Fabulous Lesson - Turning into Dressage Freak!

[MadWoman]

I've had my horse, Archie, for 18 months now, and decided a couple of months ago that I really ought to get some lessons for the benefit of both of us, even though I have always hated both flat work and lessons. I found a wonderful instructor who has transformed both Archie and I - from both hating the school I can't now wait until the next lesson, and Archie steps out better in the school than on a hack!

Well, on Sunday we started working through Prelim 10, the first time I had even seen a dressage test, let alone try to ride one. The trot down the centre line was hard to keep dead straight, but we managed the rest fine, even the couple of strides of counter-canter, and my instructor, Sarah, (who's a dressage judge as well) said it was the best first attempt at a dressage test she had seen!!:eek: I am just so chuffed! :D

We are finishing off the test next lesson and working on Archie's outline and paces, and then the next lesson moving on to a Novice test - scary or what.:eek:

But from thinking that dressage was miles beyond me and no fun anyway, I am absolutely loving it, and seriously thinking about entering the odd competition. I've got it so bad I actually schooled instead of going for a hack the other weekend, and am looking into getting a HM dressage saddle!

Sorry about rambling, but I'm so chuffed I just had to tell someone!

[floppy]

you still going to keep up your re-enactment? :)
sounds brilliant about the dressage :)

[JumperGirl]

hi,

thats great that your horse and you are improving.

see? dressage isnt as boring as everyone thinks!!
i LOVE it, but some ppl i know hate it.
UGH!

lol, well keep it up!

[MadWoman]

Funny you should ask that, floppy. My instructor is actually joining my cavalry regiment, so she gives me a dressage lesson then I give her a cavalry lesson! I do think her closing her dressing using a one-handed half pass was a little posy, though!:p
Just because I'm doing dressage doens't mean I'm stopping anything else - still training Archie for guns, and just organised going hunting now the ban has been lifted :eek:

[floppy]

ahah :)
welll keep it up :)
hehe there must be something a bit posy that you can do in re enactment in front of her :D

[MadWoman]

Well, we showed her our party piece of a one handed turn in a horse's length at canter, next I suppose it will be firing my carbine at canter, but I think I would be safer doing that with Lumpy rather than Archie!:D

[floppy]

do you have 2 horses then?
hehe well im sure your instructor will be impressed with your stunts :D

[MadWoman]

Lumpy is the horse I ride for the re-enactments - he comes from a stables that hires out horses for that sort of thing. He's only 6 but you can fire off him on a loose rein and he doesn't bat an eyelid - impressive or what! Have a look at the Waller's Horse members' photo page - he's the Clydesdale cross with the very big feet!

[fizz21]

Could some please explaine to me what flat work is?

Thanks

[MadWoman]

Schooling on the flat rather than over jumps:)

[fizz21]

Thnx Mad Woman

[floppy]

lumpy is a big one :D
how tall is archie as he also looks quite long legged...especailly in the attacking the cabbage picture.

[MadWoman]

Lumpy is quite solid, isn't he?
Archie is 17hh on the dot - and those cabbages can be very viscious!:D

[MadWoman]

Well, I had another lesson yesterday, and rode Prelim 10 for Sarah as if it was a test. Bit of a disaster first time through as Archie had just had two novices on him and hadn't switched into dressage mode, but we did it again, and Sarah said she would have scored us sixes or sevens for all but the final turn which was a 4 or 5!:D (In spite of Archie being somewhat distracted by hubbie and CobNut from Saddle-Up having a sword fight next to the school!:rolleyes: )

I need to do lots of leg yield canter transitions to improve his canter and canter transitions ready for next time when she's bringing another test over.:eek:

She had brought her horse with her and I then had a lesson on Amber - first time I've ever ridden in a double bridle! It was a wonderful feeling extending and collecting the gaits, and then Sarah taught me how to ride a travers, and after a slightly shakey start I got it and haven't stopped grinning since!
:D :D

[floppy]

sounds brilliant :)

i had a 30min dressage lesson and a 30 min jumping lesson today..first time in a a few months now. it was brilliant. :D i rode my cousins horse and apparantly produced some good result sout of him in both disciplines. My cousins daughter is the main rider of the horse and is scared to jump the horse higher than what she has had to do so far for jumping competetions which is not very high, i jumped 1m40 with him...and he didnt knock one pole down!:)

[FRED]

What a good read your thread is Madwoman, I'm nearly green with envey:)
Good luck,if you need it;) and where is taking you,off the battle field? and into the arena?
Best wishes from Fred.

[MadWoman]

Thanks Fred - I'll keep you all updated on our progress. No chance of this taking me off the battlefield, just adding another string to Archie's bow. And after all, dressage originated on the battlefield so it seems quite appropriate!

Floppy, sounds as if you had a great lesson - 1m40 isn't small! Congratulations!

[TBgrl]

Hi mad woman

How long have you been riding?? Sounds like your skill level has really blossomed from the confidence. I am looking forward to riding when the season changes. How did you progress from beginner to the level you are at??

