A Dressage/Jumping Lesson...

On Wednesday I had a lesson with Allison. I felt like it was a good lesson, we really worked on getting Jackson on the bit and the impulsion from behind. We achieved this perhaps 1/2 of the time, I'd say. I love having lessons. It is so great to get the advice and hear if you are doing something correctly, or if you are just a sack of potatoes riding in circles making no progress.... At times I do get frustrated though! Allison is tough! But she does manage to get the best out of my riding, as rusty as it may be after our SOGGY, cold winter here in South Texas. South. Right. After we worked for at least 45 minutes on dressage, Allison had us work on ground poles, and she found no faults with my position or my handling of Jackson. The new jumps were (kind of) set up, as we only have it up to 12 inches until we get a new drill bit to move the jump cups around. The other day I had taken Jackson over that tiny 12" jump, and he kept bonking the poles. I was anxious to see if Allison had advice on this, because frankly, my fear was that he didn't have the interest or ability to jump anything higher! (OK...the mind does tend to go to extremes, because he has easily taken a 2 foot jump with nary a bump!) But I was concerned. Why was he dragging his feet on this tiny NOTHING of a jump? He does fabulous on cavaletti or a set of 4 ground poles, so what???? After he did the EXACT same thing with Allison I looked to her for advice. And she gave it! "My dear," she drolls. "He is simply SCOFFING at this jump. He is quite bored and wonders why you are insulting him with a mere 12 inches." "We need to start at 2'6 to get any sort of REAL jump practice going for him." Well hog my hooter, as they say! I broke out into a grin accompanied by a huge sigh of relief. She also went on to tell me that this actually shows a great potential for his jumping ability. He isn't doing any more than he has to over what he consider a jump that is BORRRING, but were he overjumping it she would suggest another career for him. Apparently, if a horse jumps three feet over a 12 inch jump you have an over-excitable horse with no mind for jumping. At 80 years old and having extensive eventing and training of horses under her belt, I believe her! Of course, I am sure there are exceptions and I hope I am not offending anyone, because this is certainly not true for every horse, I'm sure! She has promised to ride Jackson during my next lesson, and I look forward to see how he goes for her. Perfectly, I have no doubt. I hope I am riding horses when I'm 80! I did ask Allison if I should send him out to a trainer for training. The answer was an emphatic "NO!" She told me that if I put the work into him, I will get the results without a trainer. According to her, he has my number, so even if a trainer could get him going totally correctly, when I got him back, I would have the same horse whenever I rode him. I agree, but I had to ask! I want us to learn it all together, even if he is at superstar status and I am somewhere lying in the mud!! So, riding, more riding, and then riding some more! And drilling holes at least to 2'3-2'6 into the jump standards ASAP!

Building JUMPS!! and New Spring Babies!

Spring babies have arrived! On Sat. and then on Monday, Linda's two goats Sheba and Gertie gave birth! FINALLY! What a long wait! The two littles I'm holding are less than 24 hours old in this picture. Finn, pictured with Miles is also not quite 24 hours old in that pic, taken on Sun., as it was taken before the one's I am holding, (as of now) no-names. They were born late Monday night at 2am-ish.If you check out the size of my hands compared to them, you can see how tiny they are. I have medium sized hands and bone structure, so go from there... As you peruse further you will see me with Sheba's babes Bethany (Linda's pick) and Finnigan (Finn) my pick cause he was "almost" a St. Patty's Day Baby. Oh. And I'm Irish so I like the name....:) Then you can see our jump building endeavor further down, which I will get more into there....

On Sunday, when we went out to see the babies, as Linda had just gotten home from Boston on Sat, where she had been visiting her mom and dad. The very next day was her Birthday, so I was surprised (yet totally thrilled) when she told me that in lieu of riding we would be working on building JUMPS! She told me to meet her at Home Depot the next morning, and I was NOT late! We had talked about building jumps, but I had figured that I was going to have to do it myself. Linda has a lot on her plate, and jumping is more my obsession, not hers. It was only while we getting the jump standards cut to 5 feet instead of 10, that I looked at her and realized what was going on. (YES, I can be an idiot at times, but I do eventually get it..:)

