Lesson Notes

So not too much going on in the Beaventing world right now. I've been travelling a bit, and we're trying to get the house and spring cleaning under control. We've gotten the estimate for the new barn and indoor, so hopefully we'll have that by this winter.

Anyway, we've had a few lessons over the past 2 weeks with some important themes I need to remember and work on. First, we went XC schooling with Danny...Seth on Legs and Me on Hobbs. Hobbs started his little dance and I need to learn to push him through it. I need to retrain myself instead of locking down I need to push my hands forward and squeeze with my legs. He is really still having trouble with the right leg/rein, but instead of trying to force him into it, I have to just guide him through it and continue to hold the pressure on him with my left leg. So basically anytime he starts to freak out, I need to shove my hands into his mane and kick him forward...that needs to be my response - and I need to keep my head up and look where I want to go. Now, onto actually jumping...I need to trust him more and learn how to sit my hands forward and use my seat/legs/upper body to half halt him and control his speed. I rely too heavily on my hands and I need to support him with my hands instead of bracing against him. I'm so used to having that for balance from riding Legacy...but with Hobbs the more I do that, the less power I have and the harder it is for him to jump the bigger jumps. I need to trust the speed and support him with my leg as well. Still saw some issues with the drop into the water, but we just need to keep schooling that so he gains his confidence with that. Seth and Legs did awesome...they looked so good together. Legacy had a few temper tantrums b/c it was his first time out, but Seth did ok. He got to experience a few rears :). Legacy looked like a pro and they were cruising around the Novice jumps...so he's gonna show him at Novice at MD HT schooling trial the first weekend in June.

We also had dressage lessons with Kathy Adams this past weekend. She really liked Hobbs...said he had a lot of potential and has a lot of gaits within his gaits. She pointed out my saddle being a bit tight on his shoulder and recommended not using a fleece pad b/c of the saddle fit. I also need to make sure my girth is tight and that I have weight in my right stirrup. I tend to beg him with my right heel, which pulls my leg back and weight out of my stirrup. I need to focus on keeping weight in the stirrup and asking him to move off my leg with my calf. She also had me taking hold of the left rein and controlling the right shoulder with my right calf at the girth. I need to continue working on getting him straight to help with the upper level movements. We worked some counter canter with leg yielding and one lead change :). She said to get the changes I need to work on walk-canter-walk, walk-counter canter-walk transition to tune him to the aids. I also need to be careful with going long and low and make sure he doesn't get stuck and he's still obeying my aids and reaching down throughout the stretchy trot. It seems like I need to start working him in a higher frame more often. Seth also got a lesson on Legacy...it didn't start off great...Legacy freaked a bit when I still had Hobbs outside and got away from Seth when he tried to get on. He settled in pretty quickly and had a really good lesson. Kathy really liked working with him since he's athletic and can do whatever you tell him. He did some sitting trot and I was so jealous b/c I think he sat smoother than I ever have!! He's definitely still working through the feel of Legacy...a few times he was working on leg yielding at the walk and Legacy looked drunk b/c he would apply too much leg, then too much hand and back again. A lot of it is timing and just he and Legacy learning each other. It's been really nice to see how well the pairing of Seth and Legacy is. It makes me feel better with Legacy basically having a purpose and he's happy not having to try too hard.

So after everything, I decided not to move up to Prelim yet. I'd like to get another few trainings under my belt and make sure we are working as more of a team. I was also a little hesitant trying to follow the same schedule as last year...you never know with karma!!!