From Susan

[MadWoman]

Hi TBgrl,
I've been riding for over 30 years, but a lot of that was on and off, sometimes just a couple of times a year, somethines regularly for a few months. I was in the services so kept getting posted to places with no riding! I bought my first horse 18 months ago and that's when I really started learning to ride.
Having lessons with such a good instructor has completely changed my outlook to riding. From being a "happy hacker" I have suddenly become fascinated inn improving both my riding and Archie's way of going,and getting proof we can do it by competing - in fact my instructor has just told me she wants me to do a ODE - very scary!
What with one thing and another I've had to have a break from lessons, but she's back on the 10 Feb (still working on the dressage), so I'll let you know how we get on.
Thanks for asking!

Sue

[Lgd]

Watch out Madwoman! This dressage lark is VERY addictive. I bought my first horse as an unbroken 4 year old ( I had trained other horses, she was just the first one I'd owned), to have a bit of fun with and do a bit of everything. We 'got into' dressage when she was 7, did a bit of unaffiliated for a year and then my trainer persuaded me to affiliate. We've had our ups and downs but I wouldn't have missed our journey through dressage for anything. She is now doing Prix St George and our ultimate aim is to do Grand Prix. We can do all the 'tricks' now - they just need polishing. If someone had told me we would get this far I would have laughed at them!

My niece joined in a few years ago so we now have two other members of the clan - her old pony (who is going on loan to a dressage home) and our 'baby' who will be 7 this year and is also doing well in her dressage career.

Enjoy your dressage but beware - highly addictive!

[MadWoman]

Eeek Lgd, that's scary! I think I am already succumbing - I haven't even been to a single competition yet, but I went out and bought myself a dressage saddle over the weekend! I can't believe the difference it's made, either, from really struggling to do shoulder-ins, in two day's we've gone to doing them one-handed down the road, swapping from one lead to the other! It's just so easy to give the correct aids now!

Can't wait for my next lesson on Sunday:D

[Lgd]

Definitely sounds like a terminal case of dressage addiction!

[MadWoman]

Yesterday I had my first lesson since December - Christmas got in the way, and then Archie put his back out (which is now sorted). I was desperate as I was starting to feel that I was losing my way in schooling and needed some more guidance.

Well, within 2 minutes of watching me ride Sarah noticed that I had started locking my left knee, but now I know I might do it I'm not, if that makes sense - just glad she spotted it before it became a habit.

We worked mainly on improving Archie's bend (he tends to overbend to the left, and be stiff to the right), and also working on the quality of his canter. I am VERY chuffed as, with the help of my new dressage saddle (the aids are so much easier!) I had Archie cantering slower than we normally trot, and on a 5m circle:D . We also managed some proper transitions within canter - maintaining the same rhythm, so not just speeding up and slowing down.

We did a lot of spirals from 20m to 5m & legyielding out at all three paces. Am I the only person who find riding between the inside leg and outside hand confusing when you are trying to increase the spiral? Somehow the aids seem very similar to those to legyield out. :confused: Still, we got it most of the time.

Although my best achievement was the very slow collected canter, Sarah was most chuffed with Archie when I was trotting him around on a lonmg rein, and he was really stretching his topline and tracking up and, best of all, flicking out his toes!:D

CobNut from the Saddle-Up board had a lesson on him before me, and I hadn't before had chance to see how much he has changed shape - I knew his quarters were much more rounded, but until I saw him being ridden, I hadn't realised how much the top of his neck had muscled up as well - he is a completely different shape to the horse I bought.

Next lesson in 3 weeks where we will be doing some more work on his way of going. Sarah has decided that I ought to do a competion, and that I ought to start with a ODE (dropping me int he deep end or what?!:eek: ), so I'm also booking a cross-country course with her. I have to say I feel much more confident about the showjumping now I know I can adjust Archie's canter so much.

Even Mr MadWoman, who used to think dressage was posh women pratting about on polished horses, can now see the sense in it after watching our lesson - you never know, I might persuade him to ride more than once a month at this rate!

[Lgd]

Go girl! Do some 'real dressage' as well. It's good fun and good practice for the ODE dressage tests. I'm in 'competition mode' now as we had our first outing of the season yesterday and did quite well. Baby was 6th in the Elementary and Peri was 3rd in the Medium with good scores so quite pleased, although if Peri had kept her brains in gear she would have won the medium - we only lost out by 5 marks and the daft b****r was so excited to be out and doing she wouldn't walk her simple changes - bang went at least 6 marks as she usually gets 7's and 8's for those. That's dressage and horses for you!

[MadWoman]

Don't worry, lgd, I intend to! I think Sarah reckons I'll be less initmidated by a ODE than a proper dressage comp, but I will do one as my second competition!

Hard luck on not winning the Medium - let's hope Peri has got the excitement out of her system, now and will concentrate next time.