Linda has a slight interest in jumping, but she doesn't even have a horse that she can jump at the current time. She brought me back a beautiful padded bridle bag to match the padded saddle bag she got me for Christmas, as a belated Birthday present. When she gave me that, and told me it was "part" of my present. I didn't expect more and told her so. She takes wonderful care of my horse (some months for free) and the amount I do pay her is, well, let me put it this way, NOT MUCH! So I just looked at her as the cute guy was sawing our wood, and got it. "Oh my God, you are doing this for me aren't you?" (Totally didn't even get it until that moment...) I was like, "You don't even have a horse to jump, and well, WOW!" She just looked at me and said, "Yep, Happy Birthday!" I was really touched. She figured out the PERFECT THING as a gift, and she proceeded to help me build jumps on HER birthday! We got it all home, and since she had purchased jump cups while in Boston, she proceeded to drill, and I made stripes! The standards in the pic are going to be painted white, and they have a 3'9 foot height max. Of course, that is down the road, but I believe in goals, and why not do them right while building, eh? We purchased enough for three jumps and finished part of one, at the lowest (12 inches) due to the fact that we decided we needed a super long drill bit to go all the way through the standard. Once we finished up, after commenting that we would rather be building jumps and teaching baby goats how to nurse ANY day over our jobs as RN's, Linda left to go help some folks move mulch, and I set out on a SOLO endeavor. I don't like riding alone. Since I broke my shoulder it has just been something I avoid. Yep. Fraidy pants. And sick of that baloney! I have decided that since Linda is so busy these days, that is just NOT GOING TO FLY! So I rode alone. And we jumped our new jump, and took lots of ground poles that we also bought for beginner practice. I took Jackson up to the new jump--just to sniff and get acquainted--and instead of looking at it, he proceeded to walk over it. I cracked up. We enjoyed our practice and worked on rounding his back and impulsion from behind, as well as our jumping. He was AWESOME! I could feel it, (head down, and on the bit with impulsion from behind!), but I dare not get too big-headed. Next ride is another challenge. I know just because I get something once there are no guarantees that our next ride (lesson on Wed.) will necessarily pan out! Humble is what a good ride makes me.  A great ride is great. But don't count on it being the norm. JOURNEY with no destination but work and more work! BUT!!!! He loves jumping so far!!! Thanks Linda, for making me feel special and helping me build my dream (literally and figuratively)! 

Reflections on Riding and Jumping....

You know that saying everything has a time and a place? Well, it is certainly true. This book has been sitting in my horse library (which is HUGE!) for seven years! It accompanied me on a difficult trip with the military to San Diego for six months where I would occasionally thumb through to glance at pics now and then, but never read the book. At the time, owning my own horse, let alone jumping again seemed unobtainable. A dream. But somehow, having it there in my line of sight gave me hope... Just that picture on the cover. A determined man taking a beautiful horse over a fence. Now, that dream is starting to be what I make of it. My dream is obtainable if I want it to be. :) The other day I glanced at this book as I was purusing my horse shelf, and went, "Hmmm. Let's see what this book has to say."  After all, since it helped me in my time of hardship, didn't I owe this book a gander? Definitely. Especially now that I am actually starting to jump my OWN horse. I want to share this book with you. Now STOP. Even if you don't jump (and I currently would put myself--even with experience-- as a wanna be jumper :), please read on because there are some fabulous pearls of wisdom I wish to share with you that this five time Olympian can't be wrong about. William Steinkraus has ridden in five Olympics and took the first individual equestrian gold ever won by an American rider in 1968 in Mexico City. He took along a few more team medals, has ridden on thrity-nine winning Nations Cups teams (usually as anchor) and has won over one hundred individual international competitions. He has been elected to FOUR Halls of Fame. He has numerous other standings under his belt, really quite too much to add here. But I think you get the point that the man has some horse sense. Before my dressage lesson yesterday I pulled out the book to show Allison who is eighty years old, and was quite the eventer in her time. "Ahh. Mindy," she drolls in her english accent, "Now that man is a legend. I own that book. Isn't it great?" She could even name the horse on the cover. Another crazy, but oh so cool thing. She teaches what I am reading. Almost to the word. Bizzarre? Dunno. She is also very Walter Zettl like, I am inclined to think she is just one HELL of a horsewoman and I am a very lucky student! So, on with the pearls of wisdom. They are straight out of the book. Stick around for his epilogue after the aphorisms. Trust me.
Thank you for this informative book Mr. William Steinkraus. I hope to shake your hand one day.....

