentary of us (I had never shown under these judges before, so not sure what they were looking for) but I didn't really care because that was not the point. I ended up deciding to skip our class on Sunday because we had accomplished what we had set out to do. I had learned a big lesson from all of this! I could not force J into doing the movements and I could not let the pressure of showing and winning dictate my riding style! It was unfair to J and to myself! I had intentions of returning to the show ring in August, but for financial reasons, it did not happen. So we did not get enough scores to qualify for any year-end awards and instead I worked hard on our training with the hopes that 2010 would be a successful year.
In September 2010, I moved J to White Spring Farm in Marengo, Illinois. I felt that a move was necessary, both for J and myself. Quite honestly, this was the best decision I have ever made in regards to J's care. Tawney Denn is the co-owner and barn manager and is the most caring horseperson, barn owner and barn manager I have ever met. Tawney shows reining horses and truly knows what it takes to own a show horse as well as pleasure horses. And it is also wonderful because my drive is now only 15-20 minutes! I was very fortunate in that Shelley agreed to continue to train us, although less frequently, but it's great nonetheless. So we are now training for the 2011 season, becoming more and more solid in our 1st level work and will undoubtedly show our freestyle this season (barring any financial issues- knock on wood!). Our goals include qualifying for regionals and placing at all-breeds, but this time at 1st level and 1st level freestyle.
J trained well that winter and Shelley had planned on showing him for the 2008 season. June rolled around and Shelley encouraged me to enter J in a show at Silverwood for July, but wanted ME to show him! I was ecstatic but nervous! We did intro level, just walk/trot, although we were working on harder stuff at home. But Shelley knew that between mine and J's show jitters, the new atmosphere, etc. it would be best to keep it very easy for us both. Needless to say, J and I had a very successful show and we even won the high point award for Saturday! On our first test, I got a "9" on our final centerline and halt! I was thrilled with my little yellow horse! We showed at a few more shows that season and had a very successful year, building confidence for the both of us. We even earned fourth place for Intro Level with the Illinois Dressage and Combined Training Association!
For the 2009 season, I had set my goal to show at training level and hopefully qualify for Regionals with the United States Dressage Association. I also wanted to place in the All-Breed awards, which is an award given to the highest scoring horses in each breed. With each show, J and I got more and more confident and J even learned that he liked to show off in front of the audiences! We had a great season and we qualified for Regionals, which were being held in Mason City, Iowa. While the show grounds in Iowa were very intimidating and J had a few rough moments, he came through for the championship ride and we placed 7th in the region! We got to participate in the victory gallop, which was the best moment of the entire show season for me! We also earned the USDF All-breed open champion for the American Paint Horse Association at training level! We were also ranked top 40 in the nation. We averaged a 65% for that season. I was so proud of my little man!
That winter we started training J for 1st level tests for the 2010 show season. In December, we moved J to a farm in East Troy, Wisconsin, where Shelley had multiple horses in training and spent a majority of her time. While that made a nearly two hour commute (ONE WAY!!) for me, I knew that it was the best move for J's training. It was a long winter of long drives, but it was worth it for J (and me) to get the consistent training that we needed. Shelley also suggested that we start trailering J down to KYB dressage, in Maple Park, Illinois and start taking lessons with Kim Barteau, who could help us along in the process and be another set of eyes to give us advice. Shelley first took the lessons with Kim, but then I eventually took over the ride. We also hired Yvonne Barteau to choreograph music and movements for his first freestyle routine, which I hoped to show that year. She did an amazing job on it, finding the perfect music for us and making a difficult routine that the judges would like. We showed 1st level at Sorensen (in East Troy, Wisconsin) in June 2010. Although we were not solid in the work (especially the legthenings), we scored low to mid-60's and I was happy with what we were doing. I had hoped to score at least a 60% so I could qualify to show his freestyle, which we accomplished his first show that season.
