Jumping 101. Cotton loves this class! The
prerequisite was dressage 101 – which I have passed with .… a solid B
maybe? Cotton was hoping his flatwork was finished for the day when he
saw that we were lined up for the first approach but, as the Rolex
announcer said during stadium last year, it’s just dressage with jumps
in the way!
Before we started jumping Lesley had me do some
spiraling in at the trot and canter. I learned a lot about the downward
transition! I have been asking for trot from the canter and just
sitting there waiting for him to do it. Wrong! I learned today to keep
my aids on for the canter lead in the final steps of canter as we are doing the downward transition so he stays
forward to the bit and round, and doesn't swap leads as he is inclined to do. The difference was amazing.
Cotton is an athletic, talented jumper who just needs
to work on some bad habits - rushing the fences, cantering away on his
forehand and leaning in around the corners. That’s what we covered in
our lesson today. For our first class, we did the baby crossrail to
start, then the 2’6” jump that was right next to it, then a 2’ thing,
all at the trot. We will be at this stage until further notice..…
My job, in his transformation from backyard
hobby-horse to competitive athlete, is to not let him take a fence
unless he is calm and listening to me – circling in front of the jump
until he is round and responsive. Immediately after the jump I am to put my
leg on him so he gets his hind end underneath him and learns to carry
himself instead of leaning on my hands. As we head for the turn, I am
to keep him straight and not let him cut the corner. In order to pull
this off I need to really focus on sitting up straight instead of
slumping. Lesley tried to make me feel better by saying that it’s a
thing all tall riders struggle with – but not William Fox-Pitt!!
William is much taller than I am and he looks very normal on his horses. I, on the other hand, sometimes look like an Amazon on Cotton! Posture does matter - you were right, Mom!
Patience is a virtue and pride comes before a fall! Even though I’d like to be out there competing this season - in the worst way
- I’m trusting that exercising patience and humility by getting these
foundational issues out of the way at my advanced years of riding will
reap huge rewards in the future!
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