Two Dozen Useful Aphorisms by William Steinkraus
1. Get your tack and equipment just right, and then forget about it and concentrate on your horse.
2. The horse is bigger than you are, and it should carry you. The quieter you sit, the easier this will be for your horse.
3. The horse's engine is in the rear. Thus you must ride your horse from behind, and not focus on the forehand simply because you can see it.
4. It takes two to pull. Don't pull--push.
5. For your horse to be keen but submissive, it must be calm, straight and forward.
6. When the horse isn't straight, the hollow side is the difficult side.
7. The inside rein controls the bending, the outside rein regulates the speed.
8. Never rest your hands on the horse's mouth. You make a contact with it: you carry your head and I'll carry my hands.
9. If the horse can't learn to accept what you're doing, it isn't any good.
10. Once you've used an aid, put it back.
11. You can exaggerate every virtue into a defect.
12. Always carry a stick (crop); then you will seldom need it.
13. If you've given something a fair trial, and it still doesn't work, try something else--even the opposite.
14. Know when to start and when to stop. Know when to resist and when to reward.
15. If you're going to have a fight, YOU pick the time and the place.
16. What you can't accomplish in an hour should usually be put off until tomorrow.
17. You can think your way out of many problems faster than you can ride your way out of them.
18. When the horse jumps, you go with it, not the other way around.
19. Don't let over-jumping or dull routine erode the horse's desire to jump cleanly. It's hard to jump clear rounds if the horse isn't trying.
20. Never give up until the rail hits the ground.
21. Young horses are like children--give them a lot of love, but don't let them get away with anything.
22. In practice, do things as perfectly as you can: in competition, do what you have to do.
23. NEVER fight the oats.
24. The harder you work, the luckier you get.

And now to his Epilogue which I simply loved.

"A few final words. Taking things for granted is all too easy. But we must never forget, every time we sit on a horse, what an extraordinary privilege it is: to be able to unite one's body with that of another sentient being, one that is stronger, faster and more agile by far than we are, and at the same time, brave, generous and uncommonly forgiving. (How much poorer our lives would be if all our riding experiences were restricted to mechanized transport!)
Only as riders can we achieve some measure of eternal youth, since we can exchange, old, tired bodies for younger, more vigourous ones as easily as changing horses. Luckily, however, there is no surer antidote for the arrogance this circumstance might engender than the horse itself, for no poorer respecter of personages has ever existed. The horse doesn't know or care if you are a prince or a pauper, only whether you can ride with skill and justness. No throne can compare with the back of a horse, and there is no way man can come closer to nature than by becoming one with a horse. Truly, as the French like to say, "L'homme se complete par le cheval," "Man completes himself through the horse." Nobody has every understood or articulated this better than Shakespeare:
When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk;
He trots the air, the earth sings when he touches it.....
                                                          ----Henry V, Act II

I can't put it any better than that folks, so I end here for now......

Let the Jumping Begin...

Yesterday started out a bit cold and yucky looking, but I decided to trek out to ride horseface. It warmed up to 51 degrees (argh) which was actually alright once I got the blood pumping a bit! Linda decided to ride her new 3 yr. old QH/TB Traveler who is a newbie and needs some miles. He is going to be quite handsome when he fills out (AND stops BITING saddles and wooden fences), but right now he is a bit gawky. He opened a gate with Linda aboard though, so I am thinking he is quite sane of mind, and take back some of my comments regarding him and his affinity for a certain someone's Australian saddle--he BIT it! That saddle I am not as concerned about, but if he so much as looks at my Bates jumping saddle, fur will fly! :)

We had a nice little trail ride in the acreage behind Linda's house and a nice even, collected trot (maybe a mile total) with Jackson (on the bit!) as the leader setting the pace around the humongous field back there. I informed Jackson that he is a big boy now and had to show Traveler all that he has learned! Then we made the little trek over to our friend Lorri's to ride with her. My ears TOTALLY perked up when Linda told me Lorri was setting up some trotting cavaletti for us to play with. My mind also also went hmmmm.... as I remembered the jump standards that have recently been given to Lorri by a friend who moved. I have been eyeing them for over a month now. I walked Jackson over them before our last dressage lesson (Lorri has an arena where we take some of our lessons) but quickly realized that they were just a bit too high for walking over, I would have to jump 'em!