We showed again the following weekend at Sorensen, all 1st level tests, and the cart came off the tracks, so to speak. J was tired, I was striving for perfection and that combination clearly did not work! J's displeasure was shown in the show ring and we were both miserable. I scored high 50's and the judge was probably giving me sympathy points! We went home that weekend knowing that I had a lot to work on and unfortunately I had already entered and paid for a show at Silverood in two weeks! Shelley gave me two options: either see if the show secretary could enter me in lower level classes or skip the show altogether because we were not ready. Me, being the broke horse owner that I am, refused to lose the money, so I was able to get dropped down to Training level classes. At home we got stripped back down to basics. I had allowed the pressure of showing drive me to be too demanding and ask for movements in the wrong way, which made J very resentful. Off came the spurs and away went the whip, and we retaught J the meaning of forward without having me molest him in the reins. We went to Silverwood with the only expectation to make it a positive experience for J and a confidence builder for me, as we were showing down a level, there really was no pressure as the scores would not count towards any year-end awards. The show went really well and J was back to being a solid citizen. The judges were not to complimentary of us (I had never shown under these judges before, so not sure what they were looking for) but I didn't really care because that was not the point. I ended up deciding to skip our class on Sunday because we had accomplished what we had set out to do. I had learned a big lesson from all of this! I could not force J into doing the movements and I could not let the pressure of showing and winning dictate my riding style! It was unfair to J and to myself! I had intentions of returning to the show ring in August, but for financial reasons, it did not happen. So we did not get enough scores to qualify for any year-end awards and instead I worked hard on our training with the hopes that 2010 would be a successful year.
In September 2010, I moved J to White Spring Farm in Marengo, Illinois. I felt that a move was necessary, both for J and myself. Quite honestly, this was the best decision I have ever made in regards to J's care. Tawney Denn is the co-owner and barn manager and is the most caring horseperson, barn owner and barn manager I have ever met. Tawney shows reining horses and truly knows what it takes to own a show horse as well as pleasure horses. And it is also wonderful because my drive is now only 15-20 minutes! I was very fortunate in that Shelley agreed to continue to train us, although less frequently, but it's great nonetheless. So we are now training for the 2011 season, becoming more and more solid in our 1st level work and will undoubtedly show our freestyle this season (barring any financial issues- knock on wood!). Our goals include qualifying for regionals and placing at all-breeds, but this time at 1st level and 1st level freestyle.
The golden child enters my life!
I had recently graduated college and was working full-time. A friend who lived in the area had bought a mare who was bred to a quarter horse and due in the spring of 2002. Gidget, the mare, was a registered stock paint mare; meaning that she was all solid in color. Her sire was San Juan, who (as I'm told) is well-known and successful in the show ring. Kathy had initial plans of keeping this foal, but then decided that owning a foal was probably not a good idea as she didn't have much motivation to work with the trained ones that she already owned! So I agreed that I would work with the foal and when the foal was three months old, I would decided whether or not to buy it. My thinking was that I was young, had a decent paying job and it was the right time to have a "baby".
On April 7, 2002, I got a call from Kathy whom proudly stated that when she had gone down to the barn that morning, she saw four eyes starting back at her instead of the usual two that belonged to the mare, Gidget. Apparently this little foal had been born sometime in the night and thankfully there were no complications from the unassisted birth and he was healthy... well, as a horse! Kathy's small farmette was located on my route to/from work, so on Monday afternoon I arrived at the farm to find a leggy, clumsy, palomino colt. He was adorable, but full of piss and vinegar right from the start! Constantly testing his mother, testing his handlers and anything else he could find! Kathy's husband Rich had decided that he looked like a "Jimmy" and promptly named him that. Since I was waiting until he was three months old to make a decision, I was stuck with "Jimmy" and Kathy decided on registering him as "Joeledo's Jim Dandy" with the American Paint Horse Association. The stallion is named Joeledojack and it is usually customary to somehow include the sire's name in the foal's registered name. I have to admit, "Jimmy" was not my first choice of names, so I started calling him "J.J."
