Just goes to show you how incredibly humbling this sport is, and how you never stop learning. I think I'm understanding just why it is that people play golf....
Had my lesson today, and we started off with flatwork, since that is (was?) my Number 1 Nemesis lately. A little harder to sit up and not tip forward in a jumping saddle, but easier to put my leg on. I've switched to little hammerhead spurs so that I'm not afraid to really put my leg on, and it seems to be working. I had a lightbulb moment the other day schooling xc at the Secrists - Oliver took off with me on the landing side of a fence and I really sat back, dug my spurs in, and lifted my hands in a half-halt, and I really felt him tuck his butt underneath, raise his withers, and sit DOWN. Wow. So, that's what Christan means by leg-to-hand! Anyway, I've been using that visual a lot when I've been flatting - at first, I had to use draw reins to keep Oliver from just bullying through my hand and accept the contact, but I've taken them off recently and he seems to still understand that when I leg him up into the contact, he must sit down behind and not hollow and grab the bit and run. Which, of course, makes it easier to ride leg to hand, since he's responding correctly. We worked a little on transitions - while I can get a lovely upward transition now, uphill and into the bridle, the trot-to-canter is still a little tough as I want to tip ever so slightly forward and drop my hands into it. When I think of really pressing him into the contact and then asking for the canter, thinking about lifting my hands (so they don't drop), he tends to strike off correctly and stay round. I also have this bad habit of riding the canter to the left a bit under the pace, so I've got to sit back, ride him UP, and keep my leg on, even if it's faster than I think I need to be. We also worked on the halt transition - coming around the turn, Christan noticed that I tip just a tiny bit forward when coming down from the trot, and then he swings his butt to the right and doesn't halt straight (or square). If I come around the turn, think "up" and keep my legs pressed into him, he halts squarely.
So, Christan had me trot a vertical 2'6, one stride to another 2'6 vertical. I came in at a spanking good trot, and then Christan told me that I was coming in too fast, so we sort of blew through the exercise with him falling on his forehand. I was to think about keeping the trot exactly the same, keep my hands up, and not goose him at the last stride and tip forward. It was bloody hard to do because I felt that the trot was underpowered and at the last second, I had this need to do something and I inadvertently goosed him with my leg, which resulted in a scrambling through the exercise. Then, I went the opposite extreme - instead of goosing him, I held onto him too much, so that he felt the need to pull his way through, resulting in a jump that was over his forehand. Christan told me to ride the first jump and not worry about the second - she even had my close my eyes over the first. I closed my eyes, felt him jump the first, panicked, opened my eyes, and LEANED at the second. I haven't leaned that badly at a jump for years! Christan told me that if I were riding a trot lengthening, I wouldn't goose him with my leg or drop my hands, so I was to think "dressage frame" up to the fence, and then on take-off, soften and allow him to jump up and around the vertical. Over and over and over we did this - at the last second I'm still leaning at the first jump (just a tetch, but enough to rotate my hands backwards and take my leg off), or I gun him over it without any support from my hands. We had ugly, two scrambly stride jumps, once where I completely threw my upper body at him and he went left and didn't jump the second jump (not that I blame him - there was no way he could jump it with me hanging around his ears), a lot of jumping the first jump and then plopping over the second, but at the end I finally got it (I think) - I did NOTHING except keep my leg softly on, even if everything in my body was screaming that I needed more speed, more leg, moreSOMETHING, softened my hand, kept my chest lifted, and we landed over the first jump beautifully, sat up, put leg on, and while the second jump still wasn't perfect, it was so much better than the previous attempts. The biggest and most obvious improvement was that on the landing, I sat up, closed my leg and hand, and lifted him into a lovely, balanced canter and then down to a walk, each and every time - yay! Before, I would be so happy with finishing the exercise that I would allow him to pull me forward, tipping onto the forehand, and sprawling to a walk or trot.
At the close, I asked Christan if I could canter a simple fence, and she agreed with the condition that even if I messed up, I had to call it quits. Of course that put the pressure on, so I picked up a lovely canter, cantered toward the crossrail, the whole time thinking "dressage canter". He did try and speed up a few strides out (probably relieved that he was no longer trotting through the grid), but I kept my leg on, half-halted him, and it rode beautifully. Now, I know I should correct the speeding up, but Christan said I handled it very well.
It is soooo frustrating. The easy way out would be to allow him to pick up some speed, and then just breeze through the in and out. It's so hard to keep riding all the way up until the last stride, and then soften without tipping forward or clamping on your leg. I wish I had another horse I could ride that I could work on this, because I could tell Oliver was getting tired towards the end, and he was being a Saint and putting up with me getting left behind, hitting him in the mouth (only did that once, but had to slip my reins a whole bunch), putting him at a bad spot, etc.
Bella seems to be improving slightly. Greg did a quickie adjustment on her and she walked out much better afterwards. She is out in a bigger paddock with grass, and seems to be content walking around.
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