I have done ground cavaletti with Jackson out at Triple H and jumped things 12 inches or lower on trail rides and on Triple H's XC course, but I haven't (and I'll be honest here) had the cojones to take anything higher. You see, Jackson has never been jumped before, is fairly green, and let's face it, I have had these fear issues  which started after breaking my shoulder when I first got Jackson. Those fear issues are getting rather worn, tattered and tiring. In fact, so tiring that they are LEAVING! So when we got to Lorri's we walked, talked and played with our horses around the pasture, and then I started attacking the set of 4 cavaletti you see above at a trot. Jackson did great. He is willing, and he is smart. I will post these pics below, but please don't comment on the equitation! Of course I look like crap, I haven't jumped in, well, let's just say A LONG TIME. (I'm looking forward to jumping things that actually require me to RAISE my stirrups up, and put the KNEE BLOCKS back on my jumping saddle!)  Anyway, he took the set of 4 cavaletti well, along with a set of two we also had set up across from them. Lorri and Linda both said he really did them nicely with his legs up and moving evenly with some really nice work with his hocks.

After that, we did some arena work, but I just kept eyeing the two jumps right beside the arena, thinking "Mindy, it IS time." And these are easily accomplished jumps. A horse will jump things this low quite easily. But if he knows his rider is a chicken butt.... Well, I'm sure you know what can happen then! I left the arena by the side door, (and heard just what Allison, my instructor would have to say about THAT in my mind--I quickly made the gals promise that I would not be reported for my lack of dressage etiquette :) and just sat astride Jackson looking at the jumps--contemplating and inwardly feeling so confident that we could do them,  but at the same time trying to banish the little tendrils of doubt that were trying to creep in. Of course the girls were all over me after they noticed me standing there just looking for five minutes or so. Take the jumps, you can do it, etc.

"Well, why the hell not?", I thought.

I knew we were ready. Kind of. The first attempt was, well, a gallant attempt. We took the first in the set of two fine (it is lower) and then Jackson ran out (cause I chickened out and let him) on the second one--which is higher even though the pic doesn't really show it. He pulled this a couple more times, and then of course, I had to get the big girl britches out, because if I let him get away with evading a fence at this early stage, and didn't jump it successfully because I let him run out on the jump, well, a jumping team we would quite possibly NEVER be. So, I approached again. Took the first and just applied major leg, with every bit of my mind screaming, "GO!" And he did. He JUMPED it. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't in the middle of the jump (so he took the higher part which is easily 2 feet) but it was done! We came out of the jump at a canter (my old? nemesis) and  I thought nothing of it. It felt normal, natural and great. I really didn't have time to do anything but ride it, then Linda started shouting, "You're cantering!" I just looked at her and said, "I know, I'm on his back." LOL. Then Lorri piped in with, "Mindy, TELL him he did good!", which I immediately did. It was the shock and happiness and amazement, all at once, making me forget to instantly reward his AMAZINGNESS! We jumped? (maybe two feet? easily 18 inches anyway!) And came out of it at a canter? AND NO EVERYONE, I DID NOT HAVE EVEN ONE MEETING WITH THE GROUND!! OH HAPPY DAY!

 After that, Lorri jumped Kite who had NEVER been jumped before (she jumps her other horse). This is the horse she had the really BAD accident on in June. Kite also ran out on the second jump a few times, so I didn't feel as bad! Lorri is an amazing, accomplished rider who could be an instructor herself, it was really nice having her on the sidelines telling me what to do and what I was doing wrong.

Below are a montage of images from the caveletti at a trot. I wasn't trying to two point, just float above the saddle a bit. The jumps did not warrant it, and my stirrups are at the length I use for dressage! Sadly, my camera was in my pocket when we did our first BIG BOY jump! Next time video is coming into play! Allison and I are going to have to have a talk. I still want to take dressage, as I think it is teaching me a LOT about my riding, but I want jumping lessons now too. We ARE ready.

Linda and Lorri. Without these two and their eternal patience, teaching, and encouragement in the past two years, I don't know where I'd be.

Thanks girls!

Jumpin' Jackson

"WOW, mom this look FUN!"

Me showing Jackson the jumps he will jump. His reply?
"Let's do it NOW!!!" So we did. OK. Just not this one! This one's for next week! :)

Wish I had pics of all the jumps, with the one's in the pasture and in the woods, there are about 15-18 large jumps.


Linda taking Shorty over--I took Jacks over the same one quite a few times-really not even high enough to two-point over--but he LOVED it and I can tell he wants more!!! :)

Marking the easy pink trail

Putting up the flags.....