Now I have worked with "green" horses before, meaning horses that did not know much under saddle. But to work with a weanling that knew nothing from the ground was a whole new experience. I had to first earn his trust, then teach him all the basics, wearing a halter, leading, letting me handle him on any part of his body. These are all things that I had previously taken for granted! And of course, this precocious little colt was stubborn about everything. While he was never mean-spirited, he seemed to always try to test the boundaries and have an opinion about everything. One of my favorite stories was when he was just days old, Kathy tried to move him out of the way by pushing his butt and when she turned around, he kicked her right in her butt! That was my little colt!
So when JJ was one, we moved to the Chicagoland area and he adjusted fairly well. I continued to do all of JJ's training myself, including longing, long-lining and tacking him up. When he was two years old I got on him and he was, surprisingly, very good about it. I started him very slowly, riding only five minutes at a time, twice per week. We gradually worked longer and more often, not trotting for the first three months and not cantering for the first six months. J was pretty darn good about it all! Around the time that he started cantering, I decided that I wanted to do eventing with him, which included dressage and jumping. We started to do the dressage work, but unfortunately my idea of dressage was the farthest thing from correct dressage and we made many mistakes. I took him to his first dressage schooling show when he was three yeas old and it was an absolute and complete failure. After coming back from this show, I knew that it was imperative to find a qualified instructor, as I was not going about this the correct way. I saw an ad in the IDCTA scribe for a trainer by the name of Shelley Day, whom advertised that she traveled to different barns. I started training with Shelley in the summer of 2006, when J was a little over 3 years old.
Shelley immediately saw all our training mistakes, although she was kind enough not to show her complete and utter horror! She immediately broke us down to the basics and basically started us all over again. It was very difficult to admit that I had it all wrong, but I immediately trusted Shelley and followed her instruction. Soon after I decided that eventing was not for us and I really enjoyed the intricacies of dressage and the harmony it created between horse and rider. In the fall of 2007, we moved to Indian Hills, which is the barn where Shelley kept her horse and she trained with Kim and Yvonne Barteau. Shelley's horse was a talented Trakener, whom I was lucky enough to get lessons on every once in awhile and lunge lessons. In those lunge lessons I learned how to effectively use my seat to half halt and collect a horse, which I will be forever grateful to Roscoe and Shelley. J (his name was by then shortened to) was making progress and we were working on training level work for the show season. J's attitude had changed however, he became fearful and inattentive, which I feared came from pushing him too hard, too young and incorrectly before we started with Shelley. But Shelley helped us work through it and helped me become a more confident rider. We soon started showing the little yellow horse...
On April 7, 2002, I got a call from Kathy whom proudly stated that when she had gone down to the barn that morning, she saw four eyes starting back at her instead of the usual two that belonged to the mare, Gidget. Apparently this little foal had been born sometime in the night and thankfully there were no complications from the unassisted birth and he was healthy... well, as a horse! Kathy's small farmette was located on my route to/from work, so on Monday afternoon I arrived at the farm to find a leggy, clumsy, palomino colt. He was adorable, but full of piss and vinegar right from the start! Constantly testing his mother, testing his handlers and anything else he could find! Kathy's husband Rich had decided that he looked like a "Jimmy" and promptly named him that. Since I was waiting until he was three months old to make a decision, I was stuck with "Jimmy" and Kathy decided on registering him as "Joeledo's Jim Dandy" with the American Paint Horse Association. The stallion is named Joeledojack and it is usually customary to somehow include the sire's name in the foal's registered name. I have to admit, "Jimmy" was not my first choice of names, so I started calling him "J.J."
