Showing posts with label riding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label riding. Show all posts

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Dressage, or is it Stressage?

Today I rode B in preparation for next weekends dressage test. Before today I've not ridden in well over a year and not schooled a horse in well over 10 years.
I had fun, I'd forgotten how much hard work it is and that I am also really critical of myself.
Because I'm around horses so much I assumed it would just come back to me like riding a bike.. Well, it did really but remembering everything, keeping your hands up, bending your elbows, keeping a good contact on the rein, squeezing with my legs rather than just kicking all the time and remember a dressage test is a lot for my brain to remember. Transitions! I've not done transitions since pony club! Diagonals, well I'd completely forgotten diagonals, that I had to ask Georgie to remind me!
Well I'm truly tired, my thighs are gonna kill in the morning but I had fun, I learnt a lot. I've memorised my test so I just need to convince Beanie to stop being such a slug and kick on.
I might be rusty but I'd completely forgotten B is too! He's spent most of the winter being a mud monster and going drag hunting galloping round the countryside all the time and forgotten what show schooling!

I also learnt how to tie a stock again today cause that has been a very very long time since I did that. My jackets ready, hats ready just gotta clean my boots up and ready to go.

Here's some photos of today. Excuse my toward position and chicken elbows. Note to self - must keep elbows bent and tucked in!

Overall it went ok today. Just got to remember what Charlotte says "go in there and have fun and enjoy it" 








Thursday, 29 January 2015

Dressage, what's dressage?

Georgie has done a boo boo and entered a dressage competition only to realise that she's away on holiday!
I get a text today asking did I want to do it..
Hold up, i've not done a dressage test since I gave up pony club at about the age of 14 or so. I'm now 27.. 13 years!
So safe to say i'm just a bit nervous!
Beanie is beautiful and lovely and I trust him, but i've also never schooled him. I've ridden out and jumped him once but never actually schooled him and got him really listening to me...

So with that I've now got to memorise Intro A 2008 walk and trot test and try and not to cock it up. If worse comes to worse then Mum can call it for me and I can focus on riding, although it's not too difficult so hopefully I can engrain it in my brain!

He is a beautiful boy who can go really well so here's to making him go like this