Went out to Linda's today and we trailered the five minutes over to Triple H Equitherapy to mark the pink trail which is the easiest one. All the trails (there are three--easy, interm. and advanced) have ten obstacles to find on the scavenger map and this year we are making some new obstacles and adding to the advanced trail (actually blazing NEW trail) so the people who have been coming for the past five years don't get too bored...I suggested a stop called "Hobo Hollow" and now I am suddenly the creator of 75-100 little tiny hobo bags with a bit of cotton inside attached to a popsicle stick...(Do you ever notice this happening when you open your trap with ideas?) Guess I will go to Michael's and do some shopping! :) Luckily, I am quite crafty when I want to be, so this should be OK...At every obstacle you need to bring something back--and the ULTIMATE is to get it all from the back of your horse without getting off--if you bring back all of the items from all ten obstacles you get a prize. There's a band, lunch, and a Peruvian Paso drill team performance. It is one of the major fundraiser's 0f the year for Triple H Equitherapy, but it is SOOOO cool!! So this is the first year I have rode Jackson while blazing, marking the trails and setting up the obstacles, and he took it in stride. Last year I rode Shorty the Leopard Appy in this posts pics... We began making pink flying ribbons, attaching them to clothespins and then 20 to his saddle and asking him to stop under trees and beside fences to constantly leave our "marked trail" so folks will know the correct direction. After a couple of hops when I first started to reach off of him to attach a marker to a fence he gave a sigh and then began to enjoy himself. I really enjoyed myself because this whole pink trail is A CROSS COUNTRY COURSE, part of it in a pasture and the rest in the woods; with huge scary downhill things, ditches, and tire jumps along the way!!!!

Much of the area that we traveled through had little jumps to practice over and since it is a REAL course it also has the requisite scary HUGE ones that Jackson was quite interested in!!! My horse wants to be a jumper!!! Thank you God! After we set everything up, we took the 1.5 mile trail at a fast trot to make sure that people could follow our handiwork. We took lots of little jumps through the woods, most of them quite a bit bigger than cavaletti. The only thing I have ever done on him is cavaletti at a trot and he does that well without hitting them, and I know that it's a start but this was just FUN and he was loving it! Of course, the big jumps are down the road, but I am just thrilled that I had the opportunity to do this and Jackson was SUPER and EAGER for more! We are in the process of finding a trainer and I am confident that with all the riding I'm doing I'm going to have a BOMBPROOF AngloArab! Hmmm. OK. It will most likely depend on the day! :) He is such a forward, willing horse and praise the Lord, he has NO bad habits. At 10 years old (on 9 May) that's really good! We then went and did arena work for approx. 20 min. Lots of transitions. I am also teaching Jacks "side" as we are learning to open gates, not always easy, but very necessary when you trail ride a lot!!!! After we finished, I went and got a 15 minute refresher course to do volunteer sidewalking in order to work at Triple H for a few hrs. each Wed night. This entails walking beside a horse in the arena; as a sidewalker you are there to provide safety and support to your rider. I did this when I lived in Washington D.C. , in addition to volunteering with the jumpers in Special Olympics. These riders have developmental and physical disabilities, some of them are there for psycho-horsie-therapy too--for example war veterans. Lord knows that's why I have a horse--for my psycho-Jackson-therapy--what a great thing, eh? So in addition to me being a sidewalker I have been asked to be a handler in which you actually are the one leading and controlling the horse. This requires an "official" class and a certification. I think I floored the Volunteer Coord. when I told him I really just wanted to be a sidewalker in order to have the interaction with the students. (After all, I "handle" my horse all the time...)I worked with folks with dev. disabilities for 12 years in Key West and Pa before finishing my BSN and becoming a nurse, and I MISS it.... Apparently, sidewalkers don't need to have any horse experience and are the bottom of the totem pole--the "handlers" are the cool thing to be... I told him I would do it in case they got stuck and needed a handler, but I WANT to be a sidewalker... BUT, obviously, if you don't have a handler you can't do anything, so I will be a back-up handler. Anyway, I am looking forward to starting next Wed.!

Jackson stepped on my foot two days ago, (very accidently as he was near the edge of concrete that dropped off a bit, so it was MY FAULT) and since I wanted to ride the second day in a row--I vet wrapped it and put on da' boot.... Well after 2.5 hrs. (and one re-wrap) of lots of trotting, jumping, and then trotting and cantering in the arena for 20 min. I have a really pretty foot! Enjoy the colors! Amazing the injuries we ride with eh? I continued to ride with my shoulder broken 2 yrs. ago....BAD, BAD I know!!!!

I think it MAY look worse than it feels, except after 3 hrs. of riding on it! Hmmm. Go figure as my mom likes to say to me...

Pain medication and ice are heaven sent friends!

Yep, and I DO need a pedi, but with the rest looking so bad, I have a little time to make it pretty again, dont'cha think?