Now I have worked with "green" horses before, meaning horses that did not know much under saddle. But to work with a weanling that knew nothing from the ground was a whole new experience. I had to first earn his trust, then teach him all the basics, wearing a halter, leading, letting me handle him on any part of his body. These are all things that I had previously taken for granted! And of course, this precocious little colt was stubborn about everything. While he was never mean-spirited, he seemed to always try to test the boundaries and have an opinion about everything. One of my favorite stories was when he was just days old, Kathy tried to move him out of the way by pushing his butt and when she turned around, he kicked her right in her butt! That was my little colt!
So when JJ was one, we moved to the Chicagoland area and he adjusted fairly well. I continued to do all of JJ's training myself, including longing, long-lining and tacking him up. When he was two years old I got on him and he was, surprisingly, very good about it. I started him very slowly, riding only five minutes at a time, twice per week. We gradually worked longer and more often, not trotting for the first three months and not cantering for the first six months. J was pretty darn good about it all! Around the time that he started cantering, I decided that I wanted to do eventing with him, which included dressage and jumping. We started to do the dressage work, but unfortunately my idea of dressage was the farthest thing from correct dressage and we made many mistakes. I took him to his first dressage schooling show when he was three yeas old and it was an absolute and complete failure. After coming back from this show, I knew that it was imperative to find a qualified instructor, as I was not going about this the correct way. I saw an ad in the IDCTA scribe for a trainer by the name of Shelley Day, whom advertised that she traveled to different barns. I started training with Shelley in the summer of 2006, when J was a little over 3 years old.
Shelley immediately saw all our training mistakes, although she was kind enough not to show her complete and utter horror! She immediately broke us down to the basics and basically started us all over again. It was very difficult to admit that I had it all wrong, but I immediately trusted Shelley and followed her instruction. Soon after I decided that eventing was not for us and I really enjoyed the intricacies of dressage and the harmony it created between horse and rider. In the fall of 2007, we moved to Indian Hills, which is the barn where Shelley kept her horse and she trained with Kim and Yvonne Barteau. Shelley's horse was a talented Trakener, whom I was lucky enough to get lessons on every once in awhile and lunge lessons. In those lunge lessons I learned how to effectively use my seat to half halt and collect a horse, which I will be forever grateful to Roscoe and Shelley. J (his name was by then shortened to) was making progress and we were working on training level work for the show season. J's attitude had changed however, he became fearful and inattentive, which I feared came from pushing him too hard, too young and incorrectly before we started with Shelley. But Shelley helped us work through it and helped me become a more confident rider. We soon started showing the little yellow horse...
Shall we start at the beginning?
Horses have always been my passion since as long as I can remember, which is very odd as no one in my family rode horses. All of my most prized toys were horse-themed, starting with the obligatory rocking horse, then horse-on-a-stick and moving on to My Little Ponies, the Barbie horse and other model horses.
When I was six years old I was lucky enough for family friends to take me on a guided trail-ride. Now keep in mind that the family friends were an 80-something year old couple who stayed in the car the entire time, and they were even gracious enough to opt for the two hour ride vs. the one hour ride. I was a bit disappointed that they would not let me ride the biggest horse available, but quickly settled on the pony with a huge grin on my face. I will never forget those magical two hours of complete bliss... never caring about the obstinate pony I rode that kept trying to dive for grass, or the snotty girl who got to ride the big horse, I was in heaven and never wanted it to end. I knew from then on that my place was on the back of a horse.
It took six more years before I was able to take any real riding lessons. We had moved to Illinois (from Wisconsin) and my mother had met a co-worker that had a horse and was very generous in giving me lessons on her horse, which was boarded at a private farm in Batavia, Illinois. His name was Chance, he was an older white quarter horse/arab and was a saint! I was in love! Soon enough I was shareboarding Chance and riding him 3-4 days/week. I would even ride my bike for hours to/from the barn if no one was able to give me a ride. I would spend countless hours at the barn, grooming, riding, cleaning tack and just laying in the pasture with the horses. Chance was my first everything- my first canter, my first jump and my first dump! But, as kids often do, I grew tired of old Chance and yearned for something more challenging.
My grandmother (who was terribly allergic to horses, hay and anything else associated with a barn) made some telephone calls and arranged for me to work with a dressage trainer at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois. The trainer's name was George Schimpf and he intimated the hell out of me! Since I was an eager kid with a meager background, George was gracious enough to let me work (clean stalls,groom and tack horses, hand walk horses, etc.) in exchange for lessons. This was my first encounter with European warmbloods bred for dressage and jumping- talk about intimidating! I remember having to stand on stools just to brush the horse's backs and put their bridles on! George believed in lunge lessons for the beginner, so for the year that I was with George, it was all equitation work. I worked hard, but the lessons got less and less frequent and soon I moved on to shareboard a horse named Breezy (an appendix), who belonged to my grandmother's friend. Breezy was a very tolerant horse- put up with all my crap (i.e. jumping weird objects, trying to do moving mounts from the mounting block, galloping down sides of roads, etc.) and never killed me or caused serious injury. He was perfect for me- trained enough not to buck me off but untrained enough to put up with my BS and not be offended! I rode Breezy for a couple of years, but then the teenage years sunk in, I got a car (which came with a job- LOL) and horses got put on the back burner for more adult responsibilities.
Then fast forward about six years... (to be continued)
When I was six years old I was lucky enough for family friends to take me on a guided trail-ride. Now keep in mind that the family friends were an 80-something year old couple who stayed in the car the entire time, and they were even gracious enough to opt for the two hour ride vs. the one hour ride. I was a bit disappointed that they would not let me ride the biggest horse available, but quickly settled on the pony with a huge grin on my face. I will never forget those magical two hours of complete bliss... never caring about the obstinate pony I rode that kept trying to dive for grass, or the snotty girl who got to ride the big horse, I was in heaven and never wanted it to end. I knew from then on that my place was on the back of a horse.
It took six more years before I was able to take any real riding lessons. We had moved to Illinois (from Wisconsin) and my mother had met a co-worker that had a horse and was very generous in giving me lessons on her horse, which was boarded at a private farm in Batavia, Illinois. His name was Chance, he was an older white quarter horse/arab and was a saint! I was in love! Soon enough I was shareboarding Chance and riding him 3-4 days/week. I would even ride my bike for hours to/from the barn if no one was able to give me a ride. I would spend countless hours at the barn, grooming, riding, cleaning tack and just laying in the pasture with the horses. Chance was my first everything- my first canter, my first jump and my first dump! But, as kids often do, I grew tired of old Chance and yearned for something more challenging.
My grandmother (who was terribly allergic to horses, hay and anything else associated with a barn) made some telephone calls and arranged for me to work with a dressage trainer at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois. The trainer's name was George Schimpf and he intimated the hell out of me! Since I was an eager kid with a meager background, George was gracious enough to let me work (clean stalls,groom and tack horses, hand walk horses, etc.) in exchange for lessons. This was my first encounter with European warmbloods bred for dressage and jumping- talk about intimidating! I remember having to stand on stools just to brush the horse's backs and put their bridles on! George believed in lunge lessons for the beginner, so for the year that I was with George, it was all equitation work. I worked hard, but the lessons got less and less frequent and soon I moved on to shareboard a horse named Breezy (an appendix), who belonged to my grandmother's friend. Breezy was a very tolerant horse- put up with all my crap (i.e. jumping weird objects, trying to do moving mounts from the mounting block, galloping down sides of roads, etc.) and never killed me or caused serious injury. He was perfect for me- trained enough not to buck me off but untrained enough to put up with my BS and not be offended! I rode Breezy for a couple of years, but then the teenage years sunk in, I got a car (which came with a job- LOL) and horses got put on the back burner for more adult responsibilities.
Then fast forward about six years... (to be continued)
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